The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: America Keeps the Memory Alive

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened in Washington D.C., in April 1993. This book walks the reader through the museum, floor by floor. It interweaves the story of the Holocaust with a description of the museum. The book describes the Nazis’ rise to power, the “final solution”, and the aftermath of the Holocaust (1945 to present).

How to Catch a Fish

Thirteen linked verses and handsome, mood-drenched paintings show how we catch fish–from New England to the Arctic, to Japan and Namibia and beyond. This lovely picturebook–about fishing, geography, people and customs, and the bond between parent and child fishing together–will appeal to everyone who’s cast a line in the water.

Count Your Way Through Korea

With the Korean numbers one through ten, Jim Haskins introduces young readers to diverse aspects of Korean culture. Describing such things as one ancient building and eight food seasonings, Haskins’s clear text works together with vivid full-color illustrations by Dennis Hockerman to help children explore Korean life.

Michael Rosen’s Sad Book

With unmitigated honesty, a touch of humor, and sensitive illustrations by Quentin Blake, Michael Rosen explores the experience of sadness in a way that resonates with everyone. “Sometimes I’m sad and I don’t know why. It’s just a cloud that comes along and covers me up. Sad things happen to everyone, and sometimes people feel sad for no reason at all.” What makes Michael Rosen sad is thinking about his son, Eddie, who died suddenly at the age of eighteen. In this book the author writes about his sadness, how it affects him, and some of the things he does to cope with it—like telling himself that everyone has sad stuff (not just him) and trying every day to do something he can be proud of. Expressively illustrated by the extraordinary Quentin Blake, this is a very personal story that speaks to everyone, from children to parents to grandparents, teachers to grief counselors. Whether or not you have known what it’s like to feel deeply sad, the truth of this book will surely touch you.

Boston Globe-Horn Book Honors

The Day Gogo Went to Vote

Thembi’s beloved great-grandmother, Gogo, is so old, she hasn’t left the house in years. But when Thembi’s parents announce that black South Africans will be allowed to vote for the first time, Gogo surprises the whole family by announcing that she will travel to the polls and that Thembi must come with her. Through Thembi’s eyes, readers experience every detail of this momentous day.

Once Upon an Ordinary School Day

A celebration of extraordinary teachers! The boy’s breakfast is ordinary, his walk to school is ordinary, even his thoughts are ordinary. But when he goes to his classroom and sits down at his desk, his day begins to change – a new teacher, Mr. Gee, bursts into the classroom with an extraordinary idea that challenges all the children to use their imagination. Suddenly an ordinary day is turned topsy-turvy, and the boy is inspired in a way that will change him forever. The rollicking words and pictures celebrate the unexpected in this tribute to great teachers and students everywhere.