Lis Hartel was only 23 years old in 1944 when polio left her paralyzed from the knees down. Determined to still compete as an equestrian, Lis taught herself to ride again. In 1952, she earned a silver medal in dressage at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki – the very first year women were welcome to compete at the Olympic Games, and eight years before the first Paralympics (the largest international sports competition for athletes with disabilities) was held in 1960. Celebrate National I Love Horses Day with these great nonfiction books about horses and riders, including Jubilee: The First Therapy Horse and an Olympic Dream!   Read More

Celebrate National I Love Horses Day with these wonderful horse stories. Read More

Ice cream has been a favorite food in the United States since the 1700s. In the 1800s, an ice cream maker was invented – it allowed people to hand-crank the ice cream inside a bucket of ice, mixing the ingredients until they slowly froze.  Today, there are electric ice cream makers, and huge ice cream factories make almost a billion gallons of ice cream in the U.S. every year! However, (according to our friend Google) you can actually make ice cream without an ice cream maker (electric or otherwise), if you have a few simple ingredients plus ice, salt, and two plastic bags. Here are some great books about making and enjoying ice cream. Yum! Read More

In celebration of National Ice Cream Month, here are some of Jazzy’s favorite books about ice cream. Read More

Dolly Parton began singing professionally at age 10, and has gone on to write and perform almost 3,000 songs. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly founded the Imagination Library to give books to children ages 0-5 years. Since 1995, the Imagination Library has gifted more than 175,000,000 books to children! In honor of World Music Day, learn more about musicians like Dolly Parton, Jimi Hendrix, Selena, and “V” from BTS, by checking out these great books: Read More

Celebrate World Music Day with these wonderful stories that revolve around music. Read More

Learn about the meaning behind the other colors of the Pride flag in Our Rainbow by Little Bee Books, and celebrate Pride Month with these great titles about important moments and people in LGBTQ history. Read More

In celebration of Pride Month, here are some of Jazzy’s favorite books that encourage us all to be proud of who we are. Read More

When we think about cheetahs, the idea of these wild cats forming friendships with dogs seems extremely unlikely. But cheetahs can become anxious, particularly when interacting with humans in a zoo environment. The San Diego Zoo solved this problem by introducing one of their cheetah cubs, Arusha, to a Golden Retriever named Anna, and the animals became best friends. Arusha and Anna became animal ambassadors, meeting thousands of visitors at the San Diego Zoo, and other cheetah/dog friendships soon followed. Here are some great books about cheetahs, dogs, and other unusual animal friendships: Read More

In celebration of National Zoo and Aquarium Month, here are some of Jazzy’s favorite books about animals living in zoos and aquariums. Read More