Good Rosie!

DiCamillo, Kate. Good Rosie! Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2018.
Rosie is a good dog. But she’s lonely sometimes. George takes her to the dog park, but she feels overwhelmed. How will she find a friend? How can she make a friend? This delightful picture book, illustrated by Harry Bliss, will charm readers 4 to 12 years old.

The difference between popularity and friendship

Tips for making new friends

Famous fictional friends

The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer

Cali, Davide. The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2016.
What did you do this summer? A boy energetically responds with a wild tale of world travels.
The author of numerous picture books, including The Enemy: A Book about Peace, Cali excels in creating alternate visions of reality. Highly recommended for readers 7 to 11 years old.

More stories of summer vacations

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Emil and the Detectives

Kastner, Erich. Emil and the Detectives. New York: Overlook Press, 2014, 2007.

What a rollicking adventure! This classic novel from Germany – first published in 1929 and now translated into over 50 languages  – tells the story of Emil’s adventures while travelling to Berlin to visit his grandmother. Emil falls asleep on the train and when he wakes up, he discovers all his money has been stolen. Emil is not one to give up. He enlists the help of other boys and catches the thief, much to everyone’s delight. This new translation by W. Martin uses colloquialisms familiar to modern readers and includes an introduction by Maurice Sendak as well as the original line drawings by Walter Trier.

More stories set in Europe

More classics

More challenging reads for younger readers

A Fine Dessert

Jenkins, Emily. A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2015.

A sweet story about one of the oldest desserts in Western culture: a fruit fool made of berries, sugar, and whipped cream. The first dessert is made of wild blackberries in 16th century England, the second in 18th century South Carolina, the third in 19th century Massachusetts, and the last in modern California. A recipe, a bibliography and historical information on both the story and the illustrations are included at the end. An excellent introduction to learning how cultures reflect their times and change over time. Recommended for readers – and their teachers – 7 years old and up.

More historical fiction

More picture books with a repetitive pattern

Great Big Guinea Pigs

Roth, Susan L. Great Big Guinea Pigs. New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2006.

A fascinating history of guinea pigs told from the point of view of a parent telling a bedtime story: “Once upon a time, about eight million years ago, guinea pigs like us weren’t sweet, cute, and little….No one brought us fresh water or seeds and berries from the pet store….No one brought us to school for show and tell….”

But how can we be sure that this history really happened? The story was “in theTimes. Tomorrow morning,” the parent says,  “I’ll read it to you. You’ll have to wake up early, though, before the people clean our cage and change the newspaper.” Humorously, the bibliography at the end of the book includes an article from The New York Times. 

The cozy tone is complemented by vibrant collage illustrations and a bold font. Highly recommended for children and parents. 

More books to expand your general knowledge

More picture books that focus on information

Clean and Tidy

Gravett, Emily. Tidy. London: Two Hoots, 2016.

Pete, a badger, likes everything to be neat and tidy. So he starts cleaning up the forest. Grooming the animals, sweeping the ground, polishing the rocks…even pulling up the trees. Oh dear! Pete has gotten carried away. How will he put everything right again? This humorous story-in-rhyme will amuse children in primary grades.

More stories in rhyme

Wehrli, Ursus. The Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2013.

What if everything was taken apart? Organized? Put in order? How would the world look then? A humorous wordless book highly recommended for all ages! 

More wordless books

Ernst, Lisa Campbell. This Is the Van That Dad Cleaned. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005.
In the pattern of ‘This is the House That Jack Built’, this rollicking picture book tells the story of three children who make a mess of the vehicle their father has just cleaned. Full-page pastel, ink, and pencil illustrations will appeal to readers – and listeners – three years old and up. Highly recommended for kindergarten and grade 1 classrooms, but older students will have fun reading it, too.

More humorous stories