Easy Fiction and Caldecott Books

Ackerman, Karen. Song and Dance Man. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.

Grandpa, who was an entertainer back in the old days, sings, dances, and tells jokes to his grandchildren. They love it! It is better than TV!

Arnold, Tedd. No Jumping On the Bed. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1987.

Arnold is warned not to jump on the bed or he might break through the floor, but Arnold doesn't listen. Meet everyone in Arnold's apartment building as we go crashing through the floors together!

Burton,Virginia Lee. The Little House. Boston: Houghton, 1942. The little house sees time pass and the seasons come and go. The little house yearns to live in the city. Does she get her chance?

Carle, Eric. The Very Quiet Cricket. New York: Philomel Books, 1990.

A young cricket wants to sing like other crickets do. He tries to greet a locust, a worm, and a spittlebug, but doesn't make a sound. However, when the time is right, he sings!

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Dorros, Arthur. Papa and Me. New York: Rayo, 2008. A boy and his father spend the day having fun together. You'll learn some Spanish words as you read this book!

Henkes, Kevin. Kitten's First Full Moon. New York: Greenwilllow Books, 2004.

Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk. Kitten is persistent as she tries to reach her prize!

Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly Worried. New York: GreenwillowBooks, 2000.

Wemberly worried about everything – problems big and small. Starting school worried her most of all! Wemberly goes to school and learns that her fears don't always come true.

Lobel, Arnold. A Zoo for Mister Muster. New York: Harper & Row, 1962.

Mr. Muster loves the zoo! He visits the animals everyday! One day the animals escape and visit Mr. Muster's apartment. How will the zoo keeper get the animals back to the zoo? Mr. Muster can help!

McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings. New York: Viking

Press, 1941. When a family of ducks decides to move to a park in Boston, they must make their way through the busy city streets to get there. It's a good thing the police will help them out!

McDermott, Gerald. Arrow to the Sun. New York: VikingPress, 1974.

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A young pueblo Indian sets out to find his father who is Lord of the Sun. He must endure several trials before he returns to earth with the power of the sun.

Peet, Bill. Kermit the Hermit. Boston: Houghton MifflinCompany, 1965.

Kermit is a stingy, old crab. One day his life is saved by a boy. Kermit realizes he must change his stingy ways and repay the boy for his kindness. When Kermit discovers a sunken treasure of gold coins he wants to devise a plan to

deliver it to the boy.

Peet, Bill. Merle the High Flying Squirrel. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. Merle the Squirrel dreams of going out west to see the giant redwoods. Merle makes the long journey by riding on the tale of a kite!

Rohmann, Eric. My Friend Rabbit. New York: RoaringBrook Press, 2002.

When Rabbit plays, trouble isn't far behind. Does stacking an elephant, a rhino, and a hippo on top of each other to get a toy airplane out of a tree seem like a good

idea? Rabbit's solutions can cause problems!

Rylant, Cynthia. Dog Heaven. New York: Blue Sky Press, 1995. Dog Heaven is a wonderful place! Dogs can run and run! God makes special dog biscuits in funny shapes: kitty-cats, squirrels, and ham sandwiches. Each dog gets a lot of petting!

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Say, Allen. Grandfather's Journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1993. Grandfather came to America as a young man and fell in love with the mountains, rivers, and wheat fields. He returned to Japan and eventually had a grandson. His grandson comes to America and understands his

grandfather's love for both countries.

Swanson, Susan Marie. The House in the Night. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

Spend time in the light of the house in the night. Fly through the night on the back of a bird that "sings all about the starry dark."

Taback, Simms. Joseph Had A Little Overcoat. New York: Viking, 1999.

Joseph has an overcoat and when it gets worn out he makes it into a jacket. When the jacket gets worn out, he makes it into a vest. The garment gets smaller and smaller until it is a single button. What can he make when

he loses that button?

Van Allsburg, Chris. Jumanji. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981. Judy and Peter find a jungle adventure board game that brings the dangers of the jungle to real life. They even end up with a lion and some monkeys in their house! They must finish the game to get the jungle animals out of the house before their parents come home.

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Polar Express. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.

A young boy is picked up by the polar express and is whisked away to the North Pole to receive the first gift of Christmas, a bell from Santa's sleigh. The boy looses the special bell. Will he get the bell back?

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Weatherford, Carole. Before John Was a Jazz Giant. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008.

When John Coltrane was a young boy he was influenced by many sounds: Daddy strumming the ukulele, Mama playing hymns for the choir, and the birds warbling a sunrise.

Wiesner, David. Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books, 2006. A boy finds an old, underwater camera washed up on the shore. He gets the film developed and finds some very surprising pictures!

Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books, 2001.What would happen if the three little pigs could escape from their own fairy tale? See the three little pigs create

a new ending to their story.

Wiesner, David. Tuesday. New York: Clarion Books, 1991. Mischievous frogs rise up from the lake and float around town at night. See what adventures these frogs have!

Willems, Mo. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. NewYork: Hyperion Books, 2003.

The driver asks you to watch his bus and tells you, "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus." That pigeon is one persistent pigeon! He really, really wants to drive the bus! Will he get his chance?

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Willems, Mo. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. New York: Hyperion Books, 2004.

After Daddy and Trixie go to the laundromat, Trixie is upset. Daddy can't figure out what's wrong. Mom knows right away when she asks, "Where's Knuffle Bunny?" They must rescue Knuffle Bunny from the

laundromat!

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Intermediate Fiction and Newbery Books

Avi. City of Light, City of Dark. New York: Scholastic, 1993. A very special subway token is loose in the city. If the token isn't returned by December 21, the spooky creatures named the Kurbs will freeze the city. Who will find it first? Asteral wants to save the city and the evil Mr. Underton

would let it freeze!

Clements, Andrew. Frindle. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. When Nick, a fifth grader, invents a new word by calling a pen a "frindle" it annoys his grouchy, dictionary-loving, language arts teacher, Mrs. Granger. The word "frindle" takes on a life of its own when Nick is featured on the David Letterman show. Years later, "frindle" ends up in the

dictionary and Nick receives a letter of congratulations from Mrs. Granger.

Clements, Andrew. A Week in the Woods. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. Mark reluctantly moves to New Hampshire and starts at a new school. Mark doesn't get along with many of the students or his teacher, Mr. Maxwell. When his class goes to a state park for its annual "Week in the Woods" retreat, Mark leaves and gets lost in the woods. Mr. Maxwell finds him and

their experience of surviving in the woods together brings them closer.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press, 1999.

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Bud runs away from a bad situation in an orphanage in search of his father, Herman E. Calloway. When Bud catches up to Mr. Callaway he finds out things about his family and himself . . . and he discovers home.

Cushman, Karen. The Midwife's Apprentice. Read by Jenny

Sterlin. New York: Recorded Books, 1996. Dung Beetle started out without a home or a place in the world, sleeping in a dung heap at night. The ill-tempered village midwife took Dung Beetle as her apprentice. In time, Dung Beetle would gain a place in the world and a

real name – Alyce.

Dowd, Siobhan. The London Eye Mystery. Oxford, UK: David

Fickling Books, 2007. When Kate and Ted's cousin, Salem, disappears from the London Eye they must figure out what happened to him. How can someone be in a sealed pod on a Ferris wheel and

just disappear? Find out how Ted solves the mystery.

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008.

When Bod's family is killed he is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. The person who killed Bod's family is after him! He needs the help of his graveyard friends!

Gutman, Dan. The Million Dollar Shot. New York: HyperionBooks for Children, 1997.

Eddie Ball is picked by the Finkle Company to try to make a foul shot at the NBA finals. If he gets the shot he wins a million dollars. The problem is that the evil Mr. Finkle doesn't want him to win. Will Mr. Finkle stop Eddie from winning the

million dollars?

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. The House on the Gulf. New

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York: Simon and Schuster, 2004. Brit is suspicious that her brother Bran is up to something. Why is he acting so strangely? Bran has gotten a job house-sitting for the summer, solving all of the family's financial problems. Unexpected twists and turns occur as Brit learns more about who owns the house and what the real arrangement is with the family.

Hahn, Mary Downing. Dead Man in Indian Creek. New York:Clarion Books, 1990.

Matt and Parker are camping and they find a dead body floating in Indian Creek, just below a bridge. Moments before they discover the body, they see Parker's mom's boyfriend, Evans, on the bridge. What is he doing there so early in the morning? The boys suspect he is involved.

Hahn, Mary Downing. Deep and Dark and Dangerous. NewYork: Clarion Books, 2007.

When cousins Ali and Emma go the stay at Gull Cottage they stumble upon a mystery. When their mothers were girls and visited Gull Cottage in the 1970's, something bad happened, but what? They must solve the mystery of the past while being visited frequently by a mean, annoying, yet mysterious girl

named Sissy.

Hahn, Mary Downing. The Old Willis Place. New York:Clarion Books, 2004.

Diana and Georgie live on the grounds of the Old Willis Place and they have some unusual rules they must follow --such as, they must not let anyone see them. When the caretaker's daughter Lissa moves in, Diana decides to befriend her. When Diana breaks this rule it sets off a series of events that eventually reveals to us who Diana and

Georgie really are.

Kadohata, Cynthia. Kira-Kira. New York: Antheneum Books, 2004. Katie and Lynn are two Japanese-American sisters growing up in Georgia in the 1950's. Lynn becomes terminally ill and the family suffers a number of difficulties. After Lynn dies, Katie begins to take more responsibility for her life.

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Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. New York: Amulet, 2007. Read Greg's journal to find out about his adventures during a year of his life in middle school. He builds a haunted house with his best friend, Rowley. He plays the part of a tree in a school play–and even has a speaking part! He tries to avoid getting the dreaded "cheese touch."

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules. New York: Amulet, 2008.

Read in Greg's diary about the party his brother, Roderick, had without his parents knowing. Greg has an embarrassing secret that he is trying to hide, but Roderick tells everyone! What is Greg's embarrassing secret?

Law, Ingrid. Savvy. New York: Dial Books, 2008. When the Beaumont children turn thirteen they acquire a special skill called a "savvy." When Mib's dad is in an accident, she and her brothers stow away on a bus to try to get to the hospital to visit him. Find out what crazy adventures ensue!

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.Jonas lives in a community that doesn't have good or bad--or love. Jonas becomes the Receiver of the community, an honored position that retains the entire world's collective memories–good and bad. After Jonas receives "love," he learns about some very sinister activities in his community. He must escape to save the life of a child.

MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: Harper &

Row, 1985. Papa invites Sarah, who is from Maine, to come live with the family for a month. If Sarah likes it she may stay and marry Papa. On Papa's farm, Sarah misses the sea and Maine. The

children, Anna and Caleb, hope she will decide to stay.

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Paulson, Gary. Hatchet. New York; Bradbury Press, 1987. When a pilot has a heart attack, Brian, a 13 year old boy, survives the plane crash to find himself in the desolate woods of northern Canada. He has nothing with him but a hatchet. By trial and error he must figure out how to live in the woods. Can he survive?

Peck, Richard. A Year Down Yonder. New York: Dial, 2000. Mary Alice leaves Chicago to spend a year living in a small town with her Grandma. Grandma is quite a character! She is at the center of all kinds of interesting episodes, such as when she dumps glue on a boy who is trying to tip over her outhouse. He'll never try that again! See what else

Grandma is up to!

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Paint the Wind. New York: Scholastic, 2007. When Maya ends up living with her deceased mother's family, whom she had never meet before, she discovers things about herself and her mother that she never knew before. She forms a special relationship with a horse named Artemisia, a

horse that her mother loved.

Schlitz, Laura Amy. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! VoicesFrom a Medieval Village. Read by Christina Moore

and afull cast. New York: Recorded Books, 2008.

Go on a boar hunt with a medieval villager. Listen to the tale of the miller's son–who isn't quite honest. Hear the story of the glassmaker's daughters who don't want to

marry whom their father has arranged.

Schmidt, Gary. The Wednesday Wars. New York: ClarionBooks, 2007.

Holling Hoodhood is having quite a year! His teacher makes him read Shakespeare outside of class! He worries about the class' pet rats that have escaped from their

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cages and are scampering around in the walls of the school. On top of it all, he has to wear yellow tights in public!

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac and D Foster. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008.

Three close girlfriends are all fans of Tupac. When one of the girls moves away and Tupac is killed they learn to grow. They learn that life goes on despite difficult situations.

Black-Eyed Susan Books

Frost, Helen. Diamond Willow. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008.

When Willow's sled dog, Roxy, is blinded in a sledding accident, Willow's parents want to put the dog to sleep. Willow wants to save Roxy by taking her to her grandparents' house. Willow gets lost along the way and

must survive the night out in the Alaskan cold. This story is written in diamond-shaped verses that have a hidden message in bold print.

Hopkinson, Deborah. Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2008.

When Abe Lincoln is a 7-year-old boy he tries to cross a swollen creek on a log. He falls off and nearly drowns! It's a good thing his friend Austin is there to pull him out!

Korman, Gordon. Swindle. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. When Griffin Bing is swindled out of money for a valuable baseball card by S. Wendell Palomino, he and his friends cook up a plan to break into a house and steal it back. Do they succeed? Their plan doesn't turn out how you might expect.

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Smith, Lane. Madam President. New York: Hyperion, 2008. A young girl pretends that she is president for the day. She must give press conferences, negotiate treaties, and choose a capable cabinet. Her cabinet includes a piggy bank as Secretary of the Treasury and Mr. Potato Head as Secretary of Agriculture. At the end of her long, busy day of work the

president is exhausted!

Thoms, Susan Collins. Cesar Takes A Break. New York:Sterling, 2008.

Cesar, the second grade class iguana, roams the halls during spring break. He even gets on the principal's computer and changes the cafeteria lunch menu to spinach soufflé everyday! Cesar meets other classroom pets and they have fun together playing basketball and

painting. When spring break ends he has to decide if he should go back to his classroom home or stay on vacation forever.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. I, Matthew Henson. New York:

Walker & Company, 2008. Matthew Henson endured a lifetime of racism and physical hardship to attain his goal of reaching the North Pole. Learn how Matthew Henson's thirst for adventure

that was a guiding force throughout his life.

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Folk Tales

McGill, Alice. Way Up and Over Everything. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

In this story, passed down through generations of African-Americans, some recently arrived African slaves escape and fly up and over everything. They longed to be free!

Stevens, Janet. Coyote Steals the Blanket. New York:Holiday House, 1993.

When Coyote takes a blanket that doesn't belong to him he angers the spirit of the great desert. A rock chases him and tries to crush him. Will Coyote learn his lesson and return the blanket?

Stevens, Janet. Old Bag of Bones. New York: Holiday House, 1996. Coyote is old and yearns to be young again, so a buffalo shares some of his youth with Coyote. Coyote tries to share some of this youth with other older animals. Things go wrong and Coyote ends up as an old bag of bones

again. Will he ever learn to appreciate old age?

Wisniewski, David. Golem. New York: Clarion Books, 1996.

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A rabbi brings a clay man to life to help protect the Jews in Prague from persecution. When the Jews are safe, the golem must die and return to clay.

Young, Ed. Lon Po Po. New York: Philomel Books, 1989. Shang, Tao, and Paotze's mother goes away for a night and a hungry wolf, pretending to be their grandmother, comes to visit them. After the girls realize that this isn't their grandmother, but a bad wolf instead, they cook up a clever plan to stay safe and defeat the wolf!

Poetry

Clements, Andrew. Dogku. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. Haiku in this book, it's all about a sweet dog.Will he stay or go?

Fleischman, Paul. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. NewYork: Harper & Row, 1988.

Chirp like a cricket! Sing like a cicada! Read these poems about bugs with a friend!

Prelutsky, Jack. Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant. NewYork: Greenwillow Books, 2006.

What happens when you cross an alarm clock with an armadillo? What about when you cross a toaster with a toad? A clock and an octopus? Delightful poems introduce you to crazy animals!

Prelutsky, Jack. Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep.New York: Greenwillow Books, 1976.

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These poems are spooky! The frightful deeds of the bogeyman, the vampire, the witch, and the troll are celebrated in these scary verses. You won't sleep well for days!

Prelutsky, Jack. What A Day It Was At School! New York: Greenwillow Books, 2006.

Meet some science homework that ate a dog. Take a field trip to a candy factory. Wonder who made that bad smell in class and have a food fight in the cafeteria. It's all in a day at school!

Nonfiction: History and Biography

Deem, James. Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciersand the Recovery of the Past. Boston:

Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.

As the earth warms glaciers are retreating. As they melt, sometimes human bodies frozen into the

glaciers long ago are revealed.

Fradin, Dennis Brindell. Duel! Burr and Hamilton's Deadly

War of Words. New York: Walker & Company, 2008. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton had disagreements throughout their lives. Find out what happens on a July

morning in 1804 when their disagreements come to a head.

Freedman, Russell. Who Was First? Discovering theAmericas. New York: Clarion Books, 2007.

Columbus wasn't the first person to discover the Americas. The Chinese, the Vikings, and many native people were here far earlier.

Giblin, James Cross. The Many Rides of Paul Revere. New

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York: Scholastic Press, 2007.Everyone knows about Paul Revere's famous ride, but did you know he was a messenger for the Revolutionary leaders a number of times? Many people know Paul Revere was a silversmith, but did you know he also owned a bell foundry and a copper mill?

Grimes, Nikki. Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child ofHope. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.

A mother tells her son the story of Barack Obama's life. When Barack was a young man, he struggled with his racial identity as the son of a white mother and a black father. Hope and education, always important to him, made him

who he is today!

Kerley, Barbara. What to do about Alice? New York: Scholastic Press, 2008.

Alice, Teddy Roosevelt's daughter, loved to do crazy things! When she lived in the White House she enjoyed showing off her snake, named Emily Spinach, to her father's guests. As Teddy Roosevelt said, "I can be president of the United States, or I can control Alice. I

cannot possibly do both!"

Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of1793. Read by Pat Bottino. New York: Recorded Books, 2007.

The yellow fever swept through Philadelphia in 1793 sending people from the city fleeing for their lives. In 1793, the doctors in didn't know what caused the yellow fever to spread. They grappled with solutions while more people became sick

and died.

Murphy, Jim. The Real Benedict Arnold. New York: Clarion Books, 2007.

Most people know Benedict Arnold as a traitor, but don't know that earlier in the Revolutionary War he had been a hero and a brave commander. What caused him to change? See a Benedict Arnold in a new light.

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Nelson, Kadir. We Are the Ship: The Story of NegroLeague Baseball. New York: Hyperion, 2008.

After 1887, Major League Baseball became segregated. White owners stopped hiring black players and fired the ones they had. Blacks formed their own league that lasted until the middle of the twentieth century. Negro

league ball players overcame some major obstacles to play some great baseball!

Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw. The Buffalo and the Indians: AShared Destiny. New York: Clarion Books, 2006.

The lives of Indians and buffalo have been intertwined for thousands of years. When millions of buffalo were slaughtered in the 19th century, Indians suffered too. In resent years, herds of buffalo and the culture of the Indians are making a comeback.

Nonfiction: Science

Arnold, Caroline. Giant Sea Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age.New York: Clarion Books, 2007.

Did you know that during the dinosaur age much of North America was covered in a huge, inland sea? In that sea swam some fearsome, giant, sea reptiles!

Campbell, Sarah C. Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mill Press, 2008. Go on a hunt with a wolfsnail as it finds its prey–another snail!

Collard, Sneed. Reign of the Sea Dragons. Watertown, MA:

Charlesbridge, 2008. Learn about reptiles that swam the seas during the time of the dinosaurs. Some of them had long necks or sharp teeth or huge eyes!

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George, Jean Craighead. The Wolves Are Back. NewYork: Dutton Children's Books, 2008.

Celebrate the return of wolves to the wild areas of the west! Find out all the ways wolves help keep nature in balance.

Gibbons, Gail. Dinosaur Discoveries. New York: Holiday House, 2005. Dinosaurs came in many different shapes and sizes! Did you know the smallest kind of dinosaur was only three feet long and the longest dinosaur was about 164 feet long? Learn about a few of the many

different kinds of dinosaurs discovered so far.

Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. How Many Ways Can You

Catch A Fly? Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. Did you know there is a kind of beetle that swims underwater and eats fish? Did you know that the kick of a mantis shrimp can break the glass of an aquarium?

Learn amazing facts about animals!

Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. Sisters & Brothers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.

Nine-banded armadillos are always born as identical quadruplets! When black widow spiders are born they can have 700 brothers and sisters! Animal lovers will love this book!

Mitchell, Susan. The Rainforest Grew All Around. Mt. Pleasant, SC: Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2007.

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Learn how the plants and animals of the rainforest live together. There is even a recipe for "Rainforest Cookies" at the end of the book!

Montgomery, Sy. Quest for the Tree Kangaroo.Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Have you ever heard of a tree kangaroo? They exist! They live in the cloud forests of New Guinea. This book takes you up-close and personal with wildlife scientists working in the field.

Montgomery, Sy. The Tarantula Scientist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

See a tarantula scientist and at work. Learn about the largest tarantula species on earth, the Goliath birdeater, which can grow to have a 12 inch leg span!

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