Why am I passionate about this?

When I was a young girl, I was lucky to have friends from all over the world, so learning about a new country or a new city always fascinated me, and it still does. I’m always trying to learn new things, meet new people and whenever I can I like to travel the world. As a writer and illustrator, it’s always nice to experience new things, it helps to expand my imagination. I hope this list inspires you not only to read but to learn a few things here and there.  


I wrote

Book cover of A New Home

What is my book about?

Moving to a new city can be exciting. But what if your new home isn’t anything like your old home?…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of This Is New York

Tania de Regil Why did I love this book?

Anyone who is curious about other cities and cultures will love the complete series of the This Is… books by Miroslav Sasek. They are filled with exciting facts and the colorful illustrations are truly delightful. From New York, to London, to Hong Kong, and many more, these books will inspire you to travel the world!

By Miroslav Sasek,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Is New York as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With the same wit and perception that distinguished his stylish books on Paris, London, and Rome, M. Sasek pictures fabulous, big-hearted New York City in This Is New York, first published in 1960 and now updated for the 21st century. The Dutchman who bought the island of Manhattan from the Native Americnas in 1626 for twenty-four dollars' worth of handy housewares little knew that his was the biggest bargain in American history. For everything about New York is big -- the buildings, the traffic jams, the cars, the stories, the Sunday papers. Here is the Staten Island Ferry, the Statute…


Book cover of A Lion in Paris

Tania de Regil Why did I love this book?

A Lion in Paris is the story about a Lion who moves to Paris to find a job, love, and a future. The book is a beautiful portrayal of what it’s like to be a stranger in a new city, especially one as big and busy as Paris.  You may feel a bit lonely at first, but with time you’ll be able to find your own special place. 

By Beatrice Alemagna,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Lion in Paris as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Lion in Paris is widely regarded as the most accomplished book by multi-award-winning children's author/illustrator Beatrice Alemagna. It tells the story of a lion who, bored by his rural life in the savannah, seeks excitement and opportunity in the city of light. On arrival in Paris the lion is disappointed to find that despite his size, people barely pay attention to him, not even when he lets out a ferocious roar on the busy Metro. Taking in the sights and sounds of Paris this beautifully illustrated book successfully conveys the experience of being a stranger in a new city…


Book cover of The Everywhere Bear

Tania de Regil Why did I love this book?

The combination of Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb is fantastic. I love the playful illustrations (just look at the children’s hair!), and the rhymes make the story sing. The book tells the story about the Bear from Class One who accidentally gets lost and thus begins his big adventure throughout the city showing us places that can sometimes be hidden from our everyday lives.  

By Julia Donaldson, Rebecca Cobb (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Everywhere Bear as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Everywhere Bear has a home on a shelf
But he doesn't spend very much time by himself,
For each boy and girl in the class is a friend
And he goes home with one of them every weekend.

The Everywhere Bear has a wonderful time with the children in Class One, but one day he gets more than he bargained for when he falls unnoticed from a backpack and embarks on his own big adventure! He's washed down a drain and whooshed out to sea, rescued by a fishing boat, loaded onto a lorry, carried off by a seagull…


Book cover of Last Stop on Market Street

Tania de Regil Why did I love this book?

The wonderful thing about living in a big city is the wide variety of people you’ll see and meet every day, and a bus ride can help you discover this, just like Nana shows CJ. This book is heartwarming and you’ll fall in love with Nana and the way in which she sees the world. She is one of those people who finds the good and the beauty in everything. The illustrations by Christian Robinson are wonderful as always and add an extra layer of warmth to this story.  

By Matt de la Peña, Christian Robinson (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Last Stop on Market Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn't he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty and fun in their routine and in the world around them. This energetic ride through a bustling city highlights the love and understanding between grandparent and grandchild as the world comes…


Book cover of A World of Your Own

Tania de Regil Why did I love this book?

This book is all about using your imagination! It will surely inspire you to observe and create your very own world or city, where anything is possible. Laura Carlin’s illustrations are wonderfully witty and it shows you how you can take an everyday thing and turn it into something new and totally exciting.  

By Laura Carlin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A World of Your Own as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If you were creating a world of your own, what would it look like? Would you build your house out of brick - or out of jelly? Would it be on the ground or in a tree? Would your shops sell envelopes and sweets - or shoes for superheroes? Would you ride a train to town, or a dinosaur?

Taking the reader on an extraordinary visual journey through her imaginative world, award-winning illustrator, Laura Carlin, inspires children to look, draw and make - first from life, and then from the imagination through sharing her own personal thought-processes and drawing techniques.…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of A New Home

What is my book about?

Moving to a new city can be exciting. But what if your new home isn’t anything like your old home? Will you make friends? What will you eat? Where will you play?

In a cleverly combined voice — accompanied by wonderfully detailed illustrations depicting parallel urban scenes — a young boy conveys his fears about moving from New York City to Mexico City while, at the same time, a young girl expresses trepidation about leaving Mexico City to move to New York City. Tania de Regil offers a heartwarming story that reminds us that home may be found wherever life leads. Fascinating details about each city are featured at the end.

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Falcon's Call

By Mike Waller,

Book cover of Falcon's Call

Mike Waller Author Of Falcon's Call

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I lived in a small valley sheltered from the night city lights. I could see the stars, and from that time, that is where my imagination dwelled. As a teenager, I read several of the books I have listed here, and from that point, I was inspired to read more and also to write myself. I sincerely believe that despite our current problems, humanity will outlive its troubled childhood and reach for the stars. We are destined for the stars, and only in the works of science fiction writers is that future explored. The books below helped me to become a successful author in my own right.

Mike's book list on scifi humanity’s future in space and time

What is my book about?

An alien starship appears in the Solar System! Humanity faces a glorious future, or total extinction, and only Joe Falcon can make the choice. Never would Joe have imagined it would fall to him to make the decision that would alter the destiny of two worlds, launching humanity towards a glorious future, or to extinction.

Falcon's Call is an action packed dive into the unknown, written in the style of the great, classic, science-fiction stories. If you like surprising plot twists, compelling characters and a hero who actually cares, you must read this new novel by Mike Waller.

Falcon's Call

By Mike Waller,

What is this book about?

Reader's Favorite Gold Medal winner 2019
B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree 2019
Chill With A Book Premier Award 2019

In a heart-pounding battle for humanity's survival, one man holds the key to a glorious future or utter extinction.

In a race against time, Earth and Mars race to claim a derelict alien ship as it enters the Solar System, both aware that whichever planet succeeds might in so doing achieve technological advantage over the other. But who should they send? Joe Falcon, an unlikely candidate, never saw himself as the "right" person. Accompanied by a crew of misfits, each fleeing their own…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in New York State, lions, and African Americans?

New York State 550 books
Lions 27 books
African Americans 802 books