Back to School

Everyone's Reading

Vooks at a Glance

New Books

Celebrate Black History

Friendship

Main Carousel

Vooks Originals

Family 

Vooks A to Z

Elementary

Be Caring and Kind

Kid at Heart

Storytime Favorites

Free Access

Little Craig loves birthday parties, even though he doesn’t get invited very often. That is until Craig gets invited to TWO birthday parties, on the same day. Joey’s the new kid in school, and he invited Craig to his party first. But Dan is Craig’s good friend, and he invited Craig to his party second. Little Craig is torn between keeping his word to Joey, or going to his friend Dan’s party instead. Craig’s mom reminds him “You’re only as good as your word,” and leaves the choice up to him. Little Craig has a tough decision to make, but with his mom’s encouraging words, he just might learn a valuable lesson that will guide him the rest of his life.

Based on a true story, this Little Craig book teaches the lesson of keeping your word. That’s the lesson Craig Robinson learned in real-life, when he was invited to two birthday parties on the same day. Craig’s mom Marian Robinson, always full of wisdom, helped him learn the valuable lesson that he still remembers to this day. The adorable illustrations bring Little Craig’s world to life, and a heartwarming retro-inspired soundtrack takes you back to the real-life era the story comes from. Little Craig: Balloons and Cake is the first book in the new Little Craig series, which teaches important lessons that kids can take with them for life.

A Vooks Original, Little Craig: Balloons and Cake teaches the lesson that keeping your word is important, even if it’s the hard thing to do. Based on a true story and a real-life lesson learned, the book is written by Craig Robinson and Leslie Harter, and Illustrated by Skylar Hogan.

Little Craig loves birthday parties! But when he gets invited to two parties on the same day, he has to make a tough decision.

Little Craig: Balloons and Cake

Build Confidence

Animals

Sick Day Stories

One day, while walking through the forest, Steve finds a beautiful gold horn. Instantly, he knows he has found the path to being exceptional. (That means special.) Steve ties the horn to the top of his head and prances off to show his friends. Everyone but Bob is impressed—and many are so inspired, they start tying items to the top of their heads as well.

But when Steve finds his horn has gone missing, he’s devastated. (That means really bummed.) Frantically, he searches to find it. Because without his beautiful gold horn, Steve can’t be an exceptional horse. Can he? Come along with Steve as he sets out to find an answer, and a valuable life lesson along the way.

Narrated by the exceptional Rainn Wilson, A Horse Named Steve is a story about how you can be special whether you’re different or whether you’re just like everyone else. It also celebrates the child-like impulse to be and do what feels fun in the moment. With light vocabulary-building elements, A Horse Named Steve is written and illustrated by Kelly Collier, and published by Kids Can Press.

One day, while walking through the forest, Steve (voiced by Rainn Wilson) finds a beautiful gold horn. It just might make him exceptional.

A Horse Named Steve

Be Brave

Dream Big

Biographies

Women Who Changed the World

S.T.E.A.M.

Be Creative

How We Work

Be Resilient

Camp Vooks

All Seasons

An incredible true story of determination, hard work and big dreams, Sweet Dreams, Sarah tells the inspirational story of Sarah E. Goode—entrepreneur, inventor and among the first African-American women to be awarded a US patent. Sarah grew up a slave and dreamed of so much more. After the abolition of slavery, Sarah moved to Chicago to build a life for herself and her family. She built furniture and opened a shop to serve her local community. Sarah listened to her customers, and soon realized they needed something brand new: a piece of furniture that was innovative and space saving. Through grit and determination Sarah achieved things she previously had only dreamed of—sweet dreams that became a reality.

Sweet Dreams, Sarah is written by Vivian Kirkfield, illustrated by Chris Ewald and published by Creston Books. 


The true story of Sarah E Goode, who was among the first African-American women awarded a US patent.

Sweet Dreams, Sarah

Poetry

Dreamscape

As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when, at least for half a day, they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. There, they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. 

This poetic, nonfiction story about this little-known piece of African American history chronicles the daily duties of such slaves-from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday-and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square, capturing humanity's capacity to find hope and joy even in the most difficult of circumstances and demonstrating how New Orleans' Congo Square was truly freedom's heart.

This poetic non-fiction story about a little known piece of African American history captures humanity’s capacity to find hope and joy even in difficult circumstances.

Freedom in Congo Square

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage

Happy Holidays

Chelsea is so excited to be celebrating Chinese New Year with her family. That means she gets to stay up late, have a big feast, watch fireworks, and even see a parade with a dragon! The whole family joins in on the fun, and Chelsea explains each step of the celebration, including the rich traditions and meaning behind different parts of the holiday.

This fun, fact-filled story introduces and celebrates Chinese New Year in a way everyone can connect with. Chelsea’s Chinese New Year is written by Lisa Bullard, illustrated by Katie Saunders and published by Millbrook Press, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

Enjoy learning all about Chinese New Year, as Chelsea celebrates with her family!

Chelsea's Chinese New Year

It’s Chinese New Year, a holiday that’s like "Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day all bundled together!" When PoPo (grandmother) arrives to visit from China, she teaches her curious granddaughter all about celebrating an authentic Chinese New Year. PoPo’s Chinese-American granddaughter is excited to join in, even if it means being extra nice to her baby brother. Follow along as the young girl learns about and joins in on the traditions and vibrant customs of Chinese New Year.

This warm cross-generational story brings the traditions of Chinese New Year to life through the eyes of an excited young girl and the wisdom of her grandmother. PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year is written by Virginia Loh-Hagan, illustrated by Reneé Benoit and published by Sleeping Bear Press.

When PoPo comes to visit from China, she helps her granddaughter have an authentic Chinese New Year.

PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year

Unicorns can run on rainbows, so why can't they scribble?
 
This story is about a little girl who keeps hearing, "Never let a unicorn scribble!" But in her heart believes that people just don't understand how beautiful scribbling can be. She keeps trying to teach her unicorn to scribble, but soon realizes this is more difficult than she anticipated. Instead of giving up, she uses her imagination to come up with a creative way to get her unicorn to scribble. At first it looks like it was a complete disaster, but ends up being truly magical!

A fun and imaginative book, Never Let a Unicorn Scribble! is written and illustrated by Diane Alber. Published by Diane Alber Art LLC.

Everyone says to never let a unicorn scribble…but what could possibly go wrong?

Never Let a Unicorn Scribble!

Nature

Read Along With Vooks

Early Childhood

When Earth gets a bit lonely, it decides to visit its friends in the solar system. They’re all talented in their own, special ways: Mercury is crazy fast, racing around the sun four times faster than Earth. Uranus is super cool, with sweet shades and temperatures that can reach -371° Fahrenheit. Jupiter is not only big, but it's also light on its feet when it dances.

So, what makes Earth special? It’s not the biggest, or fastest, or coldest. Does that mean it’s the most boring? Or is there something else that makes Earth a special place—even if it looks like just a tiny blue marble to everyone else?

Written and illustrated by Jonathan Sundy, Earth Yay! explores Earth by celebrating what makes every planet unique. With playful themes of friendship, self-expression, and celebrating differences, Earth Yay! is a loving ode to the planet we all call home. This title is a Vooks original.

While visiting the other planets, Earth learns its friends are all good at something. But what’s special about Earth?