In Pumpkin Soup, the Cat, Duck, and Squirrel all live deep in the woods. When cooking, they all have individual jobs that they must do in order for things to go smoothly. When Squirrel decides they want to switch things up and be the one to stir the soup, chaos ensues.
Author and illustrator: Helen Cooper
Published 1998
Fiction
Kate Greenaway award: recognizes distinguished illustrators for children‘s books

In The Wizard Comes to Town by Mercer Mayer, a stranger rents a room at Bertha Beggs's boarding house. Things quickly go awry, from rainstorms in the parlor to reptiles in the beds, until Mrs. Beggs decides she must expel her unusual lodger with some spells of her own.
Mercer Mayor, published 1973, later released as “The Wizard Comes to Town”

In Frindle, a middle school-age boy, Nick Allen, challenges his teachers about nonsense words. He learns how words are made and decides to make up his own word, frindle. This starts to catch on and everyone at school is using frindle. His teacher is upset and asks him to put a stop to this nonsense but it is already out of his control.

Published in 2004, Mordicai Gerstein does a great job at detailing what the Twin Towers meant to people prior to 9/11. Gerstein captures the event of Philippe walking between the towers with his beautiful and detailed illustrations in this picture book. This book won a Caldecott Medal for its powerful illustrations.