Age-Positive Picture Books

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Bates, Janet Costa

Isaac is excited about having a sleepover at Grandpop's house, but he's a little nervous about being away from home for the first time. Luckily, his knowing Grandpop tells him it's not quite time to go to bed yet, first, he needs Isaac's help in putting the house to bed. Quietly and slowly, they move from room to room, turning out lights and pulling down shades, as Grandpop gently explains the nighttime sounds that Isaac finds unfamiliar. Now it's time to read the house a bedtime story (Isaac is good at reading the pictures). By the time the house is settled in for the night, Isaac and Grandpop are ready for bed, too! Janet Costa Bates's tender story and A. G. Ford's cozy illustrations will have families and extended families or friends eager to take a wise Grandpop's cue and embrace a new nighttime tradition.

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Bernstrom, Daniel

Discover the true meaning of being brave in this tender and whimsical picture book from Daniel Bernstrom (One Day in the Eucalpytus, Eucalyptus Tree) and Shane Evans (Chocolate Me!) that follows a grandfather and grandson who travel through time in a beloved 1952 Ford.

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Bonsignore, Gregory

With the longest television career of all time, Betty White is an icon having starred on some of the most loved TV shows. She is also a pioneer: She was the first woman to produce a national TV show and the first producer to hire a female director. Betty is lauded for her work off the set: fighting for equal rights for women, advocating for the fair treatment of animals, campaigning to end bullying, and standing up for the LGBTQIA+ community.

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Castillo, Lauren

A young boy's frightened by how busy and noisy the city is when he goes there to visit his Nana, but she makes him a fancy red cape that keeps him from being scared as she shows him how wonderful a place it is.

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Cho, Tina M.

A ... picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear, and connecting with our natural world.

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De Regil, Tania

At Grandma's house, where Julia is staying without her parents for the first time, the breeze is sweet like jasmine. Mornings begin with sugared bread, and the most magnificent hot chocolate cures all homesickness. There's something about this place and about Grandma. Like how she can tell when Julia has been quietly picking limes from the garden. Or that she can see the future--and knows when Julia is about to fall off her bike. Or how she can journey back in time through the stories she tells. In the room where Julia's mother grew up, her grandmother holds her in a warm embrace--an embrace that Julia will pass on to her family when her parents arrive with her new baby brother.

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Denise, Anika

The life of Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer Rita Moreno, from her girlhood journey to the United States to her rise as a timeless superstar.

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Eriksen, Annie Hunter

Every superhero has their origin story: a radioactive spider bite turns ordinary teen Peter Parker into Spider-Man, wealthy Tony Stark escapes captivity by building his Iron Man suit, scientist Bruce Banner survives gamma rays only to transform into the Hulk. For Stan Lee, it was books of adventure, monsters, and magic that helped him transform from an ordinary boy to a superstar superhero creator. At first, reading these stories was a pathway to a world bigger than his family's tiny apartment in New York City, but it wasn't long until Stan was crafting his own stories, creating comics professionally when he was still just a teenager! Still, writing wasn't exciting when the heroes were always the same: strong, perfect, and boring. Stan had a revolutionary idea. What if anyone--even an ordinary kid--could be a superhero?

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Ferneyhough, Liza

Nina's visits to her two faraway grandmothers-one in Malaysia and one in England-unfold side-by-side, featuring similarities and differences between the two.

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Javaherbin, Mina

In a true tale of a young girl in Iran and her grandmother, this beautiful ode to family celebrates small moments of love that become lifelong memories.

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Kulling, Monica

Though eight-year-old Aidan and his friend Gussie want to go to school, like many other children in 1903, they work twelve hours, six days a week, at a cotton mill in Pennsylvania instead. So when the millworkers decide to go on strike, the two friends join the picket line. Maybe now life will change for them. But when a famous labor reformer named Mother Jones comes to hear of the millworkers' demands, she tells them they need to do more than just strike. “Troubled by all she had seen, Mother Jones wanted to end child labor. But what could she do? Why, organize a children's march and bring the message right to President Theodore Roosevelt at his summer home in Oyster Bay, of course!

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Levy, Debbie

Traces the achievements of the celebrated Supreme Court justice through the lens of her many famous acts of civil disagreement against inequality, unfair treatment, and human rights injustice.

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Mangal, Mélina

Nine-year-old Jayden loves the outdoors, but his mother is nervous about him playing in their neighborhood. With the help of his neighbor Mr. Curtis, can Jayden help Mama see that nature and beauty are all around?

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McDivitt, Lindsey

This biography follows Nelson Mandela from his work with the African National Congress, to his imprisonment on Robben Island, to his extraordinary rise to the presidency.

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McGinty, Alice B.

Mohandas Gandhi’s 24-day March to the Sea, from March 12 to April 5, 1930, was a pivotal moment in India’s quest to become an independent country no longer ruled by Great Britain. With over 70 marchers, Gandhi walked from his hometown near Ahmedabad to the seacoast near Dandi. The march was a non-violent means to protest the taxes that Great Britain had imposed on salt-not the salt that the Indians could get from the sea, but the salt that Great Britain forced them to buy. Gandhi believed that peaceful protests were an effective way to challenge British law, and his peaceful but ultimately successful movement became known as Satyagraha.

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Nolen, Jerdine,

Born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, she grew up listening to stories and loved reading. As a teenager she worked at the Lorain town library and later attended Howard University. As an editor at a New York publisher, she found time early in the morning and late at night after her children were asleep to write. When she looked about over her life and all what she had seen and learned, she knew she wanted to write about her people, Black people. Today and always her work and legacy will live on.

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Plourde, Lynn

From swinging on swings to zooming on bikes to splashing in puddles, this book celebrates the special bond between grandpa and grandchild.

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Ransome, James

A student wonders why her teacher has chosen to teach in her school for so long, and highlights all the special things her teacher does for her class.

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Robertson, David

A picture book celebrating Indigenous culture and traditions. The Governor General Award-winning team behind When We Were Alone shares a story that honors our connections to our past and our grandfathers and fathers. A boy and Moshom, his grandpa, take a trip together to visit a place of great meaning to Moshom. A trapline is where people hunt and live off the land, and it was where Moshom grew up. As they embark on their northern journey, the child repeatedly asks his grandfather, "Is this your trapline?" Along the way, the boy finds himself imagining what life was like two generations ago -- a life that appears to be both different from and similar to his life now. This is a heartfelt story about memory, imagination, and intergenerational connection that perfectly captures the experience of a young child's wonder as he is introduced to places and stories that hold meaning for his family.

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Springstubb, Tricia

Khalil lives in the upstairs apartment with his family, which is big and busy and noisy. Downstairs lives Mr. Hagerty, who is quiet. Khalil and Mr. Hagerty don't appear to have a lot in common, but hot summer days have a way of bringing people together. As Khalil looks for buried treasure in the yard, Mr. Hagerty tends to his garden. Both help each other navigate language -- whether it be learning new words or remembering those seemingly forgotten. Before long, an unlikely friendship is born, full of treasure, thoughtfulness, and chocolate cake. Through well-cultivated details and vibrant cut-paper collage, author Tricia Springstubb and illustrator Elaheh Taherian nurture a heart-tugging tribute to the love of good neighbors and to the strength of intergenerational and intercultural bonds.

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Venkat, Srividhya

Varun is fascinated when he watches his sister's dancing class, where she learns bharatanatyam, a dance from India. He tries out some moves at home in secret since he is convinced dancing is not for boys. His grandfather tries to convince him otherwise.

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Walker, Tricia Elam

Zura is worried about how her classmates will react to her Ghanaian Nana's tattoos on Grandparents Day, but Nana finds a way to show how special and meaningful they are.

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Wang, Andrea

Inspiration struck when Momofuku Ando spotted the long lines for a simple bowl of ramen following World War II. Magic Ramen tells the true story behind the creation of one of the world's most popular foods.

Every day, Momofuku Ando would retire to his lab--a little shed in his backyard. For years, he'd dreamed about making a new kind of ramen noodle soup that was quick, convenient, and tasty for the hungry people he'd seen in line for a bowl on the black market following World War II. Peace follows from a full stomach, he believed.

Day after day, Ando experimented. Night after night, he failed. But Ando kept experimenting.

With persistence, creativity, and a little inspiration, Ando succeeded. This is the true story behind one of the world's most popular foods.

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Watson, Renée

This unforgettable picture book introduces young readers to the life and work of Maya Angelou, whose words have uplifted and inspired generations of readers. The author of the celebrated autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya was the first Black person and first woman to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration, and her influence echoes through culture and history. She was also the first Black woman to appear on the United States quarter. Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson uses Angelou's beloved medium of poetry to lyrically chronicle her rich life in a deeply moving narrative. Vivid and striking collage art by Caldecott Honor recipient and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner Bryan Collier completes this unforgettable portrait of one of the most important American artists in history.

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Weatherford, Carole Boston

With simple rhyming text, a young child reflects on the many reasons they love their Grandmother.

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Winter, Jeanette

This book traces out the life and career of Jane Goodall as a watcher of English fauna to her adult work as scholar of animal behavior in Africa.

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Woodgate, Harry

After Milly discovers a pride flag in Grandad's attic, this adorable pair are motivated by the past to start a pride parade in their small town. Activism and celebration go hand in hand as the town gathers to help "build a world where everyone is proud to be themselves." This beautiful follow-up to Grandad's Camper is filled with heart and purpose.

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Wu, Helen H.

Lin makes tofu with her grandma and discovers that patience brings a whole universe together in a simple dish made by a modern Chinese American family.

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Yang, Kao Kalia

Drawn from Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this heartfelt picture book offers a window into the life of a family with little money and a great deal of love.

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Yee, Sennah

May isn't having fun on her trip through Chinatown with her grandfather. Gong Gong doesn't speak much English, and May can't understand Chinese. She's hungry, and bored with Gong Gong's errands. Plus, it seems like Gong Gong's friends are making fun of her! But just when May can't take any more, Gong Gong surprises her with a gift that reveals he's been paying more attention than she thought.

Summaries provided by DPL's catalog unless otherwise noted. Click on each title to view more information.

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