By Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by Lane Smith

By Shaun Tan

By David Macaulay

The New Way Things Work is arranged in five sections. Together they provide comprehensive coverage of the workings of hundreds of machines and devices - holograms, helicopters, airplanes, mobile phones, compact disks, hard disks, bits and bytes, cash machines...They also provide explanations of the scientific principles behind each machine - how gears make work easier, why jumbo jets are able to fly, how computers actually operate. the New Way Things Work has been conceived for readers of all ages. It has been especially designed for those who find technology intimidating, and for who wish it were less so.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

When Chris Vann Allsburg was invited to the home of Peter Wenders, he discovered fourteen drawings that were, like peices of a picture puzzle, clues to larger pictures. But the puzzles, the mysteries, presented by these drawings, are not what we are used to. They are not solved for us, as in the final pages of a book or a film's last reel. The solutions to these mysteries lie in a place at once closer at hand, yet far more remote. They lie in our imagination. For those who have thought of themselves as unimaginative, this book will prove the opposite. Even the most reluctant imagination, when confronted by these drawings, will not be able to resist solving the mysteries of Harris Burdick.

By Oliver Jeffers

Henry loved books. But not like you and I love books, no. Not quite...

By Shaun Tan

You thought you knew suburbia. Then you meet an exchange student from another world, discover a secret room that lets you escape to a place of perfect beauty, find a neighborhood where brightly painted missiles decorate every yard and wait for a blind reindeer who demands a very special offering...These are the odd, magical details of everyday suburban life that might forever go unnoticed, were they not finally brought to light by Shaun Tan.

By Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire's

Here are the gods, goddesses, and legendary figures of ancient Greece - mighty Zeus, with his fistful of thunderbolts; gray-eyed Athena, goddess of wisdom; Helios, the sun; greedy King Midas - lavishly depicted by Caldecott winners Ingri and Edgar Parid d'Aulaire. In a relaxed and humorous tone, these splendid artists bring to life the myths that have inspired great European literature and art through the ages, creating a book readers of all ages will cherish.

By Marilyn Nelson
Illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

Abba Jacob is a monk who lives on a faraway island with his loyal rat terrier, Snook. Every day, from the week hours of dawn till the sun sets over the sea, Snook keeps Abba Jacob company as he prays and works, tending the gardens or fixing the plumbing of the little hermitage he calls home. But when the two are separated by a ferocious storm, Snook must learn to fend for himself in the wild, all alone in a world both fierce and wonderful. Will he ever hear the loving voice he waits for?

Simply and lyrically told by award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson and beautifully illustrated with wit and warmth by Timothy Basil Ering, this moving, evocative tale of friendship conveys the power of faith against all odds.

By Lois Lowry
Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

Drawn from her own personal experience as a child, two-time Newbery medalist Lois Lowry has crafted a story about the power of longing and one girl's connection wither her father, who has just returned from the war. In her first picture book, Lois Lowry pairs with acclaimed artist Bagram Ibatoulline to deliver a timeless story about the power of a very special relationship.

By Patricia Polacco

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

In the middle of the dark night, the Crosswhites - including young Sadie - flee the Kentucky plantation they slave on, leaving everything they own behind, including the wooden sparrow January carved for Sadie. Dear January has been beaten and probably killed by the plantation master. They fear who may be next. Across the Ohio River and traveling the Underground Railroad, they make the slow and arduous journey north to Marshall, Michigan, where finally they are free! Or are they? The fear of slave catchers hangs over them, and one day a mysterious package shows up on their doorstep. Sadie's toy sparrow! And a note that says, "I found you." How the Crosswhite family and the whole town of Marshall face slave catchers in their midnight attack and stand up heroically for what is right is brought to stunning life in art and words by the great storyteller Patricia Polacco.