Animals

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Be Creative

Curious George®

Early Childhood

Elementary

Foundational Reading

Be Kind

Vooks A to Z

Food and Cooking

Storytime Favorites

It’s Thanksgiving day, and boy is George excited! The delightful smells, the festive decorations, the delicious food—George loves it all! And to top everything off, he gets to share it all with the people he loves most. But even on Thanksgiving the curious little monkey manages to stir up some trouble, despite the best of intentions! Follow George through a Thanksgiving adventure filled with all sorts of holiday fun, from a grand parade to a tasty turkey dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving Curious George is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, written by Cynthia Platt and Julie M. Bartynski, and illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young.

Happy Thanksgiving Curious George®. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Based on the character of Curious George®, created by Margret and H.A. Rey. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Curious George® is a registered trademark of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

A parade, a turkey, a little bit of mischief—Thanksgiving is the best with Curious George around!

Happy Thanksgiving Curious George

Biographies

Kid at Heart

New Books

When Filbert P. Horsefeathers walks into George Crum's restaurant, he tells the waitress, “I have a hankering for a heaping helping of potatoes.” Talented cook that he is, George prepares a serving of his most scrumptious, succulent, and sublime potato wedges—only to have Filbert send them back. “Too thick,” he says. “Too bland.” So, George makes thinner, saltier wedges. 

But this picky customer isn’t satisfied with the new dish. He sends them back again. Feeling a bit mischievous, George decides to make the thinnest, most overcooked, most salty potatoes of his entire cooking career. What happens next surprises everyone—and leaves the whole world clamoring for more.

Though a work of fiction, Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament is based on a real George Crum (of mixed Native American and African American descent), who is said to have created the first potato chip in response to a demanding customer. The playful writing is filled with vocabulary words, along with themes of persistence, creativity, and using cleverness to handle challenging social situations. Written by Anne Renaud, illustrated by Felicita Sala, and published by Kids Can Press.

The pickiest customer of Crum’s career might lead him to a breakthrough: The invention of the potato chip!

Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament

Science

Main Carousel

It’s a sleepy Saturday morning for most people, but not for Iris. She has to feed her many pets before Aunt Mary arrives. Iris likes to call her Aunt Mary “Plant Mary,” because Aunt Mary is a plant scientist. They’re about to turn Iris’s kitchen into a bread lab. Today’s science experiment: Making whole wheat sourdough from scratch.

First, they mix the four ingredients needed to make the bread: flour, water, salt, and Flora the starter. Then, they knead the bread until it’s strong. What happens after they let the loaf rest? To find out, come along for a scientific bake-off featuring microbes, tasty aromas, and a crust-loving dog named Charlie.

Bread Lab! takes a close, step-by-step look at the process of using microbes to make a loaf of bread from scratch. The narrative features accessible scientific ideas and representations of girls in science. It also connects the dots between farming, plant science, and the foods we love to eat. Written by real-life plant researchers Kim Binczewski and Bethany Econopouly, illustrated by Hayelin Choi, and published by Readers to Eaters.

Iris is about to turn her kitchen into a bread lab with her Aunt Mary. Today’s experiment: Whole wheat sourdough.

Bread Lab

Familius Presents

Language and Vocabulary

It's food for thought! Nom Nom Colors makes learning colors (and foods) more fun than ever before. Children will love repeating the names of bright colors, tasty sweets, and delicious fruits and veggies - as the foods come to life right before their eyes! The silly puns throughout the book will have little ones giggling along.

This tasty treat of a book is published by Familius, a values-driven publisher on a mission to teach, inspire, and bring families together. Nom Nom Colors is written and created by Forrest Everett.

Nom Nom Colors makes learning colors (and foods) more fun than ever before!

Nom Nom Colors

Foods come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. There are red foods like tomato, strawberry, apple, and watermelon. And yellow foods like corn, summer squash, pineapple, and banana. Purple foods include grapes, eggplants, plums, and raisins. There are orange foods like carrots, yams, and apricots—and green foods like celery, broccoli, lettuce, and peas!

Come along as Greenie picks and eats their favorites of each colored food. If you were Greenie, which foods would you choose? Everyone should try new flavors, but do you have one fruit or vegetable you like better than all the rest?

With the much-loved character from Greenie Grows a Garden, Are You Eating Something Red? is a food primer that serves up a variety of fruits and vegetables. The story asks readers to think about which foods they’d prefer (or like to try), while Greenie picks their own favorite from each color group. Written and illustrated by Ryan Sias and published by Blue Apple Books.

Tomato, strawberry, watermelon—they’re all red, and they’re all good to eat. Which would you pick for a tasty treat?

Are You Eating Something Red?

Zora is bored. Or at least, she was bored until she decided to plant zucchini in her summer garden. When the zucchinis start to grow, her family makes all kinds of recipes out of them: zucchini bread, zucchini soup, zucchini marinated, grated, and barbecued. They eat the vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Zora can’t get enough!

But the zucchini patch keeps growing, and growing—and growing. Soon, Zora finds herself with more zucchini than her family can hope to cook. She decides to start a garden swap. Will her neighbors show up to trade produce? Or will Zora get buried under a mountain of fresh zucchini?

Published by Readers to Eaters, Zora’s Zucchini is about discovering not only the wonder of growing food, but the satisfaction of growing a community. The story also demonstrates an important truth: Children are more interested in eating the foods they have a hand in growing, preparing, and cooking. Written by Katherine Pryor and illustrated by Anna Raff.

For Zora, the first zucchini of her summer garden is exciting. But what happens when the plants grow out of control?

Zora's Zucchini

Camels can go for a month without food. But do they know how to cook spaghetti? Squirrels store up nuts and seeds for the winter. But can they whip up salad dressing? Bears eat fish, nuts, berries, and honey. But do they know how to fry bacon and eggs? Raccoons wash their food before they eat it—but do they know how to roast a hot dog?

Monkeys use tools like sticks and grass to find food—but of all the animals, only humans cook their meals. What else do humans do to make interesting and delicious recipes? And how do those dishes differ depending on where we live? Come along for a tasty journey and find out!

An informative look at where and how animals get their food, Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti? starts conversations about cooking tools, varied diets, and eating local. Written by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Emily Bolam, and published by Blue Apple Books.

These animals all eat different foods—but do they know how to cook? Let’s find out!

Does a Camel Cook Spaghetti?

Everyone's Reading

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

Hi Greenie! ¡Hola Verdecito! Join Greenie in his garden, as he first plants, then tends to, and finally harvests yummy strawberries. Presented in English and Spanish, this sweet bilingual story introduces kids to common gardening words, like seed, water, flower, and many more. 

Greenie makes learning English and Spanish fun, and helps expand little ones’ vocabularies. The cute story, adorable characters and illustrations, and clear presentation of both languages, makes this book perfect for all ages. Greenie Grows a Garden, part of the ¡Hola, English! series, is written by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Ryan Sias, and published by Blue Apple Books.

Hi Greenie! ¡Hola Verdecito! Join Greenie in his garden, as he grows yummy strawberries!

Greenie Grows a Garden — Verdecito Cultiva un Jardín

Free Access

Clock strikes five. Shop is closed. Donuts sleep (so we suppose)…
Get ready for a delicious and hilarious journey through a world filled with (and made of) everyone’s favorite treat: donuts! Pirate donuts, dog donuts, striped donuts, jelly filled—donuts of every shape and size make an appearance in this whacky, fun-filled tale. But it’s not all fun and games in the donut shop! When the donuts realize they are going to be eaten the next morning, they band together to plan their escape. Will they make a great escape? Or will they become breakfast?

Donuts: The Hole Story brings donuts to life like never before! Written by David Miles and published by Familius, this story is fun, funny, and full of puns. It’s sure to be a hit with the hole family!

A whacky tale filled with (and made of) everyone’s favorite deep-fried treats...it’s a hole in one!

Donuts: The Hole Story

It’s food for thought! Nom Nom Shapes makes learning shapes (and food) a real treat. With the help and encouragement of a variety of adorable food characters, little ones will discover that shapes can be found in everything we eat — from oval grapes to triangular slices of quiche. Brightly colored and filled with silly puns, Nom Nom Shapes will have kids laughing and learning.

Studying shapes is a piece of cake with this fun and educational title from Familius, a family focused publisher. Nom Nom Shapes is written and created by Forrest Everett.

Learning shapes has never been so fun, or silly. You might say it's a real treat!

Nom Nom Shapes

It’s food for thought! Nom Nom Opposites makes learning opposites (and food) a piece of cake! Guided by a bundle of cute food characters, little ones will discover the ins and outs of opposites like never before. Hot & cold, sweet & sour, empty & full — opposites are everywhere (including the foods we eat)!

Kids big and small will love laughing and learning with this delightful title from Familius, a family focused publisher. Nom Nom Opposites is written and created by Forrest Everett.

Sweet, sour. Hot, cold. Empty, full. Who knew learning opposites could be so fun?!

Nom Nom Opposites

Aneel loves when his grandparents visit. Most of all, he loves their stories. Today, Dada-ji tells Aneel the story of a lad from a village far, far away. The lad could wrestle water buffalo, tie two hissing cobras in a knot, spin trumpeting elephants by their tails, and touch the sky with his feet. The source of the lad’s tiger power? Hot, hot roti, prepared by Aneel’s Badi-ma herself!

Aneel asks his mother, father, Dadi-ma, and sister for help making roti for Dada-ji. But when no one can help, Aneel is left to make the recipe on his own. Will the roti turn out alright? And if it does, can it still give Dada-ji the power of the tiger? There’s only one way to find out!

Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-Ji tells the story of a bond between grandson and grandfather. The narrative features themes of cultural heritage, traditions, belief in one’s self, and the expression of love through cooking. Written by F. Zia, illustrated by Ken Min, and published by Lee & Low Books.

There once was a lad who could tie two cobras in a knot and touch the sky with his feet. His secret? Hot, hot roti.