Summer Reading Lower School

Soon after a young girl arrives in Japan, she, her grandmother, her aunties, and some cousins celebrate cultural traditions together while visiting a bath house.

Illustrations and easy-to-read, rhyming text celebrate bodies of all shapes, sizes, ages, and colors, with different kinds of hair, eyes, spots, scars, and more.

"A nurturing voice reassures the lonely and afraid, [who are represented by animals], in difficult times"--Provided by publisher.

"A . . . candid picture book for children to understand what happens when a loved one begins suffering from dementia, and how best to care for them"--Provided by publisher.

"A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother's, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future. Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self love and empowerment"--Provided by publisher.

The story of Joseph Bazalgette, a 19th century engineer who designed London's first comprehensive sewage system. In doing so, he saved thousands of lives from cholera outbreaks that regularly plagued the city.

"A child experiences a flower by seeing its colors, smelling its fragrance, and imagining the tiny world within in"--OCLC.

A young, bedridden girl spends her day watching a mobile of spinning horses and uses her imagination to give the seven horses life in a fantasy world.

"No matter who you are or where you're from, step in and discover all the rituals and wonders of the mosque, from grandmothers reading lines of the Qur'an and the imam telling stories of living as one to meeting new friends and learning to help others, mosques are centers for friendship, community, and love"--Jacket flap.

Stranded far from home due to a mishap, a wooden robot prince and his log-princess sister rescue one another during their journey back to the castle.

Milo sketches what he imagines to be the lives of his fellow subway passengers, only to reassess his drawings after he discovers one boy shares Milo’s destination: visiting day at a correctional facility.

In an intricate tale of tragic loss and fervent hope, a loving sister seeks help from a compassionate, magical entity who uses the wonder of story to revive memories of a lost sibling.

"A biography of Nina Simone, an acclaimed singer whose music gave voice to the struggle for racial equality during the Civil Rights Movement"--Provided by publisher.

Lore surrounding the life of Osnat Barzani enhances this picture-book biography of the first female rabbi, who lived in seventeenth-century Iraq.

An accessible conversation starter about race for children and families. Simultaneously published in board and picture book format.

Evocative ink-and-watercolor illustrations speak volumes in this wordless picture book about intergenerational love and community.

"As an observant young child growing up in Lithuania, Ben Shahn yearns to draw everything he sees--and, after seeing his father banished by the Czar for demanding workers' rights, he develops a keen sense of justice, too. So when Ben and the rest of his family make their way to America, Ben brings with him both his sharp artistic eye and his desire to fight for what's right. As he grows, he speaks for justice through his art--from challenging classmates who bully him for being Jewish, to resisting his teachers' calls to paint beautiful landscapes in favor of painting stories true to life, to using his work to urge the US government to pass Depression-era laws that help people find food and security. "--Provided by publisher.

Using comparisons and contrasts, this engaging nonfiction title introduces young readers to estivation, the summertime equivalent of hibernation.

Easy-to-read, episodic chapters with simple illustrations introduce readers to Tola, a bright young girl living in Nigeria with her family.

A Chinese American girl, too embarrassed to eat the watercress her family picked from the roadside, learns of her mother's childhood experience with famine in China.

Two children explore and contemplate nature through a series of imaginative questions.