Story Tags

What if cover - Face of a girl with purple hair

Grow your Creativity, Grow your World

Books to help spark new ideas

Everyone (even kids!) can feel stuck at times. Whether you're facing a tough homework problem, or a challenge that seems insurmountable, sometimes the answer requires taking a new perspective. That's where creativity enters the picture. Treating creativity as a practice allows new perspectives and options to enter the world. The books below can help stretch the mind and develop new insights. For children birth to 5

A Festival of Ghosts cover : A girl and boy in fall clothing stand in front of a gnarled and leafless tree.

More Children's Scary Stories

For a bone chilling read

Ok, ghost story loving kids. Get ready, because this year I have even more spooky books for you as we head into the long nights and the winds grow chillier.

Book cover with a gumball machine

Algebraic!

Math reads for you and the kids

School's here and it's time to embrace something that you tried to forget about all summer: math homework. Get yourself (and your child) ready for the mathemagical year to come with these exciting and fun math reads. For the Kids (K-6th Grade) Seeing Symmetry by Lauren Leedy

Ice Cream: A Global History cover

The Heat Wave is Gone, but Next Comes August

Cool reads for hot summer days

Summer in adulthood can be hard. Most jobs don't include a three month summer vacation, it's blazing hot, and being in public sprinkler parks when you're not a child generally leads to some serious side-eye. Get through the worst of it with a tall glass of ice water and these chilly reads.

Mission Save the Planet cover. A photo of earth in space with the title superimposed.

Let's Care for the Earth!

Books to build environmental stewardship in kids and tweens

With the Washington Post reporting that DC's climate is going to match that of Mississippi's 60 years from now, it can feel like building environmental stewardship in the next generation is critical and urgent. Fortunately, it can also be fun! Try these books for your budding environmentalist to encourage a sense of gratitude and responsibility for our planet.  Younger Children (birth to 2nd grade)

Lovely cover

Learning About Differences

Not just for adults any more!

In cities like Washington, D.C. there are so many people and they are all unique. This curated list contains a variety of protagonists and thoughts about differences. Let's celebrate the beautiful diversity of our city with diverse reads! Picture books for early readers Lovely by Jess Hong

The Parker Inheritance

You've Got a Friend in Me

Books about friendship for kids and teens

Younger kids (Pre-k through 2nd grade) Hooray for Hat by Brian Won Elephant is in a terrible mood, but surprising generosity from a mysterious benefactor cheers him up so much that he decides to help his friends get out of their gloominess. An excellent opportunity to discuss supporting friends and shaking off sadness.

Izzy Barr

And I ran, I ran so far away

Track and Field books for school kids

I walk along the avenue I never thought I'd read a book like you Read a book like you Within a cover the story lies The kind of book that hypnotizes me through You hypnotize me through And I ran I ran so far away I just ran And read all night and day I couldn't get away ----

A Perfectly Unhaunted Place book cover

Spooky stories to read around an autumn campfire

(or under a blanket fort with a flashlight)

As the leaves begin to yellow at the edges and the wind begins to blow a little cooler, it becomes the perfect time of year to settle in with a good ghost story. If you're taking an early fall camping trip, be sure to tote along one of these haunting middle grade books (grades 3-7) to pass the time. Or just read them at home with a flashlight under the covers--as long as you don't stay up too late.

We came to America

Kids' American History Reads

In coordination with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Read about America with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History! These picture and chapter books are wonderful family reads and are a great tool to help your family develop a sense of home and aspiration for the future of the country. Whether you're a history buff or just avoiding summer slide, these picks will move you, inspire you, and wrap you up in a world that was, so that you can help to decide what the world will become.  Picture Books

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