Pia Toya: a Goshute Indian Legend

Pia Toya: a Goshute Indian Legend is a book retold and illustrated by the children and teachers of Ibapah Elementary School of the Coffederated Tribes of the Goshute. The Goshute tribe is native to the Utah and Nevada region and Ibapah is 60 miles south of Wendover, NV. This title captures the traditional story and illustrates the beauty of the desert. The book is found on the shelf with other classic legends (398 of the Dewey Decimal system).

Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What is an Adjective?

Let's have 

 with words!

Learning about words can be a fun part of every day experiences. Check out this book, Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What is an Adjective? to expand our ways of describing the world we live in. This title written by Brian P. Cleary and illustrated by Jenya Prosmitsky will be found on the non-fiction shelf of the library and is great for all elementary ages.

The United States ABCs

We live in a diverse and expansive country. Enjoy this non-fiction alphabet book for all ages on the United States written by Holly Schoreder. This book reminds us of the different people and unique places that creates our country. Many patriotic books exist and so if you can't find this one, look for others similar to share with our children the country we want to respect and care for.

Magic Tree House

Magic Tree House books are great young reader chapter books. This is a series by Mary Pope Osborne (click here for author page) that takes children to all sorts of places. Jack and Annie find this magic tree house filled with books and through the books they magically travel to places like jungles and go to historical time periods such as those with knights protecting their kingdoms. The series is written at a third and fourth grade vocabulary level but can be great read-a-louds to younger readers. Another great thing about the Magic Tree House books is that the author has created some non-fiction companion books to go with the fictional stories called the Fact Trackers. For example, to go with the story with the setting in Egypt, there is a non-fiction book on the Pyramids and the Mummies. These are also well written and designed for elementary age readers.

Rainbow Soup

We all need some humorous ways to describe our world. Poetry is one place we can do just that. Rainbow Soup: Adventures in Poetry by Neal Layton shares about 50 visual experiences in his poems. There are puns, rhymes, and whimsical illustrations to entertain all ages. Many poems target the upper elementary student and I found some writings very funny as an adult.

Star Wars: the Visual Encyclopedia

So, you think you know everything there is to know about Star Wars? Well, check this book out- Star Wars: the Visual Encyclopedia. In this book you find out more than you can imagine about all the stuff in the Star Wars series. There is info on geography, characters, and all the props. With realistic pictures, history, and trivia this book will entertain the mildest Star Wars fan. 

Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm

Scholastic Books has a series by Joanna Cole called The Magic School Bus (click here for all her titles). In this title Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm (AR level 3.4) children learn about weather. The appealing thing about this series is that while it is considered non-fiction, children learn through a story telling adventure of other kids on their teacher's magical bus. The popularity of these books also led to the creation of a video series. This is a good series for all elementary ages.

Bug Butts

Okay, so kids are always curious about bugs, even if they don't particularly like them. So, how about a book about bug butts? Dawn Cusick has an information book for kids called Bug Butts that has really interesting information and can answer questions for that curious kid. While this book could be of interest to all ages, it does have an AR level of 6.2. So, the younger curious learners will need a buddy to get the most from this book.