1. Hi-Five Animals!
Named the Best Board Book of 2018 by Parents Magazine
What's the best way to say hello to anyone you meet? A handshake? Too formal! A hug? Too scary! The answer is a hi-five, of course! With his flair for hilarious cartooning and charismatic characters, author-artist Ross Burach crafts a brilliant original concept board book that will have young children laughing and hi-fiving their way to developing critical social-emotional skills.
2. Mr. Bear's ABC
From Angel to Zeppelin, Virginie Aracil's distinctive Mr. Bear takes young children on alphabet journey like no other! Her charming and engaging art introduce memorable animals and objects that will delight readers and help them learn their ABCs. Perfect for baby showers, this gifty volume is a welcome addition to any child's library.
3. Star in the Jar
What would you do with a fallen star? When a little boy stumbles across a lost star, he decides to take care of it, putting it in a jar and carrying it with him everywhere. But when the sky calls out for its missing star, can the little boy and his sister figure out a way to return the star to its friends in the sky...even if it means saying goodbye forever?
4. Happy Birthday to You!
A 2018 Parent's Best Children's Book Selection
A group of musicians is traveling to a café for a surprise celebration. Press the buttons to hear them play their instruments . . . and join in with the whole band at the end to wish one little otter a very happy birthday! With a flute, guitar, violin, and piano, plus a rousing "big band" chorus and a splendid light-up birthday cake, this delightful little book makes the perfect birthday gift.
5. Hungry Bunny
It's fall, which means it's the perfect time for mama's apple pie. The only problem? These apples are hard to reach! But Bunny has some ideas. Young readers will delight in using the red ribbon to help Bunny reach new heights and pick those tasty apples. But the fun doesn't end there! Readers will also rock the book back and forth and turn it round and round for a one-of-a-kind roller-coaster adventure on Bunny's way home. Claudia Rueda shakes up the reading experience once again in this delightful sequel to Bunny Slopes.
6. Do Not Lick This Book*
In fact, so small that you’d need to look through a microscope to see her. Or you can simply open this book and take Min on an adventure to amazing places she’s never seen before—like the icy glaciers of your tooth or the twisted, tangled jungle of your shirt.
Written by Idan Ben-Barak, with illustrations from Julian Frost, Do Not Lick This Book is perfect for anyone who wants to take a closer look at the world.
7. The Big Book of the Blue
Following the wild success of The Big Book of Bugs and The Big Book of Beasts, The Big Book of the Blue is the third installment in Yuval Zommer's beloved series. Alongside everything the young oceanographer needs to know, Zommer's charming illustrations bring to life some of the slipperiest, scaliest, strangest, and most monstrous underwater animals.
The book opens by explaining how different types of animals are able to breathe and survive underwater, and the different families to which they belong. Subsequent pages are dedicated to specific creatures, including sea turtles, whales, sharks, stingrays, and seahorses, and show varied life in specific habitats, such as a coral reef or deep sea bed. The Big Book of the Blue also explores the underwater world thematically, looking at animals in danger, learning how to spot creatures at the beach, and discovering how to do our part to save sea life. Beautiful and filled with fascinating facts, young, curious readers won't be able to tear their eyes away from the page.
8. My Pet Wants a Pet
A charming picture book that cleverly captures a universal wish—to love and care for something—and shows that you're never too little to share in that dream, by New York Times-bestselling author Elise Broach.
Once there was a boy who wanted something to take care of. Something of his very own. He begged his mother for a puppy. Until she said YES!
The boy loved his puppy. He fed him and played with him and cuddled him. But soon, the dog wanted something to take care of—something of his very own. So the dog gets a pet cat; then the cat gets a pet bird; the bird gets a pet worm; the worm gets a pet flea . . . and on and on it goes as utter chaos ensues.
9. I Walk with Vanessa
Parents Magazine's "Best Book that Champions Kindness" of 2018!
This simple yet powerful picture book--from a New York Times bestselling husband-and-wife team--tells the story of one girl who inspires a community to stand up to bullying. Inspired by real events, I Walk with Vanessa explores the feelings of helplessness and anger that arise in the wake of seeing a classmate treated badly, and shows how a single act of kindness can lead to an entire community joining in to help. By choosing only pictures to tell their story, the creators underscore the idea that someone can be an ally without having to say a word. With themes of acceptance, kindness, and strength in numbers, this timeless and profound feel-good story will resonate with readers young and old.
10. Mae Among the Stars
An Amazon Best Book of the Month
A beautiful picture book for sharing, inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison.
A great classroom and bedtime read-aloud, Mae Among the Stars is the perfect book for young readers who have big dreams and even bigger hearts!
When Little Mae was a child, she dreamed of dancing in space. She imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding, and discovering. She wanted to be an astronaut. Her mom told her, "If you believe it, and work hard for it, anything is possible.”
Little Mae’s curiosity, intelligence, and determination, matched with her parents' encouraging words, paved the way for her incredible success at NASA as the first African American woman to travel in space. This book will inspire other young girls to reach for the stars, to aspire for the impossible, and to persist with childlike imagination.
Baby Monkey, Private Eye
A New York Times Bestselling Book
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
Parents Magazine Best Early Reader of the Year
"A marvel." --The New York Times
"Inventive... fabulously expressive..." --San Francisco Chronicle
Who is Baby Monkey?
He is a baby. He is a monkey. He has a job.
He is Baby Monkey, Private Eye! Lost jewels? Missing pizza? Stolen spaceship?
Baby Monkey can help...if he can put on his pants!
Baby Monkey's adventures come to life in an exciting blend of picture book, beginning reader, and graphic novel. With pithy text and over 120 black and white drawings accented with red, it is ideal for sharing aloud and for emerging readers.
11. Polly Diamond
"An enchanting adventure of magic and mishaps." —Kirkus Reviews
"Upbeat and lovable, Polly Diamond brings the magic of imagination to life." —Booklist, starred review
The first in a delightfully funny and magical chapter book series perfect for fans of Ivy + Bean, Amelia Bedelia, and Dory Fantasmagory!
Polly loves words. And she loves writing stories. So when a magic book appears on her doorstep that can make everything she writes happen in real life, Polly is certain all of her dreams are about to come true. But she soon learns that what you write and what you mean are not always the same thing!
12. Be Prepared
"Beautifully drawn, brutally funny, brilliantly honest. Vera is such a good cartoonist I almost can’t stand it.” —Raina Telgemeier, author of Smile
In Be Prepared, all Vera wants to do is fit in—but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there's one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp.
Vera is sure she's found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined. And nothing could prepare her for all the "cool girl" drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares!
13. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
A lightning strike gave her a super power...but even a super genius can't solve the problem of middle school. This smart and funny novel is perfect for fans of The Fourteenth Goldfish, Rain Reign, and Counting by Sevens.
Lucy Callahan's life was changed forever when she was struck by lightning. She doesn't remember it, but the zap gave her genius-level math skills, and she's been homeschooled ever since. Now, at 12 years old, she's technically ready for college. She just has to pass 1 more test--middle school!
Lucy's grandma insists: Go to middle school for 1 year. Make 1 friend. Join 1 activity. And read 1 book (that's not a math textbook!). Lucy's not sure what a girl who does calculus homework for fun can possibly learn in 7th grade. She has everything she needs at home, where nobody can make fun of her rigid routines or her super powered brain. The equation of Lucy's life has already been solved. Unless there's been a miscalculation?
A celebration of friendship, Stacy McAnulty's smart and thoughtful middle-grade debut reminds us all to get out of our comfort zones and embrace what makes us different.
The Parker Inheritance
When Candice finds a letter addressed to her grandmother in an old attic in South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. But the letter describes an injustice that happened decades ago, and the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle. Can Candice decipher the clues to find the fortune, before the answers slip into the past?
