Some of our librarians’ favorite read-alouds for mystery readers!
Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm
Nolen, Jerdine.
A child ventures out in the middle of the night to see how Harvey Potter grows his wonderful balloons.
Check AvailabilityThe Frog Prince, Continued
Scieszka, Jon.
After the frog turns into a prince, he and the Princess do not live happily ever after and the Prince decides to look for a witch to help him remedy the situation.
Check AvailabilityThe Quiltmaker's Gift
Brumbeau, Jeff.
When a generous quiltmaker finally agrees to make a quilt for a greedy king but only under certain conditions, she causes him to undergo a change of heart.
Check AvailabilitySo You Want To Be President
St. George, Judith
Presents an assortment of facts about the qualifications and characteristics of U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Bill Clinton.
Check AvailabilityThe Old Woman Who Lived In A Vinegar Bottle
MacDonald, Margaret Read
In this British variant of a traditional tale, an ungrateful woman who complains constantly about her house is granted increasingly grandiose wishes by a fairy.
Check AvailabilityBeware Of The Storybook Wolves
Child, Lauren.
When two wolves escape one night from his fairy tale book and threaten to eat him, Herb enlists the reluctant help of Cinderella's fairy godmother.
Check AvailabilityThe Dinosaurs Of Waterhouse Hawkins
Kerley, Barbara.
The true story of Victorian artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, who built life-sized models of dinosaurs in the hope of educating the world about what these awe-inspiring ancient animals and what they were like.
Check AvailabilityFireboat
Kalman, Maira.
A fireboat, launched in 1931, is retired after many years of fighting fires along the Hudson River, but is saved from being scrapped and then called into service again on September 11, 2001.
Check AvailabilityThe Man Who Walked Between The Towers
Gerstein, Mordicai.
A lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.
Check AvailabilityThe Man Who Walked Between The Towers
Gerstein, Mordicai.
A lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.
Check AvailabilityMiss Bridie Chose A Shovel
Connor, Leslie.
Miss Bridie emigrates to America in 1856 and chooses to bring a shovel, which proves to be a useful tool throughout her life.
Check AvailabilityMighty Jackie
Moss, Marissa.
In 1931, seventeen-year-old Jackie Mitchell pitches against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game, becoming the first professional female pitcher in baseball history.
Check AvailabilityZen Shorts
Muth, Jon J.
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 Addie 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.
Check AvailabilityReaching For The Moon
Aldrin, Buzz.
I Walked on the Moon. This is my journey. It didn't begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. It began the day I was born -- Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., whom everyone called Buzz. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of determination and believing that any goal is possible -- from riding a bike alone across the George Washington Bridge at age ten to making a footprint on the Moon. I always knew the Moon was within my reach -- and that I was ready to be part of the team that would achieve the first landing. But it was still hard to believe when I took my first step onto the Moon's surface. We all have our own dreams -- this is the story of how mine came true.
Check AvailabilitySky Boys : How They Built The Empire State Building
Hopkinson, Deborah.
In 1931, a boy and his father watch as the world's tallest building, the Empire State Building, is constructed, step-by-step, near their Manhattan home.
Check AvailabilityOwen And Mzee
Hatkoff, Isabella.
This heartwarming story shows the power of a single friendship to transform a life, and inspires us all to look at the world around us and reach out to others.
Check AvailabilityShep
Collard, Sneed B.
This is the true story of a Montana dog who became a worldwide inspiration. In 1936, Shep watched as his master's body was placed on a train and shipped east. For more than five years Shep met every incoming train with hopes that he would see the man who had cared for him"--Provided by publisher.
Check AvailabilityGodspeed, John Glenn
Hilliard, Richard.
Picture-book biography of John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth.
Check AvailabilityOwen & Mzee
Hatkoff, Isabella.
Continues the story of the unusual friendship between Owen, a young orphaned hippo, and Mzee, a 130-year old Aldabra tortoise.
Check AvailabilityThe Warlord's Puzzle
Pilegard, Virginia Walton.
Hoping to avoid punishment for breaking a beautiful tile that was his gift to a Chinese warlord, an artist suggests that the warlord hold a contest to see if anyone can mend it.
Check AvailabilityTwo Bobbies
Larson, Kirby.
Bobbi (the dog) and Bob Cat are the best of friends. When their hometown of New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina, many lost everything. Bobbi and Bob Cat only survived by staying together. This is the story of their remarkable friendship.
Check AvailabilityYellowstone Moran
Judge, Lita.
Tom Moran had never ridden a horse or slept under the stars before, but the paintings he created on his journey from city boy to seasoned explorer would lead to the founding of America's first national park.
Check AvailabilitySky High
Moss, Marissa.
Presents the life and career of the Chinese American woman who dreamed of flying as a child and who went on to become one of only two Chinese American Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) to serve during World War II.
Check AvailabilityTarra & Bella
Buckley, Carol
A stray Labrador named Bella befriends Tarra, a former circus elephant and resident of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. While the pairing is unusual, the two are inseparable--even when a crisis threatens to separate them. Based on the national media sensation, this is a true story of friendship and loyalty.
Check AvailabilityBalarama
Lewin, Ted.
World travelers Ted and Betsy Lewin recount how the trained elephants of southern India, in particular the one chosen to be the lead elephant in the Mysore Dasara, are raised, cared for, and prepared for performing in ceremonial processions. Includes background information and glossary"--Provided by publisher.
Check AvailabilityThe Rooster Prince Of Breslov
Stampler, Ann Redisch.
In this variation of a Yiddish folktale, a spoiled prince has a fit and assumes the speech and mannerisms of a rooster until he is locked in a room for seven days with a frail grizzled old man.
Check AvailabilityThe Odious Ogre
Juster, Norton
An ogre terrorizes villages until he meets a friendly villager.
Check AvailabilityThe Boy From The Dragon Palace
MacDonald, Margaret Read
A magical boy grants a poor flower-seller's every wish until the greedy and ungrateful man grows tired of the boy's unpleasant behavior and sends him away.
Check AvailabilityTornado Slim And The Magic Cowboy Hat
Langdo, Bryan.
A magical boy grants a poor flower-seller's every wish until the greedy and ungrateful man grows tired of the boy's unpleasant behavior and sends him away.
Check AvailabilityMustache!
Barnett, Mac.
When extremely good-looking King Duncan builds more and more tributes to his handsome face, neglecting kingdom projects and repairs, his loyal subjects find a mustachioed solution.
Check AvailabilityThe Princess And The Pig
Emmett, Jonathan.
When a new baby princess accidentally changes places with a piglet, both of their lives are forever changed.
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Muntean, Michaela.
Traces the story of ten surrendered canines that were adopted and trained by renowned circus performer Luciano Anastasini, who helped them to develop their respective talents as proud and happy circus dogs.
Check AvailabilityThe Bully Goat Grim
Claflin, Willy
A big bully, afflicted with Random Hostility Syndrome, terrorizes all of the forest animals until a clever young troll gets his goat.
Check AvailabilityDare The Wind
Fern, Tracey E.
Ellen Prentiss's papa said she was born with saltwater in her veins, so he gave her sailing lessons and taught her how to navigate. As soon as she met a man who loved sailing like she did, she married him. When her husband was given command of a clipper ship custom-made to travel quickly, she knew that they would need every bit of its speed for their maiden voyage: out of New York City, down around the tip of Cape Horn, and into San Francisco, where the Gold Rush was well under way. In a time when few women even accompanied their husbands onboard, Ellen Prentiss navigated their ship to set the world record for speed along that route.
Check AvailabilityPapa Chagall, Tell Us A Story
Anholt, Laurence
Traces the rags-to-riches journey of the artist from his topsy-turvy cottage life in Russia through the dark years of World War I and his emergence in southern France, in a portrait complemented by reproductions of Chagall's work.
Check AvailabilityPapa Chagall, Tell Us A Story
Anholt, Laurence
Traces the rags-to-riches journey of the artist from his topsy-turvy cottage life in Russia through the dark years of World War I and his emergence in southern France, in a portrait complemented by reproductions of Chagall's work.
Check AvailabilitySeparate Is Never Equal
Tonatiuh, Duncan.
Years before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez, an eight-year-old girl of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark desegregation case of 1946 in California"--
Check AvailabilityAnna & Solomon
Snyder, Elaine
Based on the story of the author's grandparents' migration to the United States from late-nineteenth-century Russia, shares how Solomon moved to the U.S. first, where he worked to save money for Anna to join him.
Check AvailabilityGingerbread For Liberty!
Rockliff, Mara.
A stirring picture book biography about a forgotten hero of the American Revolution who rose to the occasion and served his country, not with muskets or canons, but with gingerbread!"--
Check AvailabilityTricky Vic
Pizzoli, Greg
In the early 1900s, Robert Miller, a.k.a. "Count Victor Lustig," moved to Paris hoping to be an artist. A "con" artist, that is. He used his ingenious scams on unsuspecting marks all over the world, from the Czech Republic, to Atlantic ocean liners, and across America. Tricky Vic pulled off his most daring con in 1925, when he managed to "sell" the Eiffel Tower to one of the city's most successful scrap metal dealers! Six weeks later, he tried to sell the Eiffel Tower all over again. Vic was never caught. For that particular scam, anyway.
Check AvailabilityStrongheart
McCully, Emily Arnold
When silent movie director Larry Trimble decides to put Strongheart, a police dog, into his movies as the lead actor, he must first train him to play with toys and walk like a regular dog, but Strongheart becomes a sensation until his military training leads to trouble, and possibly the end of his career. Includes author's note on the real Strongheart.
Check AvailabilityLuna & Me
Kostecki-Shaw, Jenny Sue.
Social activism combines with environmentalism in this picture book bio of Julia Butterfly Hill and Luna, the thousand-year-old redwood tree whose life she saved"--
Check AvailabilityRapunzel And The Seven Dwarfs
Claflin, Willy
Combines and resets the classic tales of Rapunzel and Snow White in the Northern Piney Woods of Alaska, where a prince riding a white moose tries to rescue a long-haired beauty who has been poisoned by a witch.
Check AvailabilityClassic Myths To Read Aloud
Russell, William F.
Presents the essential Greek and Roman myths that form the basis of our cultural literary heritage.
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