This section includes descriptions and links to recommended picture books that make excellent feature books in different themes or are special favorites that can extend and enrich the study of a particular subject.
J - Books by author
Browse by author's last name:
The Autumn Equinox: Celebrating the Harvest
Begins with a definition of the autumnal equinox and covers historical perspectives as well as current festivities in America and other countries around the world.
The Spring Equinox
A detailed look at the history and festivals behind this special day, which occurs in the third week of March in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Summer Solstice
An interesting collection of folkloric traditions, science, and myth, generously strewn with colorful, lively illustrations.
The Winter Solstice
Interesting double-page, full-color illustrations support a reader-friendly text that introduces ancient and modern customs surrounding the winter solstice.
The Nutcracker
Lovely two-page spreads enrich the simple text relating the classic story of the Nutcracker Ballet.
I See A Kookaburra!
Boldly colored collages show six different parts of the world; eight animals (and an ant) are shown in each habitat. Can you find them all?
First Discovery Night Creatures
A First Discovery book focused on owls, bats, and several other nocturnal animals.
I Dream of Trains
Beautifully illustrated story of the son of a black sharecropper who dreams of leaving Mississippi on a train with the legendary engineer Casey Jones.
A Sweet Smell of Roses
Follow two girls as they sneak out of their house and hustle across town to a march for freedom and justice, for the civil rights movement of the 1960's.
When I Am Old With You
A child imagines being old with Granddaddy and joining him in activities like playing cards all day or eating bacon on the porch.
Wind Flyers
A young African American boy introduces his great-great-uncle, whose love for flying led him to become one of the Tuskegee airmen during WWII.
Henry Hikes to Fitchburg
While his friend works hard to earn the train fare to Fitchburg, young Henry Thoreau walks the thirty miles through woods and fields, enjoying nature.
The Boy Who Drew Cats
An artistic boy's obsession with drawing cats leads him to vanquish a mysterious demon and save his people from famine.
Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoetic Story
A nearly wordless book in which a young boy, eager to reach a holiday party, listens to the sounds of the equipment necessary to clear the way through heavy snowfall.
Alphabet City
A Caldecott Honor book with paintings of objects in an urban setting presenting the letters of the alphabet.
City by Numbers
Paintings of various sites around New York City from a shadow on a building to a wrought iron gate to the Manhattan Bridge depict numbers from 1-21.
Alice Nizzy Nazzy The Witch of Santa Fe
When Manuela's sheep are stolen she has to go to Alize Nizzy Nazzy's talking, road-runner-footed, adobe house and try to get the witch to give the flock back.
The Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea
Set in the heart of Texas, wealthy Farethee Well sets out to find a ""real"" cowboy for a husband by putting a tiny black-eyed pea under the saddles of her prospective suitors.
The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe
In colonial Massachusetts the ghost of a recently buried farmer haunts his widow's house after a dog takes one of his bones on a long journey.
Go Track a Yak
A couple of bumbling parents with a hungry baby seek help from a tricky little witch but it is a yak who provides them with their "happily ever after".
My Mexico - Mexico mio
Sway to the sounds, reach for the colors, dance to the rhythms, and you will find Mexico in these poems in both English and Spanish.
The Vanishing Pumpkin
Who snatched the pumpkin the 700-year-old woman and the 800-year-old man had grown for their holiday pie?
The Wagon
A young boy's account of harsh life as a slave on a southern plantation. He dreams the wagon his father built is a chariot; he dreams of Abraham Lincoln and freedom.
Whale Song
Counting as they sing, whales use their mighty voices to pass on to one another the numbers from one to ten.
Aardvarks, Disembark!
Noah takes roll call, aardvarks to zebras, and discovers that there are still many animals waiting to leave the Ark.
Who Lives in the Snow?
Explores the world of mites, spiders, shrews, voles, chipmunks, foxes, and other animals that live in the snow in winter.
Crocodile Beat
Rhyming text and lots of words for sounds tell about the raucous animal parade down to the river where the mean croc "sleeps and awaits his prey".
Bently and Egg
A musical frog named Bently is asked to watch over his duck friend's egg and has many adventures trying to save it from an "eggnapper".
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Book-loving Mr. Morris Lessmore, whose personal library is blown away in a terrible wind, finds meaning in his life caring for the books he finds in a marvelous library.
The Numberlys
Once upon a time there was no alphabet, only numbers… Life was orderly. Dull as gray paint. Very…numberly. But five friends weren’t willing to accept that this was all there could be and set out to find MORE.
Santa Calls
Art Aimesworth receives a mysterious summons from Santa Claus and he shares a Christmas adventure with his sister that brings them closer together.
Red Sled
A group of charming woodland creatures take a child's sled for a nighttime joy ride in this nearly wordless book.
The Fascinating World of Butterflies and Moths
Profusely illustrated introduction to the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of various kinds of butterflies and moths.