National Network for Equitable Library Service

Now that his parents are separated, Ludo has two homes: one in the country with his mom, and the other in the city with his dad. The young boy doesn't like leaving the countryside and his friends to go to his father's apartment in the city, but he does find some entertainment in the flashing traffic lights on the street corner under his window. Ludo convinces himself (with the help of his father) that the lights are controlled by a tiny gentleman who sits inside the signal pole, flipping switches all day and night.

Lucy and friends are out on the playground when they spot Ava playing basketball with her cousin Jermaine, a professional player. Jermaine calls the kids over for a lesson on the fundamentals of the game and how to play three-on-three When the kids finish, Jermaine invites them to watch him play in a pro game. Lucy, Ava and friends cheer on Jermaine and his teammates, keeping an eye out on the real court for the skills they learned at the playground. Lucy Tries Basketball is the fifth title in the Lucy Tries Sports series, following books about hockey, soccer, short track and luge.

Follow our little cloud on an adventure through the sky and learn the science behind how it transforms from a simple cumulus cloud to a full-blown hurricane. Beautifully detailed illustrations from award-winning artist Julie McLaughlin integrate science with storytelling. Children will enjoy finding new gems of information even after several reads, thanks to a whimsical and rich layout.

Every morning, a young girl walks her grandmother to the Aajibaichi Shala, the school that was built for the grandmothers in her village to have a place to learn to read and write. The narrator beams with pride as she drops her grandmother off with the other aajis to practice the alphabet and learn simple arithmetic. A moving story about family, women and the power of education—when Aaji learns to spell her name you’ll want to dance along with her.

When We Are Kind celebrates simple acts of everyday kindness and encourages children to explore how they feel when they initiate and receive acts of kindness in their lives. Celebrated author Monique Gray Smith has written many books on the topics of resilience and reconciliation and communicates an important message through carefully chosen words for readers of all ages. Beautifully illustrated by artist Nicole Neidhardt, this book encourages children to be kind to others and to themselves.

Yu-Rhee, a young Korean girl, wants to know how to tell time using a clock. Her mother tells her a tale from her childhood based on the traditional Korean practice of timekeeping, where the 12 animals of the zodiac are assigned to 2-hour sections of the 24-hour clock. Told from the point of view of a mountain, the story follows a child as they climb the mountainside in search of a plant to heal their ailing mother. The climb is steep, the path wild and the way difficult.

Bob’s tricycle is broken and he needs a wrench to fix it. He ventures out to buy one at the Megamart, where slick salesman, Mr. Mart, convinces Bob that it’s not a wrench he needs, but a fridge hat…singing pajamas…a screaming machine! Bob spends all his money on things that he really doesn’t need and before he knows it has no money and no wrench.

Life moves oh-so-slow when your little brother is a snail. It takes forever to do anything! Really, it's enough to test the patience of even the most understanding big sister. But is Moe just slow or is there something else going on? With charming illustrations by Marianne Ferrer, award-winning author Deborah Kerbel has written a delightful story about love, support and the struggle for tolerance within the often tumultuous sibling relationship.

A child tries to understand the life of a man he has seen sleeping under a bridge. The boy's mother patiently answers his questions and explains how people's life paths can be so different. The child observes the things he has in common with the man and wonders where his own path will lead. The One With the Scraggly Beard is defined by a simple narrative in which a child's curiosity and perceptiveness act as catalysts for understanding fear, suffering and resilience while exploring themes of homelessness, belonging and compassion. This unique book will speak to children and adults alike.

"(Jill) Biden's anecdotal portrait of her spouse's early years spotlights his competitiveness and risk-taking...his role as a peacemaker, devoted brother, and defender of bullied peers...and reveals how...high school, when he became a star athlete and class president, paved the way for leadership roles in college and beyond." —Publishers Weekly.