Books! Books! Books!

All books listed here have been reviewed by the Friend editorial staff and are generally available in libraries/bookstores.

Winter Thank-You

By Patsy M. Dickey

Heavenly Father, thank you

for library books

and electric lights

And warm, snuggly beds

on cold winter nights.

When the Frost Is on the Punkin This delightful classic poem has the original spellings and is intended as a read-to kind of book. Glenna Lang’s quiet pictures will hold children’s interest as the poem is read. A note at the back tells about the poet and some of the words.
James Whitcomb Riley
2–6 years

Animal Song The only text is the rhyming names of the animals (the simple tune is a sort of preface). The art shows the animals joyously gathering, picnicking, and dancing to their band before bidding good-bye to their piano-playing host, Crow.
Marcia Sewall
3–6 years

Mr. McGill Goes to Town Mr. McGill needs help with his mill so that he can get to town before the sun goes down. But Mr. McRae has to cut hay, Mr. McCall must build a wall, Mr. McNeil is fixing a wheel, and Mr. McGrew is nailing a shoe. Would you solve the problem the way they did?
Jim Aylesworth
3–6 years

Hangdog Lonely Hangdog sets out to search the world for a friend. When he is chased by a tiger on a deserted island, he says, “You may as well eat me. No one will miss me and no one will care.” But the tiger says, “Not on your life! … I’ve been waiting for a friend just like you.”
Graham Round
3–7 years

Mr. Nick’s Knitting Mr. Nick and Mrs. Jolley always sat together on the train and knit. Mrs. Jolley knit stuffed animals; Mr. Nick usually knit sweaters for his twenty-two nieces and nephews. But when Mrs. Jolley was very sick, Mr. Nick knit something extra special to help her feel better.
Margaret Wild
4–7 years

Rosalie “Rosalie is an old dog now. She doesn’t move as fast as she used to. She doesn’t hear when Cindy speaks to her. And she doesn’t climb mountains anymore. But she’s still Rosalie—an important member of the family, who gives as much love as she receives.” The art also shows the love shared by this special pet and her family.
Joan Hewett
4–7 years

Giant Story/Mouse Tale The giant and the mouse live at opposite ends of the forest—and of the book. Each desperately wants a friend, but the other forest creatures are afraid of them. Then they meet each other in the middle of the forest—and of the book—for a mutual happy ending.
Annegert Fuchshuber
4–7 years

Song and Dance Man Grandpa used to sing and dance onstage. One day he gets his old tap shoes and costume from the attic and gives a show just for his grandchildren.
Karen Ackerman
5–8 years

The Ugly Duckling This uncut version of the Hans Christian Andersen tale is beautifully illustrated. None of the awful things that happened to the Ugly Duckling have been glossed over; even so, the language is melodic and wonderful to listen to.
Lorinda Bryan Cauley (reteller)
5–8 years

Blaze and the Mountain Lion, Blaze and Thunderbolt, Blaze and the Lost Quarry, and Blaze Shows the Way In these slim, easy-to-read stories, Blaze’s owner and Blaze help locate a mountain lion’s lair and save a calf, tame the magnificent Thunderbolt, find a lost quarry and rescue a dog there, and win a silver cup.
C. W. Anderson
6–8 years

Min-Yo and the Moon Dragon In this modern Chinese fairy tale about a time almost before time, the moon is about to crash into the earth. The moon dragon might help, but the gossamer ladder to it will only support the lightest person. Min-Yo is that person. She gets to the moon and finds the dragon, which agrees to help—but how? The solution to the problem creates serendipity (a happy, unexpected side effect).
Elizabeth Hillman
6–9 years

The Llama’s Secret Almost every culture has a story about a great flood. In this Peruvian legend, a poor family’s llama tells the father to take his family to the top of the tallest mountain. As they travel, the llama speaks to the animals they meet in their own language, and the animals join them. After the flood, the llama never speaks again.
Argentina Palacios (adapter)
6–9 years

How Is a Crayon Made? Starting with how the colors are made, all the steps are shown with close-up photos. The book ends with a photo of a crayon you want to lift right off the page and color a picture with.
Charles Oz
7–10 years

Henry and the Boy Who Thought Numbers Were Fleas Sam was sure that he could learn his times tables if he had a dog. “‘Perhaps,’ thought Henry. ‘But that would depend upon the dog.’” A very funny story.
Marjorie Kaplan
7–10 years

Science Fun with Drums, Bells, and Whistles and Science Fun with Peanuts and Popcorn The best part about the experiments in these two books is that they work. They’ll help you figure out how to do other things too. The music book also shows you how to give a concert, and the snack book gives you party ideas!
Rose Wyler
7–11 years

Black and White Are there four stories? Or just one? You’ll need to pay attention to both words and pictures to solve this puzzle. But you’ll enjoy however many stories you decide that it has!
David Macaulay
7–12 years

Find the Power When Klingman picked a fight with Ben, Ben put him down with a karate move. But Ben didn’t really understand karate teachings, and it took more than the bully’s bloodying his nose for him to learn the power he had—and how to control both it and himself.
Dean Hughes
8–11 years

Baden-Powell: Founder of the Boy Scouts A scout and intelligence officer for the British army in India and Africa, “B-P” drew pictures to show the landscape and enemy movements. He used two clever tricks to save the town of Mafeking from its attackers. Many photos and some of his own drawings are in this short book.
Pauline York Brower
8–11 years

When a Loved One Dies The author and her children, Church members whose husband/father has died, have written this book to help those who grieve at the loss of a loved one understand their feelings and learn how to get on with life and be happy again.
Kathleen Rawlings Buntin
8 years and up

Building with Paper You’ll want to have lots of stiff paper or lightweight cardboard (cereal boxes are good) to make everything: a town with houses, a city hall, a school, a church, skyscrapers, and more; bridges; boats; castles and forts; even a sports stadium.
E. Richard Churchill
9–13 years

Famous Firsts in Space For many years, America was the frontier, the land to be explored and taken over. Then the frontier pushed farther and farther west . … Space is now called the final frontier, and exploration of it has barely begun. This book tells of the first successes and failures of mankind’s journey into space.
Edward F. Dolan
9 years and up

Boys Who Became Prophets The childhood of each prophet of the Church was truly interesting. For instance, Wilford Woodruff fell into a kettle of boiling water, and he was bitten by a dog that had rabies. While playing baseball, David O. McKay stood up to a bully who was about to thrash him. And Spencer W. Kimball was a giggler! You will love this book!
Lynda Cory
9 years and up

The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone Ancient Egyptians wrote with hieroglyphs, or marks resembling pictures. Twice the writing was simplified, and the final form was called demotic. Eventually no one could read the hieroglyphs, and few the demotic. Then the Rosetta Stone was discovered by a soldier in Napoleon’s army. The stone had the same thing written on it in hieroglyphs, demotic, and Greek. …
James Cross Giblin
10–13 years

Show Me Your Rocky Mountains! William was eleven. He left the suffocating mines in England and went through many hardships on the voyage to the United States and then while crossing the plains with the Martin handcart company. Based on the true story of William Henry Taylor, who was born in England in 1844 and died in Payson, Utah, in 1860.
Thelma Hatch Wyss
10 years and up

The Happy Hedgehog Band A real prize! As the hedgehog band forms, so will your love for the sound of the text and the wonderful illustrations that will have you discovering new delights each time you look.
Martin Waddell
all ages

Holiday Books

The Gingerbread Doll It’s a tradition on Christmas-cookie-making day for Great-Grandma Rebecca to retell the story of the gingerbread doll she received on Christmas the year she was nine. She received other dolls on other years, but not even the porcelain doll she had wanted that year was quite as wonderful as “Button Marie.”
Susan Tews
5–8 years

The Twelve Days of Christmas What would it be like to actually receive all the gifts sung about in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”? In the version illustrated by John O’Brien, you’ll chuckle and giggle—and be very glad that you’re just a spectator!
all ages