The Perfect Nest

Jack the cat is building the perfect nest. He plans to attract the perfect chicken who will lay the perfect egg, which will make the perfect omelet. (Jack is really hungry for a good omelet.) When the nest is finished, Jack is in for a surprise that he didn't expect and the story has a pleasant surprise ending. Written by Minnesotan Catherine Friend, illustrated by John Manders, this is a 2008 finalist for the Minnesota Book Award.

Boozhoo; Come Play With Us

This simple board book uses words and pictures to introduce young children to 13 words in the Ojibwe language. Produced by the Fond du Lac Head Start program and intended for use in childcare centers, it could also be used to supplement a unit on basic words in other languages at the elementary level.

Why Do Kittens Purr?

Here is another simple rhyming story by Marion Dane Bauer. In this case, the poem tells the reader why kittens, puppies, bears, frogs, kangaroos, and other animals behave the way they do. With clever illustrations by Henry Cole, this book takes a child's-eye view of the world.

Storm Codes

It is almost the end of the shipping season at the Duluth-Superior harbor. Katy and her mother are anxiously awaiting the return of their father and husband, an ore boat captain on the Great Lakes. To make matters worse, a November rain and ice storm is blowing outside. The next day they go down to the Canal by the Lift Bridge to watch and wait for his ship. After long hours, the ice encrusted boat finally arrives. Written and illustrated by Minnesotans Tracy Nelson Maurer and Christina Rodriquez, the book also includes background information on the taconite industry and Great Lakes shipping. It is a nice tribute to people who work aboard ships on the Great Lakes.

The Long Way Westward

In this story, early readers will follow the route of a Swedish immigrant family as they traveled from New York City to Anoka, Minnesota in the 1800's. The trip is not easy as they don't understand the English language, and also encounter other problems and challenges. Written by Joan Sandin, the book explores the immigrant experience for beginning readers.

Grandmother Winter

All through the spring, summer and fall, Grandmother Winter tends her white geese and gathers their feathers. Why? Because when winter comes, she will shake her feather quilt, bring snowflakes to the landscape and sending the animals to their winter homes to rest for a while. Written by Minnesota's Phyllis Root with scratchboard illustrations by Beth Krommes, this is a lovely story about the winter season. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2000.

Silver Seeds

Written by Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer, illustrated by Minnesotans Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, this is a collection of brief acrostic poems that introduce children to features of nature including shadows, trees, insects, clouds, sun, moon, rain, etc. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2002.

Animal Tracks of Minnesota and Wisconsin

This little field guide is a valuable resource for anyone studying animals found in Minnesota and the upper midwest. Divided into two sections for mammals and birds, amphibians, and reptiles; it includes a brief physical description of the animal, a black and white illustration, a comparison with similar species, and most importantly, illustrations of paw prints or other markings left by the animal as it moves about, as well as stride patterns. It is a very practical little book for teachers and students.

Birds of Minnesota

Written by Stan Tekiela, this little field guide is arranged by bird color and includes over 100 species. For each bird, information includes a color photo, size, physical description of the bird, nest, and eggs; incubation and fledging periods, food, and a map of the birds range in Minnesota. As Spring approaches and we begin to see more birds, this is a handy little resource guide.

African Americans in Minnesota

This book is part of the Minnesota history curriculum by the same name, but can be purchased separately. Written by Nora Murphy and Mary Murphy-Gnatz, it is a collection of short biographies of nine African American children and adults who have made a contribution to Minnesota history. They include fur trader George Bonga, former slave John Hickman, William Gray, a free African American who moved here from Pennsylvania before the Civil War, Mattie McIntosh, a girl who grew up here in the post-Civil War era, Nellie Stone Johnson, a DFL party leader, police officer James Griffin, history professor David Taylor, and modern boys Eric Mosley and Mohamoud Aden Amin. The stories are interesting and will broaden the cultural background of readers.

Changemaker: W. Harry Davis

This book is the adaptation of Davis's autobiography Overcoming for a younger audience. In it, Davis describes his youth in North Minneapolis as well as his work as a community leader and civil rights advocate as an adult. It is designed for classroom use with activities and journaling opportunities included at the end of each chapter. The book is unique because it gives an individual perspective on the history of civil rights in Minnesota, and is written with a young audience in mind.

The Legend of the Loon

This book tells the story of a magical grandmother and her special relationship with her grandchildren. She lives in a cabin in the north woods and teaches the children special lessons about nature and the seasons. One day the children row a boat out onto the lake. When the fog comes in, they are lost. Grandmother Lom wades into the water, waves her arms back and forth and calls "where are yoooou?" The children can hear her, but suddenly the sound stops and a black bird with special coloring flies over head. The children follow the bird home, but when they arrive, grandmother is gone. It is a beautifully told and illustrated story by Kathy-jo Wargin and Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen, telling the story of a Minnesota symbol.

A Gift for Sadia

Sadia and her family are refugees from Somalia, who have come to Rochester, Minnesota, arriving in the winter. Sadia is placed in an ESL class at her school to she can learn English. Sadia's home is across the street from Silver Lake where Canadian geese spend the winter. She befriends and feeds a goose with an injured wing. When spring arrives, at school one day, Sadia is asked to recite the alphabet. She gets stuck on the letter that follows 'U' At that moment a flock of geese fly by, led by her goose. Oh yes, 'V', and the rest that follow..... What a wonderful gift! Written and illustrated by Marie Fritz Perry, who has served as an artist in residence in Minnesota schools, this is the story of a child she encountered in Rochester. It could be used as a discussion starter to help American children understand what it is like to be an ESL student.

The Legend of Minnesota

The origin of the word "Minnesota" is often attributed to the Dakotah word for "sky-tinted water". This book tells another story about the Ojibwe word for the north woods. The word Mah-nu-sa-tia, also spelled Maanizaadi was used to describe the wooded land west of Lake Superior. This book, written by Kathy-jo Wargin, illustrated by David Geister, tells the story of an Ojibwe maiden and a Dakotah boy who encouter one another in the woods. He is ill and she nurses him back to health. Later when people in her village become ill, she also saves them. As a result, she earns the name Mah-nu-sa-tia.

Mississippi Escapade: Reliving the Grand Excursion of 1854

In this book readers can travel back in time to 1854 and join the Grand Excursion up the Mississippi River from Rock Island, Illinois to St. Paul. Enhanced by many color illustrations, both historical and modern, this book is a wonderful guide to the land and people who lived and worked along the river at that time. The book is also sprinkled with a variety of learning activities for kids; making it a good resource for teachers of Minnesota and American history. If there is one downside, the book focuses almost completely on the geography and settlement of the land; I wished it had more coverage of steamboats and what it was like to be a passenger on the Grand Excursion.

Tree Trolls! In the Rommegrot Pot

If you've read "Horns and Wrinkles", here is another story about trolls and Minnesota. This one is a picture book written and illustrated by Marjory Johnson Wood with rosemaling by Teresa Ann McCue. This tells the story of how trolls arrived from Scandinavia and how they settled in the North Woods. It also relates a story of how Grandma Pauline and her family tangled with trolls one night during blueberry picking season. It is a clever little story with additional resources in the back.

The Mighty Mississippi: The Life and Times of America's Greatest River

The Mississippi River has been winding its way through the center of North America for thousands of years. In this book, author Linda Vieira and illustrator Higgins Bond take a different approach as they present the geology, science and history of the Mississippi River from before human settlement, through early Native American exploration and settlement, to European advancement, and finally to show the modern engineering changes to the river. A timeline at the top of each page and a glossary in back will help readers.

Land of the Buffalo Bones

A diary-novel from the Dear America series, written by Marion Dane Bauer, this is subtitled "the diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, an English girl in Minnesota". I read this when it first came out in 2003, but had kind of forgotten why it was special. On rereading it, I discovered that the protagonist is an ancestor of the author, so this is a personal story in many ways. This book tells the story of Dr. George Rodgers, an English Baptist minister who led a group of people from England to settle in the Hawley, Minnesota area in 1873. Life on the prairie was difficult, and the settlers had to overcome numerous setbacks, but this book has a ring of truth about it that will make it special for Minnesota readers. Although fiction, it could supplement Minnesota history units.

River Friendly, River Wild

Written by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Neil Brennan, this tells the story from a child's perspective, of the 1997 flood on the Red River at Grand Forks. Although the story focuses on North Dakota events, many people in Minnesota were also affected by this flood, and this does a nice job of showing how families and neighborhoods are displaced by a natural disaster. It was selected for the National Council for the Social Studies outstanding trade books list in 2001.

Minnesota: Yesterday and Today

Here is another adult "picture" book that is a good resource for classes studying Minnesota history or working on History Day projects. Featuring photographs by Layne Kennedy with supporting text by Greg Breining, each double page spread features a historical landmark (St. Paul Cathedral, Pipestone Quarry, Gooseberry Falls etc.), towns (Hibbing, Stillwater, Hastings, etc.) or other unique parts of Minnesota culture (Paul Bunyan, hockey, ice palaces, state fair, etc.) It's fun to browse and provides a good basic introduction to many Minnesota features.

Monday on the Mississippi

Readers of this colorful picture book will take a trip down the Mississippi, from Lake Itasca to the delta in Louisiana. The poetic text highlights important locations and historical events along the way. The title page features a map of the river's entire span, and each double page spread has a smaller map of the featured area. Written by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Frane' Lessac, it could be used to supplement a unit on the Mississippi for younger grades.

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow

Readers will discover hidden worlds in a meadow in this unique combination of poetry and science. Author/poet Joyce Sidman introduces readers to animals and plants found in a meadow, often in riddle form. Visual clues to each riddle are found in the color saturated scratchboard illustrations by Beth Krommes. The next double page spread will answer the riddles and provide more information on each animal or plant. This meadow is a visual delight. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2007 and was selected for the Outstanding Science Trade Books list in 2007.

Song of the Water Boatman

Readers can explore the animal life in a pond in this handsome book by Minnesota's Joyce Sidman and Beckie Prange. Each double page spread has a poem about a pond animal or plant, a short paragraph with background information, and a beautiful color woodcut illustration. This was a Caldecott honor book in 2006, a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award in 2006, and was on the Outstanding Science Trade Books list in 2006. In short, it is a beautiful book.

Meow Ruff; A Story in Concrete Poetry

This a a story about a friendship that develops between a cat and a dog caught outside in a rainstorm. Beneath the surface, it is more complex as it combines concrete poetry and art to tell the story. Readers will be drawn into the images (made from words) which add much to the basic storyline. Combining poetry from Minnesota author Joyce Sidman, with artwork by Michelle Berg, this is a nice introduction to concrete poetry for younger readers. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2007.

The Range Eternal

When I was little, we had a wood-burning cookstove in the kitchen. A wood stove (brand name "The Range Eternal") is the centerpiece of this story. Set in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota--on the Canadian border--where author Louise Erdrich grew up; in this book she recounts the special memories of her childhood related to the stove in her family's kitchen. Eventually it was replaced with a modern stove, but the memories lingered. The illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher add even more warmth to this story.

The Tortilla Factory

This book, written by Gary Paulsen and illustrated by Ruth Wright Paulsen, describes the cycle of life with simple text and lovely oil paintings. In this case the cycle involves tilling the earth, planting seed, waiting while the corn grows, harvesting it, and converting it to flour which is used in the tortilla factory to make tortillas, which are eaten by the workers who till the soil... A nice simple introduction to life cycles.

Night Driving

A father and son are driving to the mountains for a camping trip. This trip is special because they are driving at night, and share a number of special experiences that could only occur at night. Written by John Coy with sepia-toned minimal illustrations by Peter McCarty to set the mood, this is a special father-son story.

Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth

In what could be a sequel to Countdown to Kindergarten (posted on Nov. 21, 2007); in this story our heroine is about to enter first grade. However, a second grader has just told her a very scary story about her teacher, Mrs. Watson. Reportedly, Mrs, Watson is a 300 year old alien who steals the teeth of earthling children. That is very scarry for someone with a loose tooth. Written by Allison McGhee, illustrated by Harry Bliss, this is a wonderful story to share with children going through this developmental stage.

Prairie Train

This is the story of a young girl, who takes her first train ride all alone, traveling from someplace on the prairie out west to St. Paul to visit her grandmother. The story is probably set in the 1930's or 1940's and provides an excellent depiction of train travel. Written by Marsha Wilson Chall, illustrated by John Thompson, this could be used with Minnesota history or transportation units as well as an example of perspective in art classes.