Every Sunday, Tina's taxi-driver father comes to visit for off-duty adventures out of the city, and, this week, they enjoy a picnic excursion on a farm.

Taxi! Taxi!

Best, Cari

Children's Books

Little,Brown & Co

When Charlie turns a plain cardboard box into a zippy new car, he can’t wait for Mama to have the first ride. He adjusts the mirror, checks to be sure there is enough gas, and reminds Mama to buckle up. Then off they go―REV REV VROOM! There are places to visit and bumps along the way. There is even a traffic jam! By the time they return home, Mama is exhausted, but Charlie can’t wait for her nap to be over so he can drive her someplace else. A Margaret Ferguson Book

If I Could Drive, Mama

Cars, Trains & Things That Go

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Goose's Story

Sometimes the most unlikely heroine can become an inspiration Every year the geese return. Honking and flapping, they always land in groups. But this spring something is different: an injured goose stands on one leg – alone. Shunned by the other geese, she is unable to search for food, swim, or fly away. A young girl watches and wonders how a goose with one foot can survive. She wants to feed her, take care of her, be her friend. But her mother warns that “a wild goose has to learn to live with her weakness. Or she won’t live at all.” It takes patience and courage for both goose and girl to let nature take its course. Told from a child’s point of view, and based on a true story, this simple, telling, and triumphant picture book is wonderfully illustrated in the bold paper-collage art of Holly Meade.

Animals

I can pop a wheelie, I can touch the sky, I can pedal backwards, I can really fly!
Sally Jean was born to ride. And her bicycle, Flash, is just about her best friend. But one day something terrible – and wonderful – happens. Sally Jean grows. Suddenly she finds herself too big for Flash. What's a Bicycle Queen to do? Finally, by collecting old bicycle parts to make a new bike – and giving Flash to a young friend who longs for a bigger bike of his own – she rides again!
With exuberant art that's just the right match for Sally Jean's new found freedom, this joyous text celebrates growing up, learning new skills, and giving back to the community.
Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen

Sports & Outdoors

Never has being shy seemed so rewarding!
Whether she's impersonating Elvis, swaggering like Captain Hook, or imitating the sounds of a cricket, Violet is expressive and funny -- but only when she's alone or with her best friend, Opal. At school, especially around class bully Irwin, who teases her nonstop, she retreats into a shell of shyness. But when Irwin, playing the part of Planet Mars in the class play, begins to spin wildly out of control and threatens to ruin the entire production, it's Violet who saves the day -- managing not only to give Irwin his comeuppance but to find her own unique way of surviving the spotlight. 
Illustrations brimming with humor and charm add to the fun in this fresh take on overcoming shyness.

Shrinking Violet

Arts, Music & Photography

An Amazon Best Book of the Month
Eleven-year-old Shirley Alice Burns lives with her domineering mother, Hurricane Anna, and loving Grandmother. One day she unexpectedly discovers that her beloved father isn’t in Absentia as her family would have her believe, but dead. And she understands all too well why they haven’t told her; she’s always been shy and quiet, and Anna has always been protective of her. But if Shirley doesn’t start speaking up, she isn’t going to be able to do the things she wants to do: go on vacation to Lake Winnipesaukee with her cousins, stop taking ballet lessons, and talk about her father. Through the help of a mouse, her hero Pippi Longstocking, and her cousin Phillie, Shirley finds the strength to give her dreams a voice and convince everyone, even Hurricane Anna, that she doesn’t need to be sheltered, especially from the truth. In the Country of Queens is the debut novel from acclaimed picture-book author Cari Best.

In the Country of Queens

Literature & Fiction

A young girl learns what it really means to sparkle in this charming picture book about the challenges and joys of making new friends.
Lightning-bug-loving Maude wants to be a member of the Bug-of-the-Month Club in her new neighborhood, and decides that her entrance speech will be about fireflies. She reads, she researches, she prepares, and she delivers a speech that all the club members love―except for hard-to-please Louise. Louise won't even let Maude in the club! So Maude vows to really let Louise have it for being so rude. But when she does, it's not in the way anyone expects.
Featuring wonderful illustrations by Jennifer Plecas, Cari Best's Bug Off! is a sparkly story about friendship, kindness, and inclusion―packed with info about fireflies, too!

Bug Off!: A Story of Fireflies and Friendship

Zulay and her three best friends are all in the same first grade class and study the same things, even though Zulay is blind. When their teacher asks her students what activity they want to do on Field Day, Zulay surprises everyone when she says she wants to run a race. With the help of a special aide and the support of her friends, Zulay does just that.

My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay

When Ava and her sister Arlie see the "Write a Poem / Win a Pet" sign in Mr. Noah's pet shop window, Ava is sure the prize is going to be a dog and convinces Arlie to enter the contest with her. The girls write the best poem they can, and while waiting and hoping to win, they decide that "Lucille" would be the perfect name for a dog. But when Mr. Noah finally announces that they have won, Ava is so disappointed when she sees the prize, a parakeet, that she says, "You're not the real Lucille!" Ava must discover for herself that with a little patience, a little imagination, and a lot of love, her new pet will be every bit as much fun as a dog―and a fine friend besides.

Ava and the Real Lucille

Beatrice wants to write the kind of letters that start with "Dear Somebody," but she only knows how to write letters like A B C T E R I E. Then her Nanny Hannah teaches her how to put the letters together to spell words, and Beatrice takes off on a spelling spree. She decides to start a Spelling Club at school, but no one signs up because spelling is B-O-R-I-N-G. In fact, the class decides to go on a spelling strike! Then Beatrice has a lulu of an idea and turns show-and-tell into show-and-spell starring her pet T-A-R-A-N-T-U-L-A―and soon, in this picture book by Cari Best, everyone has caught the spelling bug.

Beatrice Spells Some Lulus and Learns to Write a Letter

Growing Up & Facts of Life

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Books by Best, Cari