Special Collections
Caldecott Award Winners
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One Cool Friend
by Toni Buzzeo and David Small2013 Caldecott Honor Book.
When well-mannered Elliot reluctantly visits the aquarium with his distractible father, he politely asks whether he can have a penguin--and then removes one from the penguin pool to his backpack. The fun of caring for a penguin in a New England Victorian house is followed by a surprise revelation by Elliot's father.
Grandpa Green
by Lane SmithFrom the creator of the national bestseller It's a Book comes a timeless story of family history, legacy, and love. Grandpa Green wasn't always a gardener. He was a farm boy and a kid with chickenpox and a soldier and, most of all, an artist. In this captivating new picture book, readers follow Grandpa Green's great-grandson into a garden he created, a fantastic world where memories are handed down in the fanciful shapes of topiary trees and imagination recreates things forgotten. In his most enigmatic and beautiful work to date, Lane Smith explores aging, memory, and the bonds of family history and love; by turns touching and whimsical, it's a stunning picture book that parents and grandparents will be sharing with children for years to come. Grandpa Green is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Picture Books title for 2011. One of School Library Journal's Best Picture Books of 2011.
Me ... Jane
by Patrick McdonnellThe "New York Times"-bestselling author of "The Gift of Nothing" presents an inspiring story of the young Jane Goodall and her special childhood toy chimpanzee. With anecdotes taken directly from Goodall's autobiography, McDonnell makes this very true story accessible for the very young.
Blackout
by John RoccoOne hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do? When they go up to the roof to escape the heat, they find the lights--in stars that can be seen for a change--and so many neighbors it's like a block party in the sky! On the street below, people are having just as much fun--talking, rollerblading, and eating ice cream before it melts.
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
by Philip C. Stead and Erin E. SteadTHE BEST SICK DAY EVER and the animals in the zoo feature in this striking picture book debut. Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee's case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it's time they returned the favor A Sick Day for Amos McGee is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year and the winner of the 2011 Caldecott Medal. Images and image descriptions available.
Dave the Potter
by Laban Carrick HillTo us it is just dirt, the ground we walk on... But to Dave it was clay, the plain and basic stuff upon which he formed a life as a slave nearly 200 years ago. Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Interrupting Chicken
by David Ezra SteinIt's bedtime for the little red chicken, and papa is going to read her a story. "You're not going to interrupt the story tonight, are you?" asks Papa. "Oh no, Papa. I'll be good," says the little red chicken. But she just can't help herself! Whether it's Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, or Chicken Little, as soon as the story gets going . . . out jumps the little red chicken--right into the story--saving the characters from danger and ending the story early. Will that chicken ever get to sleep?
The Lion and the Mouse
by Jerry PinkneyTextless retelling of the Lion and the Mouse fable, with beautiful images. Winner of the 2010 Caldecott Award. Images and image descriptions available.
Red Sings from Treetops
by Joyce SidmanIn winter ... Green waits in the hearts of trees, feeling the earth turn. Color comes alive in this whimsical, innovative book: blue dances on summer lakes, green drips from spring leaves, black wafts mysteriously through autumn evenings. Together, an award-winning poet and a brilliant painter inspire us to look closer at the thrilling colors of the seasons. So what colors can you feel--or hear, or taste, or smell--today?
The House in the Night
by Susan Marie SwansonA spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in this bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian SelznickOrphan, clock keeper, thief: Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. Combining elements of picture book, graphic novel, and film, Caldecott Honor artist Selznick breaks open the novel form to create an entirely new reading experience in this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.
First the Egg
by Laura Vaccaro SeegerWhich came first, the chicken or the egg? The caterpillar or the butterfly? These and other origin questions are answered in a short collection of verses
Winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor
Knuffle Bunny Too
by Mo WillemsTrixie hurries to school to show off her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny. But an awful surprise awaits her; someone else has the same bunny! Filled with hilarious illustrations, this is a wonderfully true story that will have the whole family laughing.
The Wall
by Peter SísThrough journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sís learned about beat poetry, rock 'n' roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities- creativity could be discouraged but not easily killed. By joining memory and history, Sís takes us on his journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art.
Winner of the Sibert Medal
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine and Kadir NelsonA stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist.
Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.
Winner of the Caldecott Honor
Flotsam
by David WiesnerA bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam--anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there's no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share . . . and to keep. In each of his amazing picture books, David Wiesner has revealed the magical possibilities of some ordinary thing or happening--a frog on a lily pad, a trip to the Empire State Building, a well-known nursery tale. This time, a day at the beach is the springboard into a wildly imaginative exploration of the mysteries of the deep, and of the qualities that enable us to witness these wonders and delight in them.
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson2007 Caldecott Honor book
I SET THE NORTH STAR IN THE HEAVENS AND I MEAN FOR YOU TO BE FREE . . .
Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman hears these words from God one summer night and decides to leave her husband and family behind and escape. Taking with her only her faith, she must creep through the woods with hounds at her feet, sleep for days in a potato hole, and trust people who could have easily turned her in.
But she was never alone.
In lyrical text, Carole Boston Weatherford describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude. Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one. Courageous, compassionate, and deeply religious, Harriet Tubman, with her bravery and relentless pursuit of freedom, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
The Hello, Goodbye Window
by Norton JusterFrom the book: The kitchen window at Nana and Poppy's house is, for one little girl, a magic gateway. Everything important happens near it, through it, or beyond it. Told in her voice, her story is both a voyage of discovery and a celebration of the commonplace wonders that define childhood. It is also a love song devoted to that special relationship between grandparents and grandchild. The illustrations in this book look like pictures colored by a child. Pictures are described. This book received the Newberry Award.
Zen Shorts
by Jon Muth"Michael," said Karl. "There's a really big bear in the backyard." This is how three children meet Stillwater, a giant panda who moves into the neighborhood and tells amazing tales. To Addy he tells a story about the value of material goods. To Michael he pushes the boundaries of good and bad. And to Karl he demonstrates what it means to hold on to frustration. With graceful art and simple stories that are filled with love and enlightenment, Jon Muth--and Stillwater the bear--present three ancient Zen tales that are sure to strike a chord in everyone they touch.
Kitten's First Full Moon
by Kevin HenkesThe nationally bestselling picture book about a kitten, the moon, and a bowl of milk, written by the celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Henkes, was awarded a Caldecott Medal.
From one of the most celebrated and beloved picture book creators working in the field today comes a memorable new character and a suspenseful adventure just right for reading and sharing at home and in the classroom. It is Kitten's first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. Does she get it? Well, no . . . and yes. What a night!
Knuffle Bunny
by Mo WillemsTrixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. But the exciting adventure takes a dramatic turn when Trixie realizes somebunny was left behind. Using a combination of muted black-and-white photographs and expressive illustrations, this stunning book tells a brilliantly true-to-life tale about what happens when Daddy's in charge and things go terribly, hilariously wrong.
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
In 1974, as the World Trade Center was being completed, a young French aerialist, Philippe Petit, threw a tightrope between the two towers and spent almost an hour walking, dancing, and performing tricks a quarter of a mile in the sky.
Petit's high wire walk has remained part of the history of New York City and of the World Trade Center. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers captures the poetry and magic of his feat with a poetry of its own: lyrical words and lovely ink and oil paintings that present the detail, the daring, and-in two dramatic foldout spreads-the vertiginous drama of Petit's feat.
Just as the massive towers of the World Trade Center remain in memory, so too does the image of a young man walking in the air between them- here given expression by a master picture book artist.
A Caldecott winner. The book is unpaged.
Mordicai Gerstein is the highly regarded author and illustrator of more than thirty books for children including, most recently, What Charlie Heard, a portrait of the composer Charles Ives.
He lives with his wife, Susan Harris, and their daughter, Risa, in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Winner of the 2004 Caldicot Medal for illustrations.
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
by Margaret Chodos-IrvineElla Sarah may be little, but she has a BIG sense of style--and it isn't at all like that of her mother, father, and older sister. Yet they all want her to dress just like them! Ella Sarah will have none of it--and when her flamboyantly dressed friends arrive, it's clear that Ella Sarah's favorite outfit is just right for her. Margaret Chodos-Irvine's spirited story will gently nudge young children toward independence--providing plenty of exuberant colors and patterns to identify along the way.
Winner of the Caldecott Honor
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
by Steve JenkinsA nose for digging? Ears for seeing? Eyes that squirt blood? Explore the many amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails in this beautifully illustrated interactive guessing book by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page.
Winner of the Caldecott Honor
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
by Mo WillemsWhen a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place-a pigeon! But you've never met one like this before. As he pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book, children will love being able to answer back and decide his fate. In his hilarious picture book debut, popular cartoonist Mo Willems perfectly captures a preschooler's temper tantrum. Images and image descriptions available.