Children's Literature

Every child is a natural mathematician, according to Mitsumasa Anno. Children start to count long before they learn their ABC's, for they are constantly comparing and classifying things and events they observe around them. As they try to bring sense and order into what they observe, they are actually performing basic mathematical feats. In this book, Mitsumasa Anno, the creator of the brilliantly inventive Anno's Alphabet, invites young readers on another stimulating adventure of the imagination-this time into the world of numbers and counting.

One day, Clown is thrown into the trash, but he doesn't stay there long. He tries to find someone to take care of his friends, but no one listens. Then Clown finds someone "he" can take care of, and together, they make a home for everyone. Follow the fortunes of Clown-- who starts in a garbage can and ends up in a happy family-- in this perfectly pitched picture book. Master illustrator Quentin Blake has created an irrepressible character, an action-filled plot, and an eloquent story that can be read on several levels-- all without the use of a single word. Best Illustrated Book of 1996, "New York Times Book Review" "Horn Book" Fanfare Book

Open this wordless book and zoom from a farm to a ship to a city street to a desert island. But if you think you know where you are, guess again. For nothing is ever as it seems in Istvan Banyai's sleek, mysterious landscapes of pictures within pictures, which will tease and delight readers of all ages.

A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book Follow a girl on an elaborate flight of fancy in a wondrously illustrated, wordless picture book about self-determination -- and unexpected friendship. A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart's desire? With supple line, luminous color, and nimble flights of fancy, author-illustrator Aaron Becker launches an ordinary child on an extraordinary journey toward her greatest and most exciting adventure of all.

This book is about a book. A magical red book without any words. When you turn the pages you’ll experience a new kind of adventure through the power of story.

A boy and his teddy bear take a fantastic trip in a cardboard box to a strange planet where they become separated. The boy stages a heroic rescue mission and, just in the nick of time, the two escape into their box and rocket back up into space.

A comic romp through Shakespeare's London featuring an intrepid little boy, a friendly bear, and-in the role of dastardly villain-the Bard himself. What happens when a boy bursts through the curtain of a deserted theatre and onto the world's most famous stage? He lands on the Bard himself and the chase is on-through the streets of Shakespeare's London. This is a rare and inventive visual feast-a runaway story about a curious boy, a magic cloak, a grumpy bard, a captive bear and a baron bound for the chopping block. It is also a richly illustrated, dramatic and very funny tale of adventure and friendship.

Winner of the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal This New York Times Bestseller and New York Times Best Illustrated Book relates a story about love and loss as only Chris Rashcka can tell it. Any child who has ever had a beloved toy break will relate to Daisy's anguish when her favorite ball is destroyed by a bigger dog.

When a young boy discovers a camera on the beach and develops the film, he finds with his microscope many layers of pictures within the photographs.

A little girl--lost and alone--follows a mysterious stag deep into the woods, and, like Alice down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange and wondrous world. But... home and family are very far away. How will she get back there?

In this wordless picture book, a little girl collects wildflowers while her distracted father pays her little attention. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. Sidewalk Flowers is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.

In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.

This classic tale of friendship tracks a small gray mouse's search for the perfect pal. He asks various animals the same question: "Do you want to be my friend?" But it's not until he meets another mouse that he is answered with a heartwarming "Yes!" Fans of The Secret Birthday Message and The Mixed-Up Chameleon will delight in this ingenious picture book by Eric Carle. Do You Want to Be My Friend? was selected as an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Library of Congress Children's Book Pick, and a Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book. It supports the Common Core State Standards.