Children's Staff Picks 2015

Preschool Picture Books


Morris Mickelwhite and the Tangerine DressBaldacchino, Christine. Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress
A young boy faces adversity from classmates when he wears an orange dress at school.

 

Sam and Dave Dig a HoleBarnett, Mac. Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
Sam and Dave are sure they will discover something exciting if they just keep digging their hole.

 

The Baby TreeBlackall, Sophie.The Baby Tree
After learning that his parents are expecting a baby, a young boy asks several people where babies come from and gets a different answer from each before his parents have a chance to give the right answer.

 

FlashlightBoyd, Lizi. Flashlight
In this story without words, a boy explores the woods after dark with a flashlight.

 

PicnicBurningham, John. Picnic
Boy and Girl have a busy day when they go on a picnic.

 

Draw!Colón,Raúl. Draw
In this wordless picture book, a boy who is confined to his room fills his sketch pad with lions and elephants, then imagines himself on a safari.

 

GAstonDiPucchio, Kelly. Gaston
A proper bulldog raised in a poodle family and a tough poodle raised in a bulldog family meet one day in the park.

 

The Farmer and the ClownFrazee, Marla. The Farmer and the Clown
A wordless picture book in which a farmer rescues a baby clown who's bounced off the circus train, and reunites him with his clown family.

 

Bad Bye, Good ByeUnderwood, Deborah. Bad Bye, Good Bye
Illustrations and simple, rhyming text follow a family as they move to a new town.

 

Hooray for Hat!Won, Brian. Hooray for Hat
Elephant wakes up in a grumpy mood, but a present on his doorstep--a hat--cheers him and he sets out to greet his neighbors who all, it seems, need hats of their own.

 

K to 2nd Grade


Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall GorillaApplegate, Katherine.  Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
The true story of Ivan, known as the Shopping Mall Gorilla, who lived alone in a small cage for almost 30 years before being relocated to the gorilla habitat at ZooAtlanta.

 

Beebe, Katy. Brother Hugo and the Bear
After painstakingly handcrafting a replacement copy of a library book, a medieval monk tries to protect it from a hungry bear with a taste for literature. Includes historical note on illuminated manuscripts.

 

Hidden : a child's story of the HolocaustDauviller, Loic. Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust
A grandmother shares the story of her experiences in WWII with her grandchild in this graphic novel for young readers.

 

Tiny creatures : the world of microbesDavies, Nicola. Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes
Looks at all the different microbes that inhabit the Earth and examines the varied jobs they do.

 

Grandfather GandhiGandhi, Arun.. Grandfather Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi's grandson tells the story of how his grandfather taught him to turn darkness into light in this uniquely personal and vibrantly illustrated tale that carries a message of peace.

 

Dory FantasmagoryHanlon, Abby. Dory Fantasmagory
Dory, the youngest in her family, is a girl with a very active imagination, and she spends the summer playing with her imaginary friend, pretending to be a dog, battling monsters, and generally driving her family nuts.

 

Once upon an alphabetJeffers, Oliver.  Once upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters
From an Astronaut who's afraid of heights, to a Bridge that ends up burned between friends, to a Cup stuck in a cupboard and longing for freedom, this series of interconnected stories and characters explores the alphabet.

 

All different now : Juneteenth, the first day of freedomJohnson, Angela. All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom
In 1865, members of a family start their day as slaves, working in a Texas cotton field, and end it celebrating their freedom on what came to be known as Juneteenth.


Ling and Ting: Twice as SillyLin, Grace. Ling & Ting: Twice as Silly
The beloved twins from the Geisel Honor book Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! and Ling & Ting Share a Birthday are back to share their favorite funny stories with beginning readers.

 

The Book with No PicturesNovak, B. J.  The Book with No Pictures
In this book with no pictures, the reader has to say every silly word, no matter what.

 

Neighborhood sharksRoy, Katherine. Neighborhood sharks : Hunting with Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands
An up close look at the ocean's most fearsome and famous predator and the scientists who study them--just twenty-six miles from the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

Rules of SummerTan, Shaun. Rules of Summer
Two boys explain the occasionally mysterious "rules" they learned over the summer, like never eat the last olive at a party, never ruin a perfect plan, and never give your keys to a stranger.
 

3rd to 5th Grade


El DeafoBell, Cece. El Deafo
Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! 

 

GravityChin, Jason. Gravity
What keeps objects from floating out of your hand? What if your feet drifted away from the ground? What stops everything from floating into space? Gravity, the invisible force that causes objects to attract each other.

 

Chicken SquadCronin, Doreen. Chicken Squad: the First Misadventure
When the squirrel Tail comes barreling into the chicken coop ranting about a round, shiny, green, big, scary thing in the yard, Dirt, Sweetie, Poppy, and Sugar investigate this strange object.

 

The Fourteenth GoldfishHolm, Jenifer. The Fourteenth Goldfish
Ellie's scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager--which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.

 

Eye to eye : how animals see the worldJenkins, Steve. Eye to Eye: How Animals See the World
Profiles a series of animals with unusual eyes and explains how such animals use their uniquely evolved eyes to gain essential information about the biological world.

 

Mark of the DragonflyJohnson, Jaleigh. Mark of the Dragonfly
Since her father's death in a factory in the Dragonfly territories, thirteen-year-old Piper has eked out a living as a scrapper in Merrow Kingdom, but the arrival of a mysterious girl sends her on a dangerous journey to distant lands.

 

Here I AmKim, Patti. Here I am
Tells the story in pictures of a family newly immigrated to the United Sates and the challenges of starting a life in a new place.

 

The misadventures of the family FletcherLevy, Dana. The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
Relates the adventures of a family with two fathers, four adopted boys, and a variety of pets as they make their way through a school year, Kindergarten through sixth grade, and deal with a grumpy new neighbor.

 

Rain ReignMartin, Ann M. Rain Reign
Struggling with Asperger's, Rose shares a bond with her beloved dog, but when the dog goes missing during a storm, Rose is forced to confront the limits of her comfort levels, even if it means leaving her routines in order to search for her pet.
 

SistersTelgemeier, Raina. Sisters
In a semi-autobiographical graphic novel, Raina's disappointing bond with a cranky, independent younger sister is further challenged by the arrival of a baby brother and an estrangement in their parents' marriage.

 

6th  to 8th Grade

Bugged : how insects changed historyAlbee, Sarah. Bugged: How Insects Changed History
The creators of Poop Happened! share an irreverent, fact-filled chronicle of the rivalry between the human and insect worlds that draws on myriad disciplines to explain the varying roles that bugs have played in building and toppling empires as well as the bug stories behind infamous disasters.

 

The CrossoverAlexander, Kwame. The Crossover
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.

 

The Night GardenerrAuxier, Jonathan. The Night Gardener
Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.

 

CuriosityBlackwood, Gary. Curiosity
In 1835, when his father is put in a Philadelphia debtor's prison, 12-year-old chess prodigy Rufus Goodspeed is relieved to be recruited to secretly operate a chess-playing automaton named The Turk, but soon questions the fate of his predecessors and his own safety.

 

Kinda like brothers Booth, Coe. Kinda Like Brothers
When his mother takes in a twelve-year-old foster boy, Jarrett is forced to share his room and his friends with the new boy.

 

The madman of Piney Woods Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Madman of Piney Woods
Even though it is now 1901, the people of Buxton, Canada (originally a settlement of runaway slaves) and Chatham, Canada are still haunted by two events of half a century before--the American Civil War, and the Irish potato famine, and the lasting damage those events caused to the survivors.

 

The story of Owen : dragon slayer of TrondheimJohnston, E.K. The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim
In an alternate world where industrialization has caused many species of carbon-eating dragons to thrive, Owen, a slayer being trained by his famous father and aunt, and Siobahn, his bard, face a dragon infestation near their small town in Canada.

 

Call of the Klondike : a true Gold Rush adventureMeissner, David. Call of the Klondike: A True Gold Rush Adventure
The true story of Stanley Pearce and Marshall Bond--two young prospectors who made the dangerous journey to the Yukon to look for gold.

 

Port Chicago 50Sheinkin, Steve. Port Chicago 50
On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution. 

 

Brown Girl DreamingWoodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming
The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South.