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.
N - Books by author
Browse by author's last name:
Flying Machine
Vivid photos and lively captions document humankind's age-old desire to fly; explain the principles behind lift, drag, and thrust; and reveal the inner and outer workings of everything from gliders and hot-air balloons to helicopters and fighter planes.
Mama Miti
A story inspired by the life of 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan woman who helped to bring trees back to a sadly deforested country.
Ready to Dream
Ally is visiting Australia for the summer, and learns about art from Pauline, a shamanlike Aboriginal painter.
Bugs and Beasties
An alphabetically arranged collection of familiar and unusual creatures shown in the bright colors and appealing patterns. Includes both upper and lower case letters.
Fall
Wonderful fall photographs in this science emergent reader
I'm Taking a Trip on My Train
Simple cumulative verse and clear rebus illustrations invite imaginative play as a locomotive engineer while building vocabulary and basic reading skills.
Jacket I Wear in the Snow
Repetitive rhyming text with rebus pictures keeps adding pieces of clothing one wears to keep warm on a snowy winter day outside.
When Autumn Falls
Tells why the autumn is aptly nicknamed--falling leaves, falling apples, falling football players, falling temperatures . . .
A Bellbird in a Flame Tree
The Twelve Days of Christmas with an decidedly Australian twist.
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The story of Wangari Maathai
A stirring biography of Wangari Maathai, Nobel Prize winner in 2004, which focuses on her efforts to reforest Kenya through empowering women.
John Blair and the Great Hinckley Fire
Based on a true story of bravery and duty, this book tells how a porter helped save many lives when the train he was working was caught in a horrendous firestorm near Hinckley, MN, in 1894.
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash
When Jimmy's unusual pet accompanies him on the class field trip things on the farm will never be the same.
Who Took the Farmer's Hat?
The wind blew away the farmer’s favorite hat. The animals have seen some strange things flying through the air but not the hat.
The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh
In the time of the Irish potato famine, Fergus and his family left for America. On the journey, he whittled the branch from a blackthorn tree into a shillelagh and each St. Patrick's Day told his story of coming to America and of the shillelagh that brought some of Ireland with him.
Eyewitness: Dinosaur
Text and photographs explore the world of the dinosaurs, from their physical traits to reasons they may have gone extinct.
The Highwayman
Dramatic, colorful illustrations for the famous poem story of the highwayman and his doomed love for Bess, the landlord's black-eyed daughter.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
The consequences of giving a cookie to an energetic mouse continue to pile up on the young host as the fun comes full circle.
If You Take a Mouse to School
The cheerful little rodent in blue bib overalls wants to spend a day at school. First, he’ll want your lunchbox . . . Then he'll need a notebook . . .
The Last Dragon
While spending a summer in Chinatown with his great-aunt, a young boy finds an old ten-man dragon in a shop and gets a number of people to help him repair it.