Skip to main content
  • Tags: accomplishment
Silent days, silent dreams
Say, Allen
Bob shares the life story of his Uncle Jim, a deaf artist with immense talent and determination to find ways to communicate. During his childhood, Uncle Jim’s parents were unsupportive of his passion for art and they sent him to the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind with his sister. Bob never learned to speak, read, write, or use sign language. Ultimately, Bob went to art school where he shared his Uncle Jim’s work which was displayed in a gallery and sold to the public.

March on! The day my brother Martin changed the world
Farris, Christine
Christine King Farris, the sister of Martin Luther King Jr., watched her brother during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. She describes her brother’s journey from writing his “I Have a Dream” speech to joining the crowds in their demand for freedom. She was moved by her brother’s persistence and success in persuading millions to believe in and fight for a better tomorrow in which all men are created equal.

My tooth is about to fall out
Maccarone, Grace
A little girl describes her wiggly tooth and all the places where she doesn't want it to fall out. Then, while she is eating spaghetti, the tooth falls into her bowl and a giant hole is left in her mouth. That night, she places the tooth that fell out under her pillow, and the Tooth Fairy leaves her a nice little surprise for her in the morning!

Loudmouth George and the sixth-grade bully
Carlson, Nancy
George's first day of school is ruined by Big Mike, who bullies George and steals his lunch. All week, George does everything he can to keep Big Mike happy. However, George can't live in fear forever! George and his friend Harriet spend the weekend devising a plan to stop Big Mike and his evil ways.

What planet are you from, Clarice Bean?
Child, Lauren
Clarice Bean is having a hard time coming up with an idea for her project on the environment. To make matters worse, she is paired up with her tag-along neighbor, Robert Granger. Her situation looks hopeless until her brother becomes an ecowarrior in an effort to free the tree from being cut down in their neighborhood. Robert and Clarice become ecowarriors themselves, saving the tree and their project.

Ruby's wish
Bridges, Shirin Yim
Ruby is known for wearing red and being an exceptionally bright student. Even during a time in China when ...most girls were never taught to read and write. However, Ruby's grandfather hires a teacher to come to the house, making it possible for any grandchild living in the house to learn. This initiates a desire in Ruby to attend university, a place that women in China were not encouraged to go.\r\n*Based on a true story of the author's grandmother.


Home
Baker, Jeannie
From the day of her birth until the times of her adulthood, Tracy moves outside and inside her house experiencing important milestones. Through the same window scene, her neighborhood develops and matures with plants and animals. (A wordless book).

Girl wonder: A baseball story in nine innings
Hopkinson, Deborah
Alta's dream of becomming a professional baseball player comes true. She proves that it doesn't matter if you're a girl, you can still be just as talented. After pitching for an Ohio semipro baseball team in 1907, Alta goes on to become a doctor like her dad.

The greatest potatoes
Stowell, Penelope
Cornelius Vanderbilt sets out on a mission to find the best potato dish ever. He travels around and finds none that are good enough. Vanderbilt goes to Cary Moon's Restaurant, where George Crum is the head chef. Crum makes many dishes that Vanderbilt does not like. Crum decides to make the potatoes so crispy and salty, so he will not like them. Vanderbilt loves them and that is how the potato chip is invented.

A negro league scrapbook
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Through the use of photographs, narrations, and an inspiring poem, the history of African Americans in baseball unfolds. The struggles and triumphs they have experienced in the past have helped to establish the sport that we know today.

Dangerous crossing
Krensky, Stephen
Showing no signs of fear, young Johnny Adams boards a ship with his father, the future second President of the United States, for a voyage from Massachusetts to Paris to gain support for the colonies. Their journey is depicted with vivid pictures and an exciting storyline portraying the battles, harsh weather and seasickness endured along the way by two key Presidents in U.S. history.

Lady monster has a plan
Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann
Monster and the little boy have too many pets. They try to build a house for all of them, but they need help. Lady monster and the little girl come to help and they all cooperate to build the animal house.

Prudy's problem and how she solved it
Armstrong-Ellis, Carey
Prudy loves to collect things. But unlike most kids who collect only a few things, Prudy collects everything. Some things are even unsanitary. One day her enormous collection becomes too much for her to handle. She must come up with an idea on what to do with all her stuff. Finally she has it. She solves her problem by creating a collection museum. Here her collection can be neat, orderly and seen by everyone.

How the amazon queen fought the prince of Egypt
Bower, Tamara
The land of Khor was a peaceful place free of men, in which woman could live side by side in harmony. One day, Pedikhous, of Egpyt decides to test the strength of the women through various attacks. To his surprise the women are stronger and more determined than he ever imagined. Instead of fighting against them, de decides to live in peace and love beside them.

Papa's latkes
Edwards, Michelle
A Jewish family deals with the recent death of their mother and wife, while trying to keep their Chanukan traditions alive. Each family member deals with their emotions. They work as a single parent family to move on, while embracing their traditions of the past.

Alec's primer
Pitts-Walter, Mildred
Alec was a slave who wanted to be free. Ms. Josephine, one of his masters and three years older than him, told Alic if he wanted to be free he needed to learn to read. Ms. Josephine taught him to read and when Alec was old enough he couragously fights in the Civil War and obtained his freedom.

Sky boys: How they built the empire state building
Hopkinson, Deborah
A boy watches in amazement as the Empire State Building is built. When the building is completed he goes to the top with his father to see all of the New York City.

Earth day - hooray!
Murphy, Stuart J.
Ryan, Carly, and Luke set out to clean up Gilroy Park for an Earth Day celebration. They decide to plant flowers to beautify the park while collecting cans to raise money through recycling. The children use math and find school resources to help them with their project.

Amelia to zora
Chin-Lee, Cynthia
Explore in an alphabet formula, biographies that examine different successes and triumphs of famous women in history from Amelia Earhart to Zora Neale.

Snow day
Fain, Moira
Maggie is very embarrassed when her teacher, Sister Agatha Ann, punishes her for drawing on her desk. She must write a poem and recite it for the class the following day. All night she worries about her unfinished homework, but the next day she wakes up to a snow day!Through her fun in the snow and the help from her teacher, Maggie discovers her own special way of writing poetry.

Cocoa ice
Appelbaum, Diana
A young girl from Maine and a young girl from Santa Domingo learn about each other's home through Jacob the Sailor. The girl from Santa Domingo describes how to make chocolate, and the girl from Maine tells about making ice.

Willie and the all-stars
Cooper, Floyd
Willie is a young African American boy who learns about discrimination against black baseball players. Willie's fear of prejudice will prevent him from being a famous baseball player. Willie receives tickets to attend a Negro league game and realizes that maybe his dream is possible.

The hallelujah flight
Bildner, Phil
James Banning fixes up an old plane to fly across the country from California to New York. James's courage and perseverance allows him to overcome many challenges during his 1932 trek across the United States (e.g., California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York).

Allie's basketball dream
Barber, Barbara
Allie loves basketball, but she is often the only girl on the court. Buddy and other boys tease Allie about playing basketball. Allie believes in her ability and keeps practicing so that one day she can be better at basketball than the boys!

Octavia and her purple ink cloud
Rathmell, Donna//Rathmell, Doreen
Octavia Octopus and her sea-animal friends love playing camouflage games to practice how they would hide from a モbig, hungry creature.ヤ Octavia, however, just cannot seem to get her colors right when she tries to shoot her purple ink cloud. What happens when the big, hungry shark shows up looking for his dinner? Learn your basic colors along with the camouflage techniques of various sea animals, and you'll be on your way to being a marine biologist!

Papa's mark
Battle-Lavert, Gwendolyn
Simms teaches his father how to write. For many years, Simm's father struggled when writing his own name. However, Papa learns just in time so he can vote in the first election which gave Blacks the right to vote.

The village in the valley of darkness
Mashiri, Pascal
I want to see my people in the village. It is no fun to search alone. At last, I can see the light.ヤ During my travel, a dog at my side with brother and I. People in the village are thankful and at peace!

Memorial day surprise
Golding, Theresa Martin
Marco and his mother are off to see the Memorial Day parade! Today, mother is in a hurry because she has a special surprise for Marco. She is in such a hurry that they don't have time to see Marco's grandfather. Once they reach the parade, Marco sees his two best friends which he believes is the surprise. Yet, they are not the surprise his mother has in store for him. Neither is the marching band, fire engine, Statue of Liberty, or candy. Marco could never imagine the surprise in store for him at the end of the parade!

John Philip Duck
Polacco, Patricia
Edward and his father work at a hotel and return home on the weekends. One weekend, Edward finds a motherless duckling near the pond. Edward is permitted by his father to take the duck to work, only if he keeps it out of the hotel managerメs sight. When the manager discovers the duck, Edward saves the day by showing the manager how he has trained the duck to march to music by John Philip Sousa. Edward trains many more ducks to live in the hotel fountain.

Sometimes my mommy gets angry
Campbell, Bebe Moore
When Annie wakes up in the morning, she is relieved to find her euphoric mother in the kitchen. They share a healthy breakfast, then her mother helps her get ready for school. After a fun day at school, Annie comes home to an angry and yelling mother. Annie copes by calling her grandmother to talk about her feelings. She takes care of herself and maintains a positive attitude with happy thoughts. She uses effective strategies to accept her motherメs bipolar disorder.

A new improved Santa
Wolff, Patricia
Santa is determined to become a new and improved Santa. He changes his hair, loses weight, and changes his clothing style. The children are not happy with his changes; they want the old Santa back.

The balloon sailors
Swanson, Diana
When bickering princes take the throne, the kingdom is split in two by a wall so that each brother rules half. The kingdom is divided and it is illegal for people to cross the wall. Since Tamala and Abalon are forbidden to see their grandmother and cousin on the other side of the wall, they decide to float over it in a hot air balloon. They work with their parents to collect materials, build the balloon, and wait for the perfect weather conditions. The family departs during the night, escapes military fire from soldiers, and surprises their relatives in the morning. This adventure is loosely based on the true story of two East German families sailing over the Berlin Wall in their own hot air balloon in 1979.

Wee and the wright brothers
Gaffney, Timothy
An educational story told from Wee the mouse's point of view, of how the Wright brothers succeeded in flight. Wee, an ambitious mouse, tells the story in a humorous yet detailed way of the historical Wright brothers and their flying machine.

Lady monster helps out
Blance, Ellen & Cook, Ann
Monster gets a bike for his birthday. Monster doesn't know how to ride a bike. He is discouraged. The little boy and his friends try to help him, but he is too big. Lady monster comes to help and encourages him. Monster learns how to ride his bike just like all the others in the park.

The big game
Gikow, Louise A.
Jose is a young boy who likes to play soccer everyday. He has trouble kicking the ball and running, but he still has fun. He becomes the goalie, stops the ball, and wins the game for his team.

Pie for piglets: Counting by twos
Dahl, Michael
Two pigs decide to make a pie. They put in many different ingredients two-by-two.

One big building
Dahl, Michael
Children learn about the importance of teamwork, cooperation, and goal-setting as an entire twelve-story building is constructed from an initial simple plan. Numbers one through twelve illustrate the entire building process in a fun and strategic way.

The dot
Reynolds, Peter H.
A little girl talks herself into believing she can't draw. She won't even try. Her teacher slowly coaxes her to at least try. Soon her effort snowballs into success. She passes on her confidence to another doubting student.

Karate hour
Nevius, Carol
A group of children practice karate. They kick, punch, chant and roll as they learn the value of self discipline, respect, and self esteem in both self and others.

Clean your room, harvey moon!
Cummings, Pat
Harvey Moon's room is a mess. His mother makes him clean it up all day on Saturday and he must miss his favorite television shows. Although he was upset he had to clean, he feels a sense of accomplishment in the end.

My rows and piles of coins
Mollel, Tololwa M.
What would you buy if your mother gave you some money? Saruni wants a bicycle- a bicycle of his very own! Saruni saves his coins and works hard to help his mother. Unfortunately, Saruni is disappointed because he does not have enough to buy his very own bicycle. Where there is a will, there is a way, so Saruni finally gets a bicycle to help his mother to the Tanzanian market.

Recycle every day!
Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth
Through a poster contest at school, Minna and her family discover many ways they can recycle. Many of the other contestants' posters demonstrate ways to recycle, however Minna ultimately wins the contest through her poster that reminds everyone to re-re-remember, re-re-recycle every day.

In my momma's kitchen
Nolen, Jerdine
A young girl's fondest memories happen in her momma's kitchen. Achievements, family, stories, cooking and love are all celebrated in the kitchen. Great-Aunt Caroline, corn-pudding time and nighttime serenades are a few of the special moments in this loving family.

Roy makes a car: Based on a story collected by Zora Neale Hurston
Lyons, Mary
Roy Tyle is known around town as the best mechanic in Florida. Roy makes it his mission to create a car that will be accident proof. No one in the town believes him, but Roy proves them wrong time and time again. Roy's creativity and perseverance leads to the making of the best cars in the area.

Hometown hero
Aiello, Barbara//Shulman, Jeffrey
Scott Whittaker recounts the events between Thanksgiving and Christmas in his diary. He starts a karate club at school and meets Bill Walters, a homeless man who was the quarterback of the local high school football team in 1967 The book ends with questions and answers about asthma.

Kenny and the little kickers
Marzollo, Claudio
It's the first day of soccer. Kenny doesn't want to play, but he goes to practice anyway. At first he's a little nervous and doesn't play very well. With his coach's help and encouragement, he quickly becomes the best kicker on the team.

Heroes
Mochizuki, Ken
Donnie is always the bad guy when he plays war with his friends. They think because Donnie is Japanese American that he should be the enemy. When his father and uncle take a trip to school, they prove they can be heroes too.

The little fish that got away
Cook, Bernadine
A little boy goes fishing and catches a great, great big fish, a great big fish and a big fish. A little fish was too smart for the boy and gets away.

Big pumpkin
Silverman, Erica
A witch plants a pumpkin in hopes of making a pumpkin pie one day. The pumpkin becomes so large it takes several people to move the pumpkin. The new friends all enjoy the pie together. The witch plants another seed for next year.