Audrey wood
Bright And Early Thursday Evening
Bright And Early Thursday Evening is the crazy story of a girl attending her own funeral. She is in a world full of backwards things and paradoxes. For example, they sit down to dance, and a minister pronounces her single instead of married. She claims that nothing is this world is untrue, but the end of the story hints that everything in the story is untrue. Reading Level: 2.5 Interest Level: K-2 |
The Full Moon At The Napping House
The Full Moon At The Napping House is the story of how everyone in the house could not sleep because of how restless they were. There was a cat, mouse, dog, child, and a grandmother, and they all could not fall asleep. However, a cricket started singing a song, and it calmed everyone down. They were all able to fall asleep. Reading Level: 2.7 Interest Level: P-2 |
Beverly cleary
Muggie Maggie
Muggie Maggie is the story of a girl named Maggie in Mrs. Leeper’s third grade class who refuses to learn how to write in cursive. All she wanted to do was draw rollercoaster lines on her paper. She ended up getting in trouble for incompetence for the next few days, and was even sent to the principal’s office. She started to write in cursive, but it was sloppy, and made her name look like “Muggie”. All of the kids made fun of her, and she was determined to fix her cursive. She became a mail girl for the school, and accepted help reading and writing in cursive. But at the end of the story, her cursive was very good. Reading Level: 4.5 Interest Level: 2-5 |
Ralph S. Mouse
Ralph S. Mouse is the story of a mouse named Ralph that has moved into an inn. He becomes friends with the inn’s maid’s son Ryan, who takes him to school one day to avoid a dropping incident at the inn. Ryan’s classmates notice that he has a mouse, and they decide to make him the class pet. They build a maze for Ralph, but he cheats as he is running it. Ryan gets into trouble with a bully named Brad often, and when Brad breaks Ralph’s motorcycle, Ryan is blamed for it. However, when Brad discovers the mouse can talk, he decides to make right with Ryan, and the two become friends. They buy Ralph a toy car instead of a motorcycle so he can drive his siblings around safely. Reading Level: 5.1 Interest Level: 4-7 |
David Shannon
A Bad Case Of Stripes
A Bad Case Of Stripes is the story of a girl named Camilla, who absolutely loved lima beans. However, she knew that people would think she was weird if she ate them, so she stopped. But one morning, Camilla woke up covered head to toe in multicolored stripes. She decided to go to school anyways, and when they were saying the Pledge of Allegiance, she turned into the American flag. She kept changing colors, shapes, and sizes, and eventually turned into her bedroom walls. Nothing could cure her until a woman showed up with a handful of lima beans. She ate them, turned back to normal, and never turned down a plate of lima beans again. Reading Level: 3.8 Interest Level: K-3 |
David Gets In Trouble
David Gets In Trouble is a story of all the different ways that a little boy named David gets in trouble. He photobombs the school picture, says a bad word, breaks a window, eats dog food, eats a piece of cake, and burps at the table. But at the end of the story, David apologizes for all of the bad things that he has done. When he is getting tucked into bed, he tells his mom he loves her. Reading Level: 2.0 Interest Level: P-2 |
eric Carle
Pancakes, Pancakes!
Pancakes, Pancakes! is the story of a boy named Jack, who wakes up one morning and decides he wants a pancake for breakfast. However, his mother has things to do, so she makes him go fetch all of the ingredients. He makes flour from wheat, gets eggs from a chicken, milk from a cow, and churns butter. Jack’s mother then helps him make the pancake, and it turns out perfect. Reading Level: 3.6 Interest Level: P-2 |
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is the story of a caterpillar whose appetite could not be satisfied after he was born. He ate a certain number of items corresponding to the number of days he was alive. The caterpillar then wrapped himself in a cocoon. After a few days went by, he emerged a beautiful butterfly. Reading Level: 2.9 Interest Level: P-2 |
Jan Brett
Gingerbread Baby
Gingerbread Baby is the story of how one day of baking turned into something no one could have imagined. When Matti and his mother were making gingerbread cookies, a gingerbread baby popped up and tried to run away. It succeeded, and caused havoc throughout the town. Everyone was trying to catch the gingerbread baby, while Matti was at home making a gingerbread house. He planted it outside, and the gingerbread baby ran right in. No one knew what became of that baby except for Matti, and he let the baby live inside the gingerbread house for good. Reading Level: 3.5 Interest Level: P-2 |
The Umbrella
The Umbrella is the story of a little boy named Carlos who is venturing into the jungle in hopes of seeing some animals in their native habitat. When he arrives in the jungle he decides he needs a better view, so he drops his umbrella and climbs a tree. All of the animals, including a frog, toucan, kinkajou, monkey, tapir, jaguar, and quetzal climb into the umbrella and hang out there for the day. They end up in the river and the umbrella sinks and floats back to Carlos. He goes home sad that he did not end up seeing any of the animals he wanted to that day. Reading Level: 2.7 Interest Level: P-2 |
joanna cole
The Magic School Bus: Inside The Human Body
Inside The Human Body is the story of a class trip to a museum gone awry. They have been studying how the body turns food into energy, and now they are going to see an exhibit on the human body. However, when all of the students are on lunch, the school bus is accidentally shrunk and ingested. They then have to find their way out. Reading Level: 4.6 Interest Level: K-3 |
The Magic School Bus: Lost In The Solar System
Lost In The Solar System is the story of how a normal class trip to the planetarium turned into a trip into space. When the class discovered the planetarium was closed, Ms. Frizzle pushed a button on the bus that made it turn into a rocket. It takes them through all of the planets, and into the asteroid belt. Ms. Frizzle gets stranded in space, and the kids end up passing Pluto. They find the autopilot function, rescue Ms. Frizzle, and return to Earth. Reading Level: 3.7 Interest Level: K-3 |
judy blume
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, is the story of an eleven-year-old girl named Margaret Ann Simon, who is entering the sixth grade. Margaret moves to New Jersey a week before school starts, and immediately meets Nancy, who asks if she wants to join her secret club. The club is called “Pre-teen Sensations”, meets on Monday nights, wears bras, and has a boy book filled with their crushes. Margaret is struggling with finding a religion due to the fact that her mother is Christian and her father is Jewish. She attends temple and three different churches because she wants to hear from God, and often writes letters to him. Margaret is also struggling with the effects of being a teenager: bras, boys, and wanting larger breasts. At the end of the story, she gets her first period, and this convinces her that God is real. Reading Level: 3.6 Interest Level: 5-9 |
Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing
Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing is the story of Peter Hatcher and his little brother who he calls Fudge. Fudge is often getting into trouble and annoying his older brother, and this causes Peter to react in many different ways. Peter brings home a turtle one day, and tells Fudge not to touch it, but when their father has a client over Fudge brings out the turtle and covers their suitcases in stickers. The family goes to many places including the dentist, movie theater, a restaurant, shoe store, and their dad’s office, and Fudge acts up in all of these places. Peter often has to save the day, and helps calm Fudge down. At the end of the story, Peter realizes that no matter what Fudge puts him through, Fudge loves him and looks up to him as a role model. Reading Level: 3.3 Interest Level: 4-7 |
kevin henkes
Lilly’s Big Day
Lilly’s Big Day is the story of a girl named Lilly, whose teacher is getting married to the school nurse. When Lilly hears this, she decides that she is going to be the flower girl for them. She gets all prepared, and practices in front of her stuffed animals. However, her teacher tells her that his niece is going to be the flower girl, but he decides that she can stand with her at the end of the aisle. When the big day comes, the flower girl won’t walk down the aisle, so Lilly picks her up and carries her down. Reading Level: 3.6 Interest Level: P-2 |
My Garden
My Garden is the story of a little girl who is helping her mom in the garden. She helps water, weed, and chase away the rabbits that try and eat the lettuce. She starts to imagine what her garden would be like if she had one. She says that her flowers would always grow, and change color with just a thought. She imagines that if she planted jelly beans and sea shells, she would grow jelly beans and sea shells. At the end of the story, she is caught planting a sea shell in her mom’s garden. Reading Level: 3.2 Interest Level: K-2 |
laura numeroff
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie is the story of what happens when a mouse asks for a cookie. He starts off wanting a glass of milk, and ends up doing a ton of crazy things. These things include sweeping the whole house, taking a nap, making a picture, and signing it with a pen. At the end of the story, he ends up asking for a cookie once again. Reading Level: 2.7 Interest Level: K-3 |
If You Give A Pig A Pancake
If You Give A Pig A Pancake is the story of what happens when a pig asks for a pancake. She starts off wanting syrup to go with her pancake, and ends up doing a ton of crazy things. These things include taking a bath, finding an outfit to wear, dancing, posing for pictures, and building a treehouse. At the end of the story, she ends up asking for a pancake once again. Reading Level: 2.5 Interest Level: P-2 |
leo lionni
An Extraordinary Egg
An Extraordinary Egg is the story of three frog sisters. One of the frogs, Jessica, wandered off and returned with what they thought was a chicken egg. However, when the egg cracked, it turned out to be an alligator. They did not know that, and continued to call it a chicken. But when the alligator finally returned home to its mother, she called it an alligator. When the frogs returned home, they laughed and laughed, thinking that the mother was very silly. Reading Level: 3.4 Interest Level: K-3 |
Let’s Make Rabbits: A Fable
Let’s Make Rabbits is the story of how a pencil and a pair of scissors created two rabbits together. After they were made, they decided they were hungry. So the pencil and the pair of scissors gave them the scraps to eat. But before long, they were hungry again, and they came across a real carrot. After they ate it, they became real too, and hopped away together. Reading Level: 3.0 Interest Level: P-2 |
seymour simon
Destination Space
Destination Space teaches children about one of the greatest advancements in space technology to ever exist: the Hubble Space Telescope. The HST makes 5,800 trips around Earth in a given year, and can see into space ten times more clearly than the best telescopes on Earth. This book talks about the different things the HST has photographed: planets Mars and Saturn, star cluster 47 Tucanae, supernovas, supergiant star Eta Carinae, nebulas NGC 3603 and M2-9, clumps of gases, galaxies colliding, and black holes. Reading Level: 6.5 Interest Level: K-3 |
Venus
Venus teaches children about the “Morning Star” or “Evening Star” that is not really a star at all, it is a planet. Venus is the second planet from the sun, about 68 million miles away, is a bit smaller than Earth, and has no moons. One day on Venus is the equivalent of 58 Earth days, it rotates from east to west, and is extremely hot on the surface. Venus has many mountains and valleys, hills, and molten rock. On August 10, 1990, NASA sent a spacecraft named Magellan to study the surface of Venus. Reading Level: 4.0 Interest Level: 3-6 |