To get you started on the Bookstorm™ books …
13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System, by David A. Aguilar. National Geographic Children’s Books, 2011. Grades 2 – 6
- Report material galore, beautifully organized
- Illustrated with a combination of photographs and digital art
- Includes several hands-on activities
Car Science: an Under-the-Hood, Behind-the-Dash Look at How Cars Work, by Richard Hammond, DK Books, 2008. Grades 3 and up
- Key physics concepts as they relate to how cars run
- DK’s signature exploded diagrams, cutaways, and high-interest visuals
- Material is divided into intriguing sections: Power, Speed, Handling, and Technology
Chato’s Kitchen, by Gary Soto, illustrations by Susan Guevara, Penguin, 1997. Preschool through Grade 3.
- Mouse family vs Chato, a very cool cat
- Good story for “prediction”
- Spanish and English vocabulary
Draw 50 Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw Dragsters, Vintage Cars, Dune Buggies, Mini Choppers, and Much More, by Lee J. Ames, Watson-Guptill, 2012. Grade 1 through Adult.
- From a Disney studios artist
- Variety of drawing projects suitable for range of experience
- “Step-by-step” is really layer-by-layer, showing how a drawing is “built”
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women, by Catherine Thimmesh, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002. Grades 3 and up.
- Sibert-winning author, Caldecott-winning artist
- Inventions from exotic to familiar
- Inventors and inventions going back to 3000 BC
If I Built a Car, by Chris Van Dusen. Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2005. Primary grades.
- 2006 E.B. White Read Aloud Award
- Classic Van Dusen illustrations: bold colors, cartoon-style (look for hidden references to a few other Van Dusen books)
- Great discussion starter for all ages: What kind of car would YOU design?
Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush, by Luis Alberto Urrea, illustrated by Christopher Cardinale, Cinco Puntos Press, 2010. Grades 7 and up.
- Graphic novel about a graffiti artist and Mexican village life, with some magic realism
- Narrative is a non-linear reminiscence — bold flashes of story to match the art
- Richly-colored woodblock-style art
My Little Car, by Gary Soto, illustrated by Pam Paparone, Putnam, 2006. Preschool and primary grades.
- Child-grandparent story
- English and Spanish vocabulary
- Just how do you make a car dance?
Nico Visits the Moon, by Honorio Robledo, Cinco Puntos Press, 2001. Preschool and primary grades.
- Vivid, imaginative, art
- Crawling baby, balloons, the moon — each page turn delivers a fantasy surprise
- Bilingual in Spanish and English
Northern Lights: The Science, Myth, and Wonder of the Aurora Borealis, by George Bryson, photographs by Calvin Hall and Daryl Pederson, Sasquatch Books, 2001. Grades 3 and up for looking at the photographs, grades 5 and up for the science.
- Beautiful photographs that can be looked at again and again
- Discusses the many myths and legends inspired by the lights
- Concise explanation of geophysics behind the phenomenon
Remind, by Jason Brubaker, Coffee Table Comics, 2011. Grades 5 and up.
- Graphic novel with a great cast: Sonja, a young woman who is a mechanical genius; Victuals, her cat that may have received the brain of an exiled lizard man; an underwater colony of lizard people
- Wonderful array of mechanical inventions (Discuss: what kind of gizmos would you like to invent?)
- Crisp, uncluttered illustrations — at times suitably creepy
Shark King, by R. Kikuo Johnon, TOON Books, 2012. Grades 1 and up.
- Child-friendly version of a Hawaiian myth
- Clean, highly readable layout — no sensory overload from text or illustrations
- Includes discussion material for teachers and parents
Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke, First Second, 2010. Grades 3 and up.
- Graphic novel with a Wizard of Oz storyline: young girl is transported to a strange world
- Though Zita is trying to save an abducted friend, and though the planet is about to be destroyed, the text and art are more about fun than fear
- How many weird creatures can you find?