Madison Library Media Center’s
Picture Books for Older Readers
Bibliography
Picture Book Biographies
B AARON Golenbock, Peter. Hank Aaron: Brave in every way. New York: Gulliver Books, 2001. Before blacks were allowed in the major leagues, Hank was determined that that was where he was going to play. When his success on the field triggered a deluge of hate mail, he refused to back down. This is the story of his strength and perseverance and how he became a great ballplayer and an inspiration to us all.
B ANDERSON Muñoz Ryan, Pam. When Marian sang: The true recital of Marian Anderson, the voice of a century. New York: Scholastic Press, 2002. An introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, extraordinary singer and civil rights activist, who was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, and whose life and career encouraged social change.
B BAKER Winter, Jeanette. The Librarian of Basra: A true story from Iraq. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2005. Alia Muhammad Baker secretly moves thirty thousand books into the safety of friends' homes when her government refuses to help get them out of the war zone.
E BRU Bruchac, Joseph. Crazy Horse’s vision. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2000. Traces Crazy Horse's boyhood, zeroing in on a pivotal event in his life and highlighting an important Native American rite of passage.
B BSTAN Demi. The Dalai Lama: a biography of the Tibetan spiritual and political leader. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998. Bstan-‘dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV wrote the introduction. The story of the search for the 14th Dalai Lama from his humble beginnings to spiritual and political leader. Demi captured the beauty of the Tibetan culture along with the charm, wisdom and vision of one of the world’s best-know spiritual figures.
B CHARLES Mathis, Sharon Bell. Ray Charles. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 2001. An illustrated biography of African-American musician Ray Charles, following his life from the age of seven when he lost his sight, to age forty by which time he had earned international fame. Coretta Scott King Award.
B COLEMAN Grimes, Nikki. Talking’ about Bessie: The story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman. New York: Orchard Books, 2002. A biography of the woman who became the first licensed African American female pilot. Coretta Scott King Award.
B EL CHINO Say, Allen. El Chino. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990. A biography of Bill Wong (“Bong Way Wong”), a Chinese American who became a famous bullfighter in Spain.
B ELLINGTON Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Duke Ellington: the Piano Prince and his orchestra. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1997. A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician and composer, who, along with his orchestra, created music that was beyond category.
B GUTHRIE Christensen, Bonnie. Woody Guthrie: poet of the people. New York: Alfred A, Knopf, 2001. This book celebrates the life and times and the spirit of the great Woody Guthrie, with a brief, lyrical text and powerful illustrations.
B KHAN Demi. Chingis Khan. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1991. A picture books biography of the Mongol leader and military strategist who, at the height of his power, was supreme master of the largest empire ever created in the lifetime of one man.
B MUHAM Demi. Muhammed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Introduces Muhammed and the basic tenets of the Islamic faith. Illustrated beautifully using traditional Islamic expression. Includes bibliographical references.
E JOR Jordan, Deloris and Jordan, Rosyln. Salt in his shoes. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2000. Michael Jordan's mother and sister team up for an inspirational story about this athlete's earliest on-court efforts. The authors offer authoritative insight into this six-foot-six-inch-tall hoopster's boyhood spunk as well as reassurance to young athletes impatient for a growth spurt.
B KING Farris, Christine King. My brother Martin: A sister remembers growing up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003. Looks at his early life through the eyes of his sister.
B KING Rappaport, Doreen. `Martin’s big words: the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2001. Narrative story of Dr. King’s life with the author’s words woven with his words.
920 KRU Krull, Kathleen. Lives of extraordinary women: Rulers, rebels (and what the neighbors thought). San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace & Company, 2000. This book presents twenty true stories of our foremothers, those feisty women who helped shape the world, from Cleopatra to Eva Peron. Details about their personal lives and goals, in addition to their often controversial lifestyles add to this book's charm.
920 KRU Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the athletes: Thrills, spills (and what the neighbors thought). San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997. This book presents twenty true stories of athletes, including Jim Thorpe, Babe Ruth, Wilma Rudolph, and Sonja Henie, whose physical accomplishments create a world of thrills and spills.
920 KRU Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the artists: Masterpieces, messes (and what the neighbors thought). San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1995. This book presents the humor and the tragedy in twenty artists' lives.
920 KRU Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the musicians: Good time, bad time (and what the neighbors thought). San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1993. In this "who's who of musicians" we meet 20 of the most famous like Vivaldi, Mozart, Scott Joplin, Nadia Boulanger, and Woody Guthrie. Readers will learn of both their musical natures and the personal, humorous characteristics that make their lives so fascinating.
B Mandela Cooper, Floyd. Mandela: from the life of the South African statesman. New York: Puffin Books, 1996. Readers are introduced to the formation and growth of the young Nelson Mandela. Most importantly, it sketches the lessons through which Mandela learned to hold fast to his beliefs. Wind is an important image in the narrative, often as a reminder of strength.
E McG McGill, Alice. Molly Bannaky. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Relates how Benjamin Banneker's grandmother journeyed from England to Maryland in the late seventeenth century, worked as an indentured servant, began a farm of her own, and married a freed slave.
FIC MIL Miller, William. Richard Wright and the library card. New York: Lee & Low Books, 1997. Based on a scene from Wright's autobiography, Black boy, in which the seventeen-year-old African-American borrows a white man's library card and devours every book as a ticket to freedom.
B PARKS Giovanni, Nikki. Rosa. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2005. An illustrated description of Rosa Parks' historic refusal to give up her seat on a bus that led to a boycott that lasted more than a year in Montgomery, Alabama. Coretta Scott King Award Winner and Caldecott Honor Book.
B PETIT Gerstein, Mordicai. The man who walked between the towers. Brookfield, CN: Roaring Brook Press, 2003. A lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers. Includes two fold-out pages. Caldecott Medal, 2004
B RIVERA Winter, Jeanette. Diego. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991. The story of the making of an artist—Mexican artist Diego Rivera; English & Spanish text. Diego was a boy who loved to draw; he drew on everything, even the walls. He would become known as one of the greatest muralists of Mexico and of the whole world.
B ROOSEVELT Keating, Frank. Theodore. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. A simple biography, with emphasis on his childhood, of the 26th president of the United States. Illustrated by Oklahoman Mike Wimmer.
B RUDOLPH Krull, Kathleen. Wilma unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph became the world’s fastest woman. San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1996. A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympics.
B SALADIN Stanley, Diane. Saladin: noble prince of Islam. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 200 2. A biography of the Moslem leader who opposed Richard the Lion hearted in the first Crusade.
B SEQUOYAH Rumford, James. Sequoyah: The Cherokee man who gave his people writing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Biography of Sequoyah, a Cherokee who created a system for writing the Cherokee language so his nation could become a one of readers and writers.
Cultural Awareness
B AARON Golenbock, Peter. Hank Aaron: Brave in every way. (see info under biographies)
E BER Berkeley, Laura. The spirit of the Maasai Man. New York: Barefoot Books, 2000. Locked inside their cages, the zoo animals have given up hope; they can no longer hear the songs of their homelands. Then one night, the spirit of the Maasai Man appears. As he hums his haunting songs, a miracle takes place. By subtly examining the timeless ideal of love, hope and freedom, this book provokes discussion and a sense of optimism.
B BSTAN Demi. The Dalai Lama: a biography of the Tibetan spiritual and political leader. (see info under biographies)
398.2 COB Cob Coburn, Jewell Reinhart. Domitila: a Cinderella tale from the Mexican tradition. Auburn, Calif.: Shen's Books, 2000. By following her mother's admonition to perform every task with care and love, a poor young Mexican girl wins the devotion of the governor's son.
B DAV Brown, Don. Far beyond the garden gate. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002. Describes the life and travels of Alexandra David-Neel, who became a scholar of Buddhism and Tibet in the early twentieth century and trekked thousands of miles to reach Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
398.2 DEP DePaola,Tomie. Adelita. Tomie de Paola’s charming version of the Mexican Cinderella story. Spanish phrases are liberally interjected, followed immediately by the translation, making it a perfect story for an interactive read-aloud in Spanish classes.
398.24 DEP DePaola, Tomie. The legend of the poinsettia. New York: Putnam & Grosset, 1994. When Lucida is unable to finish her gift for the Baby Jesus in time for the Christmas procession, a miracle enables her to offer the beautiful flower we now call the poinsettia. Mexican folklore.
E GAR Garland, Sherry. The lotus seed. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1993. A young Vietnamese girl saves a lotus seed and carries it with her everywhere to remember a brave emperor and the homeland that she has to flee.
E HAS Haskins, Jim. Count your way through Africa. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1992. Uses the Swahili words for the numbers from one to ten to introduce the land, history, and culture of Africa.
468.6 LOM Lomas Garza, Carmen. Family Pictures: Cuadros de familia. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press, 1990. The author describes, in bilingual text and illustrations, her experiences growing up in a Hispanic community in Texas.
398.2 MAR Martin, Rafe. The rough-faced girl. New York: G. P. Putman’s Sons, 1992. In this Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl and her two beautiful but heartless sisters compete for the affections of the Invisible Being.
E MCC McCully, Emily. Beautiful warrior: The legend of the nun’s Kung Fu. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1998. Celebrating discipline and inner strength while retelling legends connected with styles of kung fu, this story authentically re-creates a period of Chinese history and gives readers not one but two lively heroines.
E MEN Mendez, Phil. The black snowman. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1989. Through the powers of a magical kente, a black snowman comes to life and helps young Jacob discover the beauty of his black heritage as well as his own self-worth.
E MIL Miles, Miska. Annie and the Old One. Boston: Little, Brown and Company,1971. When Annie's Navajo grandmother says that when Annie's mother's rug is completely woven that the grandmother will die, Annie tries to hold back time by unweaving the rug in secret.
E POL Polacco, Patricia. The keeping quilt. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. A homemade quilt ties together the lives of four generations of an immigrant Jewish family, remaining a symbol of their enduring love and faith. This book is special for the values it conveys, for the family traditions and the changes to them that it describes, and for the intergenerational love it portrays.
FIC SAY Say, Allen. Grandfather's journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. A Japanese-American man recounts his grandfather's journey to America, which he later also undertakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.
E WIL Williams, Mary. Brothers in Hope: The story of the Lost Boys of Sudan. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2005. Eight-year-old Garang, orphaned by a civil war in Sudan, finds the inner strength to help lead other boys as they trek hundreds of miles seeking safety in Ethiopia, then Kenya, and finally in the United States.
Concept/Character Books
E AND Anderson, M. T. Me, all alone, at the end of the world. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2005. A boy enjoys living quietly by himself at the End of the World until Mr. Constantine Shimmer, "Professional Visionary," builds an inn and an amusement park, demanding that tourists come and have "Fun Without End!" What is fun to one, may not be fun to another. The boy appreciates his solitude.
B ANDERSON Muñoz Ryan, Pam. When Marian sang: The true recital of Marian Anderson, the voice of a century. (See Biographies)
E BIS Bishop, Claire. The five Chinese brothers. New York: Penguin Putnam Books, 1989. Five brothers who look just alike outwit the executioner by using their extraordinary individual qualities.
E BOR Borden, Louise. Across the blue Pacific: A World War II story. (See Social Studies)
E BUN Bunting, Eve. A day’s work. New York: Clarion Books, 1994. When Francisco, a young Mexican American boy, tries to help his grandfather find work, he discovers that even though the old man cannot speak English, he has something even more valuable to teach Francisco.
E BUN Bunting Eve. One Green Apple. New York: Clarion, 2006. While on a school field trip to an orchard to make cider, a young immigrant named Farah gains self-confidence when the green apple she picks perfectly complements the other students' red apples.
E BUN Bunting, Eve. Smoky night. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1994. When the Los Angeles riots break out in the streets of their neighborhood, a young boy and his mother learn the values of getting along with others no matter what their background or nationality.
FIC BUN Bunting, Eve. Riding the tiger. New York: Clarion Books, 2001. Ten-year-old Danny is bored and lonely when he hops on the back of the exciting and somewhat scary tiger that offers him a ride, but he soon discovers that it's easier to get on the tiger than it is to get off.
E COU Couric, Katie. The brand new kid. New York: Doubleday, 2000. Lazlo, who has just moved to the United States from Hungary, is ostracized at school until two girls have the courage to befriend him. Friendship, courage, and prejudice.
B CREWS Crews, Donald. Bigmama’s. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1991. Visiting Bigmama’s house in the country, young Donald Crews finds his relatives full of news and the old place and its surroundings just the same as the year before.
976.6 JOH Johnson, Hannibal. Up from the ashes: A story about building community. Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 2000. Tells the story of the Greenwood community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, its destruction in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, and its rebuilding.
E KIP Kipling, Rudyard adapted by Pinkney, Jerry. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. New York: Harper Collins, 1997. Rikki-tikki-tavi becomes champion protector of garden and household as he courageously defends his new human friends from the dangerous snakes living on the grounds.
E POL Polacco, Patricia. Mr. Lincoln's way. New York: Philomel, 2001. When Mr. Lincoln, "the coolest principal in the whole world," discovers that Eugene, the school bully, knows a lot about birds, he uses this interest to help Eugene overcome his intolerance.
E MOR Mora, Pat. Doña Flor: A tall tale about a giant woman with a great big heart. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Dona Flor sets off to protect her neighbors from what they think is a dangerous animal, but soon discovers the tiny secret behind the huge noise.
468.6 ROD Rodriquez,
Luis. It
doesn’t have to be this way: A Barrio story. San Francisco: Children’s Book
Press, 1999. Bilingual text. Reluctantly a young boy becomes more and more
involved in the activities of a local gang, until a tragic event involving his
cousin forces him to make a choice about the course of his life.
E SEU Dr. Seuss. Oh, the places you’ll go. New York: Random House, 1990. a flight of fancy into the future of a generic "you'' who is venturing out into the world, where he will have ups and downs but will succeed and finally "MOVE MOUNTAINS!''; focus on self-esteem.
E SIL Silverstein, Shel. The giving tree. New York: Harper Collins, 1964. A poignant and gentle look at the art of giving and the concept of unconditional love; classic parable of selfless love and devotion. The story tells of the relationship between a young boy and a tree. Giving the boy what he wants is what makes the tree happy, a function it serves throughout the boy's life.
E STE Steptoe, John. Mufaro’s beautiful daughters: An African tale. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1987. This African tale from Zimbabwe evokes the Cinderella story in its portrayal of Mufaro's daughters, Manyara and Nyasha, who are summoned before a king looking for a suitable wife.
E WIL Williams, Mary. Brothers in hope: the story of the lost boys of Sudan. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2005. Eight-year-old Garang, orphaned by a civil war in Sudan, finds the inner strength to help lead other boys as they trek hundreds of miles seeking safety in Ethiopia, then Kenya, and finally in the United States.
FIC WOO Woodson, Jacqueline. The other side. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001. Two young girls--one African American, one Caucasian-- have been told not to cross the barrier that separates their backyards, but they find their way to friendship nevertheless. Older kids can appreciate the deeper themes and strong visual metaphor of the fence.
Literary Devices
Colorful/Colloquial Language:
Alliteration:
E VAV Van Allsburg, Chris. The Z was Zapped. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. Mishaps suffered by the alphabet.
Elements of Story Writing:
E LEH Lehman, Barbara. The red book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. In detailed illustrations, a young girl crosses oceans and continents to meet a new friend, in a wordless book-within-a-book story. Caldecott Honor Book.
E SCI Scieszka, Jon. Baloney (Henry P.). New York: Viking, 2001. A transmission received from outer space in a combination of different Earth languages tells of an alien schoolboy's fantastic excuse for being late to school again.
FIC VAN Van Allsburg, Chris. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984. Present a series of loosely related drawing each accompanied by a title and a caption which the readers may use to make up their own stories.
Hyperbole:
E BRE Breathed, Berke. Edwurd Fudwupper fibbed big. Boston: Little, Brown, c2000. Edwurd's little sister comes to the rescue when Edwurd's humongous fib lands him in trouble with a three-eyed alien from another galaxy.
Metaphor:
E RIN Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. New York: Crown Publishers, 1991. A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family. Based on the author's quilt painting of the same name.
See Jacqueline Woodson’s The other side under Concept Books.
Onomatopoeia:
Oxymorons:
420 AGE Agee, Jon. Who ordered the jumbo shrimp? and other oxymorons. New York: Harper Collins, 1998. These unique figures of speech called oxymorons are common and often-ironic expressions are characterized by the juxtaposition of contradictory words
Parts of Speech:
425 HEL Heller, Ruth. Fantastic! wow! and unreal!: a book about interjections and conjunctions. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1998. This book introduces and explains various interjections and conjunctions, including awesome, alas, and yet.
428.1 HEL Heller, Ruth. A cache of jewels and other collective nouns. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1991. This book is an introduction to collective nouns and their uses.
428.1 HEL Heller, Ruth. Many luscious lollipops: a book about adjectives. New York: Sandcastle Books/Grosset and Dunlap, 1992, c1989. This book discusses adjectives and their uses.
428.2 HEL Heller, Ruth. Behind the mask: a book about prepositions. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1995. This book explores through rhyming text the subject of prepositions and how they're used.
428.2 HEL Heller, Ruth. Kites sail high: a book about verbs. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1991, c1988. This book tells about verbs and their uses.
428.2 HEL Heller, Ruth. Mine, all mine: a book about pronouns. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1997. This book introduces various types of pronouns, explains how and when to use them, and provides whimsical glimpses of what our language would be without them.
428.2 HEL Heller, Ruth. Merry-go-round: a book about nouns. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1990. The author takes a look at nouns and the way they are used, using a rhyming text that defines many familiar noun forms.
428.2 HEL Heller, Ruth. Up, up and away: a book about adverbs. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1991. This book explains in rhyme and color pictures the function and usage of adverbs.
Homophones:
428.1 GWY Gwynne, Fred. A chocolate moose for dinner. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, c1976. A little girl pictures the things her parents talk about, such as a chocolate moose, a gorilla war, and shoe trees.
Personification:
FIC BUN Bunting, Eve. I am the mummy Heb-Nefert. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co., c1997. A mummy recalls her past life in ancient Egypt as the beautiful wife of the Pharaoh's brother.
Poetry:
811.008 KIC Janeckzko,
Paul. A kick in the head: An everyday guide to poetic forms. Cambridge,
MA: Candlewick Press, 2005. An illustrated collection of
twenty-nine children's poems in a variety of forms including sonnets, odes, and
limericks.
811.3 POE Poe, Edgar Allan.
The raven.
811.52 THA Thayer, Ernest L. Casey at the bat.
Punctuation:
428.2 TRU Truss, Lynne. Eats, shoots
& leaves: Why, commas really do make a difference.
Symbolism:
See Sherry Garland’s The Lotus Seed under cultural awareness.
Vocabulary:
428 FIN Fine, Edith Hope. Cryptomania! Teleporting into Greek and Latin with the Cryptokids. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press, 2004. Discover that the English you read, write, and speak every day has its roots in ancient languages.
FIC FRA Frasier, Debra. Miss Alaineus: A vocabulary disaster. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 2000. This inventive picture book is a spelling book, a vocabulary book, a game book, and a costume book all rolled into one. When Sage's spelling and definition of a word reveal her misunderstanding of it to her classmates, she is at first embarrassed but then uses her mistake as inspiration for the vocabulary parade.
428.1 HEP Hepworth, Cathi. Bug off! A swarm of insect words. New York: Putnam’s Sons, 1998. Presents vocabulary words relating to insects, including bees, moths, and ants.
Math and Science
512 ANN Anno, Masaichir. Anno's mysterious multiplying jar. New York: Philomel, 1983. Simple text and pictures introduce the mathematical concept of factorials.
582 CAR Carle, Eric. The tiny seed. New York: Aladdin, 1987. A simple description of a flowering plant's life cycle through the seasons.
974.4 CHE Cherry, Lynne. A river ran wild: an environment history. San Diego: Voyager Books, 2002. An environmental history of the Nashua River, from its discovery by Indians through the polluting years of the Industrial Revolution to the ambitious cleanup that revitalized it.
513.5 GEI Geisert, Arthur. Roman numerals I to MM: Numerabilia romana uno ad duo mila. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Introduces Roman numerals, and by counting pigs in the illustrations the reader can reinforce the mathematical concept.
582 HEL Heller, Ruth. The reason for a flower. New York: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1983. Brief text and lavish illustrations explain plant reproduction and the purpose of a flower and present some plants which don't seem to be flowers but are.
511 NAG Nagda, Ann Whitehead. Tiger math: learning to graph from a baby tiger. New York: Henry Holt, 2000. Describes the growth of an orphan Siberian tiger cub, by means of words and graphs.
E SCI Scieszka, Jon and Smith, Lane. Math curse. New York: Penguin Group, 1995. Math Curse opens with the ominously simple statement, “You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem.” From that point on, the young narrator is overwhelmed with daily math. Getting dressed, eating breakfast, getting to school-everything involves addition, subtraction, measurement, probability.
E SCI Scieszka, Jon and Smith, Lane. Science Verse. New York: Viking, 2004. When the teacher tells his class that they can hear the poetry of science in everything, a student is struck with a curse and begins hearing nothing but science verses that sound very much like some well-known poems. CD available from the library office.
591.5 SET Settel, Joanne. Exploding ants: amazing facts about how animals adapt. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c1999. Describes examples of animal behavior that may strike humans as disgusting, including the "gross" ways animals find food, shelter, and safety in the natural world.
E SEU Dr. Seuss. The Lorax. New York: Random House, 1971. The Once-ler describes how his greedy actions destroyed a beautiful and thriving environment; subtle messages about the negative effects of deforestation, habitat destruction, and air and water pollution.
513.2 SCH Schwartz, David. If dogs were dinosaurs. New York: Scholastic Press. Explores the concepts of ratio and proportion by growing or shrinking various objects by the same amounts
FIC VAN Van Allsburg, Chris. Just a dream. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. When Walter has a dream about the future Earth devastated by pollution, he begins to understand the importance of taking care of the environment.
Social Studies
B ANDERSON Muñoz Ryan, Pam. When Marian sang: The true recital of Marian Anderson, the voice of a century. (See Biographies)
FIC BUN Bunting, Eve. Train to Somewhere. New York: Clarion Books, c1996. In the late 1800s, Marianne travels westward on the Orphan Train in hopes of being placed with a caring family.
940.53 DAB Dabba Smith, Frank. My secret camera: life in the Lodz ghetto. 1st U.S. ed. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 2000. Photographs taken secretly by a young Jewish man document the fear, hardship, generosity, and humanity woven through the daily life of the Jews forced to live in the Lodz ghetto during the Holocaust.
E EDW Edwards, Pamela. Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.In the dark of the night a Barefoot, an escaped slave, flees for his life. With his pursuers close behind and the moon shrouded in clouds, Barefoot must rely on the wisdom of the wild animals of the forest and swamp to guide him to the safety of the Underground Railroad.
B KHAN Demi. Chingis Khan. (see info under biographies)
E HES Hesse, Karen. The cats in Krasinski Square. New York: Scholastic Press, 2004. Two Jewish sisters, escapees of the infamous Warsaw ghetto, devise a plan to thwart an attempt by the Gestapo to intercept food bound for starving people behind the dark Wall.
976.6 JOH Johnson, Hannibal. Up from the ashes: A story about building community. (See Concept/Character)
E LEI Leighton, Maxinne Rhea. New York: Puffin Books, 1992. Immigration and immigrants; having left Poland and braved ocean storms to join her father in America, Krysia arrives at Ellis Island on Christmas Eve.
985 LEW Lewin, Ted. Lost city: the discovery of Machu Picchu. New York: Philomel Books, 2003. In 1911, Yale professor Hiram Bingham discovers a lost Incan city with the help of a young Peruvian boy.
E BOR Borden, Louise. Across the blue Pacific: A World War II story. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. A woman reminisces about her neighbor's son who was the object of a letter-writing campaign by some fourth-graders when he went away to war in 1943.
B PARKS Giovanni, Nikki. Rosa. See Biographies)
FIC PER Perez, Amada. My diary from here to there. San Francisco: Children’s Press, 2002. Bilingual book. A young girl describes her feelings when her father decides to leave their home in Mexico to look for work in the United State
F POL Polacco, Patricia. The Butterfly. New York: Philomel, 2000. In this story taken from Polacco’s family history, Monique discovers and befriends a Jewish child hidden in her basement. Only then does Monique realize that her mother is part of the French underground and resistance, offering safe haven for Jews during the Nazi occupation.
E POL Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say. New York: Philomel Books, 1994. This story, about how a young black soldier rescues a white soldier, opens young readers' eyes to the injustices of slavery and the senselessness of war. Highly charged emotionally, this masterful retelling of a true story, narrated through the white soldier's eyes, is made all the more powerful when it is revealed that the soldier was the author's great-great grandfather.
E RAV Raven, Margot Theis.
976.6 SCI Scillian, Devin. S is for Sooner: an Oklahoma alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 2003. The letters of the alphabet are represented by words, set in short rhymes with additional information, relating to the state of Oklahoma.
811 SHA Shange, Ntozake. Ellington was not a street. New York: Simon & Schuster Books, 2002. The author recalls her childhood home and the close-knit group of innovators who often gathered there during the African-American civil rights movement. Coretta Scott King Award.
304.6 SMI Smith, David J. If the world were a village. Tonawanda, New York: Kids Can Press, 2002. Statistical representation of the world using the example of a village of 100. Shows proportional relationships of the world’s population, languages, literacy, etc.
E SMI Lane Smith. John, Paul, George & Ben. New York: Hyperion, 2006. A humorous look at five of our country's founding fathers as youngsters. Can you tell fact from fiction? There is a true or false section in the back
973 STG St. George, Judith. So you want to be president? New York : Philomel Books, 2000. Presents an assortment of facts about the qualifications and characteristics of U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Bill Clinton.
E THO Thomas, Joyce Carol. I have heard of a land. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. Describes the joys and hardships experienced by an African-American pioneer woman who staked a claim for free land in the Oklahoma territory.
E TUR Turner, Ann Warren. Nettie's trip South. New York: Macmillan, 1987. A ten-year-old northern girl encounters the ugly realities of slavery when she visits Richmond, Virginia, and sees a slave auction.
E WIL Williams, Mary. Brothers in hope: the story of the lost boys of Sudan. New York: Lee & Low Books, 2005. (See Concept/Character Books)
E WIN Winter, Jeanette. Follow the drinking gourd. New York: Dragonfly Books, 1988. By following the directions in a song, "The Drinking Gourd," taught them by an old sailor named Peg Leg Joe, runaway slave’s journey north along the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada.
Special Mention: Sports, Art, and more
811.008 CEL Celebrate America: in poetry and art. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, 1999. Text and accompanying photographs present a collection of American poetry that celebrates over 200 years of American life and history as illustrated by fine art from the collection of the National Museum of American Art.
811 BRU Bruchac, Joseph. Thirteen moons on turtle's back: a Native American year of moons. New York: Philomel Books, 1992. Celebrates the seasons of the year through poems from the legends of such Native American tribes as the Cherokee, Cree, and Sioux.
B ELLINGTON Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Duke Ellington: the Piano Prince and his orchestra. (see info under biographies)
730 FRI Fritz, Jean. Leonardo’s horse. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001. A careful explanation of how da Vinci's unfinished bronze horse became a 20th-century reality.
E SCI Scieszka, Jon and Smith, Lane. Seen art? New York: Viking, 2005. A young boy looking for his friend Art is mistakenly led into an adventure in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
E GEL Gelman, Rita. Doodler doodling. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2004. An original look at creativity begins with doodles on the endpapers and never stops. On the first page, a girl sits at a desk with a multi-colored pen and lined paper and starts free-associating.
811 SMI Smith, Charles. Hoop kings. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press, 2004. A collection of poems celebrating contemporary basketball stars such as Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant.
E WEI Weitsman, Jacqueline and Glasser, Robin. You can’t take a balloon into the Metropolitan Museum. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. In this wordless story, a young girl and her grandmother view works inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while the balloon she has been forced to leave outside floats around New York City causing a series of mishaps that mirror scenes in the museum's artworks.
E WIL Willard, Nancy. Pish, posh, said Hieronymus Bosch. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1991. An imaginative poem about the 15th century painter filled with medieval beasts and other images from Bosch’s world.
E WIS Wisniewski, David. Rain player. New York: Clarion Books, 1991. The ancient Mayan belief that the future was divinely decreed and could not be changed is the basis for this original tale of a boy who must defeat the Rain God in a ball game to save his people from disaster. Mayan art and architecture were the inspiration for the spectacular cut-paper artwork.
811.008 WOR Words with wings: a treasury of African-American poetry and art. New York: Harper Collins, 2001. Pairs 20 works of art by African-American artists with 20 poems by African-American poets.
**Thanks to the Edmond School Libraries for presenting their bibliography for using picture books for older readers at Encyclomedia in 2003 and the inspiration to examine my own collection. Their list can be retrieved at http://www.edmondschools.net/cheyenne02/picture_books_for_older_readers.htm