California from A to Z in quick rhymes and fun facts, plus richly detailed illustrations. "A is for Alcatraz, an island in San Francisco Bay, a fun place to visit, but you wouldn't want to stay." (Picture book)

It's 1906, and young Nick has recently arrived in San Francisco. On the night of the earthquake, Nick leads a little girl and her injured mother to safety, and risks his own life to save his employer's golden dog. A fabulous story that conveys the experience of devastation and heroic efforts after the earthquake. (Chapter book)

Julia Morgan was the architect of Hearst Castle, but she's also the first licensed woman architect in California. This is a fabulously illustrated pictorial biography of Julia Morgan, and the story of how Hearst Castle was built. (Picture book)

Travis favorite place is the library in Salinas, hometown of John Steinbeck. But the library is in trouble and a mystery looms – there's a ghost writing in the attic of the Steinbeck House, and a lost town in the mountains. A fun read for older kids. (Chapter book)

The Spanish established 21 missions in California, from San Diego to San Francisco. Find out about daily life at the mission – how they were built, mission buildings, workshops, the rhythm of life each day. Super historical illustrations and photographs. (Picture book)

Ride with the vaqueros near the Pueblo de Los Angeles, and young Diego de la Vega, who grew up to become el Zorro, the masked hero. Diego and his best friend Bernard search for stolen cattle and skilled workers who've disappeared from their rancho. A dashing adventure, and wonderful ambiance of early 19th century California. (Chapter book)

Lovely, original story of the swallows that return each year to Mission San Juan Capistrano. Nacho, a mythical bird with colorful plumage, lands at the Mission and helps a swallow, Lolita, tend her chicks, until it's time to migrate south. Radiant illustrations, a garden of California textures and colors. (Picture book)

Rich bounty of California harvests and those who work the land, in a Spanish and English alphabet – from arboles (trees) to Cesar Chavez, jardín (garden), zanahoria (carrots) and more. Colorful illustrations in gold, greens, reds and browns, like a cornucopia. (Picture book)

Teenage Jack and his family butler, Praiseworthy, head for the gold fields of California, traveling by sea around Cape Horn. In Hangtown, the resourceful Praiseworthy takes to gold panning with an umbrella and bare-knuckle fighting, and together they strike pay dirt. Exuberant, high-spirited reading. (Chapter book)

Don't miss two more great California adventures in this trilogy: Bandit's Moon and The Giant Rat of Sumatra

Vibrant picture book that captures the frenzy of the gold rush, "Even my cook has left me – John Sutter," how people got to California, "Seventy miles without a drop o' water," the boomtowns, "Nearly everybody is up to their knees in mud and water. Snakes are plenty." (Picture book)

Gorgeously illustrated story that captures the heart of San Francisco. A new imigrant, Ming is left alone to tend store in Chinatown. Befriended by a kind-hearted Irish boy, Ming widens his horizons, and together the boys have a plan to save the store. (Picture book)

It's the late 19th century and the magnificent sequoia in the western Sierra are being logged right and left. Finding a note left in a redwood stump, young Francie Cavanaugh follows a mystery that leads to a dangerous ride down the rushing waters of a man-made flume to save the largest tree on earth. (Chapter book)

Absorbing fictional account of a young woman who finds herself in San Francisco on the morning of the big earthquake. Equipped with her camera, she photographs unforgettable scenes of destruction in the city. The author seamlessly interweaves fact and fiction, and actual photos are included in the book. (Chapter book)

"Today I moved to a twelve acre rock covered with cement." Moose Flanagan was an ordinary seventh grader, until his dad takes a job on Alcatraz. With humor and honesty, Moose sizes up his new surroundings, where the kids collect convict's baseballs and Al Capone's mother comes to visit. (Chapter book)

Pop's Bridge
Eve Bunting, C.F. Payne

"My pop is building the Golden Gate Bridge." Two boys watch their dads work on the bridge, skywalkers who string the cables, painters, carpenters, riveters, laborers, working together to build the most beautiful bridge. (Picture book)

Charming retelling of a Miwok legend, two playful bear cubs wander off into Yosemite Valley. While they are napping on a big flat rock, the rock grows taller and taller, and the cubs are lost from view. Fabulous illustrations. (Picture book)

Picture the wonders of Monterey Bay, with giant whales, floating kelp forests, fascinating sea otters, quiet tidepools, bright orange sea stars, flippered friends, ancient dunes, crashing waves and pocket beaches. Gorgeous photographs and fun facts about the bay. (Picture book)

Get to know the plants and animals of Death Valley – great horned owls, roadrunners, desert tortoises, kangaroo rats, wild burros, kit foxes, free-tailed bats, barrel cactus, Mojave yucca. (Easy reader, illustrations)

Poem and stunning illustrations bring to light the Sierra Nevada – glacier-carved granite rocks, majestic sequoias, graceful deer, big black bears, clear streams and alpine lakes, the wide-open high country. "I am the mountain, tall and grand. And like a sentinel I stand." (Picture book)