I'm Afraid, Said the Leaf by
A touching, playful exploration of empathy and interdependency from an acclaimed author and illustrator. I'm afraid, Said the leaf. / You're not alone, Said the tree.But who will comfort a nervous bird, a lonely crab, a lost wolf? How can a horse find warmth, a snail some cheer, a child some rest? Through a series of amusing and soothing exchanges, this deceptively simple and profound picture book depicts different pairings to celebrate interconnectedness and underlines the importance of caring for every living organism to ensure a strong and healthy natural world. I'm Afraid, Said the Leafinvites young readers to understand that we all need each other for support and survival - and that we're all stronger together.
The Most Magnificent Thing by
PERSEVERANCE. Available on Epic Books. Ages 3-7. "Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right."
The Most Magnificent Idea by
The long-awaited sequel to the runaway bestseller The Most Magnificent Thing that readers have been clamoring for! The girl in this story, with her dog at her side, loves to make things. Her brain, she says, is an "idea machine," so full of ideas that she can hardly keep up. But then one day ... it isn't. All of a sudden, the girl can't come up with a single idea for what to make. She tries everything: brainstorming, gathering new supplies, even jumping up and down on one foot to shake an idea loose. But, nothing. The girl realizes, with no ideas taking up space in her brain, it's filling with sad instead. What if she never has another idea again? Award-winning and bestselling author-illustrator Ashley Spires ingeniously captures the ups and downs of the creative process in this delightful picture book starring the beloved characters from The Most Magnificent Thing. With her signature wit and dry humor, Spires keeps the entertainment level high for readers, who will be rooting for their heroine to get her mojo back. The detailed and expressive artwork humorously captures the emotional arc of the girl's process. This book offers a terrific character education lesson in patience and perseverance. It will provide inspiration to makers and visionary creators everywhere, encouraging them to believe that an idea is sure to come if they just give it the opportunity -- and if it comes from the heart. The Most Magnificent Thing inspired an award-winning animated short film in 2019.
The Magical Yet by
A rollicking, rhyming, and inspirational picture book for fans of Oh, the Places You'll Go! andevery child who is frustrated by what they can't do...YET! Each of us, from the day we're born, is accompanied by a special companion--the Yet. Can't tie your shoes? Yet! Can't ride a bike? Yet! Can't play the bassoon? Don't worry, Yet is there to help you out. The Magical Yet is the perfect tool for parents and educators to turn a negative into a positive when helping children cope with the inevitable difficult learning moments we all face. Whether a child or an adult, this encouraging and uplifting book reminds us that we all have things we haven't learned...yet!
Beautiful Oops! by
A spill. A smear. A smudge. A tear. When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful! A life lesson that all parents want their children to embrace: It's okay to make a mistake. In fact, hooray for mistakes! A mistake is an adventure in creativity, a portal to discovery. A spill doesn't ruin a drawing--not when it becomes the shape of a goofy animal. And an accidental tear in your paper? Don't be upset about it when you can turn it into the roaring mouth of an alligator. An award-winning, best-selling, one-of-a-kind interactive book (now with 650,000 copies sold!), Beautiful Oops! shows young readers how every mistake is an opportunity to make something beautiful. A singular work of imagination, creativity, and paper engineering, Beautiful Oops! is filled with pop-ups, lift-the-flaps, tears, holes, overlays, bends, smudges, and even an accordion "telescope"--each demonstrating the magical transformation from blunder to wonder. A paint smudge becomes the face of a bunny, a crumpled ball of paper turns into a lamb's fleecy coat--celebrate the oops in life.
What's up, Maloo? by
SUPPORTING EACH OTHER. Maloo the kangaroo has lost his hop. Can his friends help him find it again? This sweet picture book explores the idea of sadness and the importance of friendship through ups and downs. No other kangeroo can hop like Maloo! But one day Maloo's friends find him stepping instead of hopping. What's wrong, Maloo? His pals look for ways to help Maloo regain the spring in his step. With patience, support and a little "hop" from his friends, Maloo gets his bounce back. Simple text and adorable art convey the power of friendship over a gloomy mood in Geneviève Godbout's charming debut as both author and illustrator.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by
When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone's crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library . . . and figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Persevering against the odds, William built a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps, and thus became the local hero who harnessed the wind. Lyrically told and gloriously illustrated, this story will inspire many as it shows how - even in the worst of times - a great idea and a lot of hard work can still rock the world.
Boxitects by
Meg loves to create things from cardboard boxes, deeming herself a boxitect. When a new student joins her maker school, she discovers she's a boxitect too. Can the two girls learn to work together?
Forest of Reading 2021 nominee.
Blue Spruce Award nominee 2021.
Ada's Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World's First Computer Programmer by
Award-winning author/illustrator Fiona Robinson's picture book biography Ada's Ideas is a compelling portrait of a woman who saw the potential for numbers to make art. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron's "mad" love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics "poetical science." Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in "programming" his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world's first computer programmer. "Robinson celebrates Lovelace for her powerful analytical mind in spite of an overbearing mother, an absent father, and a restrictive social position . . . A fascinating and uplifting STEAM selection, highly recommended." --School Library Journal
A Computer Called Katherine by
The inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson--made famous by the award-winning film Hidden Figures--who counted and computed her way to NASA and helped put a man on the moon! Katherine knew it was wrong that African Americans didn't have the same rights as others--as wrong as 5+5=12. She knew it was wrong that people thought women could only be teachers or nurses--as wrong as 10-5=3. And she proved everyone wrong by zooming ahead of her classmates, starting college at fifteen, and eventually joining NASA, where her calculations helped pioneer America's first manned flight into space, its first manned orbit of Earth, and the world's first trip to the moon! Award-winning author Suzanne Slade and debut artist Veronica Miller Jamison tell the story of a NASA "computer" in this smartly written, charmingly illustrated biography.
Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by
The bold story of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race and was depicted in the film Hidden Figures. You've likely heard of the historic Apollo 13 moon landing. But do you know about the mathematical genius who made sure that Apollo 13 returned safely home? As a child, Katherine Johnson loved to count. She counted the steps on the road, the number of dishes and spoons she washed in the kitchen sink, everything! Boundless, curious, and excited by calculations, young Katherine longed to know as much as she could about math, about the universe. From Katherine's early beginnings as a gifted student to her heroic accomplishments as a prominent mathematician at NASA, Counting on Katherine is the story of a groundbreaking American woman who not only calculated the course of moon landings but, in turn, saved lives and made enormous contributions to history. Christy Ottaviano Books
Counting the Stars by
"A detail-rich picture book." --Kirkus Reviews "Straightforward and inviting." --School Library Journal From award-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome and acclaimed illustrator Raúl Colón comes the sensitive, informative, and inspiring picture book biography of the remarkable mathematician Katherine Johnson, one of the NASA "human computers" whose work was critical to the first US space launch. Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or astronauts walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used their knowledge, pencils, adding machines, and writing paper to calculate the orbital mechanics needed to launch spacecraft. Katherine Johnson was one of these mathematicians who used trajectories and complex equations to chart the space program. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws were in place in the early 1950s, Katherine worked analyzing data at the NACA (later NASA) Langley laboratory. In 1962, as NASA prepared for the orbital mission of John Glenn, Katherine Johnson was called upon and John Glenn said "get the girl" (Katherine Johnson) to run the numbers by hand to chart the complexity of the orbital flight. He knew that his flight couldn't work without her unique skills. President Barack Obama awarded Katherine Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and her incredible life inspired the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. Get to know this incredible and inspirational woman with this beautifully illustrated picture book from an award-winning duo.
Jerry Changed the Game! How Engineer Jerry Lawson Revolutionized Video Games Forever by
Junior Library Guild Selection | Eureka! Excellence in Nonfiction Honor | CBC Best STEM Book List | Mathical Book Prize Honor | BCALA Youth Literary Nonfiction Award | Communication Arts Illustration Shortlist Meet Jerry Lawson, the Black engineer who revolutionized the video game industry, in this engaging picture book biography perfect for fans of Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions and Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History. Before Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch, there was a tinkerer named Jerry Lawson. As a boy, Jerry loved playing with springs, sprockets, and gadget-y things. When he grew up, Jerry became an engineer--a professional tinkerer--and in the 1970s, he turned his technical know-how to video games. Back then, if players wanted a new video game, they had to buy an entire new console, making gaming very expensive. Jerry was determined to fix this problem, and despite roadblocks along the way and having to repeat a level or two, it was never game over for his mission. Eventually, he leveled up and built a brand-new kind of video game console: one that allowed players to switch out cartridges! He also founded Video Soft, Inc., the first African American-owned video game company in the country. Jerry's tinkering and inventions changed the video gaming world forever. Today, gamers have access to hundreds of video games at the push of a button, all thanks to him. Game on!
Lion Lights: My Invention That Made Peace With Lions by
This is Richard Turere's own story: Richard grew up in Kenya as a Maasai boy, herding his family's cattle, which represented their wealth and livelihood. Richard's challenge was to protect their cattle from the lions who prowled the night just outside the barrier of acacia branches that surrounded the farm's boma or stockade. Though not well-educated, 12-year-old Richard loved tinkering with electronics. Using salvaged components, spending $10, he surrounded the boma with blinking lights, and the system works; it keeps lions away. His invention, Lion Lights, is now used in Africa, Asia and South America to protect farm animals from predators.
Mae among the Stars by
A beautiful picture book for sharing and marking special occasions such as graduation, inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison. An Amazon Best Book of the Month! 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.
Together We Drum, Our Hearts Beat As One by
In this beautifully illustrated book, a determined young Anishnaabe girl in search of adventure goes on a transformative journey into a forest on her traditional territory. She is joined by a chorus of her ancestors in red dresses, who tell her they remember what it was like to be carefree and wild, too. Soon, though, the girl is challenged by a monster named Hate, who envelops her in a cloud of darkness. She climbs a mountain to evade the monster, and, with the help of her matriarchs and the power of Thunderbird, the monster is held at bay. Together the young girl and her ancestors beat their drums in song and support, giving the girl the confidence she needs to become a changemaker in the future, capable of fending off any monster in her way. Together We Drum, Our Hearts Beat as One is a moving and powerful book about Indigenous resistance and ancestral connection.
Maryam's Magic: the Story of Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani by
From Althea Gibson author Megan Reid and rising star artist Aaliya Jaleel, illustrator of Under My Hijab, comes the first picture book about trailblazing mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win the world's most prestigious honor in mathematics. Perfect for fans of Hidden Figures and Mae Among the Stars. As a little girl, Maryam Mirzakhani was spellbound by stories. She loved reading in Tehran's crowded bookstores, and at home she'd spend hours crafting her own tales on giant rolls of paper. Maryam loved school, especially her classes in reading and writing. But she did not like math. Numbers were nowhere near as interesting as the bold, adventurous characters she found in books. Until Maryam unexpectedly discovered a new genre of storytelling: In geometry, numbers became shapes, each with its own fascinating personality--making every equation a brilliant story waiting to be told. As an adult, Maryam became a professor, inventing new formulas to solve some of math's most complicated puzzles. And she made history by becoming the first woman--and the first Iranian--to win the Fields Medal, mathematics' highest award. Maryam's Magic is the true story of a girl whose creativity and love of stories helped her--and the world--to see math in a new and inspiring way.
Hidden Figures by
Based on the New York Times bestselling book and the Academy Award-nominated movie, author Margot Lee Shetterly and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award winner Laura Freeman bring the incredibly inspiring true story of four black women who helped NASA launch men into space to picture book readers! Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were good at math...really good. They participated in some of NASA's greatest successes, like providing the calculations for America's first journeys into space. And they did so during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do. But they worked hard. They persisted. And they used their genius minds to change the world. In this beautifully illustrated picture book edition, we explore the story of four female African American mathematicians at NASA, known as "colored computers," and how they overcame gender and racial barriers to succeed in a highly challenging STEM-based career. "Finally, the extraordinary lives of four African American women who helped NASA put the first men in space is available for picture book readers," proclaims Brightly in their article "18 Must-Read Picture Books of 2018." "Will inspire girls and boys alike to love math, believe in themselves, and reach for the stars."
Rosie Revere, Engineer by 
Ada Twist, Scientist by
Ages 5-7.
"The creators of the New York Times bestselling picture books Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect are back with a story about the power of curiosity in the hands of a child who is on a mission to use science to understand her world. Ada Twist, Scientist, from powerhouse team Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, is a celebration of STEM, perseverance, and passion. Like her classmates, builder Iggy and inventor Rosie, scientist Ada, a character of color, has a boundless imagination and has always been hopelessly curious. Why are there pointy things stuck to a rose? Why are there hairs growing inside your nose? When her house fills with a horrific, toe-curling smell, Ada knows it's up to her to find the source. What would you do with a problem like this? Not afraid of failure, Ada embarks on a fact-finding mission and conducts scientific experiments, all in the name of discovery. But, this time, her experiments lead to even more stink and get her into trouble! Inspired by real-life makers such as Ada Lovelace and Marie Curie, Ada Twist, Scientist champions girl power and women scientists, and brings welcome diversity to picture books about girls in science. Touching on themes of never giving up and problem solving, Ada comes to learn that her questions might not always lead to answers, but rather to more questions. She may never find the source of the stink, but with a supportive family and the space to figure it out, she'll be able to feed her curiosity in the ways a young scientist should. Iggy Peck and Rosie Revere have earned their places among the most beloved children's characters, and they have inspired countless kids and adults to follow their dreams and passions. Now in her own charming and witty picture book, determined Ada Twist, with her boundless curiosity for science and love of the question "Why?," is destined to join these two favorites. The book is the perfect tool to remind both young girls and women that they have the intelligence and perseverance to achieve their dreams."
Iggy Peck, Architect by 
The Brilliant Calculator: How Mathematician Edith Clark Helped Electrify America by
A Mathical Honor Book Hidden Figures meets Rosie Revere, Engineer in this STEM/STEAM picture book about Edith Clarke, the innovator who solved an electrical mystery and built the first graphing calculator--from paper! Long before calculators were invented, little Edith Clarke devoured numbers, conquered calculations, cracked puzzles, and breezed through brainteasers. Edith wanted to be an engineer--to use the numbers she saw all around her to help build America. When she grew up, no one would hire a woman engineer. But that didn't stop Edith from following her passion and putting her lightning-quick mind to the problem of electricity. But the calculations took so long! Always curious, Edith couldn't help thinking of better ways to do things. She constructed a "calculator" from paper that was ten times faster than doing all that math by hand! Her invention won her a job, making her the first woman electrical engineer in America. And because Edith shared her knowledge with others, her calculator helped electrify America, bringing telephones and light across the nation.
I'm Trying to Love Math by
Children's Choice Award winner Bethany Barton applies her signature humor to the scariest subject of all- math! Do multiplication tables give you hives? Do you break out in a sweat when you see more than a few numbers hanging out together? Then I'm Trying to Love Mathis for you! In her signature hilarious style, Bethany Barton introduces readers to the things (and people) that use math in amazing ways -- like music, and spacecraft, and even baking cookies! This isn't a how-to math book, it's a way to think differently about math as a necessary and cool part of our lives!