Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

Sweet Clara is a slave who is taught to sew and given the opportunity to be taken to the big house and become a seamstress. While she is there, she listens carefully and hears about the surrounding lands and how people try to escape to freedom, but without a map, they have a hard time making it far enough to be taken in by the underground railroad. 

So, Clara sets to work to make a map that can be hidden in plain sight.  She starts making a strange, patternless quilt, with seams for roads and flowered pieces for fields.  Without saying a word, some of the other slaves catch on to what she is doing and stop by to share their information.  From one slave who tries to escape and is brought back, she finds out how to reach the boat that will take them to the underground railroad.  Finally, when the quilt is complete, she leaves it behind, and she follows the map with a male friend.  They go to another farm following the map and pick up her baby sister and her mother, and together find their way north, leaving behind a map to lead anyone else who wants to find the way. 

Taken from a lesser known piece of American history. 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

A play on the similarly titled song, this is one of a series of Fly Guy books.  In this book, fly guy gets swallowed, and yet is still able to save the "old lady" from impending death with the help of his friend Buzz.

A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert

Anna needs a new coat, but her mother can't afford to pay for one, so she trades items she owns for each step of the process, from the raising of sheep to the shearing, spinning, dying, weaving, and tailoring until the coat is finished.

The Lizard Man of Crabtree County by Lucy Nolan

We actually got the book, not the movie shown here. 

A boy goes out exploring, and gets home to find out one of his neighbors has seen a "lizard man."  He goes out exploring on different days, and always winds up missing the lizard man, but get home to hear more reports about them where ever he's been.  Great for discussing how things are not always what they seem, and that things that look one way can really be another.  Pictures illustrate where the "lizard man" was all along. 

A is for Africa by Ifeoma Onyefulu

A look at life in an African village through items beginning with various letters of the alphabet (English alphabet, of course).  A good look at different cultural things from dress to food to houses. 

Ogbo: Sharing Life in an African Village by Ifeoma Onyefulu

A fun look at how different age groups work together and are friends throughout a life span.  We actually really enjoyed this book.  All of us.  An ogbo is an age group.  So, all of the people in a village belong to one age group or another, and the whole ogbo shares responsibility for different things. 

A Fairy in a Dairy by Lucy Nolan

A cow fairy goes around delivering milk products to the town, until the mayor gets upset and tries to expose the cow.  Discusses magic, flying cows, and fairies (of course). 

Mouse on the Moon by Anna Milbourne

A look-through board book, a mouse decides to visit space. Not much can be said about a book with 10 pages and most of the words being "look inside." 

Sun and Rain: Exploring Seasons in Hawaii by Stephanie Feeney

A fun book for younger children about areas that don't have the typical 4 seasons.  With lots of beautiful photographs of various aspects of Hawaii life, it explores the two seasons, the rainy season and the and different things one can do in each. 

Down Girl and Sit: Smarter than Squirrels by Lucy Nolan

A funny look at life from a dog's perspective.  Down girl and her neighbor Sit try to save the world from invading cats, birds, and squirrels while being helpful to their owners by eating all the dog food, going in search of them when they get lost, and then enjoying a nice reward of donuts every once in a while.