"Mom, I can't sleep!"
"Why not?"
"I don't know...I'm nervous and I can't stop thinking, thinking, thinking..."
"Do you want me to teach you how to breathe?"
"Breathe? But I already know how to breathe!"

This familiar scene of a child having difficulty falling asleep leads to fantastic and imaginative techniques to foster calm and mindfulness. From a boat on your belly to yoga poses these beautifully illustrated and gently described tools are sure to help restless people of any age. Further notes about the techniques are included in the back. This book could be read in a sitting or picked up and put down as needed when you want to try a new tool. The mixed media illustrations perfectly capture abstract concepts to help children with visualizations. A great resource for parents and educators!

Erica's Picks
k - 3
​Tags: Nonfiction, Picture Books

​This early tale of biomimicry is based on historical fact. The Gobukson (or turtle ships) were known for their powerful design that included ironclad covering long before any western ships did. The story follows a young boy who observes a turtle in nature and then takes him to the emperor to illustrate his idea. This is a great book for budding inventors and could easily be paired with a maker's activity on boat building. The illustrations are intricate collages that lend the book a sense of warmth and solidity; you can almost feel the textures beneath your fingers. This really helps showcase the various design elements of the ship. 

Erica's Picks
Grades K - 3
​Tags: History, Nonfiction, Picture Books

​This wise book starts off reassuring readers that when you go out into the world, you may have questions about what you see, and that is okay. People live in many different ways. It goes on to give an example of a kid walking to school and seeing a man sleeping on the street. The child asks "Why would he sleep outside?" The book answers with matter of fact, developmentally-appropriate language and continues to other questions from what is poverty to what is a fundamental human right to how can I help. This book is an excellent resource for parents or educators looking for language and advice on how to broach this topic with children. You could even just sit down with a child and read the whole book together. I love that the book comes from a place of curiosity and compassion. It doesn't talk down to the reader or make them feel bad for asking perfectly natural questions. Illustrated with a mixture of watercolor and photographs, this approachable book is a must-read.

Erica's Picks
Grades 1-4
​Tags: Nonfiction

Fly With Me is a masterpiece of transdisciplinary study. The book examines birds from every possible angle: biological, historical, conservation, art, and stories. Poetry is peppered throughout complementing the other information. It's a National Geographic book, so you can trust that the photography throughout is stunning. Perfect for bird enthusiasts and curious minds. 

Erica's Picks
Grades 1 - 4
Tags: Animals, Nonfiction, Poetry, Science​

A city of millions cut off from the rest of the world and left to starve. People killing for ration cards, which provide a mere 125 grams of bread made with sawdust mixed in to the flour. Desperate people resorting to cannibalizing the plentiful corpses lining the street. It sounds like the premise for a YA dystopian novel, but it really happened. In 1941 Nazi forces blockaded the city of Leningrad in a siege that would last two and a half years and result in the deaths of over a million people. One of the people trapped in the city was composer Dmitri Shostakovitch. When he escaped the city, he wrote a symphony that would commemorate those lost and give hope to those still trapped. This is his true story.

This thick, nonfiction tome should have taken me ages to slog through, but instead I tore through it like it was the latest sci-fi thriller. The story is at turns moving, disturbing, and triumphant. It is a prime example of the power of narrative nonfiction.

Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson

Erica's Picks
8th & up
​Tags: biography, dystopian, global perspectives, history, nonfiction

When Hitler invaded Denmark, the adults reluctantly accepted the occupation, too terrified of the overwhelming Nazi forces to fight back. But teenagers rose up to spark a resistance. Knud Pedersen founded the Churchill club with other students and together they started to sabotage the occupying Nazi forces. When the members were finally caught and it was revealed that the brave resistance fighters were teens, it sparked the Dutch resistance among adults. Read the history of the Churchill Club in their own words in this thrilling nonfiction account.


This is an inspiring true story of teenagers organizing themselves in a fight against overwhelming evil. The book is meticulously researched and quotes extensively from interviews the author conducted. A great choice for narrative nonfiction.

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose

Erica's Picks
7th & up
​Tags: biography, history, nonfiction

,Stunning, powerful and spiritual, this book is a poetic presentation of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final months. The Pinkneys, who have collaborated on many fine books, join their talent, wisdom and heart to take you on an emotional journey through history.  The author's hope is "that each poem brings insight and dignity to the men and women who risked everything to end injustice, while also  painting the story of humanity's power, against all odds, to change the world by working peacefully together." The artist sought to "create visual metaphors to symbolize  how Martin embraced his own family with his love...that ultimately cast its luminescent power throughout the world." This is the most tender and moving tribute that I have seen; read this illuminating book and share Dr. King's dream.

Click here for a video of the Pinkneys talking about their inspiration.youtu.be/vv9cEm12Usg

​This colorful and practical guide leads kids through a variety of exercises in mindfulness. The bright illustrations and simple language make it an engaging way to teach mindfulness to even the youngest kids. The exercises are broken down into five sections: Be Calm, Focus, Imagine, Make Some Energy, and Relax. Each exercise gets a fully illustrated two page spread with large text in appealing fonts explaining what to do in kid-friendly language. I love the squirrels with their kindness exercise and the wolf that leads the get your grumpies out exercise, but it's afternoon as I write this, so I am most drawn to the energizers. This example from that section certainly looks appealing to me. Just look at that lion!

Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey, illustrated by Anni Betts

Erica's Picks
k-4
Tags: Nonfiction

Feminism Reinventing the f-word by Nadia Abushanab Higgens explores the history of feminism in the U.S., then goes on to highlight twenty-first-century feminists who are pushing for diverse beauty standards, improved access to reproductive control, freedom from sexual violence, LGBTQ rights, affordable health care and individual expression of femininity. After reading this book, you will be able to respond to "Am I a feminist?" with an informed voice

Tessa's Picks, 6th-8th grade, Nonfiction, Social Justice, LGBTQ

Tessa's Picks, 5th-7th grade, Nonfiction,LGBTQ, People of Color, Social Justice