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Picture Books | Nonfiction 

The books recommended below were published within the last several years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Picture Books
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

Firefighters A to Z written and illustrated by Chris L. Demarest (McElderry)
In a smoothly rhyming text, this exciting alphabet book details what happens from the time the alarm sounds at the fire station to the final “zip into bed for a rest” once the blaze has been extinguished. Grade level: Preschool. 32 pages.

Night Shift written and illustrated by Jessie Hartland (Bloomsbury)
This book about night time jobs describes each worker (street sweepers, window dressers, etc.), reuniting them at the end for a gathering at an all-night café. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

The Giant Hug written by Sandra Horning, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev (Knopf)
Owen sends a hug to his Granny through the mail; readers watch as it travels from mail sorter to driver and so on, finally reaching a pleased Granny. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

The Police Cloud written and illustrated by Christoph Niemann (Schwartz & Wade)
One industrious cumulus wants to be a police officer, but finds his cloudliness to be an insurmountable challenge until he discovers his ideal vocation: firefighting! Grade level: Preschool, 40 pages.

Nonfiction
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

Animal Rescue: The Best Job There Is written and illustrated by Susan E. Goodman (Simon)
Heart-pounding accounts of three dramatic animal rescues will keep both reluctant and newly independent readers turning the pages of this chapter book about the heroic efforts of rescuer John Walsh. Grade level: K–3. 48 pages.

The Bug Scientists by Donna Jackson (Houghton)
Jackson profiles a trio of scientists in this Scientists in the Field entry, interweaving biographical and career-related information with factual descriptions of insects and their behaviors. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.

In Real Life: Six Women Photographers by Leslie Sills (Holiday)
The text outlines the lives and careers of six photographers, including Imogen Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, and Cindy Sherman, and thoughtfully analyzes their works with the aid of sharply reproduced examples. Grade level: 4–6. 80 pages.

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