Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change by Michelle Cook, with illustrations by a variety of talented artists, is an excellent book for Black History Month, or any time of year you want to have a conversation with your child about the monumental achievements of African Americans throughout our country’s history. Beginning with the buffalo soldiers of the civil war, and ending with the election of Barack Obama and a promise of hope for the future, it features such heroes as George Washington Carver, Jesse Owens, Ruby Bridges, Ella Fitzgerald, and Thurgood Marshall, who all lead the way to inspire generations after them to dream and succeed. This is an upliftifting and powerful book, that may even bring tears to your eyes! See this book listed in our catalog
True Stories
Actual Size
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Is your eye as big as a giant squid’s? Is your nose as big as a bear’s? Are your teeth as big a great white shark’s? Find out the answers to these questions and more within the pages of Actual Size an amazing work of nonfiction for the pre-school crowd by Steve Jenkins. Actual Size features illustrations of animals scaled to life, so you can compare your body parts with those of fantastic wild life. There are even flip out pages so you can see just how long a crocodile’s mouth is (23 feet), or how big a Goliath frog is (36 inches with legs extended)! You can measure your hand to that of a huge gorilla, or a tiny pygmy mouse lemur. You can even see what it’d be like to be face-to-face with a Siberian tiger, the biggest of the big cats! Actual Size is a hoot for kids of all ages! See this book listed in our catalog
A Friend Like You
Submitted by Carol from Charlotte Hall!
A Friend Like You by Tanja Askani is a very cute book about friendship. The author photographed all the animals in the book, and also keeps many of the animals at her home. The story is very simple, and just tells basically what it means to be a friend, but the pictures really make the book. The pictures are absolutely adorable. In the back of the book there is a section that tells the reader about the author, and all the animals. It is very interesting and educational! See this book listed in our catalog
Tarra & Bella
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
I am a sucker for true stories about animals overcoming odds, and because of this Tarra & Bella the Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends really pulled at my heartstrings. Tarra the elephant used be a star of stage and screen, but has since retired to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. There are several other elephants there, all of which have a best friend. But Tarra did not have a best friend. Until Bella showed up. Bella was a stray dog that surprisingly was not intimidated by Tarra’s huge size. They started spending all their time together! They ate together, played together, and slept together. But one day something awful happened. Bella was hurt! She had to be taken away to a veterinarian, who said she would probably never walk again. Tarra waited at the spot she last saw Bella for days, then finally went in search of her friend. She amazingly walked right to the barn where Bella was recuperating! Bella howled for her friend, and finally the zookeepers carried her downstairs. The friends were reunited, and you know what? Bella got better! To this day Tarra and Bella are still best friends! See this book listed in our catalog
Bedtime in the Jungle
Submitted by Tammy, driver of the WoW van!
Bedtime in the Jungle by John Butler. The sun is starting to set in the jungle as bedtime approaches for the baby animals. The daylight in the background gradually disappears on each page as the moon gently rises and the stars appear in the night sky. Children will be delighted as the animal mothers gather their babies close to settle them for the night. Using soft words of comfort inspired by the song “Over in the Meadow” each mother encourages her little one(s) to go to sleep. All of the animals are depicted in their natural settings, in soothing shades that are sure to calm young children and encourage them to sleep. See this book listed in our catalog
The Composer Is Dead
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
The Composer Is Dead is a wonderful book by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Carson Ellis, and featuring music by Nathaniel Stookey! As the title indicates, the composer is, well, decomposing, and it’s up to one handsome and intelligent inspector to find the culprit. He will question the entire orchestra! Is the murderer lurking in the strings? No–they were performing waltzes all night. How about the woodwinds? Inspector thinks they’re pretty sneaky until the clarinets compliment the shiny buttons on his jacket. It might be the brass! But they were off playing important songs, as they boisterously proclaim. It must be the conductor! Wherever you find a conductor you find a dead composer! Beethoven, Bach, Brahms–all dead! Actually, anyone who plays an instrument is guilty of butchering a composer every now and then… If you want justice, go to the police, “but those who want something a little more interesting should go to the orchestra!” See this book listed in our catalog