Circle Under Berry by Carter Higgins

Ingenious! With a few simple shapes and carefully selected words, Circle Under Berry invites readers to explore a range of concepts. Bold, bright, hand-colored shapes on a stark white background are continually rearranged on each succeding page, allowing for multiple points-of view. It's a visual treat, experimenting with color, texture, shapes, and graphic design. However, Higgins gives her readers so much more. This is a study in word play and a discovery of relationships. Readers will be delighted with the rhythmic language, multiple word meanings, and a fresh consideration of prepositions. The appeal of this concept book is visual, auditory, and cerebral. The publisher suggests an audience of ages "preschool and up."

Code Breaker, Spy Hunter:
​How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars
by Laurie Wallmark art by Brooke Smart narrated by Romy Nordlinger

Wallmark’s thoroughly researched picture book biography Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizabeth Friendman Changed the Course of Two World Wars, spotlights the achievements of one woman in the evolving science of cryptography. Elizebeth began her work during World War I as a cryptanalyst for the Army Signal Corps. In addition to decoding wartime communications, she and her husband developed the first government unit devoted to cryptology. She also worked for the Army, Coast Guard, FBI, and the Office of Strategic Services, later to become the CIA. Her expertise resulted in the conviction of thirty-three German spies during World War II. Elizebeth identified the woman responsible for the secret “doll” messages that revealed the location of wartime ships She and her team also cracked the Enigma Code developed by Germany.

Listen to a sample

More True Stories of Amazing Women

All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom
by Angela Johnson art by E. B. Lewis

All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom takes a fresh approach to the story of Juneteenth, a United States federal holiday celebrating African American freedom and achievement. Johnson, recipient of several ​Coretta Scott King Awards and a MacArthur Fellow, sets her story in a Texas community, when the day begins like every other day.  People rise early, preparing to toil in the cotton fields.  Gradually, word of the Emancipation Proclamation spreads throughout Texas, eventually reaching a young girl and her family. The narrative builds momentum as the day unfolds.

Join in the Celebration

Juneteenth for Mazie

Juneteenth Jamboree

Curated list of suggested books. Meaning of the Juneteen flag.

Listening to the Stars: Jocelyn Bell Burnell Discovers Pulsars
She Made History Series
by Jodie Parachini art by Alexandra Badiu

From her childhood, Jocelyn was particularly interested in the stars. By the time that she was fifteen she had set her sights on becoming an astronomer. As a graduate student she helped construct the first radio telescope and went on to identify the first four neutron stars. The 1974 Noble Prize awarded for this discovery mentioned only two men. She was not included as a prize recipient. Parachini emphasizes the numerous contributions Bell Burnell has made to astrophysics and of her efforts to support women pursuing scientific research. In 2018 Jocelyn used her three-million-dollar Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics to create a fund for young women to study astronomy.

Women Who Changed Our World

My Two Border Towns by David Bowles ill by Erika Meza

This little treasure is a love letter to community, culture, and heritage. My Two Border Towns chronicles a typical Saturday journey of a father and son to a nearby town. A routine that is both ordinary and extraordinary.

Border Stories: Picture Books

Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai

It's going to be a special day. Nai Nai has invited Lili to help her make baos. This granddaughter not only loves to eat these steamed bundles of goodness, she loves to make them. With charming watercolor illustrations, Lili describes each step. She begins by making the dough, then creating the filling, and finally tucking the filling inside each little pastry pillow. She refers to helpful cooking tips "secrets."  When Nai Nai is missing cabbage leaves to line the bamboo basket and keep the bao from sticking, Lili ventures up to Babcia's apartment on the 5th floor for cabbage. She discovers that Babcia has cabbage to share but needs a potato for the pierogi she is making. This pattern continues. Lili traipses up and down the stairs, locating a missing ingredient for the resident grandmothers as each cooks her own version of savory filled pastries: ravioli, tamales, beef patties, fatayer, pierogis and of course, baos. A top floor view, looking down, reveals on all the flights of stairs Lili and her adorable dog must traverse. Note: a posted sign indicates that the elevator is out of service.

Wishes by Mượn Thị Văn art by Victo Ngai

The tale begins in the dead of night as a young girl rouses from sleep and with her immediate family prepares to leave behind all that she has ever known and travel across the sea in search of the promise of safety and security. Wishes tells the immigration story from an unusual point of view. This perilous journey is described through the wishes of inanimate objects. ​ ​A bag wished it was deeper. The boat wised to be bigger. ​The heart wished it was stronger.

Immigrants All

Immigrating to an unfamiliar land where everything is strange.

What if all you could carry on your journey was a teacup of soil from your homeland?

"A young man... left his home in Japan and went to see the world."

What the World Could Make: A Story of Hope
by Holly M. McGhee art by Pascal Lemaître

Without fail, I always have an emotional response to Holly McGhee’s books. Each is more than an enjoyable story. There will be a personal connection. What the World Could Make is a story of friendship and finding wonder. And hope. Two charming little cottontails, Rabbit and Bunny view the world and their friendship through the lens of the passing seasons. In winter, they marvel at the falling snowflakes and share a giant snowball. Come spring, the sight and scent of blossoming lilacs prompt the gift of a handmade flower crown. Summer delights of sun and sea bring salty sea pickles to savor. The ginkgo tree carpets the ground in autumn with golden leaves which invite an afternoon frolic. Each season the friends are in awe of the wonders of nature. They wish that each special moment could last forever.

My World in 2020: A Story of Hope

More Books By Holly

Hear My Voice/Escucha mi voz:
The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States
compiled by Warren Binford forward by Michael Garcia Bochenek 

The plight of immigrants arriving at the United States’ Southern Border is well documented.  Politicians, media outlets, community leaders, humanitarian groups, and religious organizations have weighed in on the subject.

Want to help?

"Project Amplify is a national nonprofit (501c3) launched to establish legal protections for children in government care." Co-Founders Professors Warren Binford, Hope Frye, Erin Albanese work to shape legislation and provide legal support for child migrants. All royalties from Hear My Voice/Esucha mi voz will be donated to Project Amplify.

Meet the Artists

Stories to Read and Share 

Mars is Stark Slopes, Silvery Snow, and Startling Surprises by Suzanne Slade

On August 12, 2005 NASA launched the Atlas V rocket, carrying the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipped with a remarkable camera. Seven months later the MRO was orbiting Mars. Soon its camera began sending photos back to earth. The photos are astounding. Magnified images reveal Mars’ surface in detail showing rock layers, sand dunes, canyons, craters, volcanoes, and lava flows. The landscape changes continually. For example, the planet’s two polar ice caps are composed of dry ice. In spring, cracks begin to form in the ice, allowing gases to bubble up to the surface.