Elysian
Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Abiyoyo,
by Pete
Seeger
A father and his son sing down a slovenly giant.
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka
Sing and swing with a great jazz saxophonist.
Halmoni's Day, Bercaw.
Will Halmoni's grandmother from Korea embarrass her on grandparent's day?
The Bat Boy and
His Violin, Curtis.
Reginald is more interested in his violin than in his father's job
managing the worst team in the Negro Leagues. His father learns the joy of
music when his son's playing helps the team.
Juan Bobo by Carmen Bernier-Grand
A little boy has
funny adventures in four folktales from
The Drinking Gourd by F. N. Monjo
Tommy discovers that his house is a station on the Underground Railroad.
Down in the Subway by Miriam Cohen
Enjoy an underground adventure.
Kitten for a Day by Ezra Jack Keats
A puppy and kittens play together.
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
A little girl and
her grandma enjoy a special view of
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
Lydia Grace plants a rooftop garden. This is one of my favorite picture books.
Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
Three sisters outsmart a hungry wolf.
Next Stop Grand Central by Maira Kalman
Grandfather's Journey, by Alan Say
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Rosie & Michael by Judith Viorst
Uncle Jed's Barbershop by Margaret King Mitchell
Sarah Jean's uncle finally achieves his dream in the segregated South.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
The tale of the town of Chewandswallow, where meals fall from the sky.
Just Us Women by Jeannette Caines
A girl and her aunt share a convivial road trip to North Carolina.
Strega Nona by Tomi DePaola
Just one book by this wonderful and prolific author.
Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes
Just one book by another wonderful author.
Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird
Angelina is a mouse child who loves to dance. A series.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Perfect for a hot summer day! One book by this great author.
Swimmy by Lio Lionni
A school of fish find a way to work together to evade their predators. Great author.
Thundercake by Patricia Polacco
While gathering ingredients for her grandmother's thundercake, a young girl overcomes her fear of storms. A wonderful author.
Insects are my Life, McDonald.
No one at home appreciates Amanda's love of insects...not until Maggie comes along.
My Friend Rabbit, Rohmann.
Something always seems to go wrong when rabbit is around, but Mouse lets him play with his new toy anyway!
Beginning Reader Books. One book from each series is recommended, just to get you started!
Step Into Reading, Level One Books (Random House)
Sir Small and the Dragonfly
Hello Reader! Level One (Scholastic)
The Classroom Pet
Bank Street Ready-to-Read, Level One
My First Day at Camp
Get Ready, Get Set, Read, Set One (Barron's)
The Bug Club
An I Can Read Book, Level One (Harper Trophy)
The Horse in Harry's Room, by Syd Hoff
Dorling Kindersley Readers, Level One, Beginning to Read
A Day in the Life of a Firefighter
The Fire Cat, by Esther Averill
Abigail Takes the Wheel, by Avi
Fox Be Nimble
by James
Marshall
One of a series of books about Fox.
Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch by Cynthia Rylant
One of a series by the author of Henry and Mudge and the Poppleton books.
Nate the Great books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
A series of mysteries.
Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
A short series.
Young Cam Jansen by David Adler
A series about a girl detective.
Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff
Little Bear by Else Minarik
Meet M&M by Pat Ross
A series.
Tales of Oliver Pig by Jean Van Leeuwen
A series.
Pinky and Rex by James Howe
A short series.
Chapter Books :
Pirate's Promise by Clyde Bulla.
Against his will, a young boy is separated from his sister and sold as a bonded servant, but the good-hearted pirate captain who rescues him makes possible a happier future.
Me Tarzan by Betsy Byars
Dorothy successfully auditions for the part of Tarzan in the class play, but her jungle yell has unexpected results.
Annabel the Actress Starring in Just a Little Extra by Ellen Conford
A spunky aspiring actress pushes her way into an extra's role in a movie being filmed locally.
Busybody Nora by Johanna Hurwitz
Nora wants to get to know all 200 people living in her New York apartment building.
Jenius: The Amazing Guinea Pig by Dick King-Smith
Judy's pet guinea is so brilliant that he can play dead, but during show and share, she discovers he might not always perform in front of an audience. (Check out the other fun books by this author.)
Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion by Suzy Kline
Harry becomes the class ant monitor when Mrs. Mackle gets an ant farm, but temporarily loses his position when he is bitten while locating a couple of escaping ants. A series.
The Dragonling by Jackie French Koller
Derek longs to go on a dragon quest, but when he finds a baby dragon, he cannot help wanting to rescue it.
The Littles by John Peterson
A very small family lives in the Bigg's house. A series.
Dragon's Fat Cat by Dav Pilkey
Dragon finds a fat cat in the snow outside his house, brings it inside, and soon has a family. (This is the author of Captain Underpants - he's a very funny writer.)
Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth by Louis Sachar
A funny, easy-to-read chapter book about a third-grade boy who is convinced that he was kidnapped at birth and is really the Lost Prince of Shampoon.
Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
Henry eats so much chocolate that he makes medical history with the very first case of Chocolate Fever.
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man by David A. Adler
Discover the life of the great Yankee.
The House With a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs
A boy and his uncle, who is a wizard, search their old house for a clock hidden in the walls. Part of a short series. The author has written other series of scary books.
Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library by Eth Clifford
During a blizzard, two girls spend an intriguing night trapped inside a public library.
Felicia the Critic by Ellen Conford
Felicia is so
determined to be truthful that she doesn't realize her criticism is annoying the
people around her. Other popular books by this author include The Luck of
Pokey bloom, Dreams of Victory, and Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood.
Some popular series to try:
The Secrets of Droon by Abbott
Arthur Chapter Books by Brown
The Stories Julian Tells by Cameron
The Bailey School Kids by Dadey
Bullseye Step Into Classics, various authors
The Zack Files by Greenburg
A to Z Mysteries by Roy
Capital Mysteries by Roy
Magic Tree House by Osborne
Werewolf Club Series by Pinkwater
The Ink Drinkers by Sanvoisin
The Time Warp Trio by Scieszka
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective, by Sobol
The Boxcar Children by Warner
American Girl Collection
Poetry & Word Play
Go Hang a Salami I'm a Lasagna Hog by Agee
Lots of funny palindromes.
You Read To Me I'll Read To You, Ciardi
Nathaniel's Talking by Clifton
Composed in a variety of styles - rap, blues, free verse - these 18 poems offer nine-year-old Nathaniel's thoughts about himself, his family and friends.
From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs, Cohn
Anna Banana's 101 Jump Rope Rhymes, Cole
Arroz con Leche, Delacre
A collection of Traditional Latin American songs and rhymes, in Spanish and English, with the music included.
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, Fleischman
Souls Looks Back in Wonder, Feelings
Artwork and poems by Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Askia Toure and others portray the creativity and strength of their African American heritage.
The Sun is So Quiet, Giovanni
Poems primarily about nature and the seasons but also about chocolate and scary movies.
The Llama Who Had No Pajama 100 Favorite Poems, Hoberman
A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems, Janeczko
Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry, Kennedy
Pizza the Size of the Sun, Prelutsky
(or any other book by this author!)
Where the Sidewalk Ends, Silverstein
(or any other book by this author!)
If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries: Poems for Children and their Parents, Viorst