Provo Library Children's Book Blog

There were a lot of great people who helped found the United States of America. There were a lot of people who were instrumental in working to make sure that our country started 250 years ago. There are way too many biographies about these great people to name all of them. But I can give you five picture book biographies that can introduce kids to some of these great heroes. Happy reading!  George Washington’s Spectacular Spectacles: The Glasses that Saved America   Written by Selene Castroville  Illustrated by Jenn Harney  New York: Calkins Creek, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, 2025. Picture book.  One of the things you never see in portraits is George Washington wearing glasses. Yet he did. And this book goes over how George Washington wearing glasses actually helped save America from some very frustrated continental soldiers. Fascinating, right?  Revolutionary Mary: The True Story of One Woman, the Declaration of Independence, and America’s...

  Giant Squid Written by Candace Fleming Illustrated by Eric Rohmann New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2016. Informational. "A nonfiction picture book exploring the mysterious life of the elusive giant squid" --Editor Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic Written by Candace Fleming Illustrated by Deena So'Oteh New York : Anne Schwartz Books, 2024. Informational. "Paired with atmospheric illustrations by a debut illustrator, nonfiction text expertly explores the mysterious and fascinating unicorn of the Arctic, the narwhal, as it avoids predators, hunts for food and plays with other narwhals in its pod." --Editor Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera Written by Candace Fleming Illustrated by Eric Rohmann New York : Holiday House, 2020. Informational. "Describes the life cycle of the hard-working honeybee." --Editor The Family Romanov By Candace Fleming New York : Schwartz & Wade Books, 2014. YA nonfiction. 292 pages. "From the acclaimed author of Am...

  Cuentos La casita de esperanza Por Terry Catasús Jennings Ilustrado por Raúl Colón New York : Holiday House, 2022. Libro ilustrado. "Para convertir una casita en mal estado en un hogar acogedor, todo lo que se necesita es una familia con un corazón muy grande, decidida a ayudar a los demás, y ... un poquito de esperanza. La casita ofrece un hogar a aquellos que no tienen adonde ir. Es un lugar sin miedo y sin peligro en un país nuevo, y Esperanza siempre es la primera en darles la bienvenida a todos." --Editor Cuentitos El bebé ve animales de granja Por Janna Steagall Sanger, California: Familus LLC, 2026. Pequeño libro ilustrado. "Un libro de carton de alto contraste lleno de animales de granja y disenado por la artista Janna Steagall. Creado para los lectores más jovenes y sus ojos en desarrollo, este libro de cartón de alto contraste presenta a todos tus animales de granja favoritos." --Editor

Stories in the Park Dinosaur Day Written by Diana Murray Illustrated by Luke Flowers Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2025. Picture Book. On Dinosaur Day, dinosaurs love to stomp and chomp. But they like silly singing, rowdy swimming, and yummy desserts too. All this fun makes the baby dinos want to join, but something unexpected pops up. Will the dinos accept this new addition to keep Dino Day going? --Publisher Stories in the Park Red, White, and Boom! Written by Lee Wardlaw Illustrated by Huy Voun Lee New York: Henry Holt, 2012. Picture Book. Parades, beach picnics, and fireworks in the park are some of the ways Americans celebrate the Fourth of July. --Editor  Canopy Capers and Summer Story Time That's What Dinosaurs Do Written by Jory John Illustrations by Pete Oswald New York: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019. Picture Book. This is William. William is a dinosaur who loves to roar. Because, well, he's a dinosaur. But when William gets a sore thro...

  Houdini's Library: How Books Created the World's Greatest Magician Written by Barb Rosenstock Illustrated by Mar Delmar New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2026. Biography.  In this illustrated biography, rather than focusing on Houdini's life, the story is told through his love of books. Houdini's love of books began as a child reading from his father's collection—which was eventually sold to pay for rent after the family immigrated to America. His love of magic was also tied to his love of reading—he learned magic from a book that he later considered burning to keep the secrets of his magic tricks safe. Throughout his life, Houdini grew his collection and even travelled with a special folding bookcase the magically housed hundreds of volumes. By the time of his death, his brownstone in New York held 15,000 volumes that were later donated. In addition to the interesting narrative focus on his life, readers will be intrigued by the beautiful gauche and cut paper illustrat...

Junie B. Jones is a modern classic, with a spunky and relatable main character that kids love! If your elementary school reader is looking for books that will strike a similar chord in their reading line up, this list will introduce you to a whole new cast of loveable characters.  Bibsy Cross and the Bad Apple Written by Liz Garton Scanlon Illustrated by Dung Ho New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. Intermediate. 117 pages.  Bibsy Cross loves her family, her cat, her best friend, and she really loves school! But as the eight-year-old starts a new school year with a new teacher, Mrs. Stumper, things don't go as smoothly as Bibsy is used to. Her teacher thinks she is just a bit too much, especially when it comes to all her talk about the science fair. On a day that things go just a "stone too far," Mrs. Stumper punches a hole in Bibsy's paper apple hung in the classroom, which makes Bibsy worry how she can make the perfect science fair project when feeling so low. This book...