When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba’s Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone’s crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library . . . and figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Persevering against the odds, William built a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps, and thus became the local hero who harnessed the wind.

Lyrically told and gloriously illustrated, this story will inspire many as it shows how – even in the worst of times – a great idea and a lot of hard work can still rock the world. This book needs to be returned.

Kurt Cyrus’s Trillions of Trees is an ecological picture book companion to the popular Billions of Bricks, about counting and planting trees.

Grab a shovel and get ready to plant some trees! From poplars to pines, alder, apple, peach, and plum, this rhyming story introduces the concept of orders of magnitude and celebrates the importance of planting different trees and preserving diverse ecosystems. Nurturing a new sapling is one of the first steps in growing hundreds, millions, even trillions of trees. This book needs to be returned.

A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!

Apis builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. And finally, she begins her new life as an adventurer.

The confining walls of the hive fall away as Apis takes to the air, finally free, in a brilliant double-gatefold illustration where the clear blue sky is full of promise– and the wings of dozens of honeybees, heading out in search of nectar to bring back to the hive.

Eric Rohmann’s exquisitely detailed illustrations bring the great outdoors into your hands in this poetically written tribute to the hardworking honeybee. Award-winning author Candace Fleming describes the life cycle of the honeybee in accessible, beautiful language. Similar in form and concept to the Sibert and Orbis Pictus award book Giant Squid, Honeybee also features a stunning gatefold and an essay on the plight of honeybees. This book needs to be returned.

Countering the prevailing, traditional story of the first Thanksgiving, with its black-hatted, silver-buckled Pilgrims; blanket-clad, be-feathered Indians, this lushly illustrated photo-essay presents a more measured, balanced, and historically accurate version of the three-day harvest celebration in 1621. Pair this with resources teaching about harvest traditions specific to Oregon tribes!

Invites young readers to find various quantities of such things as farm animals and tools which are labeled in the illustrations of rural scenes, including a sheep farm, an orchard, a rice paddy, and bee hives. This book needs to be returned. 

Maxine and her friend Leo are makers. Maxine’s style is functional. Leo’s style is artistic. Together, They’re determined to make one spectacular garden, including a pond for Maxine’s fabulous goldfish Milton! But their garden attracts all sorts of visitors, with rabbits and squirrels and raccoons feasting on their veggies. Now Maxine and Leo must work together to try (and try and try again) to find a way to save their garden.

Perfect for STEM and maker spaces, this book is sure to inspire creative thinkers and tinkerers everywhere!

This book needs to be returned.

This book relates the scientific efforts of George Washington Carver, especially his production of more than 300 uses for the peanut. This book needs to be returned. 

Have you ever wondered how some of nature’s smallest creatures spend their days? Here’s your chance to take a scientifically accurate peek at the world from their point of view. The striking illustrations and lively story-line in this book follow a pill bug as it hunts for food, faces its enemies, and interacts with humans. This book pairs well with lessons on forest ecology, compost, and soil health.

No matter where it lands or how desperately it hopes, the tiny seed can’t find a place to grow. Will the tiny seed ever find a home, or will it keep searching and floating forever? With playful charm and touching insight, A Place to Grow joyfully affirms that there is a special place, plan and purpose for each of us. This book is a part of the JMG Learn, Eat, & Go Curriculum.