“Alison acquired an Amaryllis for Beryl. Beryl bought a Begonia for Crystal. Crystal cut a Chrysanthemum for Dawn.” See a pattern? And so goes this alphabetical flower alliteration book. The full-page floral paintings and the clever girl-verb-flower text link one page to the next and keep interest blooming. This book is a vocabulary stretcher, guessing game, and flower primer all in one!

There is lots of confusion in the English language. Some words sound alike but are not spelled alike. Some letters have no sound at all. This vocabulary builder reminds us that humor can be found even in an English lesson!

Amber and Essie are sisters. Amber was brave. She wasn’t afraid of climbing up into high places. Essie was smart. She could read very hard library books. Together they make a good team. Their father is in prison, their mother works long hours, and there is little money to pay the bills. Through a series of interconnected poems, Williams presents Amber and Essie’s sad, funny, and moving tale. Full-color portraits of the girls precede the story, and an album of dramatic moments closes the book. Black-and-white pencil drawings are interspersed …

Imagine Amelia Earhart flying Eleanor Roosevelt over Washington D.C. in an airplane! This fictional account of their historic “night flight” shows two maverick women defying the conventions of their day, and taking off! Their exciting journey — from the White House to the starry skies above the Capitol — is illustrated with stunning black-and-white drawings.

Celebrate the Fourth of July in a vibrant seek-and-find adventure. This fun-filled ode to America brims with patriotic spirit and more than 200 hidden objects to find. Tommy awakes on July Fourth to find a note from his eccentric Aunt Jeanne, promising a spectacular surprise if he unravels clues she has hidden for him. Tommy’s clues lead him on a magical cross-country trip through America’s great places and iconic traditions. From Times Square to Mount Rushmore, from a Mississippi riverboat to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sportscaster Len Berman collects a plethora of true tales about minor leaguers, high school athletes and the majors in the paperback And Nobody Got Hurt!: The World’s Weirdest, Wackiest True Sports Stories. Organized by sport, the anecdotes range from the May 1993 home run hit by the Cleveland Indians’ Carlos Martinez, off the head of Texas Ranger right fielder Jose Canseco; to Natasha Zvereva’s 1993 Wimbledon match which quite literally brought her to her knees, from where she made not one, but two returns while playing with doubles partner Gigi …

Emily and Ben have just lost their mother to cancer. The children are struggling to come to terms with their mother’s death and make sense of their changed world. They experience a range of feelings: anger, sadness, fear, and hopelessness. Guided by conversations with their father, the children learn to better understand and express their feelings. Gradually, they begin to adjust to their loss.

Inside a mysterious jar there is some water. Turn the page and the water becomes the sea. In that sea, there is an island and on that island there are two countries, and so on until the reader has counted to over three million. Mitsumasa Anno’s books use detailed watercolors to show mathematical concepts. Text and pictures combined give a memorable lesson on factorials.

Here is a flippant slant on the typical ABC book. Ant characters pose to illustrate words from A to Z that contain the letters “ant.” In a rocking chair on the front porch sits an ancient “ant ique.” A “Brilliant” scientist mixes chemicals. The art is enchant ing, and observant students will come up with their own words to add to this ant hology.

No one ever told Margaret Simon that eleven-going-on- twelve would be such a hard age. When her family moves to New Jersey, she has to adjust to life in the suburbs, a different school, and a whole new group of friends. Margaret knows she needs someone to talk to about growing up-and it’s not long before she’s found a solution. Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. I can’t wait until two o’clock God. That’s when our dance starts. Do you think I’ll get Philip Leroy for a partner? It’s …