Juvenile Nonfiction

Welcome to Texas! Parent and child Armadillos tour the Lone Star State in best-selling author-illustrator Martha Day Zschock's Hello! board book series for children. In Hello, Texas! join the pair as they explore Big Bend National Park, spend the day at the State Fair of Texas, discover the Alamo and splash at the beach. Along the way they stop for some yummy barbecue, pretend to be astronauts at Space Center Houston, wave to prairie dogs, watch bats fly in Austin, and end their day floating on a river boat in San Antonio! For ages 0-3. Made in the USA.

Bursting with laugh-out-loud jokes and fun facts, LOL Jokes: Texas combines the best of humor and history for young readers!

Inspired by all the wonderful sights, sounds, and . . . smells of the Lone Star State, this local joke book delivers kid-friendly punchlines that will have readers laughing ’til they cry! Alongside hilarious jokes and puns are fascinating facts, goofy tidbits of local history, and engaging graphics that will keep readers chuckling and sharing with friends. LOL Jokes: Texas is sure to deliver hours of knee-slapping entertainment.

What do you call a Texas cow without any legs?
Ground beef!

Fun Factoid: Texas big! The State Fair of Texas boast’s North America’s highest Ferris wheel. It’s called The Texas Star!

Ghost stories from Deep South Texas have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky Texas Tropics!

Stay Alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see the Rio Grande Valley forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!

In the tradition of Little Legends and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls comes The City We Built: Black Leaders of Austin, an illustrated children’s book honoring the extraordinary African American men and women who played a critical role in shaping Black Austin’s social, political, and cultural heritage. A collaboration between The Black Leaders Collective; The George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center; and renowned Texas visual artist Sadé Lawson, The City We Built will take readers on an empowering and inspiring journey through Black Austin’s history, highlighting such local luminaries as:Ada Anderson, Charles Atkins, Berl Handcox, Johnny Holmes, Azie Taylor Morton, Velma Roberts, Dorothy Turner, Willie Wells, and more.

            Featuring full-page biographies and vibrantly illustrated, full-color portraits, The City We Built will not only educate young readers and inspire a new generation of Austin Black leaders—but celebrate the heroes who helped build this remarkable city.

Learn colors and numbers with a Lone Star twist!

From one black horse to ten purple pinwheels, this lively board book takes children on a colorful journey through Texas! Everything from four espátulas (“spoonbills”) to five botas (“boots”) to six garza (“egrets”) come to life in vivid photographs of Lone Star backyards and open fields. This bilingual picture book will spark the imagination and creativity in every child—Texan or not! Children will enjoy the educational nature of this book, counting from place to place and picking up a few Spanish words along the way! An enjoyable and relatable counting adventure, the beautiful photographs make learning colors and numbers in two languages as easy as uno, dos, très!

Did you know that camels were imported to Texas to serve the U.S. Army in the 1850s? They carried supplies and mail to isolated forts and settlers. Young readers will be fascinated to learn of this little-known part of American history.

Ghost stories from Dallas, Texas have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky streets of Dallas!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. 

Did you know that the Sammons Center for the Arts is said to have a haunted elevator? Or that sounds of music and laughter sometimes drift up and down the halls of the Adolphus Hotel... even when no one is there? Can you believe the friendly ghost at Catfish Plantation has been known to make coffee for its hosts?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Dallas and have you sleeping with the light on!

Sometimes the coolest places are right outside your front door. Learning about Houston’s interesting and unique culture has never been so super fun!

Did you know that NASA’s Manned Space Center has a home in Houston? Or that camels and ostriches race at the Sam Houston Race Park? Have you ever been to the annual Livestock Show and Rodeo? From the Astrodome, to the Texas Medical Center, Super Cities!: Houston covers it all, and is sure to engage any reader with fun facts about the history, culture, and people who make the Space City great. Dive into Galveston Bay, shop till you drop at the Galleria, and attend a Beyonce concert, all right here. Take a peek inside to learn more about the impressive, unusual, super history of Houston!

Bursting with delightful colors and bright illustrations, Local Baby: Austin engages babies’ attention and encourages families to explore what makes their city so great.

Swim in the Barton Springs Pool, watch out for bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge, stroll through the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, and catch a UT Longhorn football game. Explore your city with this joyfully grabbable and wonderfully local board book that is sure to bring generations together.

Ghost stories from this Texas town have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Granbury, Texas’s, haunted history comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Meet inmates past that haunt the historic Hood County Jail. See the mysterious woman in red who inhabits the home of one of Granbury’s most famous residents. Venture into the Granbury Opera House to encounter the spirit of John Wilkes Booth. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

The story of the Alamo encompasses far more than a thirteen-day siege that ended in a battle on March 6, 1836. In Voices of the Alamo, that story begins in the 1500s with the Native Americans who inhabited the area we now call Texas. Page by page, different voices—among them Spanish, Tejano, Texian, Mexican, and American—are heard, as they describe history from their individual viewpoints.

Acclaimed author Sherry Garland and artist Ronald Himler have joined together to create a beautiful book. Voices of the Alamo sensitively depicts history from the perspectives of the men and women who lived it. It is an unforgettable tribute to one of our nation’s most enduring symbols.

Ghost stories from Old Town Spring have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky streets of Old Town Spring, Texas!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. 

Did you know the spirit of a girl who died in a barn still plays with her friends in Doering Court? Or that a headless railroad worker is known to chase phantom trains? Can you believe that on some nights, a ghostly bride and her husband can be seen dancing in the moonlight? 

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Old Town Spring forever, and have you sleeping with the light on! 

Ghost stories from this Texas town have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

San Antonio’s, historic haunted history comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Meet the spirit of a long-dead monk who still paces the floors of the San Fernando Cathedral. Visit the site of the 1842 Battle of Salado Creek and see spectral soldiers roaming the battlefield. Stay a night in the hotel that was built on top of the Old Bexar County Jail and perhaps you’ll meet one of the old inmates roaming the halls. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Ghost stories from Texas's Haunted Route 66 have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to Texas’s spooky Route 66!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. 

Did you know the Amarillo Natatorium is home to phantom musicians, spectral dancers, and a mysterious woman in white? Or that the abandoned motor motel in McLean may be the perfect "rest" stop for spirits traveling historic Route 66? Can you believe that in Old Tascosa, ghostly gamblers, gunslingers, and cowboys are still living it up from beyond the grave?

Pulled right from history, these spooky tales will change the way you see Texas’s Haunted Route 66 forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on! 

Encounter the spirits of North Central Texas—wealthy families lingering in their mansions, notorious outlaws still trapped in their jail cells.

Welcome to spooky North Central Texas! 

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. 

Did you know that on stormy nights, ghosts bound in chains roam the halls at The Old Collin County Prison? Or that in Arlington, a haunted bridge echoes with screams of the dead? Can you believe the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas is home to a haunted elevator?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see North Central Texas forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on! 

Adapted from Haunted North Central Texas by Teresa Nordheim

Ghost stories from Texas’s capitol have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The haunted history of Austin comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Chat with the ghosts who roam the hallways of the capitol building downtown. Or visit Mount Bonnell and learn about Antonia, who threw herself from the cliffs after her fiancé perished trying to rescue her. Learn the history of the great flood of 1900 and then witness the ghostly orbs at Lake McDonald. Are they the spirits of the dead? Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.