Picture Books

Mama Says

A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons

By: Rob D Walker, Leo & Diane Dillon

Mama Says is a book about the bond between a mother and her children. A mother is very nurturing and likes to teach her children about manners, respect, courage, honesty, sharing, trust, and love. The book contains pictures of Moms and Sons of different cultures and each page has words in English along with Cherokee, Russian, Amharic, Japanese, Hindi, Inuktitut, Hebrew, Korean, Arabic, Quechua, and Danish. We are all different in so many ways but the same in the ways that matter.

I Have A Sister My Sister Is Deaf

By: Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson

I Have a Sister My Sister Is Deaf is a great book about how being deaf does not mean a person can’t lead a normal life. Its about two sisters who have a close and special relationship. The older sister always looks out for her younger sister who is deaf.  However, the little sister does everything any other child would do to have fun. She plays the piano, she plays at the park, she pretends to stalk deer using her other senses, she can say a few words, and she goes to school. Children of certain ages don’t understand what it means to be deaf but this particular book is a great way to help them try to understand a little better. This book has a great explaination.

Don’t Forget Winona

By: Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson and Kimberly Bulcken Root

Don’t forget Winona is a story about a family in the late 1930s who want to leave Oklahoma due to the dust bowl and go to California. They travel along the famous highway Route 66 from Oklahoma, through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and on into California. Along the way they hardly have anything to drink because there isn’t any money. It’s a story about hardships that families had to go through during that time and going from one place to another was not easy. It’s also about family and sticking together through thick and thin.

The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs!

By: Jon Scieszka

Illustrated by: Lane Smilth

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is told from the wolf’s point of view. He claims that he is misunderstood and the reason for the 2 little pigs losing their houses and their lives was because of a cup of sugar and a sneeze.

Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp

More about Verbs

By: Brian P. Cleary

This book is a book about verbs. I like the way the book explains what a verb is and how all subjects need a verb. It contains verbs such as exploring, hitting, sneak, and sneeze. It contains linking verbs such as became, remains, and seems. The book even touches on forms of “be” such as are, were and was. It’s a great, fun way to talk about the different verbs and contains fun and colorful pictures.

A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink

What Is a Noun?

By: Brian P. Cleary

This book is about nouns. A noun is a person, place, or thing. The book explains what noun is and gives a lot of examples. It also contains examples of what Proper Nouns. This is a fun book about nouns to read to young kids. It opens up the opportunity to talk about the different nouns.

How Much can a Bare Bear Bear?

What Are Homonyms and Homophones?

By: Brian P. Cleary

How Much Can a Bare Bear Bear? Is a fun book to read to kids. It contains words that not only rhyme, they sound and sometimes are spelled the same. The book gives a lot of good examples of what homonyms and homophones are and it also contains fun colorful pictures.

The Three Snow Bears

By: Jan Brett

The Three Snow Bears is exactly like Goldilocks and The Three Bears but it takes place in Alaska and is about a girl named Aloo-ki and three Polar Bears. Aloo-ki’s team of dogs start floating away on a piece of ice out to sea. So she starts following them along the shore and finds a really big igloo. Then she goes in and finds the bears breakfast, their boots, and their beds. Therefore, the Snow Bears have a big surprise when they get home!

The Mitten

By: Jan Brett

The Mitten is a Ukranian Folktale about a boy named Nicki. He sets out on an adventure and loses one of his homemade mittens in the snow. One by one several different animals decide to squeeze inside and the mitten begins to stretch. Along the borders of the pages the reader can see Nicki going through the woods and he has no idea he has lost his mitten. Its such a great story and Jan Brett has a great way of having a story within a story on every page.

The Easter Egg

By: Jan Brett

The Easter Egg is about a bunny who wants to win the egg coloring contest so that he can hide eggs with the Easter Bunny.  He goes around and looks at how different bunnies are coloring their eggs to try and get ideas so that he can make the perfect egg. He ends up with a very special egg!

Happy Easter Curious George

By: Margret ans H.A. Rey’s

This book is about Curious George, a very curious monkey, who gets himself in to mischief at the park where children are dying eggs. The Easter Bunny goes missing, George gathers all the eggs when he’s not suppose to, and he still manages to save the day.

The Important Book

By: Margaret Wise Brown

 The Important Book is a book with full of detailed descriptions of things like grass, the sky, snow, rain, a spoon, shoes, wind, and an apple.  The author took ordinary and everyday things and turned them into poetry.

The Umbrella

By: Jan Brett

The Umbrella is about a boy who grabs his green umbrella and sets out on an adventure to find a toucan, a kinkajou, a tapir, a monkey, and maybe an exotic quetzal bird out in the cloud forest.  As he climbs a fig tree to look for the animals he wants to find, little does he know the animals are having their own adventure right below him.

Pink and Say

By: Patricia Polacco

Pink and Say is a great story about two boys from two different worlds. Say gets wounded in battle and is lucky when Pink finds him. Pink is a kind boy and he carries, drags, and pulls Say to safety, he saves his life. Say was in bad shape when he was found so he kept passing out, he woke up to a cool cloth on his face and a kind woman named Moe Moe Bay. When Say is finally healed the two boys realize the longer they stay the more danger they put Moe Moe Bay in, so they decide to go and find their troops, but the confederate troops find them.

The Three Little Javelinas

By Susan Lowell

 The Three Little Javelinas is a story about the three little pigs’ cousins. They build their homes of tumbleweeds, saguaro ribs, and adobe bricks.  The first two javelinas loose their houses to the hungry coyote, so they run to their sister’s home who was the smart one and built her home out of strong adobe bricks. It’s a great little story that is similar to the Three Little Pigs but has a southwestern tone.

Town Mouse Country Mouse

By: Jan Brett

Town Mouse Country Mouse is a great book that I think has a great moral.  It’s about being happy with what you have because sometimes the grass in not greener on the other side. A pair of town mice and a pair of country mice decide that they want to switch places. The town mice want to go live in the country and the country mice want to go live in the town house. After the country mice have a few scary adventures in the town house and the town mice have a few scary adventures in the country, they find that there is no place like home.

Where The Wild Things Are

By: Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are is a great book of imagination. Max gets in trouble and his mom sends him to bed without any dinner. As Max stands in his room a forest begins to grow and he sails to a far away island where the Wild Things live. He tames the Wild Things and all they want to do is hang from trees and stomp around. Even though Max is having fun he finds himself feeling lonely and missing home.

Thank You, Mr. Falker

By: Patricia Polacco

Thank You, Mr. Falker is about a little girl, named Trisha, who loves books at a very young age. When she starts school she is excited to learn how to read. Unfortunately, as she is learning to read her words get all jumbled up and she gets made fun of by her classmates. They call her  “dummy”  and they laughed at her. Over time Trisha figures out how to make her teachers think she is reading by memorization. Eventually, her and her family move and she is happy that no one will know that she can’t read. However, she wasn’t expecting to have a teacher like Mr. Falker. Mr. Falker is her fifth grade teacher and the only one who has been able to figure that out that Trisha can’t read. With the help of Mr. Falker and the reading teacher Miss. Plessy Trisha learns to read and eventually becomes a writer.  

The First Dog

By: Jan Brett

The First Dog is a great little story about a boy named Kip who is out on an adventure and adventure and on his way home he encounters a wolf. Kip has a bag full Rhino Ribs so the wolf starts following him around. Little did Kip know, the wolf would save his life and they end up forming a special bond.

The School Is Not White!

A True Story of the Civil Rights Movement

By: Doreen Rappaport

This book is true story about a family, the Carter Family, who fought for equality. Matthew and Mae Bertha Carter wanted their children to receive the best education possible, so they sent their children to an all white school. Their children had to face name calling, and humiliation everyday for several years. However, their strength, faith, and determination helped them win their war in the end. The Carter children received good educations and eventually other black families wanted their children to receive the best education possible.

The Lorax

By: Dr. Seuss

The Lorax is about pollution and what could happen if we don’t take care of our environment. The once-ler, who is a member of society, decides to cut down Truffula Trees to make Thneeds. They can be used for different things. The Lorax, who is an environmentalist, confronts the Once-ler about cutting down the trees and trys to protect all the Truffula Trees. However, the Once-ler doesn’t listen to the Lorax and continues to chop down Truffula Trees for his Thneeds. After all the animals evacuate the Truffula forrest and all the trees are chopped down the Once-ler feels guilty about what he’s done. Therefore, he waited for the perfect person to plant the last Truffula seed. 

The Foot Book

By: Dr. Seuss

The Foot Book is a great book for young children who are starting to read. It’s about all kinds of different feet and it can help teach them about opposites. Such as up and down, wet and dry, High and low, His and Hers, left and right, front and back. This is such a fun book to read!

If I Ran The Circus

By: Dr. Seuss

Morris McGurk wants to turn a vacant lot, behind Mr. Sneelock’s store, into a circus. He decides he wants to call it Circus McGurkus, and so his creative imagination helps him create the perfect vision of what his circus will have to entertain people of all ages. Since Circus McGurkus is behind Mr. Sneelock’s store and he is Morris’ friend, he will have a part in every act. This book is full of imagination and it’s great to read to young listeners!

 Miss Nelson is Missing!

By: James Marshall

Miss. Nelson has a classroom full of troublemakers. They never listen to what she is saying and they don’t do what she asks them to do. Eventually, Miss Nelson decides that she has had enough and something has to be done and fast.  One day Miss Nelson doesn’t show up for school. Instead they meet Miss Viola Swamp. She is scary! Miss Viola Swamp whips all the students into shape and teaches them that they shouldn’t take advantage of their sweet teacher Miss Nelson. The students decide that they all want Miss Nelson to come back and even try to find her. One day Miss Nelson shows up at school and the kids are so excited! They ask her where she has been, and she tells them it’s her little secret.

 Emma Kate

By: Patricia Polacco

Emma Kate was Patricia’s imaginary friend. Emma Kate and Patricia did everything together! This book is about friendship and imagination. This is a wonderful story and it takes me back to my childhood in so many ways. Dr. Seuss’s book The Horton Hatches The Egg was Patricia Polacco’s favorite book and her imaginary friend Emma Kate the elephant was inspired by the main character of that book. In fact this book is dedicated to Dr. Seuss and Horton!

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

By: Patricia Polacco

Patricia, her mom, and her brother lived on her grandparent’s farm in Union City, Michigan. Her brother, Richie, was always competing with her and would rub it in her face everytime he would beat her at something. Patricia would always try to find something she could try to beat her older brother at, and one day she challenges him to rhubarb eating contest. Her brother claims he can’t stand Rhubarb, but Patricia finds that he tricked her. He loves Rhubarb! One night her grandmother tells her to wish on a shooting star, so naturally she wishes to find something she can do better than her brother. When the traveling carnival comes to town Patricia decides to challenge Richie and see who can ride the merry –go-round the longest. She discovers that she should be careful what she wishes for!

A House for Hermit Crab

By: Eric Carle

 In the month of January, a hermit crab discovers that he has outgrown his shell and it’s time to move. In February, he finds a bigger shell to live in, but his house is so plain that he sets out to decorate it. Therefore, during the months of March through November the hermit crab finds several different things for his house. However, in November he discovers his house is too small again and has to move, but he doesn’t want to leave his little family that he has created. In December, he meets a smaller hermit crap who needs a new home and offers her his beautiful home as long as she takes care of his friends. The following January he finds a bigger home and discovers that it is very plain but he realizes that there are endless possibilities to decorate his new home.

Chicka Chicka 123

By: Bill Martin Jr, Michael Sampson, & Lois Ehlert

Chicka Chicka 123 is a fun book of a number rhyme and learning to count from 1 to 100! All the numbers are racing up to the top of the apple tree but the 0 is always left out. Numbers 1 through 20 race up the tree and then the numbers start racing up to the top by tens. After 20 then comes 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 99. Then some bees come and all the numbers fall out of the tree except for 10. Then the 0 realizes where its spot will be which is right next to the number 10. As the 0 joins the number 10 the number you see is 100!  

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

By: Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a great alphabet rhyme. The letters of the alphabet race up the top of the coconut tree but when the whole alphabet makes it to the top of the tree they all fall down! Then they get all tangled and jangled up with each other! This book is great for young students to listen to when they are just learning their alphabet. Its full of bright colors and fun!

 The Mixed-Up Chameleon

By: Eric Carle

There’s a small green chameleon who can change colors and blend in with its surroundings. He feels that his life is not that exciting and goes on to discover that he can change his shape too. Then he visits a zoo and changes into a little bit of everything! He becomes part Polar Bear, flamingo, fox, fish, deer, giraffe, turtle, elephant, seal, and person. He looks really fun and crazy in the end, but decides he better off just being himself.

Daisy Comes Home

By: Jan Brett

A girl named Mei Mei has six of the happiest hens in China. She takes such good care of them they can’t help but be happy all the time. But, one of the hens, Daisy, always got picked on by the other hens. They would peck at her and push her off the perch. One night Daisy decides she will find another place to sleep instead of the cold floor. She finds one of Mei Mei’s baskets and settles in for the night. She is sleeping so good that she doesn’t realize she gets carried off by the river. On her adventure she runs into various different animals and has to learn to survive. Mei Mei finds Daisy in the market about to be sold by a fisherman, so she rushes to rescue her and takes her home where she is safe. Her first night back the other hens start to pick on her again, but she isn’t scared of them anymore and fights back and finally gets her own spot on the perch.

Armadillo Rodeo

By: Jan Brett

A little armadillo named Bo wanders away from his mother and his brothers to follow what he thinks is another armadillo and wants to be his friend. So he follows his new friend to the rodeo.  Bo goes on a crazy adventure of eating Jalapenos, riding horses, and two stepping. The whole time his mother is searching all over the rodeo for her Bo. Poor Bo then discovers that his new friend is not an armadillo!  

The Bald Eagle

By: Norman Pearl

The Bald Eagle is a great book for young readers to read and understand the significance of the Bald Eagle. It explains how the bird became our national emblem, why it’s important to the people of the United States, where you can find pictures of the Bald Eagle, what it symbolizes, what the Bald Eagle looks like, and how it lives. This book contains great facts with great pictures to look at!

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

By: Judith Viorst

Alexander starts the day off with gum in his hair, he trips over a skateboard, and gets his sweater wet so he knew it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. That was just the beginning, because his day go worse. He loses his best friend, he has a cavity, he doesn’t get the shoes he wanted, he has a cavity, he falls in the mud, he gets in trouble when it wasn’t his fault, he has to eat lima beans for dinner, and his Mickey Mouse night light is out. He just wants to move to Australia!

Smelly Socks

By: Michael Martchenko

A girl named Tina wants a new pair of socks. She asks her mother to take her across the river, but her she says she can’t take her because they don’t have a car, so she asks her grandfather to take her across the river in his boat. Her grandfather takes her across the river to a sock store where Tina finds the perfect socks. In fact, they are so perfect she vows that she will never take them off. Eventually the socks start to stink and she tortures all the animals with the smell, her friends tell her she needs to wash her socks. All the kids kidnap her and take her down to the river where they can wash her socks!

 Just the Two of us

By: Will Smith

Just the Two of Us is about a dad’s love for his son. It’s about the feelings of a dad when he first held his baby boy, life experiences that he might have, and teaching his son to become a man of faith and respect.

The Very Lazy Ladybug

By Isobel Finn and Jack Tickle

The very lazy ladybug could not fly because all she wanted to do is sleep all day. Then one day she decides that she wants to sleep somewhere else. So she hops onto various different animals to try and sleep, but she always finds something wrong with each one. Just when she thinks she has found the perfect place to sleep on and elephant, the elephant sneezes and she flies off the elephant. All of a sudden she realizes that she is flying!

Little Cloud

By: Eric Carle

There is a sky full of clouds that is moving across the sky, but there is one small cloud that trailed behind to float lower to the ground. Then the little cloud changes into a big cloud and starts to change into different shapes. It changes into a sheep, a plane, a shark, trees, a rabbit, a hat, and a clown. The other clouds drifted back to the little cloud and the joined together into one big cloud and rained. This book is a great book about imagination. It made me want to go lay on some soft grass and look at all the different shapes of the clouds like I did when I was a little girl.

I Pledge Allegiance

By: Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson

This is a great book about the Pledge that we have all grown up saying in school. This book not only contains the pledge, it explains each word of the pledge in a simple language for young listeners. It explains what a pledge is, the meaning of allegiance, what the flag stands for, what each color of the flag stands for, and much more!

America is…

By Louise Borden

What is America? America is everything around us. It’s the fifty states, the flag, the Star Spangle Banner, the people, the Statue of Liberty, the swamps, the lakes, the mountains, the deserts, the forrest, the snow, the towns, and the cities. It has been lead by great leaders like George Washington, Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a land of FREEDOM!

Pancakes, Pancakes!

By: Eric Carle

Jack woke up and decided that he wanted a big pancake for breakfast. When he asked his mom she told him that she needed flour. SO he went and cut down some wheat and had it ground and turned into flour. When he took it home his mom told him she needed and egg. Then she needed milk, butter, wood for the fire to cook the pancake, and strawberry Jam.  Jack finally got everything for his pancake, and the book even showed the order his mom added the ingredients. So he finally got his big pancake with strawberry jam.

Hello, Red Fox

By: Eric Carle

It’s Little Frog’s Birthday and his mom asks him who he wants to invite. Little Frog tells his mom he wants to invite Red Fox, Purple Butterfly, Orange Cat, Green Snake, Yellow Bird, Blue Fish, and White Dog with Black Spots. As his friends arrive they are not the color his mom pictured them to be because of their names. They are all the wrong color! However, Little Frog just tells his mom she hasn’t looked at them long enough. When she stares at his friends for a while she sees their true color!

 The Tiny Seed

By: Eric Carle

This is a great book about the circle of life of a plant or flower. During the season of Autumn the wind carries a bunch of seeds through the air. There is a really small seed that doesn’t fly as high as the other seeds and it doesn’t fly as fast as the other seeds. The seeds travel through the air during their journey several of the seeds are lost. One gets burned by the sun, one gets lost in the ocean, one gets lost in the mountains, and one gets lost in the desert. The tiny seed flies on and lands on the ground where is sends its roots down into the ground and grows into a plant. Then it turns into a huge flower! As Autumn returns the flower’s seed pod breaks open and the process starts all over again.

The Grouchy Ladybug

By: Eric Carle

The grouch ladybug and a friendly ladybug both want to eat some aphids. The friendly ladybug says they can share them but the grouch ladybug just wants to fight for them. Then the grouchy ladybug decides that the friendly ladybug isn’t big enough and sets off to find someone bigger to fight. Every hour he comes across a different bug or animal. He comes across a yellow jacket, a stag beetle, a praying mantis, a sparrow, a lobster, a skunk a snake, a hyena, a gorilla, a rhinoceros, an elephant, a whale, a whale’s flippers, a whale’s fin, and a whale’s tail. No one is big enough to fight except the whale’s tail gives him a good slap, and the grouchy ladybug decides he might want to share the aphids with the friendly ladybug after all.

Stellaluna

By: Janell Cannon

Stellaluna is a baby bat who gets separated from her mom. She is alone, scared and she isn’t even old enough to fly. She gets taken in by a family of birds, and she ends up living their lifestyle. She flies by day instead of at night, she eats bugs and other interesting food instead of her fruit, and she even learns to sleep right side up instead of upside down. After she learns to fly her and the bird babies flew far from the nest and stay out too late. The birds turned around and went home, but Stellaluna has to stay out in the dark night by herself. Then some bats found her and thought she was strange because she behaved like a bird!  As Stellaluna told them her story a bat pushed her way through the group of bats to look at her, and realized that she had found her lost baby. However, even though she is reunited with her bat family, she doesn’t forget about her bird family who saved her life.

We the Kids

The Preamble to the Constitution

By: David Catrow

We the Kids is a great book for young readers to read about our Constitution. The book also contains some funny art for the kids to look at and relate it to what they are reading. The author takes each part of the constitution and explains what it means. This is at the beginning of the book for the reader to read over first, and then they can read through the Constitution and look at the pictures.

Skippy Jon Jones

By: Judy Schachner

Skippy Jon Jones is crazy Siamese cat who gets into trouble and sent to his room. While he’s sitting in his room he is suppose to remember that he is a cat, but his imagination gets carried away.  He imagines that he is a Chihuahua named Skippito Friskito and sets out on a big adventure in Mexico. He meets some other crazy Chihuahuas and introduces himself as El Skippito, the great sword fighter. Then they go to a fiesta and take a siesta! When they wake up there is a frijoles scandal and Skippito has to fight the Bandito!

Skippy Jon Jones In the Dog House

By: Judy Schachner

Skippy Jon Jones gets in trouble for drawing all over the walls with crayon! Once again he gets sent to his room. However, he’s not upset because he is Skippito Friskito the Chihuahua! He goes on another adventure in Old Mexico and he gets there through his closet. When he arrives in Mexico he comes across a little shack. When he goes in he sees all his old friends the Chimichangos. They are happy to see him because they have another mission for him. He is the only one who can do it because he is the Great Bumblebeeto eater. Now he must defeat the Big Bobble-ito!

White Dynamite And Curly Kidd

By: Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

This is a story about a kid, named Lucky, who loves and admires her dad. Her dad is a bull rider and has to get ready to ride White Dynamite, the meanest bull in the United States. She’s nervous for her dad and she asks him how he stays so calm while he’s riding. He tells her that he thinks about places he would like to go. When Lucky’s dad gets on White Dynamite and is ready, she is so scared for him. When they let them out of the chute, Lucky immediately starts thinking about all the places she would like to go someday just like her dad.

From Head to Toe

By: Eric Carle

I love reading this book to my son because its about movement and a fun way to him about basic body parts. Such as the head, neck, shoulders, hands, knees, etc. There are animals that do a specific movement with each body part and then the reader or readers are suppose to mimic that movement. The pictures are awesome, which is not unusual for Eric Carle. My son loves it!

 Kevin and His Dad

By: Irene Smalls

This is a book about a relationship between a boy and his dad. One day mom goes out for the day and Kevin and his dad clean the house, then they go to the park and play baseball, then they go to the movies, then out for a snack, and then they walk home together. It’s such a great day that Kevin wishes it could last forever because his dad is his best friend. I love this book because when my husband asks my son who’s his best friend he says, “You are dad!”

The Principal From The Black Lagoon

By: Mike Thaler

I was introduced to the Black Lagoon Books in Becky Farris’ Reading One class. I have to laugh when I read one, because I think back to when I was young. I think about how rumors would circulate at school, and I think about how when I would get scared my imagination would spin out of control. In this book a boy gets sent to the principal’s office and as he’s waiting to see her, he starts thinking about all the bad things he’s heard about her. She’s a monster who uses kids as coatracks, feeds some to her alligator, uses them as bookmarks, and experiments on some kids. It’s such a fun book to read to students, because some of them might have really creative imaginations.

Non-Fiction

A Nation Challenged

A visual History of 9/11 and its Aftermath

New York Times

9/11 was a devastating event that affected the lives of thousands of people. In fact it still affects thousands of lives today and will continue to affect those lives until the war ends. This book contains pictures of the twin towers before the attack. There are pictures that show anatomy of the towers and why they collapsed after the impact of the airlines. They also have pictures of the huge rubble after both towers collapses and of firefighters searching through the rubble looking for survivors and putting out fires. It even talks the attack on the pentagon, the plane crash in Pennsylvania, the search for the missing, mourning, remembering the lost, and going to war. This book is the Young Readers Edition and they can see and read about what happened that day and the days that followed such a horrible tragedy.

Mammals

By: Susan Ring

This book about mammals explains what mammals are and what types of animals are mammals. It explains what defines a mammal. Mammals are covered in fur and they can have a lot of fur to stay warm or just a little fur. They are also warm-blooded, their babies drink their mother’s milk, they take care of their babies, and they have to breathe air. It also points out that people are mammals too!

Ocean

By: Samantha Gray

This book covers everything we need to know about oceans. It explains what ocean zones are and what types of zones there are. It explains that the oceans cover more than two thirds of the Earth’s surface. All the oceans and seas are joined together which is really just one huge ocean. It explains what a fish is how they breathe and swim. Then it enlightens the reader about sharks, whales, dolphins, sea cows, seabirds, ocean travelers, octopuses and squid, penguins, the seabed, coral reefs, how some animals live in areas where there are icy waters. It also explains what types of fish live in the midnight zone, which are the deepest darkest parts of the ocean. Our oceans have been explored many times with scuba divers and submarines, and there are probably many things that haven’t been discovered yet.

Butterflies

By: Gallimard Jeunesse

This book about butterflies explains the anatomy of a butterfly, how they eat, what they eat, what their wings are made of, there are a few facts about butterflies, and how some butterflies protect themselves by changing color. Then it explains the cycle of how caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies. This book also contains the name of several different species. I didn’t realize there were so many different kinds of butterflies!

The Human Body

By: Gallimard Jeunesse

This book explains the human body in a way that young children can understand. It explains what the body needs to have the energy to move, the different parts of the body, what the skeletal system does and how many bones the body contains, and it explains what the muscular system is for and how many muscles the body has to help us move. It even explains what the brain does and how important it is, and how we are all different and why.

Grossology

By: Sylvia Branzei

This book is full of gross funny facts about bodily functions along with other gross things our body does. There are slimy, mushy, oozy gross things, crusty scaly gross things, and stinky, smelly gross things. There’s Barfing, Boogers, spit, snot, scabs, eye gunk, tooth tarter, farting, burping, B.O., and more! This is a really gross but fun book to read!

Dinosaur Babies

By: Lucille Recht Penner

All the Dinosaurs died millions of years ago but there is evidence of their existence in certain places of the world. Dinosaur hunters have found the bones of different dinosaurs and their babies. They have studied them and learned that there were many different types of dinosaurs. Some were small and some were very large. Some ate plants and others ate meat. When dinosaur babies were born they had to be protected by their mother or their heard because other dinosaurs would try to eat them. As dinosaur babies grew they grew spikes, horns, or had really long necks. Eventually they grew up and had babies of their own if they survived.

I Am Planet Earth

By Jean Marzollo

Earth is the third planet from the sun. It contains many different things like water, desserts, jungles, mountains, animals, and people. Earth is very special. It is where we live. We should takes care of it because this is the only one we have!

Dreamer

By: Tracey West

Cale loves horses. She lived on a farm with her mom and dad. She had been around horse a lot because her dad was a horse trainer. One day she meets Sonador. Sonya had been hurt in a race and broke her leg, so Cale’s dad takes her home to help her heal. When she gets better she gets cleared to race, but because of her injury it wouldn’t be easy to get her into a race. However, Cale believes in Sonya. She knows she can win. Sonya’s  name means dreamer, and she will make all Cale’s dreams come true.

Black Out!

Animals That Live in the Dark

By: Ginjer L. Clarke

 This is an interesting book about animals that live in really dark places such as caves, the deep depths of the ocean, and underground. Some of these animals don’t even have eyes or color, because they live in such dark places. The reader gets to learn a little about each animal, and how they survive in their environment. It’s a really interesting book and I think kids would love to read this book if it was in the class library.

Best Friends

The True Story of Owen and Mzee

By: Roberta Edwards

Owen was born in Africa. He was well taken care of by his mother and the other hippos. One day the river they lived by flooded and the hippos were carried out to sea. Owen was the only one left. He was rescued and when he was not accepted by another group of hippos, they took him to a special zoo called Haller Park. It was there that Own met Mzee. Mzee was a grumpy 130 year old tortoise, and he didn’t want anything to do with any other animal. However, Owen got attached to Mzee even though he didn’t like him, and eventually they became best friends. Now they do everything together!

Poetry

 Don’t Bump The Glump

And Other Fantasies

By: Shel Silverstein

Don’t Bump The Glump is actually a book of Shel Silverstein’s first poetry collection. It is the only book of his that he illustrated in color and was actually published in 1964. This collection of his poetry is very unique. It contains poems about silly make believe creatures such as: the Underslung Zath, The Gletcher, Slithergadee, The Wild Gazite, The Gheli, The Slurm, the Long-Necked Preposterous, and The Galloping Griss. The list goes on! These poems contain names that are hard to pronounce but contains words that will rhyme with the names so the reader can figure out what sound the letters in the names make. These poems would be hard for a young reader to read by themselves, but they would love to listen to them!

Where the Sidewalk Ends

By: Shel Silverstein

Where the Sidewalk Ends contains wonderful poems such as: Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out, Captain Hook, The Generals, Sick, The Crocodile’s Toothache, and For Sale.  Actually, I love this whole book! The poems are fun to read and this was actually the first book I read from cover to cover by myself! Something I have learned is that not only are these poems fun to read, they are great for Reader’s Theatre!

 A Light In The Attic

By: Shel Silverstein

A Light In The Attic is full of more great poems by Shel Silverstein. This book of poems includes: Little Abigail And The Beautiful Pony, Captain Blackbeard Did What?, Spelling Bee, Homework Machine, Something Missing, The Sitter, and They’ve Put A Brassiere On The Camel. This is the second book I read from cover to cover on my own. I was not a big reader when I was young, but Shel Silverstein’s short poems were fun and made me laugh. Therefore, I wanted to read all of them! I have had these two books for many many years and I still go back and read them!

Fantasy

Twilight

By: Stephanie Meyer

Twilight is about a girl named Bella who moves to the small gloomy town of Forks. It is there that she meets the mysterious boy named Edward. She finds him handsome and intriguing when she first sees him in the cafeteria and her curiosity leads her into a world of the supernatural. However, she is not afraid. She becomes determined to find out who Edward really is when she starts noticing that he has special gifts, and that’s when her life takes an unexpected turn.

New Moon

By: Stephanie Meyer

New Moon is the second book in the Twilight Saga. Edward has become the more important to Bella than life itself. She has discovered that being in love with a Vampire is dangerous, and she doesn’t care. Edward even has to save her from a member of his own family. However, nothing matters to Bella as long as Edward is in her life. To her dismay Edward starts to think that she would be better off without him, and that’s when the reader gets the chance to know Jacob Black. He was briefly introduced in Twilight, but in New Moon him and Bella become best friends and Bella gets to see a whole new piece of the supernatural world. She discovers that she loves Jacob but not the same way he loves her. She will always love Edward. 

 Eclipse

By: Stephanie Meyer

Bella has survived James in Twilight, the Volturi and Victoria in New Moon. What’s next? There have been some mysterious killings in Seattle that no one can explain. Bella is once again in danger, because Victoria is still out to kill Bella and destroy Edward’s world. So once again Edward will do what he has to do to keep Bella alive even though Bella really wants to die. She is ready to join Edward’s world and be with him forever. Jacob is also very much in love with Bella, and he will do everything he can to keep her alive. He wants to protect her from Edward, Victoria, and anyone else who could hurt her. So now we have Edward who is in love with Bella and Jacob who is also in love with Bella, and Bella loves them both in different ways. This book is probably my favorite even though I love them all!! I think I love this book because in this book the Vampires and the werewolves join together to protect Bella along with the people of Forks.  

Breaking Dawn

By: Stephanie Meyer

Bella has dreaded her wedding day for months, but she is ready to marry Edward to get what she wants. She is ready to spend eternity with him. They go on their honeymoon and Bella ends up pregnant. When they go back Jacob, Sam, and the other wolves are outraged. Sam decides that they will do whatever necessary to get rid of the monster in Bella’s belly. Jacob realizes that his love for Bella won’t allow him to hurt her in anyway, so now he must make a choice. Edward will have to make some tough choices too and he will do anything to save Bella. He will trust his biggest enemy, Jacob Black, as long as he can save the woman he loves. As for Bella, she will do anything for her baby even if it kills her.

Japanese Manga

Ponyo 1

By: Hayao Miyazaki

Ponyo is a special goldfish from a magical world under the sea. One day she wandered off from home and gets trapped in a tidepool. A little boy named Sosuke finds her and saves her. Her head was stuck inside a small jar, so Sosuke had to break it to get her out. He cut his finger on a piece of the glass, but it heals really fast thanks to Ponyo. Sosuke and Ponyo become great friends and inseperable. However, Ponyo’s father is a powerful underwater sorcerer, and sends out tidal forces to search for Ponyo. When they find her and take her home, Sosuke is sad and lost without his new best friend.

Ponyo 2

 By: Hayao Miyazaki

Ponyo is taken back home under the sea by her father. Sosuke is so upset without Ponyo. He tries to go on with his regular everyday routine, but living a normal life with his family almost seems impossible. Underneath the sea Ponyo is mad at her father for making her come home. She insists that she wants to be human and go back to Sosuke. Her Father is frustrated with her obsession to be human, and tells her that it is the humans who pollute her home. All of a sudden Ponyo gets feet! She has become a very powerful little fish. Her father realizes that she has tasted human blood and is becoming more powerful than him. He turns her back into a fish and puts her in a bubble. Her little siblings help her escape so she can go back to Sosuke! As Ponyo escapes she creates a huge Tsunami!

Ponyo 3

By: Hayao Miyazaki

The vicious storm is flooding the town, and Sosuke’s Mom is determined to make it home. She drives through the storm, and as they are driving up the hill to their home Sosuke notices a girl running in the water on the huge fish. The huge fish are following them! He soon finds out that it’s Ponyo! Ponyo follows Sosuke home, and Sosuke’s mom takes her inside and gives them something warm to drink and something to eat. Ponyo has now turned into a human girl and wants to keep it that way. After Ponyo falls asleep the storm settles down. Then Sosuke’s mom has to go into town to check on the senior citezns, and leaves Sosuke in charge. Meanwhile, Sosuke’s dad is out at sea and has an encounter something so beautiful he can’t believe his eyes.

Ponyo 4

By: Hayao Miyazaki

The storm has passed and Sosuke and Ponyo wake up to the ocean at their doorstep. The road and the huge hill where Sosuke’s house sits is covered by the ocean. Sosuke is worried about his mom and with Ponyo’s magical ways they have a boat to set out to find her. Along the way they see so many different fish and some of them are ancient fish from a different time. They see people from town going to safety, but they don’t see Lisa, Sosuke’s mom. As they keep going, Ponyo starts getting really sleepy, and starts turning back into a fish. Sosuke will soon find out that only his unconditional love for her can save the planet and keep Ponyo from turning back into a fish forever.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

By: Hayao Miyazaki

Kiki is a young witch and she is now 13 years old. It is now time for her to go off for a year on her own and train to be a good witch. One day she hears that that there will be a clear night with a full moon, and she decides that is the best time for her to leave. She tells her mom and dad that it is time for her to go, and sets out on her big adventure. She discovers a city along the ocean, but she realizes that the people there are not that friendly and that it’s hard being on her own. She has no place to go, and then she meets Osono. Osono has a bakery and finds that she really likes Kiki. Kiki delivers a pacifier to a customer who forgot it in her bakery. When Kiki realizes that Osono couldn’t catch the customer in time to give it to her for her baby, Kiki offers to help her get it to her customer. Osono is so grateful for Kiki’s help she gives her a safe place to stay. Therefore, Kiki decides to stay in the city.

 Biography/Autobiography

Harriet Tubman

By: Martha E. H. Rustad

Harriet Tubman was born in the early 1820s in Maryland. She and her family were slaves. As slaves they had to work hard and do what they were told to do. She started working at a very young age. Slavery was very common in the southern part of the United States, and it was illegal in the northern part of the United States. Therefore, some slaves would try to escape to the north to be free of slavery. Harriet Tubman was able to escape to the north in 1849. After she escaped she went back to help other slaves escape to the north through the Underground Railroad. During the civil war she had many occupations. After the war was over and the north won, slavery became illegal everywhere. She died in 1913, but she will always be remembered for kindness and her bravery.

Susan B. Anthony

Martha E. H. Rustad

Susan B. Anthony was a huge advocate for women’s rights. She was born in 1820 in Massachusetts. She was a very intelligent child. She was so intelligent she learned to read and write when she was three years old. She went to school in New York and boarding school in Pennsylvania. She became a teacher in 1837. She was a woman with strong beliefs. However, when she would speak her mind no one would listen to her because she was a woman. During this time women could not own property, they didn’t make very much money, and they couldn’t vote. Susan B. Anthony spent her life fighting for women’s rights and helped establish the 19^th amendment which says that women have the right to vote.

Helen Keller

By: Don McLeese

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When she was born she was very healthy. She could hear and see just like any other baby. When she was a year old she got really sick with a really bad fever, which caused her to become deaf and blind. She was always very frusterated because she couldn’t hear and she couldn’t see. Teachers gave up on her and told her parents that she belonged in an asylum. However, her parents didn’t give up. They got Helen her own teacher, Anne Sullivan. Anne was very young, but she had been blind before her operation. She had her own special way of teaching Helen through kinesthetic learning.  Helen learned to read, write, and talk. She died in 1968, but she is one of the most famous women of history.

Martin Luther King Jr.

By: Jeanne Stazzabosco

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. He grew up in a time when segregation was legal. When he was growing up he was well aware of all the racism that enveloped him. He became angry of the way they were treated. Martin was very intelligent and he eventually followed in his father’s footsteps and became a pastor. He met his wife and they moved to Alabama. It was there that he became a pastor of a Babtist Church. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a peaceful man and he lead many peaceful protests that usually got him arrested, but he didn’t care. In 1963 there were 250,000 people who marched through Washington DC. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1965 a law was created so that everyone had equal voting rights. In 1968 he was shot and killed at the age of 39. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a peaceful man but he always fought for what he believed in, which was that everyone should be treated equally.

Clara Barton

By: Wil Mara

Clara Barton was born in Massachusetts in 1821. When she was eleven she discovered that she wanted to help people. During the Civil War she took care of many hurt soldiers. She worked in hospitals that were on the Battlefield. She eventually was known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.” Clara discovered the Red Cross in Europe, and she decided that America needed a Red Cross. She started the Red Cross in America in 1881. She died in 1912. Even though she died many years ago the Red Cross continues to help those in need.                   

American Slave, American Hero

York of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

By Laurence Pringle                                                                                                 

York grew up with the Clark family because his mom and dad were slaves, and they were owned by the Clarks. York and William Clark were around the same age, and York’s job was to tend to William. Therefore, York got more privileges than the other slaves. He got to sleep in the Clark’s home, he wore better clothes, and ate all the good food. York learned how to use a rifle because part of his job requirement was to protect the Clarks. In 1803 Meriwether Lewis approached William Clark about going on a journey to explore unmapped land. William Clark accepted his invitation, so he and York set out to discover new country along with Meriwether Lewis and men by the dozens. They traveled long and far during their journey they encountered several different tribes of Indians. They traded numerous items for food and edible roots to survive. York became known as big medicine to the different tribes, and they had tremendous respect for him. After 28 months of traveling and discovering they returned home, and about ten years after they returned home Clark gave York his freedom. He died in 1832 of Cholera. He was a slave but he was a hero too!

Graphic Novels

Garfield

By: Jim Davis

 Garfield has always been one of my favorites. I used to read Garfield a lot when I was a kid. I think that was because I wasn’t much of a reader when I was younger. Garfield is a fat lazy cat who loves to eat. He always scarfs down his cat food, but he would prefer lasagna. He loves to torture Odie, Jon, and the mailman. He sets out banana peels so that Odie will slip on them and fall off the table, he steals Jon’s food off of his plate, and he sets crazy traps for the mailman. He has such a dry sense of humor but he can make a reader laugh! 

Calvin and Hobbs

By:  Bill Watterson

Calvin and Hobbs is another favorite of mine. I love Calvin! He is so full of imagination! Calvin has a stuffed tiger named Hobbs. However, to Calvin he is a real tiger who likes to get into mischief just like him. Calvin and Hobbs are usually off on these great adventures in space or doing daring stunts like riding down big hills in his red wagon. Sometimes Calvin’s imagination can get carried away. One night his mom made him take a bath and the bubbles started to attack him! I have always loved reading the adventures of Calvin and Hobbs as a kid and I love reading Calvin and Hobbs as an adult!

Spider-Man Plus Huld & Iron man

Marvel Adventures

Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Hulk were sitting around one day eating pizza and seeing what Spider-Man could stick to. Hercules shows up with a two headed dog and a three headed dog and wants them to watch them for while he is helping his relatives remodel. The Hulk decides he’s all for watching these ugly hounds, but Spider-Man and Iron Man don’t really want to take on the huge job. However, they finally agree and get in over their heads. The dogs immediately start attacking them, so it was a good thing The Hulk was there. The Hulk ended up having to knock them out. They are able to train the dogs to have good behavior and they enter them into a dog contest. They are there mostly as an attraction to raise money for charity.

Folklore

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Leonard S. Marcus

The Emperor wanted the best of everything and he was very demanding. One day a tailor decided to teach the Emperor a lesson and he shows up at the palace and tells him that he has a special material. It is so special that only wise people can see it! When the tailor pretended to pull the material out of his bag, the king didn’t see anything but he didn’t want to look like a fool so he pretended to see the beautiful colors and the patter the tailor talked about. So the Emperor told the tailor to make him a suit and the next day the king wanted to show off his special suit that only the wise could see. All the towns people told the Emperor how wonderful his new suit, because they didn’t want him to think they were not wise people. Then a little girl screams that the Emperor has no clothes! Everyone realized that the Emperor had been tricked and really wasn’t wearing any clothes! The Emperor was humiliated and rushed back to the palace and didn’t show his face for days.

Puss in Boots

By: Leonard S. Marcus

A young man had nothing but a cat named Puss. One day he was feeling sorry for himself and wondered what good a cat was to him. Puss told him that a cat is a great thing to have and that if he would give him a pair of boots and a sack he will go find him great wealth. First Puss captured a rabbit and gave it to the king as a gift, and told the king that it was from Marquis of Carabas. So he gained him the respect of the king. Then he tricked the ogre into turning into a mouse and killed him, so he gained him a castle. The royal family had a great supper at Marquis’ castle and eventually the princess decided to marry him. In the end, the Marquis of Carabas decided that cats are great to have around after all.

The Elves and the Shoemaker

By: Leonard S. Marcus

There once was a shoemaker who was very poor. All he had was a single piece of leather to make one pair of shoes. He got the leather ready to make the shoes the next day and went to bed. When he woke up he saw that the shoes had been made for him, and they were bought right away!  That went on for days. One night he told his wife that they should stay up and see who was making the shoes, so they did. They saw that two small elves were making the shoes and they didn’t have any warm clothes on. So the shoemaker made some little shoes and his wife made some little clothes and set them out for the little elves. When the elves saw the clothes and the shoes they put them on and danced around, but at dawn they left through the window and wasn’t seen ever again. From then on the shoemaker and his wife always helped others.

 Realistic Fiction

Bird

By: Zetta Elliott

Bird is a young boy who loves to draw. He draws many different things but he really likes to draw birds. However, that isn’t why he is called Bird. His granddad called him that since he was a baby. Bird was told that he would find his own special something that makes him unique. He would draw pictures and show them to his older brother. He would tell Bird if they were good or if they needed to be fixed. However, he started noticing some changes in his older brother. His brother stopped going to school, he was a tagger, and he would have red eyes sometimes. Bird didn’t understand these changes, but one night he walked into his brother’s room and saw him shaking. His brother said that he needed a fix, and Bird wanted to fix him but didn’t know how. Bird’s brother passed away due to his addiction and soon after that he lost his grandfather too. So with the help of his art and his granddad’s best friend he learned to soar as an artist.

Chee-Lin

By: James Rumford

 The Chee-Lin is very sacred to the people of China. It was said that the Chee-Lin would bring good fortune. This is the journey of Tweega. He was born in East Africa and he was captured and taken away from his mom when he was very young. He was going to be a gift to the Sultan. He was starved and beaten on his journey to the sultan, but when they saw what the man had done to him they beat the man and sent him on his way. He stayed in India for awhile. Then some Chinese men saw him and were excited to see Chee-Lin. The Sultan gave Tweega to the Chinese as a gift. When he arrived in China they took his ropes off and set him free! He was surrounded by walls but he could run around. He would visit an old lady and her servant girl as often as he could because the girl would always have apples. She comforted him and made him feel safe. The years went on and he became old. He lived a long life in China and when he died he felt at piece.

Marley & Me Meet Marley

By: Natalie Engel

John takes Marley home to Jenny and he is welcomed with open arms. Marley is happy to have a good home with good people. He is a cute playful puppy, but John and Jenny soon find out that Marley has a hard time doing what he is told. He is told NO a lot! He runs along the beach without his leash, he steals a turkey from the neighbors, he chews on stuff, and he tears up the garage. One day Jenny gets mad at Marley for chewing on one of her favorite things and she tells him he is a bad dog. John takes Marley for a walk because Jenny is so mad, but when they come home she has forgiven him. After all he is a part of their family.

Science Fiction

Star wars The Clone Wars

By: Jason Fry

This book contains all the heroes and all the villains of the Clone Wars. A few of the heroes are: Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, C-3PO, R2-D2, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano. The Jedi Knights have defended the Galactic Republic for thousands of years. Anakin was Obi-Wan’s student and learned to fight well. Ahsoka is an alien and she is a good fighter, but she wants to learn more from Anakin. Yoda is very powerful and a great master. He is small but the villains better not under estimate him! R2-D2 is an astromech droid who assists fighter pilots, so he usually stays with Anakin. He is also great at repairing things. C-3PO is a protocol droid and he can speak over six million languages. He is a great asset, but he is a worrier. The Villains are always out to defeat the Jedi. A few of the Villains are: Count Dooku, Darth Sidious, Asajj Ventress, Cad Bane, Nute Gunray, and battle droids.

Star Wars The Clone Wars

Anakin In Action!

Anakin, Ahsoka, and the clone soldiers are on a mission. They are to save rotta who is a thick oily skinned creature with big orange eyes. They have to battle the droids and Ventress to save him, but they succeed because not only are they the heros, they have lightsabers! As they are battling Ventress, a huge Rancor comes and attacks. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Ventress continue the battle on the Rancor’s back. Ahsoka stabs the Rancor’s foot and it falls on Ventress. They think Ventress is dead and start running towards the ship carring rotta, but they soon realize that Ventress is still alive. However, they will have to defeat her on a different day!