DMPL closed Sunday, March 31

All locations of the Des Moines Public Library will be closed Sunday, March 31 for the Easter holiday.

List

Our librarians have hundreds of book recommendations for your next read. Filter by category below, or view one of our Popular Book Lists.

Print This Page View CoversView List
Category
Popular Book Lists

Amara's Farm

Janay Brown-Wood

A young girl searches for pumpkins on her farm in this joyful celebration of cool-weather fruits and vegetables, from the new Where in the Garden? series.

View Details >>

Hello The Sea

Carolyn Scrace

Say 'hello' to the sea creatures in this beautifully-designed baby book. The high-contrast images are designed for babies' eyesight. 

View Details >>

Where Thuong Keeps Love

Thu Buu

Inspired by the subtle yet unique differences in the notion of love between American and Vietnamese cultures, Where Thuong Keeps Love is a beautiful exploration of the nonverbal ways love is held and stored in every part of the body.

 

View Details >>

¡Vamos!: Let's Go Eat

Raúl the Third

Little Lobo returns to share his love of food and wrestling in this delicious follow-up to Vamos! Let'sGo to the Market from Pura Belpré Medal-winning illustrator Raúl the Third.

 

View Details >>

Where Wonder Grows

Xelena GonzAlez

When Grandma walks to her special garden, her granddaughters know to follow her there. Grandma invites the girls to explore her collection of treasures--magical rocks, crystals, seashells, and meteorites--to see what wonders they reveal. "They are alive with wisdom," Grandma says. As her granddaughters look closely, the treasures spark the girls' imaginations. They find stories in the strength of rocks shaped by volcanoes, the cleansing power of beautiful crystals, the mystery of the sea that houses shells and shapes the environment, and the long journey meteorites took to find their way to Earth. This is the power of Grandma's special garden, where wonder grows and stories blossom.

 

 

View Details >>

Mi Casa Is My Home

Laurenne Sala

Lucia invites you to visit her bustling casa and meet an intergenerational array of loved ones in a charming Spanglish celebration of family life.

 

View Details >>

My City Speaks

Darren Lebeuf

A young girl’s exploration of the city she loves. A young girl and her father spend a day in the city, her city, traveling to the places they go together. As they do, the girl, who is visually impaired, describes what she senses in delightfully precise, poetic detail. Her city, she says, “pitters and patters, and drips and drains.” It’s both “smelly” and “sweet.” Her city also speaks, as it “dings and dongs and rattles and roars.” And sometimes, maybe even some of the best times, it just listens. A celebration of all there is to appreciate in our surroundings — just by paying attention!

View Details >>

Opposites Abstract

Mo Willems

Is this dark? Is this light? Is this soft? Is this hard? Using colors, shapes, lines and textures, Willems invites readers to explore abstract concepts through eye-popping, emotive, and highly-accessible artwork.

View Details >>

Who Said Woof?

Who said 'Woof'? Was it Bunny? No, it was Puppy! This interactive board book will make children laugh with funny pairings, before helping them learn which noise matches which animal. With sturdy flaps to lift, tactile fabrics and a surprise mirror ending!

View Details >>

Are Your Stars Like My Stars?

Leslie Helakoski

In beautiful, evocative rhyme, this lovely picture book helps children consider the colors of their everyday lives . . . and imagine how others around the world experience the very same things.

 

View Details >>

Hello World!

Kelly Corrigan

Hello World! is the perfect reminder that the journeys we take through life are all about the people we will meet along the way--people who will make us smarter, stronger, and more amazing than we ever thought possible. With her trademark inspirational wisdom, Kelly Corrigan writes the perfect book for anyone about to embark on a new adventure.

View Details >>

Listen

Gabi Snyder

BEEP!
WOOF!
VROOM!

Isn’t the world a noisy place?
But what if you
stop, close your eyes,
and LISTEN?

Can you hear each sound?
Can you listen past the noise
and hear the quiet, too?

Beautifully illustrated and poignant, this lovely picture book follows a girl through her school day as she listens to sounds across the city: caws of crows, shouts across the playground, and finally, the quiet beating of her heart and whispered goodnights.

View Details >>

In the Quiet, Noisy Woods

Michael J. Rosen

Come and explore the quiet, NOISY woods, and follow two wolf pups finding their way back to their pack in this adorable read-aloud picture book—full of boisterous animal noises and artwork that will inspire kids to get out into nature.



 

View Details >>

Chicken Talk Around the World

Carole Lexa Schaefer

Kid-friendly text full of onomatopoeia and simple international vocabulary makes Chicken Talk Around the World a great read-aloud. Bright, charming illustrations show multigenerational families and chickens in different environments, celebrating cultural diversity; as well as universal elements, such as the special relationships grandmothers have with their grandchildren no matter where they live in the world.

View Details >>

Most Days

Michael Leannah

"Good things happen in the ordinary minutes of an ordinary day."

This is a book about mindfulness. About relishing the magic of the here and now. About enjoying the extraordinary unfoldings of an ordinary day. Moving from morning to night, the narrator becomes, by turns, boy or girl, of ever-changing ethnicity and ability, inhabiting city, country, or suburb. They are all children everywhere, opening themselves to the gift of time.

View Details >>

How Do You Say? / ¿Cómo Se Dice?

Angela Dominguez

Hello! ¡Hola! Some people speak Spanish. Some people speak English. Although we may not speak the same language, some things, like friendship, are universal!

Follow two young giraffes as they meet, celebrate, and become friends. This bilingual tale will have readers eager to meet new friends and amigos.

View Details >>

¿Qué Serás?

Yamile Saied Méndez

De Yamile Saied Méndez, aclamada autora de ¿De dónde eres? llega un impresionante segundo libro ilustrado de autodescubrimiento llamado ¿Qué Serás? Este lírico libro ilustrado cuenta la historia de una niña a la que constantemente se le hace una pregunta simple que no tiene una respuesta simple. Perfecto para los aficionados de Happy Dreamer por Peter H. Reynolds.

 

View Details >>

Hello, World!

Ethan Long

Welcome to Happy County, where everyone is out and about! The Bright Brothers are testing their newest invention. Hannah the Handywoman is hunting for her hammer. And Mr. Rhinehorn is just trying to get some sleep!

 

View Details >>

Animal Talk

Cynthia Weill

Did you know that animals that live in one country don't always talk the same language as animals from somewhere else? Take a rooster, for instance. In English-speaking countries, he says cock-a-doodle-doo when he has a notion to announce himself or to greet the dawn. But in Spanish-speaking countries, he says ki-kiri-ki. Emerging readers will delight in identifying the animals depicted on each new page. And the bilingual text invites parent and child into an interactive and playful reading experience for acting out animal sounds in English and Spanish.

 

View Details >>

Maggie and Michael Get Dressed

Denise Fleming

It's time for Michael to get dressed! Maggie will help.
Michael knows where each piece of colorful clothing should go. Yellow socks on feet, brown hat on head. But who will end up wearing the blue pants?

View Details >>

Contando Con Frida

Patty Rodriguez

Introduce your little one to the life of one of Mexico's most iconic painters, Frida Kahlo, while teaching them their numbers, 1 to 10, in English and Spanish. Count una casa azul (one blue house), tres flores (three flowers), and cinco retratos (five portraits).

 

View Details >>

Bark, George

Jules Feiffer

"Bark, George," says George's mother, and George goes: "Meow," which definitely isn't right, because George is a dog.

And so is his mother, who repeats, "Bark, George." And George goes, "Quack, quack."

What's going on with George? Find out in this hilarious new picture book from Jules Feiffer.

View Details >>