Here are 59 books that Over and Under the Pond fans have personally recommended if you like
Over and Under the Pond.
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Writing for children presents an exciting challenge: how can you deliver big ideas, innovative storytelling, and dazzling language using just a few simple words that even the youngest readers can understand? I’m especially drawn to nonfiction because it offers a chance to explore and explain our world. I find it rewarding to help unlock the mystery and wonder of science, nature, history, and other topics—all with the power of words. The books on this list are some of my favorites for telling real-life stories with writing that’s beautiful, spare, and inspiring.
“The river’s rhythm runs through my veins. Runs through my people’s veins.” This Caldecott Medal-winning picture book about the Indigenous-led movement to protect water as a sacred resource deserves all the accolades it has received. In a clear and powerful voice, Lindstrom’s young narrator reflects on the critical importance of water to her community, its spiritual significance, and the need to come together and stand up against an oil pipeline that threatens it.
I love how the book uses abstract language and imagery to tell a sweeping story of environmental justice and resistance that starts with one community’s fight to save its waterways and zooms out to include the whole world. At a time when environmental stories can be scary, sad, and overwhelming, Lindstrom’s poetic text encourages us to “Take courage!”
Winner of the 2021 Caldecott Medal #1 New York Times Bestseller
Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption―a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade.
Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all . . .
When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth And poison her people’s water, one young water protector Takes a stand to defend Earth’s most sacred resource.
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
Growing up, my father was a biologist and my mother was a children’s librarian, so I suppose it’s no surprise that I’ve become a children’s book author who writes about valuing the planet where we we live. I’ve always had a deep love of reading and some of my most cherished childhood memories are of walking through the woods behind our house, with one parent or another identifying the plants, animals, amphibians, birds, and insects that shared our land. My very first piece of writing was a poem about an owl that I wrote in first grade, and now all these years later, I’m still reading, writing, and recommending books that celebrate our marvelous world.
This is my all-time favorite picture book. I love books that inspire readers to think “big” – to consider how we’re all connected to each other and to the world around us.
The text of All the World is simple and lyrical, a beautiful poem that could stand on its own, but then you add in Marla Frazee’s gorgeous illustrations, and it’s a perfect match. I’ve read this book countless times, and every time I read it, I tear up. There’s hope, beauty, and wonder all portrayed in this amazing book.
All the world is here. It is there. It is everywhere. All the world is right where you are. Now. Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this endearing picture book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.
Growing up, my father was a biologist and my mother was a children’s librarian, so I suppose it’s no surprise that I’ve become a children’s book author who writes about valuing the planet where we we live. I’ve always had a deep love of reading and some of my most cherished childhood memories are of walking through the woods behind our house, with one parent or another identifying the plants, animals, amphibians, birds, and insects that shared our land. My very first piece of writing was a poem about an owl that I wrote in first grade, and now all these years later, I’m still reading, writing, and recommending books that celebrate our marvelous world.
Kids can connect to the world in many ways, and this book peels back the layers of how food arrives on our table.
It’s not at all preachy, instead, the text centers around gratitude as we think about the people who grow, fish for, and harvest our food, the animals who provide for us, those who pack the crates and drive the trucks for transport, the clerks at the store, and even the person who shopped for and prepared the meal.
I also love the illustrations. This is a lovely book that will make you grateful to sit down and eat.
Before we eat, many people work very hard-planting grain, catching fish, tending farm animals, and filling crates of vegetables. With vibrant illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian, this book reminds us what must happen before food gets to our tables to nourish our bodies and spirits.
This expanded edition of Before We Eat includes back-of-book features about school gardens and the national farm-to-school movement.
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
Growing up, my father was a biologist and my mother was a children’s librarian, so I suppose it’s no surprise that I’ve become a children’s book author who writes about valuing the planet where we we live. I’ve always had a deep love of reading and some of my most cherished childhood memories are of walking through the woods behind our house, with one parent or another identifying the plants, animals, amphibians, birds, and insects that shared our land. My very first piece of writing was a poem about an owl that I wrote in first grade, and now all these years later, I’m still reading, writing, and recommending books that celebrate our marvelous world.
This book has a lot of the qualities I love in a picture book: it has a simple yet meaningful text, colorful illustrations with plenty of details, and a message about connection and gratitude. What more could you ask for?
The reason I end up sharing this book again and again when I do read alouds with young children is the eight panel layout on each double page spread, where each panel represents a different part of the world, so children see the same experience portrayed in multiple ways. The pictures are so detailed they invite you to study them and compare one panel to the next.
Thank you, breeze, for lifting up my kite wings past treetops tall and proud.
Thank you, trees. Your branches are my playhouse. I'm climbing to the clouds!
Eight very different kids, from eight different continents, all go about their day and experience the same moments of happiness: greeting the sun in the morning, swinging on a swing, flying a kite, being tucked in by Mommy at bedtime.
Uplifting and narratively rich, this audiobook reminds us that the world isn't as large as it seems and that life's greatest pleasures are the simple ones.
Growing up, my father was a biologist and my mother was a children’s librarian, so I suppose it’s no surprise that I’ve become a children’s book author who writes about valuing the planet where we we live. I’ve always had a deep love of reading and some of my most cherished childhood memories are of walking through the woods behind our house, with one parent or another identifying the plants, animals, amphibians, birds, and insects that shared our land. My very first piece of writing was a poem about an owl that I wrote in first grade, and now all these years later, I’m still reading, writing, and recommending books that celebrate our marvelous world.
Believe it or not, this is a book I’ve used successfully in the classroom with teenagers!
The premise is that if we shrank the world down to just 100 people, we could then see what percentages of people shared nationalities, languages, school systems, types of jobs, etc. Or we can see who uses certain resources or has different possessions.
What I like about this book is that it’s impossible to wrap our minds around numbers in the millions and billions, but by breaking huge statistics down to just factors of 100, we can understand these concepts that illuminate how we’re sharing the planet. Kids love this book!
This is the new paperback edition of a beautiful and unique book, which explains facts about the world's population in a simple and fascinating way. Instead of unimaginable billions, it presents the whole world as a village of just 100 people. We soon find out that 22 speak a Chinese dialect and that 17 cannot read or write. We also discover the people's religions, their education, their standard of living, and much much more...This book provokes thought and elicits questions. It cannot fail to inspire children's interest in world geography, citizenship and different customs and cultures, whether they read it…
Writing for children presents an exciting challenge: how can you deliver big ideas, innovative storytelling, and dazzling language using just a few simple words that even the youngest readers can understand? I’m especially drawn to nonfiction because it offers a chance to explore and explain our world. I find it rewarding to help unlock the mystery and wonder of science, nature, history, and other topics—all with the power of words. The books on this list are some of my favorites for telling real-life stories with writing that’s beautiful, spare, and inspiring.
A young boy spends his mornings with his beloved grandmother. Although her English is limited, they share a quiet closeness as she makes him oatmeal, picks vegetables, and gathers earthworms for her garden. This tender ritual changes when she must leave her home.
There have been some wonderful picture book memoirs published over the last few years, and this is one of my favorites. The story is simple, and the language is beautiful. I love how it builds a heartfelt, lived-in world, evoking themes of poverty and loss using just a few words. The book’s dreamy illustrations and the reader’s imagination fill in the rest.
The special relationship between a child and his grandmother is depicted in this sumptuous book by an award-winning team. Inspired by memories of his childhood, Jordan Scott's My Baba's Garden explores the sights, sounds and smells experienced by a child spending time with their beloved grandmother (Baba). He visits her every day and finds her hidden in the steam of boiling potatoes, a hand holding a beetroot, a leg opening a cupboard, an elbow closing the fridge, humming like a night full of bugs when she cooks. This is a stunning ode to the special relationship between grandmother and grandchild,…
Writing for children presents an exciting challenge: how can you deliver big ideas, innovative storytelling, and dazzling language using just a few simple words that even the youngest readers can understand? I’m especially drawn to nonfiction because it offers a chance to explore and explain our world. I find it rewarding to help unlock the mystery and wonder of science, nature, history, and other topics—all with the power of words. The books on this list are some of my favorites for telling real-life stories with writing that’s beautiful, spare, and inspiring.
Dark and miraculous, an array of mushrooms awakens overnight: “Delicate umbrellas open, red octopus arms rise from the ground. Cupped eggs with nests appear ... a spooky green glows under a starlit sky.” I love how this gorgeous book finds poetry in the world of mushrooms while also being highly informative.
Through lyrical language, we learn about mushroom life cycles, how mushrooms interact with the ecosystem, and how they are used by animals and people. The illustrations shrink the reader down to a mouse’s eye level to explore this world of towering, mysterious mushrooms. This book is the perfect example of how nonfiction children’s writing can combine facts and beauty!
What can smell like bubble gum, glow neon green at night, be poisonous and yet still eaten by humans, and even help create rain? The answer is mushrooms! From their hidden networks underground to the fruiting body above, mushrooms can do incredible things. But don't call them plants--mushrooms are fungi. They're more closely related to animals like you! Through lyrical text and colorful, detailed artwork, the wonderful, mysterious, and sometimes bizarre world of mushrooms is explored. Back matter includes a glossary, additional mushroom facts, and a science activity.
Writing for children presents an exciting challenge: how can you deliver big ideas, innovative storytelling, and dazzling language using just a few simple words that even the youngest readers can understand? I’m especially drawn to nonfiction because it offers a chance to explore and explain our world. I find it rewarding to help unlock the mystery and wonder of science, nature, history, and other topics—all with the power of words. The books on this list are some of my favorites for telling real-life stories with writing that’s beautiful, spare, and inspiring.
This book holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the first that opened my eyes to the potential of nonfiction children’s writing as an elevated literary art form. In simple, beautiful language, Newberry Honor-winning poet Joyce Sidman explores the concept of the spiral shape and how and why it occurs across so many natural forms.
From a ram’s horn to a fiddlehead fern to a powerful storm, spirals are beautiful, efficient, and strong. I love how this book changes how readers look at the world—it’s hard not to notice spirals all around you after putting it down! Caldecott medallist Beth Krommes’ swoon-worthy illustrations are full of intricate details and hidden spirals to explore.
What makes the tiny snail shell so beautiful? Why does that shape occur in nature over and over again - in rushing rivers, in a flower bud, even inside your ear? With simplicity and grace, Krommes and Sidman not only reveal the many spirals in nature - from fiddleheads to elephant tusks, from crashing waves to spiralling galaxies - but also celebrate the beauty and usefulness of this fascinating shape.
As a part of Teatro SEA, promoting and strengthening the cultural identity of young latiné audiences is the main focus of our mission and everyone who works there. We have been around since 1985 as SEA (Society of the Educational Arts, Inc.) and are the premiere Bilingual Arts-in-Education Organization and Latino Children’s Theatre in the United States. We create and produce a combination of educational theater, in-school multidisciplinary arts instruction programs, art & cultural festivals/ events, online educational programming, and Theater Books, all intended to raise self-esteem, strengthen cultural identity, and provide educational advancement for our community of latiné children and youth.
I know I’m not the only one who fell in love with Selena the first time I heard her music.
The story of a young girl chasing her dreams despite the obstacles is universal and warms my heart. That’s what this book is: heartwarming. It’s often hard to talk about the end of Selena’s life, especially with children, but López focuses on the joy and accomplishments in Selena’s life, with just a brief mention of her untimely death.
López is inspiring musicians, fashion designers, performers, and so many more by showing them that it doesn’t matter where you come from-just as long as you put in the work.
From a very early age, young Selena knew how to connect with people and bring them together with music. Sing with Me follows Selena's rise to stardom, from front-lining her family's band at rodeos and quinceaneras to performing in front of tens of thousands at the Houston Astrodome. Young readers will be empowered by Selena's dedication - learning Spanish as a teenager, designing her own clothes, and traveling around the country with her family - sharing her pride in her Mexican-American roots and her love of music and fashion with the world.
As a child and then as a secondary school history teacher, I wanted to help people understand each other. I always told my students that it was less important to memorize dates and facts than it was to explore history to help them understand what it is to be a human being. They should know that humans have always faced challenges and found good or bad ways of dealing with them–it is not just in their time. The books I have listed here on the Revolutionary history of the New York area created an even greater passion for understanding the human condition.
This book helped me see the Saratoga campaign in new and deeper ways than other books I had read. The focus on accurately interpreting the battle through artifacts and then creating accurate illustrations and narratives really emphasized how history is more than just words put together to make an argument that some event was highly important or that an individual was responsible for the victory or defeat.
“Doing” history is not just digging for facts to relate but striving to understand events and the people involved with an open mind to additional evidence or suggested interpretations.
The Battles of Saratoga are cited as the turning point in the Revolutionary War. Beginning when the armies prepared to face off in June 1777 through the surrender of the British Army in October, the battles of the Northern Campaign were significant to the outcome of the War and the fight for independence. As a result of the Saratoga battles, the patriots gained confidence, the French entered the war, and the British plan to win the war quickly was put to an end.
Master historical painter Don Troiani and historian Eric Schnitzer combine their talents in this new book on…
