Pie Is for Sharing by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard illustrated by Jason Chin*

 A family of four packs up for a day and evening at the local beach to celebrate the 4th of July.  Two pies are tucked into a picnic basket. Joining other children, the two siblings share many things with their friends throughout the day and night-a book, a ball, a tree, a boat, a best friend . . . I love how the book begins and ends with pie. It features many different ethnicities. The illustrations are the meat of the story and give the words meaning.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus illustrated by Kadir Nelson*

The author, Sarvinder Naberhaus, immigrated to the United States from Punjab, India when she was 4 years old.  She wrote this book to celebrate the American flag and America. 
The illustrations are bold and stunning. 
I love the diversity in ethnicity. 
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.

A-Z Mysteries The Talking T-Rex by Ron Roy*

I read this book aloud to my preschooler and my 8 year old read it to himself.
Jud, a friend from the book The Ninth Nugget, comes to town with a large  dinosaur.    Jud's best friend Dean sits inside the hollow dinosaur and runs a computer to make the dinosaur talk and move.   Jud, Dean and Scoop (a friend who is their manager) travel from town to town charging a dollar for people to view the dinosaur.  The money is going to be used to build a museum in Jud's hometown.  Then one morning Jud discovers that all the money they have earned so far is gone.
Can Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose figure out who stole the money and where the money is hidden?
*Highly recommend for transitional readers and for preschoolers who like hearing chapter books read aloud.
Guided Reading Level: N (Beginning of 3rd grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 2.5

The Bald Eagle by Norman Pearl illustrated by Matthew Skeens*

Lots of information but presented in a fun, engaging manner.
Part of the American Symbols series.
*Highly recommend.
Text features: table of contents, headings, fact boxes, learn more, index

Fourth of July Sparkly Sky by Joan Holub illustrated by Amanda Haley*

Full of sparkles and textured pages!  Very fun to read.  Rhyming text explores the way we celebrate the Fourth of July.
*Highly recommend.