The Day-Glo Brothers - Chris Barton (2009)

              Fluorescence is not just about colors. It's a science. Every scientific invention blooms up over the imagination and toil of its inventor. And, this book paints the (extra) colorful story of the inventors of fluorescence, Bob and Joe Switzer.

A Glo(w)rious story

             Bob and Joe Switzer are two 'Chalk and Cheese' brothers, who has different abilities and different ambitions. Bob is a hard worker, who aspires to become a doctor. Joe practises to become a top-notch magician and he possesses a knack for speed and unique problem-solving methods.

Green - Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2012)

         (Caldecott Honor - 2013)

         Emerald? Shamrock? Mint? Basil? Any kind of green is a green. And, that is the very concept of this book, illustrated with various kinds of green in various environments, in each two-page spreads.

A Green Album
       
          What is that luscious colour that covers the top of a forest? It is forest green. And, what about the color of a sea turtle, that swims swiftly underwater? Yes, sea green. When the green color extends all the way into foods, we get lime green and pea green. Explore more green with jungle, khaki and fern greens. Is that it? No.

Andrew Drew And Drew - Barney Saltzberg (2012)

          Noodling or doodling, anything can start an art for Andrew. But, the pages in this book show only some scribbles. So, where do his imaginative illustrations are hiding? Well, maybe, under those surprising flaps.

An Art Journey

        Andrew was a doodle boy. Andrew drew and drew and drew. He drew stairs and a mighty dinosaur emerged out of it. (The normal page spread of the book shows only the stairs. Open the side flaps to see that stairs extend into the scales of the double-page sized dinosaur). He just started a line, but ended up with a rocket-y kite and clouds.

    

Periodic Table : Elements With Style - Simon Basher & Adrian Dingle (2007)

           "I am deadly serious"; that is how the periodic table element Plutonium introduces itself, in this book. And, that is only a very small preview of fun-info combo in this book.

Fun-chemist

           The periodic table, developed by chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, is a tabular arrangement of all the chemical elements. The elements are classified into groups, as alkali metals, alkali-earth metals, the boron elements etc., based on their properties.

The Dark - Lemony Snicket (2013)

         Fear of darkness starts from  the absence of en(light)enment. En(light) darkness and there would be no fear left out.

The 'Dark' Truth

         Laszlo is afraid of the dark. But, the dark is not afraid of him (Yes, meet the other character in this book, the 'personified' dark). The dark lives in the basement of Laszlo's house. Every morning, Laszlo would peek the dark in the basement and say "Hi" (He believes that if he visited the dark, then the dark won't come visit his room and he would be safe).

My Teacher Is A Monster (No, I Am Not) - Peter Brown (2014)

          Monsters are not really out there. It's just our eyes and minds that makes monsters. Here, a boy says that his teacher is a monster. But, what she is, really?

A Monster Problem

       
          Robert (aka Bobby) has one monster problem, his teacher, Ms. Kirby.  She stomps, roars and she is a real monster when Bobby throws airplane in the class. Unfortunately, he meets Ms.Kirby, when he was going to his favorite spot in the park, on a Saturday.

The Umbrella - Jan Brett (2004)

        Lush rainforests are quite a sight to see. Don't worry, if you can't see one up close. Open this book and you will be right there.

An Animal Safari

        A boy (Carlos) walks into cloud forest, with his umbrella (Not just any ordinary umbrella, it's a picturesque umbrella, with a sturdy, curvy wooden stem adjoined with stitched huge green leaves). Carlos climbs up a tree, leaving his umbrella down, in the hope of seeing the animals.

Hello, Red Fox - Eric Carle (1998)

           Are you wondering why is there a green fox starring in the book cover, while the book is titled as "Hello, Red Fox"? Well, there lies the magic of Eric Carle.

Turn the color wheel

         It is the time for little frog's birthday party. He has invited Red Fox, Purple butterfly, Orange Cat, Green Snake and some other friends of yellow, blue and white color.  But, wait, what happened? Every guest is not in their original color.

Wabi Sabi - Mark Reibstein (2008)

 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Picture Books) - 2009 

        Is it the heart? Or, the eyes? Which sees beauty? The ancient tradition of Japan, Wabi Sabi, (rooted from Chinese origin) can give a perfect answer to this question. Wabi Sabi is an aesthetic Japanese tradition, where the heart sees the beauty in simple, modest and imperfect things.

Malala Yousafzai : Warrior With Words - Karen Leggett Abouraya (2014)

          Words are mightier than sword, whether they are on a paper or a blog. This is the story of a warrior who fought with words, for opening access to educate girls in her valley.

A battle for learning

         Malala Yousafzai was born in the 'Swat' valley of Pakistan, a peace haven where tourists come and rejoice the scenic snow-clad mountains and green meadows. Her family, her books and her school formed the life of her. Everything in her life was happiness-filled, until the 'Swat' valley was captured by Taliban.

Officer Buckle And Gloria - Peggy Rathmann (1995)

                 Caldecott Winner - 1996

         Safety Tip #1 : Never tell a safety tip, without some fun added to it. Well, this book followed this tip to a T, and it is a grand success with kids.

Safe Fun

        Officer Buckle, of Napville town, knows many safety tips. But, safety tips are not fun to hear. So, no student in Napville school listens to the officer's 'safety tip' speech. But, things change, when Officer Buckle brings a new police dog, Gloria, along to his speech.

Jack Frost - William Joyce (2015)

        Snow, ice, sleet, frost... science can have many names for winter phenomenon. But, mythology has one name... Jack Frost. And, here is the tale behind Jack Frost. This book is part of the 'Guardians of Childhood' series.

A tale of cold and warmth


         Jack Frost is one of the guardians of childhood among Santa, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. But he has an another life too, a life with the name "Nightlight".

The Adventures of Beekle : The Unimaginary Friend - Dan Santat (2014)

               Caldecott Winner - 2015

     What comes before imagination? All we know is, imagination comes first in mind and then people work on them. But, the author and illustrator, San Dantat has this special imagination, where "imaginations" are waiting for someone to be imagined.

Yet-to-be-befriended

       He is a not-yet-imagined creature (not-yet named too), born in a faraway island, where all imaginary friends of  every "Earthling" kid is born. Day after day, he waits under stars, waiting for a kid to imagine him, along with his fellow island-mates. But his turn doesn't come yet.

It's An Orange Aardvark - Michael Hall (2014)

          With five carpenter ants and some peep holes, what story could you possibly write? But Michael Hall can write an amazing story with an outstanding moral in it.

Is it really an aardvark?

       
           Five carpenter ants living in a wood stump, hear a rumble outside. An ant with 'red hat' (The ants are color-coded with carpenter hats) is sure that it is an aardvark. The three 'blue hat' ants are scared to death now, as aardvarks prey on ants. But the brave 'yellow hat' ant drills a peep hole in the stump to see the outside. When orange color appears in the peephole, the 'blue hat' ants are relieved. (It's just orange color like orange). But, the 'red hat' ant scares everyone that it could be an orange aardvark.

Daylight Starlight Wildlife - Wendell Minor (2015)

         When the sun and the moon swap their places in the sky, there is a whole scenario of changes happen in the animal kingdom. While the diurnal animals return to their cozy home, all the crepuscular and nocturnal animals start their active life.

Nature's balance
       
        The concept of this book expands into "For every animal that rules the world by day, there is equally an animal, active at night". When a red-tailed hawk soars through sky by day, a barn owl swishes through by night. If cotton tail rabbit and her kits bustle through a field by day, night is the time for pink-nosed opossum and her family. At night, Luna moth takes the place of a butterfly in the morning. Nature has a perfect balance of everything.

Mighty Mars Rovers - Elizabeth Rusch (2012)

       The planet Mars is our "next-door neighbor" in the solar system. But, it needs a vast array of engineering minds and years of hard work to photograph and explore this planet.

A Mighty Mission

          Mars Rovers (brain child of geologist Steve Squyres) are robotic rovers, launched by NASA, to explore Martian land. In 2003, two rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, were launched.

If You're A Robot And You Know It - David A.Carter & Musical Robot (2015)

         If you are happy and you know it, obviously you know what to do. But, what if you are a robot? Maybe, this techno twist of the classic nursery rhyme could tell you.

Action Bots

         Just take the rhythm of "If You Are Happy And You Know It" and change it into "If You Are A Robot And You Know It". Yes, you are all set for a world of robotic actions. This is the lovely theme of the "If You Are A Robot" song by "Musical Robot" band (released in 2013). Now, this book is the next upgradation to that blasting song. The cut-out and pop-up robots in each page of this book clap hands, jump, beep, and shoot laser beams, according to the actions in the modified song (The song is downloadable for free).