California

Welcome to California, from San Diego to San Juan Capistrano, Los Angeles, the Channel Islands, Monterey, San Francisco, Sacramento, Yosemite, and Death Valley. Lively poems, fun facts and sparkling illustrations, this is our home state. (Picture book)

Illustrated history of the Gold Rush, from discovery of gold in the Sierra, to growing boomtowns, miners at work in the goldfields, tales of riches and losses, plus historical photos. (Chapter book)

Meet Louise and Feng, kids searching for gold to help their families, plus journey map, immigrants coming to California, tools and life in a mining camp. (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)

Also: Who Was Cesar Chavez?

Discover the amazing coast redwoods of California – they live for more than 2,000 years, and are the tallest trees on the planet. Close-up illustrations, from seedling on the forest floor to treetops high in the sky, capture the wonder and majesty of the redwood forest. (Picture book)

The earthquake lasted only about a minute, but fires burned for three days and night, and much of the city was destroyed. Read about April 18, 1906, and the aftermath, with crumbled buildings, fires caused by leaking gas lines, people escaping the city, excellent historical photos. (Chapter book)

After the earthquake destroys their family home in Chinatown, Lily and her brother struggle to escape the burning city. Will they reach the ferry taking them to safety in Oakland, and be reunited with their parents? Gripping story of Chinese American experience in San Francisco. (Chapter book)

Count your way through San Francisco – one cable car rolls down the hill, two dragons guard Chinatown gate, four picnic loaves of sourdough bread, six sail boats out in the bay, “Bark, bark! eight sea lions at Pier 39 say hello.” (Board book)

Take a fun-filled trip around Los Angeles with Pete and his dog, Larry, looking at footprints of famous feet in Hollywood, running through movie studios, going to Disneyland and the Getty Museum, all the way to the ocean at Santa Monica Pier. Delightfully illustrated. (Picture book)

This is our favorite guidebook for hiking with kids in California. Every trail has a description, good map, difficulty, length and time to hike, elevation gain, best season, how to get to the trail. Scavenger hunts with photos for each trail highlight wildlife, trees, wildflowers, rock formations, waterfalls, creeks, caves, you'll see along the way. (Guidebook)

Bright orange poppies grow wild all over California – in deserts, on the coast and inland mountains, look fields of poppies blooming in March and April. Poppies just need rain and warmth, in spring seeds wake up and bloom with a single flower. (Picture book)

"Petals flutter softly in the breeze, balance on a delicate stem... swirling, swirling, swirling...