Distinguished books that best promote awareness of California and its people.

Book cover for Frankie & Bug
2022

Frankie & Bug

by Forman, Gayle
Call Number: x
Book cover for Land of the Cranes
2021

Land of the Cranes

by Salazar, Aida
Call Number: x
Book cover for My papi has a motorcycle
2020

My Papi Has a Motorcycle

by Quintero, Isabel
Call Number: xz

Grades 1 - 3: A heartfelt and beautiful picture book. Zeke Peña’s vibrant watercolors capture a special relationship between a father and daughter who bond over their love of motorcycles and their Mexican-American community in Corona, CA. An author’s note by Quintero explains more about the history of her hometown.

Book cover for It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
2017

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel

by Dumas, Firoozeh
Call Number: x

Zomorod Yousefzadeh is determined to make a fresh start at her junior high in Newport Beach. Her first move? Picking out a “normal” American name (Cindy) and setting her sights on new friends. But fitting in becomes near impossible when the Iranian Revolution and the American hostage crisis start making headlines. Set in the late 1970s, readers can take a lot from this perspective on the immigrant experience.

Book cover for This Bridge Will Not Be Gray
2016

This Bridge Will Not Be Gray

by Eggers, Dave,
Call Number: x 624 E29
Book cover for Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting With the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands
2015

Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting With the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands

by Roy, Katherine
Call Number: x 597.3 R888

The coast of California is home to many sharks, like the Great Whites of the Farallon Islands. Katherine Roy’s illustrations are so beautiful you won’t notice that there aren’t any actual photographs, and this fact-filled book shows why scientists and readers alike find these creatures so frightening and fascinating!

Book cover for The Tree Lady
2014

The Tree Lady

by Hopkins, H. Joseph.
Call Number: x 92 S493Ho

A charming picture book biography about the life and times of Katherine Olivia Sessions, the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science and who became known as the "Mother of Balboa Park" for her dedication to gardening and planting trees in San Diego. Colorful and encouraging. Grades K-3.

Book cover for The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks
2013

The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks

by Rosenstock, Barbara
Call Number: x 92 R781Ro

(Grades 1-4) Rosenstock’s accessible text and Gerstein’s vibrant illustrations pair well to tell the story of a little-known historical camping trip that spurred the creation of national parks and protected public wilderness. Gerstein’s illustrations admirably capture Roosevelt’s exuberance, Muir’s passion, and Yosemite’s awe-inspiring beauty.

Book cover for One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street
2012

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street

by Rocklin, Joanne
Call Number: x

The last remaining orange tree on a Southern California street brings together neighbors of all ages as they face their problems and anxieties, including the possibility that a mysterious stranger is a threat to their tree.

Book cover for Operation Redwood
2010

Operation Redwood

by French, S. Terrell.
Call Number: x
Book cover for Steinbeck's Ghost
2009

Steinbeck's Ghost

by Buzbee, Lewis, 1957-
Call Number:
Book cover for Julia Morgan Built a Castle
2007

Julia Morgan Built a Castle

by Mannis, Celeste Davidson.
Call Number: x 92 M8484Ma
Book cover for The Balloon Boy of San Francisco
2006

The Balloon Boy of San Francisco

by Leland, Dorothy Kupcha.
Call Number: x
Book cover for Al Capone Does My Shirts
2005

Al Capone Does My Shirts

by Choldenko, Gennifer
Call Number: x

A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

Book cover for Ansel Adams: America's Photographer
2003

Ansel Adams: America's Photographer

by Gherman, Beverly.
Call Number: x 92 A2115Gh
Book cover for Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio
2002

Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio

by Johnston, Tony, 1942-
Call Number: x
Book cover for Hurry Freedom: African Americans in Gold Rush California
2001

Hurry Freedom: African Americans in Gold Rush California

by Stanley, Jerry
Call Number: x 979 S788

Recounts the history of African Americans in California during the Gold Rush while focusing on the life and work of Mifflin Gibbs.

Book cover for The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party
2000

The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party

by Calabro, Marian.
Call Number: x 979.4 C141
Book cover for Bandit's moon
1999

Bandit's moon

by Fleischman, Sid, 1920-2010.
Call Number: x
Twelve-year-old Annyrose relates her adventures with Joaquín Murieta and his band of outlaws in the California gold-mining region during the mid-1800s.
Book cover for The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child
1998

The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child

by Jimenez, Francisco, 1943-
Call Number: x Ed.a
Book cover for The ballad of Lucy Whipple
1997

The ballad of Lucy Whipple

by Cushman, Karen.
Call Number: x
In 1849, twelve-year-old California Morning Whipple, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town.
Book cover for Summer on Wheels
1996

Summer on Wheels

by Soto, Gary.
Call Number: x
Book cover for Cat Running
1995

Cat Running

by Snyder, Zilpha Keatley.
Call Number: x
Book cover for Dragon's Gate
1994

Dragon's Gate

by Yep, Laurence, 1948-
Call Number: x
Book cover for Sierra
1992

Sierra

by Siebert, Diane.
Call Number: x 811 S571-2
Book cover for Baseball in April and Other Stories
1991

Baseball in April and Other Stories

by Soto, Gary
Call Number: x Ed.d
Book cover for The great American gold rush
1990

The great American gold rush

by Blumberg, Rhoda.
Call Number: x 979 B658

People came from all over the world to pursue the dream of discovering gold in California in the mid 19 th -century, and this book tells the story using primary sources such as letters, diaries, newspapers, posters, cartoons and advertisements.

Book cover for Chang's Paper Pony
1989

Chang's Paper Pony

by Coerr, Eleanor.
Call Number: xz IR Ed.b