Best TumbleBooks at Your Library

tumblebooksDoes your library have a TumbleBooks account? At both of my local libraries, young readers can tap into this online collection digital picture books for kids. If your library has an account, you can access the program on computers, smartphones and tablets.

To help parents navigate this resource, I’ve included the titles of my ten favorite TumbleBooks below. Simply visit your library’s online page and click the TumbleBooks link to access the collection. You can search for these individual titles by name.

Here’s more about the library resource, from the webpage: “our core collection is used by over 30,000 schools and libraries across the world. You get 550 titles which include animated talking picture books, books in English, French and Spanish, read-alongs, non-fiction books and National Geographic Videos, as well as educator resources such as lesson plans, quizzes and educational games and puzzles.”

Best TumbleBooks at Your Library

Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw
“Lola loves Tuesdays because that is the day she and her mother go to the library. Everything about the trip is an exciting adventure — from packing her backpack with books and her all-important library card, to storytimes and singing, to choosing new books and the walk home, when they always stop for a special treat. But the best time of all is when Mommy reads her story at bedtime.”

Wiggle by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Scott Menchin
Do you wake up with a wiggle? Do you wiggle out of bed? For energetic toddlers (are there any who aren’t?), here’s a book that invites them to wiggle along with the story. Told in rollicky, wiggly rhyme that begs to be read again and again, Doreen Cronin’s latest romp will have toddlers wiggling, giggling, and then (hopefully) falling into bed, blissfully exhausted!

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
“As the sun sets behind the big construction site, all the hardworking trucks get ready to say goodnight. One by one, Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer, and Excavator finish their work and lie down to rest—so they’ll be ready for another day of rough and tough construction play!”

The Dot by Peter Reynolds
“a charming invitation to self-expression. Vashti thinks she can’t draw. No, Vashti KNOWS she can’t draw! To prove her point, she jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti’s journey of surprise and self-discovery.”

Bebe Goes Shopping Susan Middleton Elya and illustrated by Steven Salerno
A quick trip to the supermercado? Not with Bebe in the shopping cart. Snatching the grocery list and picking out chocolate-covered pickles, he’s not being very helpful. Just as Mama is ready to throw up her manos, she gives sweet Bebe a box of animal cookies. A dulce at last! He finds a camel, nibbles on a giraffe . . . eats an oso. Then they’re off to the checkout line, smiling all the way.

Bintou’s Braids by Sylvianne Diouf and illustrated by Shane Evans
Bintou wants braids. Long, pretty braids, woven with gold coins and seashells, just like her older sister and the other women in her family. But she is too young for braids. Instead, all she has are four little tufts of hair; all she ever gets are cornrows. However, when Bintou saves the lives of her two young cousins and is offered a reward of her choosing, Bintou discovers that true beauty comes in many different forms. Rich, earthy illustrations and a heartwarming story capture the spirit of a West African village in this wise tale about a girl who learns she’s perfect just the way she is.

The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
“Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in Basra, Iraq. For fourteen years, her library has been a meeting place for those who love books. Until now. Now war has come, and Alia fears that the library–along with the thirty thousand books within it–will be destroyed forever. In a war-stricken country where civilians–especially women–have little power, this true story about a librarian’s struggle to save her community’s priceless collection of books reminds us all how, throughout the world, the love of literature and the respect for knowledge know no boundaries.”

Don’t Forget to Come Back by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Harry Bliss
“Guess what? The babysitter is coming! That means: 1. Mommy and Daddy are going out 2. the feisty heroine of this book is not going out . . . 3. and she doesn’t like that one bit! Parents, kids, and babysitters alike will relate to–and laugh at–this all-too-familiar tale, wisely and wittily penned by an expert in child development and brought wickedly to life with detailed illustrations by a noted New Yorker cartoonist.”

When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat by Muriel Harris Weinstein and illustrated by Christie. R. Gregory
“In a CRACKITY-SNAPPITY-POPPITY-POP bubblegum dream, a young girl learns to scat from the master himself, Louis Armstrong! Written in prose and scat with wild and wonderful illustrations by R. Gregory Christie, this joyful tribute is downright contagious.”

Suki’s Kimono by Chieri Uegaki and Stephane Jorisch
“Suki’s favorite possession is her blue cotton kimono. A gift from her obachan, it holds special memories of her grandmother’s visit last summer. And Suki is going to wear it on her first day back to school — no matter what anyone says. When it’s Suki’s turn to share with her classmates what she did during the summer, she tells them about the street festival she attended with her obachan and the circle dance that they took part in. In fact, she gets so carried away reminiscing that she’s soon humming the music and dancing away, much to the delight of her entire class! Filled with gentle enthusiasm and a touch of whimsy, Suki’s Kimono is the joyful story of a little girl whose spirit leads her to march — and dance — to her own drumbeat.”

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and illustrated by David Shannon
“When Braid Beard’s pirate crew invites Jeremy Jacob to join their voyage, he jumps right on board. Buried treasure, sea chanteys, pirate talk–who wouldn’t go along? Soon Jeremy Jacob knows all about being a pirate. He throws his food across the table and his manners to the wind. He hollers like thunder and laughs off bedtime. It’s the heave-ho, blow-the-man-down, very best time of his life. Until he finds out what pirates don’t do–no reading bedtime stories, no tucking kids in. . . . Maybe being a pirate isn’t so great after all. Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator David Shannon teams up with witty storyteller Melinda Long for a hilarious look at the finer points of pirate life.”

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