BEST OF 2016
J Nonfiction
J028.5S. Schulze, Bianca. 101 Books To Read Before You Grow Up. Walter Foster. A
comprehensive list of kid-friendly books for children to read before they grow up. This mustread review list acts as an interactive journal where kids can document the books they read,
why they like them, and how they rate them. The perfect reference guide to help both kids
and parents decide which books to read next!
J031S. Sayre, April Pulley. The Slowest Book Ever. Boyds Mills Press. This is a S-L-O-W book.
Do not read it while surfing, water skiing, or running to escape giant weasels. Readers will
explore an astounding variety of information about all things slow—in nature, geology, art,
outer space, etc. As Sayre shows: If you think slowly enough, the entire world is amazing.”
J155.93Z. Zucker, Bonnie. Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide To
Understanding Death. Magination Press. No one likes to think about it, but explaining death
to a toddler can be a difficult task. This book on death is written for two- and three-year-olds.
The author describes in simple terms what happens when someone dies.
J332.02M. McKenna, James. How To Turn $100 Into $1,000,000: Earn! Invest! Save!
Workman Publishing. Want to become a millionaire? Learn how to make it, save it and grow it.
J344.73R. Rubin, Susan Goldman. Brown v. Board of Education: A Fight For Simple Justice. A
Holiday House Book. In 1954, one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions of the
twentieth Century aimed to end school segregation in the United States. Here is the story of the
many people who stood up to racial inequality, some risking significant danger and hardship,
and of careful strategizing by the NAACP.
J355.12K. Kerley, Barbara. Brave Like Me. National Geographic. When someone is serving
our country, far from home, everyone in their family has to be brave. Including -- and
sometimes especially -- the kids. This book speaks to all kids in this situation in telling the story
of a boy and a girl with parents away on duty. It captures the children's worries, fears, trials,
and triumphs while waiting for their parents to return from service.
J363.73A. Ajmera, Maya. Every Breath We Take: A Book About Air. Charlesbridge. The first
step to cherishing something is recognizing its importance and understanding why it is
necessary. Photographs of children, animals, and plants from around the world underscore the
importance of clean air to all life on earth.
J387.73B Brown, Lisa. The Airport Book. A Neal Porter Book. Follow a family through all the
inner and outer workings of an airport. From checking bags to security clearance and a
seemingly endless wait at the gate to finally being airborne. But wait! The youngest family
member's sock monkey has gone missing. Watch as it makes a journey as memorable as that of
the humans above.
J391.2C. Croll, Jennifer. Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels From Cleopatra To Lady Gaga.
Annick Press. The title says it all: Bad Girls of Fashion explores the lives of ten famous women
who have used clothing to make a statement, change perceptions, break rules, attract power,
or express their individuality. Included are Marie Antoinette, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich,
Madonna, and Rihanna.
J398.2N. Napoli, Donna Jo. Tales From The Arabian Nights: Stories Of Adventure, Magic,
Love, and Betrayal. National Geographic. Discover (or rediscover) the thrilling stories of
royalty, sages, monsters and magicians that will excite and delight readers again and again.
J428.1N. Niemann, Christoph. Words: More than 300 words to discover, imagine, and READ!
Greenwillow Books. What can you do with a word? You can . . .Read it. Spell it. Imagine it. Act
it. Learn it. Draw it. Say it out loud. Use it in a sentence or a story or a poem. What can you do
with this book, which is full of more than 300 words? All of the above, and more!
J508M. Maguire, Kay. Nature’s Day: Discover the world of wonder on your doorstep. Wide
Eyed Editions. Visit eight outdoor locations throughout the year and discover how wildlife is
changing, season by season. So grab a hat and get outside to see what’s happening!
J551M. Mizielinska, Aleksandra. Under Earth, Under Water. Big Picture Press. Dive below
the surface and find out what happens under earth and under sea—from early submarines and
deep-sea life to burrowing animals and man-made tunnels. You will never look at the world in
the same way again!
J577.3S. Schaefer, Lola M. Because of an Acorn. Chronicle Books. Because of an acorn, a tree
grows, a bird nests, a seed becomes a flower. Wander down the forest path to learn how every
tree, flower, plant and animal is connected. An acorn is just the beginning.
J578.7P. Parker, Steve & John Haslam. A Journey Through Nature. QEB Publishing. Take a
journey from your doorstep to distant lands. See a pond frog catching flies, a bear leaving its
woodland den, and elephants grazing the African grasslands, as this delightful visual safari
transports you through the varied habitats of the planet.
J580H. Hirsch, Rebecca. Plants Can’t Sit Still. Millbrook Press. Plants can wiggle, creep, whirl
and hide. Flowers can bloom in moonlight. Seeds can even hitch a ride in your sock! Whatever
they do, plants can’t sit still. A playful exploration of how restless nature really is.
J590J. Jenkins, Steve. Animals By The Numbers: A Book Of Animal Infographics. Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt. How many species are there across the globe? How much do all of the insects
in the world collectively weigh? How far can animals travel? Steve Jenkins answers these
questions and many more with numbers, images, innovation, and authoritative science.
J590.14E. Esbaum, Jill. Animal Groups. National Geographic. A celebration of polar bears! A
party of orangutans! What do we call a group of penguins? A group of zebras? A group of
giraffes?
J590.3B. Barman, Adrienne. Creaturepedia: Welcome To The Greatest Show On Earth. Wide
Eyed Editions. Meet a colorful cast of creatures that bring together the most impressive, iconic,
and amazing animals from around the world. Which one catches your eye?
J590.74O. O’Connell, Caitlin. Bridge To The Wild: Behind The Scenes At The Zoo. Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt. Listen to the morning symphony that greets you as you enter the front gate.
Then, step onto a leafy path that leads to a secret world of animals, each of whom you won’t
want to forget, here at the Atlanta Zoo.
J591.02H. Hegbrook, Thomas. StoryWorlds Nature. 360 Degrees. A wordless picture book
invites young readers to use their imaginations to explore the beauty and wonder of nature, in
a volume that uses striking artwork to convey how animals and insects in their natural
surroundings change as they pass through the seasons and their own life cycles.
J591.47K. Keating, Jess. Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals.
Alfred A. Knopf. Sure, pink is the color of princesses and bubble gum, but it’s also the color of
monster slugs, naked mole rats and blobfish. Isn’t it about time to rethink pink?
J591.7B. Brown, Laaren. Animal Bites: Polar Animals. Animal Planet. With more than 200
gorgeous animal photos of penguins, polar bears, sea lions, walruses, reindeer and others, Animal Planet
Polar Animals is a fun, habitat-by-habitat guide that provides kids in the first years of schooling with the
perfect bite-sized view of their favorite animals living in both polar climates. (Others in series)
J597.3D. Davey, Owen. Smart About Sharks. Flying Eye Books. Did you know that sharks can
detect electrical currents from other creatures? Or that some are covered in tassels? Sharks
are pretty incredible – some can even walk out of the water!
J599.36S. Sayre, April Pulley. Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep. Henry Holt and Company. If
you followed a squirrel for a day, what would you see? Climbing branches, storing seeds,
making homes in tree holes, and maybe even flying! Discover different kinds of squirrels as the
scamper, eat, and—finally—sleep.
J599.76L. London, Jonathan. Otters Love to Play. Candlewick Press. Follow the otters
through the seasons as they chase one another, slide down a mudbank, jump in a pile of leaves,
and learn to swim. Even while catching fish for their dinner or grooming themselves in the
snow, otters love to play.
J613.7G. Gates, Mariam. Good Morning Yoga: a pose-by-pose wake up story. Sounds True.
Yoga helps children learn how to focus, relax, and both self-monitor and self-soothe. Good Morning
Yoga instills these four skills and more, enabling children to jumpstart the day with excitement and meet
the adventures that come with mindfulness and perspective
J623.85G. Alpha Bravo Charlie: The Complete Book of Nautical Codes. Phaidon. An
introduction to maritime communication through nautical flags, along with Morse code, the
phonetic alphabet, and semaphore signaling. . Each flag, boldly colored for visual distinction at
sea, stands for a letter as well as a phrase relevant to seafaring. The resulting code is both
beautiful and functional, inviting readers to code and decode messages of their own!
J629.89S. Everything Robotics: All The Robotic Photos, Facts, And Fun! National Geographic
Kids. They fix spacecraft, dance, tell jokes, and even clean your carpet! From the tiniest robobees to gigantic factory machines, robotics is all around you. This technology isn't just for
science-fiction anymore -- it's real and more relevant than ever.
J635.08C. Cornell, Kari. The Nitty-Gritty Gardening Book: Fun Projects for All Seasons.
Millbrook Press. Kids will enjoy learning about mapping sunlight, testing soil pH, and choosing
native plants to fill diverse garden spaces. These simple, inexpensive seasonal projects are
designed to inspire minds, busy hands, and yield edifying results. Planting in pots or prepping a
patch of yard has never been so fun.
J641.3R. Rotner, Shelley: Grow! Raise! Catch! How We Get Our Food. Holiday House Book.
Who grows our fruit and vegetables? Who raises animals for our tasty eggs, milk and meat?
Who catches fresh fish for our table? A lively and informative look at the people who produce
the food on which we all rely.
J641.51K. Kozlowski, Bryan. Cook Me A Story: A treasury of stories and recipes inspired by
classic fairy tales. Walter Foster. From breakfast adventures to evening stories, anytime is a
perfect time for fairy tales and food. Learn to cook with Goldilocks!
J641.65E. Eat Your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples Children’s Cookbook. DK Publishing.
Gather your ingredients and get busy in the kitchen creating tasty, healthy meals.
With 25 delicious and simple vegetarian recipes, this healthy cookbook makes fruits and
vegetables fun and delicious while teaching kids the benefits of eating healthy.
J646.2W. Ware, Lesley. Sew Fab: Sewing And Style For Young Fashionistas. Laurence King
Publishing. With Sew Fab, learn to sew your own unique clothes and accessories and wear
them with flair.
J730.92R. Richards, Mary. Splat! The Most Exciting Artists Of All Time. Thames & Hudson.
Art that shocked the world. Artists who never knew fame. Big ideas about how we look and
see art. With fun art activities to do yourself.
J745.59S. Thames & Hudson. I Can Make Dolls’ Clothes. Sew chic new dolls' outfits with some
fabric scraps, a few sequins and a button. Includes super-clear instructions for beginners with
tips and tricks along the way.
J781.65I. Ingalls, Ann. J Is For Jazz. Bright Connections Media. A is for America's Music. It abso-tive-ly began with African American rhythms. B is for Blues....
J808.3G. Giff, Patricia Reilly. Writing with Rosie: You Can Write a Story Too. Holiday House.
Did you ever want to write your own book? Why not try it with help from Patricia Reilly Giff.
She provides a simple and lively guide for young writers of all ages.
J811.54S. Singer, Marilyn. Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths. Dial Books for
Young Readers. Poems about a magical world created long ago. Poems you can read from top
to bottom and from bottom to top.
J811.54L. Latham, Irene. Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers’ Market. Wordsong.
Playful and imaginative, these poems will inspire you to see fruits and vegetables – and the
world around you – in fresh and delicious ways. And there’s even recipes for you.
J811.6F. Fogliano, Julie. When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons. A Neal
Porter Book. Flowers blooming in sheets of snow make way for happy frogs dancing in the rain.
Summer swims move over for autumn sweaters until the snow comes back again. The seasons
come to life in this gorgeous and comprehensive book of poetry.
J811.6R. Raczka, Bob. Wet Cement: A Mix Of Concrete Poems. Roaring Brook Press. With
concrete poetry, words twist and turn across the page, shaping the poems in surprising and
delightful ways.
J821N. Nesbitt, Kenn. One Minute till Bedtime: 60 –Second Poems To Send You Off To Sleep.
Little, Brown and Company. Each poem in this collection is a small gem that takes only a
minute to read. Explore them one at a time or pick a handful and see how they sparkle
together. All of them are perfect for bedtime.
J822.33S. Sutcliffe, Jane. Will’s Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk.
Charlesbridge. Thanks to Will we can say what’s done is done. We can wait with baited
breath. And the long and the short of it is that Will’s words changed the way we talk forever.
J909H. Handicott, Ben. The Hello Atlas. Wide Eyed Editions. Travel through each continent
and read simple greetings in more than 100 different languages – some of which you might
have heard of, like French, and others that you might not have, like Embera, Inuktitut, or
Wapishana.
J917.3F. Flynn, Sarah. National Parks Guide U.S.A. National Geographic Kids. From Acadia to
Zion…You’ll discover the wonder and amazement of our country’s majestic national parks in
this fun, informative and adventure-filled guide.
J917.47B. Butterfield, Moira. New York City Trails: Secrets, Stories and Other Cool Stuff.
Lonely Planet Kids. Follow 19 fantastic themed trails to reveal New York City’s best-kept
secrets. Find out what’s lurking in the pumpkin garden, why you might find cows underground,
how eating hot dogs could make you rich and lots more.
J920.72C. Calkhoven, Laurie. Women Who Changed The World: 50 Amazing Americans.
From science and politics to sports, art, and entertainment, these incredible women have done
it all. From Pocahontas to Misty Copeland and even more awesome women at the end of this
book!
J940.54T. Thompson, Ben. Guts & Glory: World War II. Little, Brown and Company.
Devastating surprise attacks, epic victories, unstoppable armies, and tough-as-nails men and
women from the greatest war in human history.
J973.04B. Bolden, Tonya. How To Build A Museum: Smithsonian’s National Museum of
African American History and Culture. Viking Smithsonian. The first national museum whose
mission is to illuminate for all people, the rich, diverse, complicated, and important experiences
and contributions of African Americans in America is opening. And the history of NMAAHC—
the last museum to be built on the National Mall—is the history of America.
J974.71G. Gassman, Julie. Saved By The Boats: The Heroic Sea Evacuation Of September 11.
Capstone Young Readers.
J B Basquiat. Steptoe, Javaka. Radiant Child: The Story Of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Little, Brown and Company. Jean-Michael Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings
rocked to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon, unlike anything the art world had ever
seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and
museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City.
J B Braille. Bryant, Jen. Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille. Alfred A. Knopf. Louis Braille
was just five years old when he lost his sight. He was a clever boy, determined to live like
everyone else, and what he wanted more than anything was to be able to read. But even at the
school for the blind in Paris, there were no books for him. .And so he invented his own
alphabet—a whole new system for writing that could be read by touch.
J B Cody. Fleming, Candace. Presenting Buffalo Bill: The Man Who Invented The Wild West.
A Neal Porter Book. Everyone knows the name Buffalo Bill, but what he did he do? Was he a
Pony Express rider? Did he serve Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn? Did he scalp countless
Native Americans, or did he defend their rights? Presenting Buffalo Bill makes the great
showman come alive for new generations.
J B Comneci. Gray, Karlin. Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn't Sit Still. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
This first-ever picture book biography of the famous gymnast Nadia traces Nadia Comaneci's
journey from a small-town Romanian girl who did cartwheels in the schoolyard to five-time
Olympic Gold Medalist and one of the most talented and respected athletes in the world.
J B Gregory. Miller, Pat. The Hole Story Of The Doughnut. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Over
10 billion doughnuts are baked each year in the U.S. alone, but what's the hole story. From the
coast of 19th century Maine to a schooner on the high seas manned by hungry sailors, it’s a
rollicking adventure that explores the surprisingly logical origin story of the iconic doughnut.
J B Hemings. Winter, Jonah. My Name Is James Madison Hemings. Schwartz & Wade Books.
An evocative story based on the childhood of James Madison Hemings, the son of Thomas
Jefferson and slave Sally Hemings.
J B Herrmann. Rockliff, Mara. Anything But Ordinary Addie: The True Story Of Adelaide
Hermann, Queen of Magic. Candlewick Press. Be astonished and dazzled by the true story of
Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic! Addie never wanted to be ordinary and she never was!
J B Houghton. Vernick, Audrey. The Kid From Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story Of
Baseball Legend Edith Houghton. Clarion Books. A historical baseball picture book about a
female baseball phenomenon who won spectators' hearts in the 1930s the same way Little
League superstar Mo' Ne Davis has today: Edith Houghton, who joined the professional
women's team the Bobbies at the age of 10.
J B Hoy. Chernin, Nancy. The William Hoy Story. Albert Whitman and Company. They called
him Dummy Hoy, but he was nobody’s fool. He could steal his way around bases and score?
And while he couldn’t hear the cheers, he could sure see them.
J B Keats. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. A Poem For Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the
Creation of The Snowy Day. Viking. The inspiring story of a boy who pursued a dream, and
who, in turn, inspired generations of other dreamers.
J B Key. Bowman, Donna. Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About
Kindness. Lee and Low Books. A horse that can read, write, spell and do math? Born a weak
colt in 1889, Jim was cared for by William “Doc” Key, a former slave and self-taught
veterinarian. This is a fascinating true story of a remarkable man and his extraordinary horse
that broke racial barriers and raised awareness for the humane treatment of animals.
J B Lovelace. Stanley, Diane. Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer.
A Paula Wiseman Book. Two hundred years ago, a daughter was born to the poet, Lord Byron,
and his wife, Annabella. Like her father, Ada had a strong imagination and a gift for connecting
ideas in original ways. Like her mother, she had a passion for science, math, and machines. It
was a very good combination. Ada hoped that one day she could do something important. She
would go down in history as Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer.
J B Tharp. Burleigh, Robert. Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean
Floor. A Paula Wiseman Book. This illustrated biography shares the story of female scientist, Marie
Tharp, a pioneering woman scientist and the first person to ever successfully map the ocean floor.
J B White. Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White. Harcourt Children’s Books. Elwyn Brooks
White loved words. When he was a young man, words led him to writing jobs at newspapers
and magazines. And then E. B. White spun his words into Charlotte’s Web - and readers have
been reading his words ever since.
J B Wright. Kanefield, Teri. The Extraordinary Suzy Wright: A Colonial Woman on the
Frontier. Abrams Books For Young Readers. Introduces Suzy Wright, a Quaker who helped
settle the frontier.