Compost Stew by

This ABC book with die cut paper images teaches about compost. It's got a great rhyming beat "throw it in the pot and let it rot". Plus, the gardener in it is a bit of a cross between Miss Frizzle with that red hair and a witch as the compost pot really does look like…

Secret Schools: True Stories of the Determination to Learn by Heather Camlot

This is a great overview of different types of underground schools. From teaching women in countries where that is outlawed, to learning in prison during Apartheid in South Africa. Lesson taught during war, hardship, and when it's illegal to learn. While not in depth, the short summaries give enough information to paint a picture of…

The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest by Heather Lang and illustrated by Jana Christy

Margaret Lowman is an American woman who was so interested in plants that she forged her own path at university to study biology and botany in the early '70s. She then traveled to Australia and began to study the rainforest there. She became determined to study the plant life there and how it related to…

What’s Inside a Bird’s Nest/Flower/Caterpillar Cocoon? And Other Questions about Nature and Life Cycles by Rachel Ignotofsky

This series by Rachel Ignotofsky not only has beautiful art its a fascinating look inside a bird's nest, a flower, and a cocoon/chrysalis. Each one is a simplified in depth look for young readers into the life cycle and life of each creature. Even for adult readers looking to know more, these are great as…

Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park by Lori Alexander and illustrated by Jen Ely

Minerva Hoyt was a socialite interesting in plants. After her marriage, she'd trek out to the desert where she fell in the love with landscape and plants and animals she found there. So she was dis heartened when she saw that tourists where digging up the plants and taking them back to there homes in…

This Little Kitty In The Garden by Karen Obuhanych

This is an adorable book with both kittys and gardens! The kitty's help and play in the garden. It's also the second in a series. Great for Spring or garden themed storytimes.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie by Erin Soderberg Dowling

The Peach family has been trying to maintain a normal life as much as possible since their mom died. The oldest, Lucy age 12, has stepped up and been doing everything she can to keep the family going, especially since their workaholic father seems to have checked out. But when one of their mom's last…

Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese

Willa is a star soccer play at her university with dreams of playing professional soccer and the skills and determination to actually get there. If she can pass her Business Math class that is. After missing classes for a game, she is upset when the professor refuses to give her a copy of the lecture…

The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook by Emma Bland Smith and Illustrated by Susan Reagan

Fannie Farmer was a cook who pioneered standardizing recipes. She was the first to use proper measuring techniques and noticed that recipes came out consistently when this was done. She taught this method at a cooking school and wrote one of the first, and to this day, most popular cook books. Without her, we'd still…

No Cats in the Library by Lauren Emmons

A curious cat tries to enter the library, but the librarian sends her back out. So she sneaks back in through the book drop. When a shy little girl reads to the kitty and it makes her feel confident in her reading, the librarian relents and she becomes the library reading cat! This book was…