Children's Book List: Reading Takes You...Across the USA in Picture Books!

During these Interesting Times, the Children's Department has been hard at work updating our book lists. Whether you're looking for a book on a particular topic (like feeling different) or want to read something similar to that series that you just finished up (and now have that empty, lost feeling), we've probably got a book list for that. You can find the full list of our children's book lists on our website. We've also put all of these awesome lists on Beanstack. If you haven't had a chance to check out Beanstack, you really should. It makes signing up for and monitoring summer reading a breeze! We'll be highlighting some of our book lists in these blog posts throughout the summer. Happy reading!

If you're looking for a road trip this summer without the hassle, we've got picture books set in every state, plus D.C.!

ALASKA
Snow Bear
by Jean Craighead George, paintings by Wendell Minor
New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1999

Bessie Nivyek sets out to explore a huge block of ice that has been pushed up out of the Arctic Ocean overnight. Snow Bear, the polar bear cub, is also exploring. He and Bessie play together while Bessie's brother and Snow Bear's mother watch nervously. Gorgeous paintings bring the Arctic and an unlikely friendship to life.

CALIFORNIA
Dream Something Big
by Dianna Aston
London: Dial Book, 2011

Over the course of 34 years, Italian immigrant Simon Rodia used found materials to create a piece of artwork that would become a U.S. National Landmark. A build-your-own-tower activity at the end makes this interactive book a hit.

MASSACHUSETTS
Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
New York: The Viking Press, 1941

This timeless classic follows Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they lead their family through the streets of Boston to their new home. The sepia toned illustrations show a duck's-eye view of the city.