Skip to main content
The long way westward
Sandin, Joan
Carl Erik and his family arrive in America off of an immigrant boat from Sweden. They have an adventurous, yet hard, journey westward to Minnesota.

Journey home
McKay, Lawrence
Mai is going along with her mom to Vietnam, where mom hopes to find her mother and father, who were separated during the Vietnam War. There Mia learns about where her mom came from and gains a new sense of identity and feeling of home.

The blue faience hippopotamus
Grant, Joan Marshall
A hippopotamus falls in love with an Egyptian princess. He finds a magician who turns him into a statue. The princess discovers the statue and there is a surprise ending.

A rainbow of friends
Halliman, P.K.
A vision of harmony celebrates differences among people. These vibrant pictures and rhymes help portray the notion that uniqueness in individuals is what makes each of us so special.

Le couronnement de babar
Brunhoff, Jean de
The story is about the famous elephant Babar and his adventures in getting married. It illustrates how he introduces his bride to family and friends, the wedding ceremony, and the celebration afterwards. This book was entirely in French and the pictures tell the story.

The mission bell
Politi, Leo
Diego is taught by Father Serra that there is always a mission in life. Diego learns that you must learn to accept and love people for who they are and in turn, they will teach you.

Mrs. katz and tush
Polacco, Patricia
Larnel unexpectingly finds himself befriending an old, Polish woman. From Mrs. Katz, he learns Jewish history and begins to appreciate his own African roots.

Something beautiful
Wyeth, Sharon Dennis
A little girl looks out her window only to see broken glass and trash in the court yard. She remembers her mother once told her everyone should have something beautiful. She sets out to look for something beautiful in her neighborhood.

White wash
Shange, Ntozake
Helene-Angel is the only person in her class to have to wait for her brother, Mauricio to walk her home. On their walk home, a group of boys decide to pick on her. Her brother is out-numbered so the boys paint her white. She is devastated and refuses to leave her room. Find out how her grandma helps her overcome her fears.

Tarzan
San Souci, Robert
Family is defined differently when Tarzan is raised by a group of apes. Tarzan grows into a curious being. Confused by what he knows and what he is finding out, his confusion builds to power as he rules the apes. Can he forget his past to pursue his future?

Mommy far, mommy near: An adoption story
Peacock, Carol Antoinette
Elizabeth is a young Chinese girl who has been adopted by an American family. Elizabeth begins to question her adoption and wonders why her mommy in China did not keep her. Elizabeth's mother explains the adoption to her and loves that she has a mother who is far away and one who is close.

Who's whose?
Ormerod, Jan
Three families come together every day of the week to do activities help each other out. Some observe activities, do chores with others, or run errands with their friends. With so many people doing things together it is hard to keep track of who's whose!

Bat boy and his violin
Curtis, Gavin
Reginald loves playing the violin. His father only has time to worry about the Duke's losing streak. Reginald passionately plays the violin to improve the baseball team's losing streak. Find out what else Reginald's love for the violin improves.

Biggest frog in australia
Roth, Susan L.
The biggest frog in Australia just woke up, and he is very thirsty!After he drinks all the water in the ground and the sky, there isn't any left for the other animals. The other animals now have to come up with a plan to get the water out of the frog!

Hans and Peter
Petrides, Heidrun
A teacher brings an African priest into her classroom to talk about the discovery of America.

The moon was best
Zolotow, C.
A mother reflects about her trip to Paris as she shows her daughter beautifully enlarged photos of her favorite places.

The drinking gourd
Monjo, F.N.
Tom misbehaves in church and is sent home early. He goes to play in the barn and discovers runaway slaves. He and his father help them escape and Tom learns all about freedom through the Underground Railroad.

The ring and the window seat
Hest, Amy
Stella, a young girl, saved nickels for weeks to buy a ring. Eventually, she gives it all away so she can help a girl come to the United States from Germany during WWII.

Little kit or the industrious flea circus girl
McCully, Emily Arnold
In hopes of a better life, a young orphan girl disguises herself as a boy and goes to work for a cruel professor and his flea circus.

A christmas book
Svend, Otto S.
Christmas traditions are very different in Denmark.

Joey's cat
Burch, Robert
Joey's cat has kittens in the garage, but why won't Joey's parents let him go near them?He finally does get near them when Mama Cat's kittens are in danger from a opossum in the garage. Mama Cat then allows Joey to see the kittens.

Have you seen my cat?
Carle, Eric
A little boy looks everywhere for his cat, and in the meantime finds cats from many different countries.

Chicks and salsa
Reynolds, Aaron
A very creative bunch of farm animals at the Nuthatch Farm decide they are tired of their regular feed, and that they want something different. They begin to create sumptuous Mexican dishes with spices that they get from the farmer's garden. After planning a fiesta, the animals discover that all of the foods from the garden have been harvested and they cancel the fiesta and begin to eat their old, dull food once again --until the next day when rooster makes crepes and white grapes with sauce!

George did it
Jurmain, Suzanne Tripp
George Washington shows his leadership skills by leading the United States Army to victory to gain their independence. Although George is nervous and reluctant, he accepts the challenge to become the first President of the United States of America.

Erika's story
Vander Zee, Ruth
After being thrown from a train as a baby during the Holocaust, Erika finds safety, love, and peace in the family that saves her.

Imagine a house
Gustafson, Angela
Take a walk through 15 countries around the world and learn about different types of dwellings. A brief geographical tour is taken when you traverse the pages of real-life photographs and maps.

Alia's mission
Stamaty, Mark A.
Alia is the librarian of the Central Library in Basra, Iraq. When the war in Iraq begins to move closer and closer to Basra, Alia makes an important decision and takes huge risks to preserve the historical literaure of her country, as well as many other books in the library. The war progresses and Alia enlists the help of friends to do all they can to move and protect the contents of the library.

Hidden child
Millman, Isaac
Over fifty years have passed, and Isaac finally tells his story. He is one of the few survivors of the Holocaust. Isaac experiences many tragedies during the war including losing both parents, friends, and being left to strangers, but finally, was adopted into a home. Although he changes his name, he is adopted in a home where people grow to love him.

Camels
Jango-Cohen, Judith
The word camel comes from the arabic word jamil, meaning beauty. Learn more about this animal through reading about its diet, birth and growth, and even camels on a racetrack! A glossary and index give you more information for other texts and websites.

The summer sands
Garland, Sherry
When a raging storm destroys the sand dunes that several animals and plants called home, a community works together to restore the dunes in a most creative way. Includes an author's note about the ecology of the coastal sand dunes and what is being done to preserve them.

Making magic windows
Garza, Carmen Lomas
Papel picado, the art of cut paper, is shown. Learn how to hold the tissue paper and scissors. A few papel picado projects are explained including how to make papel picado with a craft knife.

Children of the northlights
D'Aulaire, Ingri//D'Aulaire, Edgar
Lise and Lasse, two Lapp children, grow up in a loving family. They encounter many daily problems such as snowstorms and going away from home. However, they still play games and tricks and have a positive attitude about life.