RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES K – 2 Arnold, Tedd. Fix This Mess!
Holiday House, 2014. When Jake’s new Robug (Remote Operating Basic Utility Gizmo) arrives, he immediately instructs it to fix the mess on the couch. Robug obeys, but the vague instructions lead to an even bigger mess – which just keeps getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger!
5-Book Dive!
Bell, Cece. Rabbit & Robot: the Sleepover.
Candlewick Press, 2014. Rabbit is excited that his friend, Robot, is coming for a sleepover and has a list of planned activities ready to go. But Robot has some ideas of his own, leading to disagreements. (For example, Rabbit likes carrots and lettuce on his pizza, while Robot prefers screws and bolts). But compromise saves the day for these two funny friends.
Cleminson, Katie. Otto the Book Bear.
Disney/Hyperion Books, 2011. Otto the bear lives in a book and loves it when people read his story. But when nobody is looking, Otto can leave his book to have adventures. One day while Otto is off exploring, his book is taken away! Now Otto must go on a journey to find a new home.
De La Peña, Matt. Last Stop on Market Street.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2015. One Sunday, as CJ and his grandmother are riding the bus like they do every week, he wonders: why don’t they have a car? Why can’t he have an iPod like some other kids? And why do they have to travel to a dirty part of town? But CJ’s grandmother helps him to realize the power and beauty of community as they make friends with others on the bus, experience the city, and finally reach their destination: a soup kitchen where they volunteer every week.
Garza, Xavier. The Great and Mighty Nikko! ¡El Gran y Poderoso Nikko!. (bilingual)
Cinco Puntos Press, 2015. Nikko’s mother thinks he is jumping on the bed, but he isn’t him – it’s the ten masked luchadores that the Great and Mighty Nikko must fight one at a time before he can go to sleep.
Hanlon, Abby. Dory Fantasmagory.
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014. Dory really wants to play with her older brother and sister, but they think she’s too young. Fortunately, Dory has an amazing imagination to keep her company and make every day into a fantastic adventure. (Sequel: Dory and the Real True Friend.)
5-Book Dive!
Hayes, Geoffrey. Benny and Penny in Lost and Found!
Toon Books, 2014. Benny the mouse is in a bad mood – his pirate hat is missing. His little sister Penny tags along on his quest to find it, but when they become lost in the fog, the two of them must work together to get home in this exciting graphic novel. (Also read: other Benny and Penny books.)
Henkes, Kevin. Waiting.
Greenwillow Books, 2015. Five toys – an owl, a puppy, a bear, a rabbit and a pig – are sitting on a windowsill. Each one is waiting for something different. What will happen?
Higgins, Ryan T. Mother Bruce.
Disney/Hyperion, 2015. Bruce is a grumpy bear who doesn’t like anyone or anything, except cooking and eating eggs. But one day, some of his eggs hatch before he can cook them and out pops a gaggle of baby geese who think Bruce is their mother! This unconventional, instant family makes Bruce grumpier yet, but he may have finally met his match.
Himmelman, John. Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny.
Square Fish, 2015. Isabel is “the best bunjitsu artist in her school”, but even though she excels at kicking, hitting, and throwing, she knows that bunjitsu is really about “finding ways NOT to kick, hit and throw.” (Sequel: Bunjitsu Bunny’s Best Move.)
Kostecki-Shaw, Jenny Sue. Same, Same but Different.
Henry Holt, 2011. Elliot from American and Kailash from India are pen pals who exchange letters and pictures. They discover that they have many things in common – like going to school, having pets, and climbing trees – even though their schools and pets and trees are very different from each other’s. They can still be the best of friends, even though they live far apart.
5-Book Dive!
Lee, Spike. Please, Baby, Please.
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002. A day in the life of a busy preschooler resounds with the repeated refrain, “please, baby, please” as Mama pleads with the active toddler to do things like eat cereal, stop writing on the wall, share toys, take a bath, and finally go to bed.
London, Jonathan. Hippos Are Huge!
Candlewick Press, 2015. Hippos may look funny, but they are the deadliest animal in Africa! Learn all about these amazing, unusual – and huge – animals.
Matheson, Christie. Tap the Magic Tree.
Greenwillow Books, 2013. You don’t need an iPad to interact with this book! Tap, touch, and shake the pages to watch a bare, brown tree bud, bloom, produce apples, lose its leaves, and then start all over again.
Medina, Meg. Mango, Abuela and Me.
Candlewick Press, 2015. Mia’s grandmother has left her faraway home to live with Mia and her parents, but Abuela speaks only Spanish and Mia speaks only English. How will they learn to communicate with each other? With the help of a parrot, of course!
OHora, Zachariah. My Cousin Momo.
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015. Momo the flying squirrel has his own distinct style and personality, but when he visits his cousins (regular gray squirrels), they think he is strange and hurt his feelings. Can the cousins learn to accept each other and appreciate their differences?
Offill, Jenny. Sparky!
Schwartz & Wade Books, 2014. A girl has finally found an ultra-low-maintenance pet that her mother will let her have: a sloth! But she is disappointed to realize that unlike her friends’ pets, a sloth – even one named Sparky – is not good for playing games or doing tricks or putting on a show. What’s a girl to do?
5-Book Dive!
Paschkis, Julie. Flutter & Hum: Animal Poems—Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales. (bilingual) Henry Holt and Company, 2015. These fun, lively poems about all kinds of animals from cows to whales were originally written in Spanish.
Shea, Bob. Ballet Cat.
Disney/Hyperion, 2015. Ballet Cat and Sparkles the pony are best friends, but when Sparkles suggests that maybe they could play something other than ballet, Ballet Cat refuses to listen. Will Ballet Cat still want to be friends when Sparkles admits that sometimes he doesn’t want to play ballet?
Stein, David Ezra. Interrupting Chicken.
Candlewick Press, 2010. A little red chicken wants her father to read her a fairy tale, but every time he starts a story, she interrupts him to save the characters – “DON’T GO IN! SHE’S A WITCH!” – and give the story a happy ending. Finally, her father has an idea: the little red chicken should tell a story!
Thong, Roseanne. Round Is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes.
Chronicle Books, 2013. If we look around our neighborhoods, we can find things that are round, square and rectangular everywhere. (And many of them are good to eat.)
Virjan, Emma J. What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig.
Harper, 2015. In this fun rhyming book, a pig in a wig is a good start, but it’s not enough. The story also needs a frog, a rat, an elephant, a skunk, a mouse, a panda, and a bunch of other things. But when all of these things are in one little rowboat, it’s a tight fit.
5-Book Dive!
Willems, Mo. I Really Like Slop!
Hyperion Books for Children, 2015. Piggie really, really, really loves slop! Yummy, goopy, green, fly-infested slop. She loves it so much that she wants her best friend Gerald (an elephant) to try it. Gerald is a very loyal friend, but even friendship has limits. Will Gerald have the courage to try slop? Will he like it?
Winter, Jeanette. Malala, a Brave Girl from Pakistan.
Beach Lane Books, 2014. Read the inspirational true story of Malala, a brave young girl from Pakistan who spoke out for girls’ right to education. Then flip the book over to read another true story about Iqbal, a young boy from Pakistan who fought against child labor.
