Elementary

Be Caring and Kind

Early Childhood

Mindfulness

Storytime Favorites

Vooks A to Z

Sam has a new pet. It’s a Temper, and he found it on the playground. At first, the Temper is great company—it shoves, trips, pinches, and stomps until the playground is cleared out just for Sam. But when it follows Sam home, the Temper soon becomes hard to handle. Sam starts to wish it would leave him alone.

When his Temper takes things too far at school, Sam knows he has to do something. But how does a person get their Temper to calm down? Can it be controlled, or will he simply have to live with it? Come along as Sam wrestles with his emotions and tries to rid himself of his pet Temper for good.

This funny yet touching story by Sangeeta Bhadra explores the concepts of handling frustration, taking responsibility, emotional learning, and recognizing that anger isn’t a part of our identities. Illustrated by Marion Arbona, Sam’s Pet Temper was published by Kids Can Press Ltd. in 2014.

Sam found a new pet on the playground. It’s a Temper—and before long, Sam starts to wish it would leave him alone.

Sam's Pet Temper

Free Access

Sick Day Stories

Slumberkins Presents

Some feelings are big,
some feelings are small.
Take a deep breath,
you can feel them all.
 
Join the Slumberkins friends for an adorable journey through the world of feelings! Using verbal and non-verbal cues, Creatures Full of Feelings helps little ones learn to identify and imitate each emotion. Children will love watching their favorite Slumberkins creatures express feelings in a safe, calm, approachable manner—promoting emotional intelligence and well-being from an early age.
 
Slumberkins is on a mission to provide parents and caregivers with resources that promote early emotional learning skills for young children, while strengthening the parent child bond. Each Slumberkins book uses an interactive story time approach infused with therapeutic techniques and skill-building exercises.

Be on the lookout for even more Slumberkins storybooks coming to Vooks soon!


Some feelings are big, some feelings are small—join the Slumberkins friends as they feel them all.

Slumberkins Presents: Creatures Full of Feelings

Nature

New Books

Poetry

Main Carousel

Be Creative

Bedtime

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

One of us is a wind bird, a sky skipper, a diamond dipper, dancing on your string. Another is red, delicious—with a quick twist of your wrist, you free it from the tree. You gasp when one of us roars, mane exploding, sizzling—a lion of the sky. Two of us are knitted twins, soft as kittens, warm as hugs, waiting to hold your hands.

Who are we? Do you think you might already know? Come along for a colorful guessing game that features all four seasons. The answers hide in haikus, masked in riddles. Some are easy, some are hard to guess—but each one loves to be discovered just as much as the rest.

Beautiful and creative, Lion of the Sky manages to make poetry, haikus, and riddles accessible to young readers. The book explores all four seasons with striking visuals, adding an extra hint for each riddle’s answer. Written by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Mercè López, and published by Millbrook Press.

ANSWER KEY: 
SPRING: kite, umbrella, nest, flower bud, earthworm, puddle
SUMMER: dandelion, mosquito, sandcastle, baseball, fireflies, fireworks
FALL: school, pencil, apple, leaf pile, jack-o'-lantern, squirrel
WINTER: mittens, snow, ice skates, snow angel, star, snoozing bear

Sky skippers, tasty treasures, cold confetti, meadows of stars, and more—can you guess who we all are?

Lion of the Sky

Seasonal - Summer

Camp Vooks

Foundational Reading

Animals

All Seasons

S.T.E.A.M.

The sky is dark, the moon is high above. Trees sway softly as a gentle breeze warms the air. Grass tickles bare toes and feels cool underfoot. Fireflies flicker and glow under the dim light of the moon and stars. It is the perfect night for one of nature’s most magical light shows. 

Follow along with one little girl and her daddy, as they search for fireflies. A game of catch and release turns into a lesson in counting from one to ten, as the little girl sets the tiny glowing lightning bugs free. This gentle and calming book is filled with fun firefly facts and a rhyming, rhythmic story. It’s a Firefly Night is written by Dianna Ochiltree, illustrated by Betsy Snyder and published by Blue Apple Books.


When the moon is high and the stars are bright, Daddy tells me, “It’s a firefly night!”


It's a Firefly Night

On the Farm

Up in the garden, a girl stands and plans. Her hands are full of seeds and her head is full of dreams. But before she and Nana can get started on tending their garden—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, and ripening fruit—they have to wait. Down in the dirt, things need to warm up and dry out. There’s a busy world under their feet, full of earthworms, pillbugs, and more.

Planning, planting, and harvesting will take all year. But there are two sides to the story—what happens above, and what happens below. Come meet the incredible creatures who make our gardens their home, bring the world to life, and help the greenery around us grow.

A story of patience, care, and coexistence, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt shows us the cycle of our seasons. It also introduces us to a cast of insects and animals who make our world vibrant and green. Written by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal, and published by Chronicle Books.

For the garden to flourish, the leaves and sprouts depend on a busy, hidden world below.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt

Vooks Originals

Ocean

Family 

Zayn loves going on adventures with his dad. After a particularly great day, he asks his dad what made the day so perfect. “We had Free Fun,” his dad answers. Zayn’s dad tells him that Free Fun is a magical thing, something that you must find on your own. So, off Zayn goes on a quest to find Free Fun for himself.
 
After a day of searching in every place he can think of, Zayn worries he might never find Free Fun. He awakes the next morning with his dad’s words buzzing in his brain: “Every answer in life can be found while looking at waves.” That’s it—the ocean! Zayn and his dad grab their surfboards and race to the beach. When a powerful wave crashes down, forcing Zayn below the surf, he opens his eyes underwater and finally finds what he’s been looking for.

A Vooks Original, Finding Free Fun is a mindful, meditative story about slowing down and finding fun in life’s everyday moments and places. Written by Yogi Roth and illustrated by Roxanne Rainville.

Zayn is on the hunt for Free Fun, but where could it be? What does it look like? Is it short or tall, yellow or green? Is it inside or outside? How do you find Free Fun?

Finding Free Fun

Kid at Heart

Once, we were part of Outside, and Outside was part of us. Now, so many of us have forgotten that Outside is there. But Outside doesn’t mind. It reminds us that it’s here, waiting, just beyond the window, reaching in with shadows, sunsets, and slow magic tricks. Outside sings to us with chirps, rustles, and tap-taps on the roof. It beckons us with smells: sunbaked, fresh, and mysterious.

From the food we eat to the clothes we wear to the animals that snuggle in our spaces, Outside continues to cherish and sustain us. I’m here, Outside whispers. I miss you. And what will you answer in return? 

Outside In is a touching love letter to the world beyond our windows: the oceans, fields, and forests that amaze and sustain us. The story tenderly—and poignantly—shows readers how our indoor spaces rely on the outside world, even if the two feel disconnected. Written by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Cindy Derby, and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Once, we were part of Outside, and Outside was part of us. Now, Outside is kept out—so it reaches in.

Outside In

Seasonal - Spring

5 Minutes or Less

Leo is a busy lad. No matter how hard he works, there’s always more to do. Until one day, another Leo shows up to lend a hand. Together, they tackle the list of To-Dos—but it’s still too much! So, they wrangle another Leo, then another. They wash, scrub, sweep, and shop. They make calls, and plans, and agendas. Before long, there are ten Leos on the job.

But when the first Leo—Leo himself—decides to take a nap, the others are furious. There’s no time for sleeping. There’s no time for dreaming! Dreaming isn’t on the list. And there’s no time for anything not on the list… is there?

A touching ode to the importance of slowing down, taking a break, and remembering to dream, So Few of Me reminds us that working too much can’t be solved by simply working harder. The story also highlights the importance of quality over quantity. Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds and published by Candlewick Press.

No matter how hard Leo works, there’s always more to do. Until one day, another Leo shows up to help out.

So Few of Me

Friendship

Familius Presents

Dream Big

Build Confidence

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by...

Robert Frost’s classic poem, The Road Not Taken, comes to life like never before with this beautiful and touching companion presentation. Heartwarming illustrations accompany the original text, as we follow a young boy on his journey through a yellow wood. When a fork in the road arises, the boy is faced with a choice–the first of many in life. By journey’s end, the boy (now an old man) reflects on the sweet satisfaction of a life fully lived. 

The first children's book ever made of Frost's famous poem, this moving presentation is wonderfully illustrated by Vivian Mineker and proudly published by Familius, a values-driven publisher on a mission to teach, inspire, and bring families together.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by…

The Road Not Taken

Be Brave

Celebrate Black History

Everyone's Reading

Sometimes bees can be a bit rude. They fly in your face and prance on your food. And yet… without bees, we might not have strawberries for shortcakes or avocados for tacos!

The Thing About Bees is equal parts love letter from a father to his two sons and step-by-step guide to understanding the bees that pollinate the foods we love. A visual and poetic masterpiece written and illustrated by Shabazz Larkin, this profound yet effortlessly approachable story promotes a message of love and respect for the things we might not otherwise fully understand.

The Thing About Bees is published by Readers to Eaters, whose mission is to promote food literacy through a better understanding of what and how we eat.

Sometimes the things we fear are simply the things we don't fully understand.

The Thing About Bees

Sing-alongs and Music

Cozy up and settle in as all the critters on the ranch get tucked in for bed. After a busy day, the cowboy lullaby helps them all calm down and drift off to sleep.

“Close your eyes. Hum along to this lullaby song. Sweet dreams, little critters, sweet dreams.”

From the Texas Tenors, comes a soothing bedtime song, perfect for helping even the most restless critters settle in for the night. The Cowboy Lullaby comes from the book Moon’s on Fire!, the follow up to the popular Ruckus on the Ranch—From Marcus Collins and The Texas Tenors, with illustrations by Brian Fitzgerald, and published by Blue Cat Books.

Cozy up and settle in with all the critters on the ranch, as they are gently serenaded to sleep.

The Cowboy Lullaby

When a young boy finds a strange stick in the park, his life completely changes. The stick fills his mind with imagination and wonder, helping him achieve his dreams and live a happy and full life. But it's not until years later that he discovers the full meaning of the stick and the true power of giving.

Imagination lives in you! This beautiful story, created by silhouette artist and children's author Clay Rice, celebrates imagination and kindness. The calming imagery, heartfelt story and soothing tone make it perfect as a bedtime story or to enjoy anytime of the day. Published by Familius, The Stick brings a warm story to life that is sure to inspire little ones to dream big and share the gift of imagination with others.

A young boy finds a stick in the park that completely changes his life forever.

The Stick

Books that celebrate the power of being present. These stories are all about slowing things down and being calm—focusing your attention, and taking your time.