Missing Violet

By Tami Charles, art by Bryan Collier

Published by Orchard Books

First line: The journey of who we are stretches beyond rivers, roads, mountains high-fiving blue skies.

Elements used: establishes a rhythm that pulls the reader in and engages multiple senses

By Olena Kharchenko and Michael Sampson, art by Polina Doroshenko

Published by Brown Books Kids

Hook: sharing the positive attributes of Ukraine through its national anthem

First line: Ukraine is a beautiful country, with the Carpathian Mountains to the west, the sparkling Black Sea to the south, and the Dnipro River at its heart.

Elements used: sets the scene of the story and engages multiple senses

By Carrie Finison, art by Brittany Jackson

Published by RP Kids

First line: Sometimes Lulu wants to play.

Elements used: starts in the middle of the action, introduces a main character, and hints at a universal theme

By Isabella Kung

Published by Orchard Books

First line: Oh, hello. You may have heard about me.

Elements used: engages the reader and makes the reader wonder something

By Carlie Sorosiak, art by Manu Montoya

Published by Walker Books

First line: Leopold collected two things that he loved very, very much: warm sweaters (with goats on them, of course) and … BOOKS!

Elements used: establishes an unusual premise and subverts the reader’s expectations

By Robin Robinson

Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

First line: Excuse me…I’m sorry, but I NEED this book.

Elements used: makes the reader wonder something

By Georgeanne Irvine

Published by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press

Hook: the chronological life story of the baby tapir

First line: The wildlife care team at the San Diego Zoo thought for sure this was the day that Luna, a Baird’s tapir, would have her baby.

Elements used: sets the scene of the story and introduces an unusual main character

By Polly Owen, art by Gwen Millward

Published by Wide Eyed Editions

Hook: Darwin’s discovery of the importance of worm poop

First line: Charles Darwin loved nature.

Elements used: introduces a well known person

By Alana Tyson, art by London Ladd

Published by Philomel

First line: This is my flag; it represents me.

Elements used: makes the reader wonder something and establishes a unique premise

By Lori Alexander, art by Jeff Harter

Published by Harper

First line: Sweeps is a lean green cleaning machine.

Elements used: introduces the main character and uses poetic devices

By Dan Yaccarino

Published by mineditionUS

First line: This is Bix.

Elements used: introduces an unusual main character

By Mireille Messier, art by Matte Stephens

Published by tundra

First line: The streets of Vienna were just waking up.

Elements used: establishes the setting of the story

By Jane Whittingham, art by Cinyee Chiu

Published by Kids Can Press

First line: Winter in the Old Forest was cold, dark and very long.

Elements used: establishes the setting of the story and engages multiple senses 

By Caroline L. Perry, art by Lydia Corry

Published by GodwinBooks

Hook: tells about the life of Queen Elizabeth II through the lens of her relationship with her corgis.

First line: Elizabeth of York wasn’t a storybook princess.

Elements used: subverts the readers expectations, introduces the main character, and references something with universal appeal

By Jess Townes, art by Nicole Miles

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers

First line: Groundhog came from a long line of meterologists.

Elements used: introduces the main character and subverts the reader’s expectations

By Kim Rogers, art by Julie Flett

Published by Heartdrum

First line: On the steps of a house at the end of the street, Becca watches Grandma bead and bead buckskin moccasins.

Elements used: starts in the middle of the action, establishes the setting of the story, hints at the universal theme of family and introduces the main characters

By Eugenia Yah, art by Vivienne Chang

Published by Little, Brown and Company

First line: “I have some big news,” Lily’s mama said.

Elements used: makes the reader wonder something

By JaNay Brown-Wood, art by Samara Hardy

Published by Peachtree

First line: Logan has many plants in his greenhouse.

Elements used: introduces the main character and establishes an unusual setting

By Ellen Tarlow, art by Julien Chung

Published by Beach Lane Books

First line: Blue wanted to be Red.

Elements used: introduces an unusual main character, subverts the reader’s expectations and makes the reader wonder something

By Suma Subramaniam, art by Sandhya Prabhat

Published by Candlewick Press

First line: Namaste is a greeting.

Elements used: starts in the middle of the action and makes the reader wonder something

By Guido Van Genechten

Published by Clavis

First line: Welcome! I’m so happy you’re here.

Elements used: engages the reader

By Nora Morrison and Jessie Ann Foley, art by Mika Song

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers

First line: One rainy morning in science room ten, Mrs. Marino cried: “Pick up your pens!”

Elements used: establishes a rhythm that pulls the reader in and makes the reader wonder something

By Raymond Gianfrancesco and the Grade Four Class of Leo Ussak School, art by Thamires Paredes

Published by Inhabit Media Inc

First line: A long time ago—before there were houses and trucks, before television and the Internet, before grocery stores and the post office—the windy coast of Hudson Bay was ice, water, and snow; tuktuit, caribou, and nattiit, seals.

Elements used: makes the reader wonder something and establishes an unusual setting

By Emiline Lee, art by Alina Chau

Published by Lee & Low Books Inc.

First line: Bonnie was designing a magnificent rocket ship,...just like her father, hundreds of miles away.

Elements used: introduces the main character, makes the reader wonder something, and starts in the middle of the action

By Richard Turere and Shelly Pollack, art by Sonia Possentini

Published by Tilbury House Publishers

Hook: follows a boy as he invents something to help his community 

First line: What is that sound?

Elements used: makes the reader wonder something

By Carole Boston Weatherford, art by Frank Morrison

Published by Crown Books for Young Readers

First line: It’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.

Elements used: references a beloved classic

By Sophie Blackall

Published by Little, Brown and Company

First page: Over a hill, at the end of a road, by a glittering stream that twists and turns, stands a house

Elements used: establishes a rhythm that pulls the reader in, engages multiple senses, and subverts the reader’s expectations

By Lourdes Heuer, art by Sara Palacios

Published by tundra

First line: On this airplane, there is a pilot living her dream, one passenger daydreaming and another fast asleep.

Elements used: establishes an unusual setting and makes the reader wonder something 

By Shinsuke Yoshitake

Published by chronicle books

First line: I have a habit of picking my nose.

Elements used: introduces the main character’s problem and subverts the reader’s expectations

By Michaela Goade

Published by Little, Brown and Company

First line: On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, Grandma shows me how to live on the land.

Elements used: engages multiple senses and establishes the setting