RECOMMENDED SUMMER READING Pre K Entering Kindergarten Adding with Ants (Animal Math) - Tracey Steffora ©2014 It's time for some math "ant-ics"! Illustrated with cut-out photos on striking, colorful backgrounds to retain reluctant mathematician's interest, this book looks at adding with ants! Age Range: 4 - 6 Years Grade Level: Preschool - 1 Ava’s Poppy - Marcus Pfister ©2012 Ava is delighted when she discovers a red poppy in the field of her house. She sits with the flower in the sunny days of summer and shields it in the rain until one day the petals start to drop and the beautiful flower fades. But when spring comes again, Ava is surprised anew. Age Range: 3 - 8 Years Grade Level: Preschool - 3 Blue Chicken – Deborah Freedman ©2011 In this deceptively simple picture book, author-illustrator Deborah Freedman has created an irresistible character that springs to life and wreaks havoc in a farmyard with a pot of blue paint. Age Range: 3 - 5 Years Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten Centipede's 100 Shoes - Tony Ross ©2004 But when are one hundred shoes too many shoes? And what do you do with too many shoes? Why, you give them away! Find out who gets them in this delightfully silly story about a centipede with sore feet. Age Range: 4 - 7 Years Grade Level: Preschool - 1 The Cow Loves Cookies Rhyming - Karma Wilson ©2010 While all the other animals on the farm enjoy eating their regular food, the cow chooses to eat the one thing that she loves best. Age Range: 3 - 7 Years Grade Level: Preschool - 1 Duck and Goose at the Beach - Tad Hills ©2014 Beloved Duck and Goose star in yet another adventure that cements their friendship. Goose is cautious and less adventuresome than Duck. "Let's go away," says Duck. "Sounds like a fine way to twist your ankle," replies Goose. Yet because they are friends, they both hike to the beach. Age Range: 3 – 7 Years Grade Level: Preschool – 2 The Duckling Gets a Cookie - Mo Willems ©2012 The Pigeon is back (hooray!) and this time the drama centers on an adorable little duckling who gets a cookie just by asking--politely. Just by asking?! Politely reminds the duckling, but the Pigeon is already off on a hilarious rant about all the things he asks for--many of which readers of the earlier Pigeon books will remember--ending with the all-too-familiar refrain, “It’s not fair.” Age Range: 2 – 6 Years Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten The Gift Box – Rohan Henry ©2012 One day Ollie’s mother tells him that he is “a beautiful gift.” Delighted with this new “identity,” Ollie invites his friend Benjamin to guess what it is. When poor Benjamin cannot guess, despite many hints, Ollie refuses to play with him. Age Range: 2 – 6 Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten Glasswings a Butterflys Story - Elisa Kelven ©2013 Claire, a glasswing butterfly whose transparent wings reflect her lush home, finds herself lost in the city after being separated from her family. She doesn’t know how they will ever see her, but she finds new city friends, a pigeon, an ant, and a ladybug, who search for the flowers Claire needs to live. Age Range: 3 - 5 Years Grade Level: Kinder - 1 Out of the Ballpark - Alex Rodriguez © 2012 features the familiar story of a young boy who achieves his ballpark dreams through hard work and determination. His team is in the playoffs, but he is having a terrible game. The Caribes win, nonetheless, and they're on their way to the championship. Alex, however, wants to improve, and practices constantly with a friend (even going so far as to get up at 5:00 a.m. to practice before school). Age Range: 4 – 8 Years Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten Pete the Cat: Scuba-Cat © 2016 Pete the Cat is going scuba diving! Before he hits the water, Captain Joe tells him about all the sea creatures he can encounter, and Pete is super excited to see a seahorse. Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade: Preschool – 1 Sam and Dave Dig a Hole - Mac Barnett © 2014 Sam and Dave, who are either identical twin boys or friends who look astonishingly alike and share a sartorial sensibility, set out to dig a hole in the hopes of finding "something spectacular." With shovels in hand, the boys (with an eager terrier looking on) begin to tunnel into the soil, but they just can't seem to find anything of interest. What works spectacularly is the clever play between words and pictures. Age Range: 4 – 8 Years Grade Level: Preschool – 3 2 March 1, 2016 Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature - Joyce Sidman ©2011 What makes the tiny snail shell so beautiful? Why does that shape occur in nature over and over again—in rushing rivers, in a flower bud, even inside your ear? Age Range: 4 – 8 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten - 3 This Is Not My Hat - Jon Klassen © 2012 A little fish thinks he can get away with stealing a hat. Caldecott Medal Book Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade Level: Preschool – 3 Waiting – Kevin Henkes ©2015 What are you waiting for? An owl, a puppy, a bear, a rabbit, and a pig—all toys arranged on a child’s windowsill—wait for marvelous things to happen. Caldecott Honor Book and Geisel Honor Book Age Range: 4 – 8 Years Grade: Preschool -- 1 Where are My Books – Debbie Ridpath Ohi ©2015 Spencer loves to read. He reads a book every night. But one morning his favorite book goes missing, and in its place is a tulip. Spencer searches high and low, but he can’t find his book. Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade: Preschool - 1 3 March 1, 2016 Kindergarten Entering First Grade All the World – Liz Garton Scanlon illus. by Marla Frazee ©2009 Frazee's small vignettes and sweeping double-page spreads invite readers to share a joyful day with a diverse, multigenerational community. Caldecott Honor Book Age Range: 3 - 7 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten – 1 Bear and Hare Go Fishing – Emily Gravett ©2015 Friends Bear and Hare are going fishing. While Hare is putting together a picnic, Bear enthusiastically fishes…a hat. Then…a roller skate. Will Bear ever hook an actual fish? Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten – 2 Blackout - John Rocco ©2011 One hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do? Caldecott Honor Book Age Range: 5 – 8 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2 Hero Mom – Melinda Hardin ©2013 The moms in the book are superheroes. They may not leap over tall buildings, and they may not have super-human speed. But these moms construct buildings, fly planes, and make tanks roll. Age Range: 6 – 9 Years Grade Level: 1 – 3 Ivy and Bean – Annie Barrows ©2007 The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn't be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide quick Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other. Age Range: 6 – 10 Years Grade Level: 1 – 4 Larry Gets Lost in Philadelphia – John Skewes ©2013 In Larry the adorable pooch's latest adventure, he goes on vacation with Pete and the family to Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell and other great American historical landmarks. Age Range: 5 – 7 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2 Let’s Go for a Drive - Mo Willems ©2012 Elephant Gerald and Piggie want to go for a drive, but as Gerald thinks of one thing after another that they will have to take along, they come to realize that they lack the most important thing of all. Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten – 2 Library Book for Bear – Bonny Becker ©2014 Curmudgeonly Bear succumbs to Mouse’s entreaties and discovers the joy of books in a hilarious story that fans will covet for their own library. Age Range: 4 – 7 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2 Library Mouse - Daniel Kirk ©2010 One night in the library, Sam meets fellow mouse Sarah. Sam learns that Sarah is quite the explorer. She loves to scurry to the tops of shelves and explore the darkest corners of the building. Sam never climbs far up—he’s too afraid! He prefers to research subjects—such as exploration—and write about them. Age Range: 6 – 9 Grade Level: 1 - 4 Lots of Ladybugs! : Counting by Fives - Michael Dahl ©2005 Teaches young children to count to fifty by fives using the spots on the ladybug. Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 – 2 Madeline in the White House – John Bemelmans Marciano ©2011 Madeline takes a midnight sightseeing tour on a magic carpet of cherry blossoms. Invited to the White House by Candle, the president's lonely only daughter, for the annual Easter Egg hunt and roll, Madeline and the other little girls have a rollicking good time, and introduce Candle to the joys of occasionally breaking the rules. Age Range: 4 – 7 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2 Monster Musical Chairs - Stuart J. Murphy ©2000 In this book about subtraction, written in couplets with a beat as definite as that of the rock band supplying the music, six smiling monsters are engaged in an animated game of musical chairs. The action begins when the little creatures forcefully throw chairs across the room, telling everybody to "duck." The game proceeds with chairs and monsters being eliminated one by one. Age Range: 5 – 8 Grade Level: 1 – 2 Mortimer’s First Garden - Karma Wilson ©2009 Little Mortimer Mouse, longing to see something green at winter's end, follows the lead of the big people and plants, waters, and weeds his last sunflower seed until; finally, with God's help and a lot of patience, he harvests his crop. Age Range: 5 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 – 2 4 March 1, 2016 Mr. Tiger Goes Wild – Peter Brown ©2013 Are you bored with being so proper? Do you want to have more fun? Mr. Tiger knows exactly how you feel. Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 – 2 Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson - Sue Stauffacher ©2011 Althea is nothing but trouble! Everyone agrees: her mama, her daddy, her teacher, even the policeman. But when Buddy Walker, the play leader on Althea's street in Harlem, watches her play paddle tennis, he sees something more: pure possibility. Buddy buys Althea her very own stringed tennis racket, and before long, she's on her way to becoming a great athlete—and to proving that she's more than just trouble. Age Range: 5 - 7 Years Grade Level: 2 - 4 Oops! - Alan Katz ©2008 Puns and parodies are part of the raucous wordplay in these nonsense rhymes, with sly, black-and-white drawings by New Yorker cartoonist Koren extending the fun. In “The Rear Wiper,” Dad talks about getting a new wiper for the back window of the car, but the kid gets a different picture from his father’s words. With gross puns about gas, “Macbath” (“To pee or not to pee”), and “’snot where you start,” the look and sound of words are lots of fun (“Why doesn’t cough / rhyme with rough . . . ridiculous stough”). Age Range: 7 - 10 Years Grade Level: 1 - 4 Pop’s Cookie Duster – Don and Lee Doyle 2016 Rainy afternoons aren't much fun for two lively little girls who love to play outside. But a hands-on kitchen activity with their visiting Pop might just save the day from being a washout! Age Range: 2 - 9 Years Grade Level: K – 3 Puppy is Lost – Harriet Ziefert ©2011 Max's dog, Puppy, is lost! She was here, and now she's gone. Where can Puppy be? Max can't sleep! Max can't eat! He calls for her, plasters posters all over town, and searches everywhere for his beloved pet. It's not until both Max and Puppy have the same idea that they finally find each other. Age Range: 4 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 A Sick Day for Amos McGee – Philip C. Stead ©2010 Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it’s time they returned the favor. Caldecott Medal Book Age Range: 5 – 6 Years Grade Level: 1 - 2 Something to Tell the Grand Cows – Eileen Spinelli ©2004 What kind of exciting stories could Emmadine the cow tell her grand cows? About the time she swatted seventeen horseflies? Right. Or the time she chased a crow from the corn? Whoop-dee-doo. So when Emmadine learned that Admiral Richard E. Byrd was looking for a few good cows to take to the South Pole, she volunteered--boldly going where no cow had gone before. Loosely based on a historical event, Eileen Spinellis humorous tale of Emmadines adventures will delight young readers, while Bill Slavins bold acrylic illustrations bring this unique and heroic cow to life. Age Range: 6 – 9 Years Grade Level: 1 - 4 Take me out to the Yakyu - Aaron Meshon ©2013 You may know that baseball is the Great American Pastime, but did you know that it is also a beloved sport in Japan? Come along with one little boy and his grandfathers, one in America and one in Japan, as he learns about baseball and its rich, varying cultural traditions. Age Range: 5 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 – 3 The Turnip – Jan Brett ©2015 In a rollicking, cumulative tale, a badger family and their friends–Hedgie, Mr. Ram and Vanya, the horse–struggle to pull up a giant turnip. Age Range: 4 - 6 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten – 1 Water is Water – Miranda Paul ©2015 This spare, poetic picture book follows a group of kids as they move through all the different phases of the water cycle. Age Range: 5 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 – 3 What Pet Should I Get? – Dr. Seuss ©2015 What happens when a brother and sister visit a pet store to pick a pet? Naturally, they can’t choose just one! Age Range: 5 – 7 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten – 2 5 March 1, 2016 First Grade Entering Second Grade Alligator and Crocodile – Gail Gibbons ©2010 Humans have always been frightened of and intrigued by alligators and crocodiles. With her acclaimed style combining accessible text and detailed pictures, Gail Gibbons shares fascinating facts about these magnificent cold-blooded reptiles: how they live, how they hunt, and the differences between them. Age Range: 6 – 10 Years Grade Level: 3 – 5 Annie and Snowball and the Teacup Club - Cynthia Rylant ©2009 Annie loves her cousin Henry and his dog Mudge, but she also loves dainty things like teacups--and with a dog the size of Mudge, there's nothing dainty in Henry's room. Annie wishes she knew someone who loved teacups as much as she does. Annie needs some teacup friends. Age Range: 6 – 7 Years Grade Level: 1 - 2 Born in the Wild: Baby Mammals and Their Parents – Lita Judge ©2014 What do grizzly bear cubs eat? Where do baby raccoons sleep? And how does a baby otter learn to swim? Every baby mammal, from a tiny harvest mouse "pinky" to a fierce lion cub, needs food, shelter, love, and a family. Age Range: 6 – 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Boy, Were We Wrong about Dinosaurs - Kathleen V. Kudlinski ©2005 The ancient Chinese thought they were magical dragons. Some old-time scientists thought that because they were so big, all they could do was float in water. Boy, were they wrong! CCS Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Buy My Hats - Dave Horowitz ©2010 Frank and Carl have plenty of hats to sell, and their booth is open for business…but no one is buying! Story can be used for a math lesson. Age range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Dodsworth in New York - Tim Egan ©2009 Dodsworth wanted adventure. He wanted to see the world. He especially wanted to visit New York City. What he didn’t want was to be joined by a duck. A crazy duck. A duck that misbehaves. Age Range: 6 - 9 Years Grade Level: 1 – 4 Finding Winnie – Lindsay Mann Malaspina ©2015 In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war. Age Range: 5 – 7 Years Grade Level: 1 - 2 Flight School – Lita Judge ©2014 Although little Penguin has the soul of an eagle, his body wasn’t built to soar. But Penguin has an irrepressible spirit, and he adamantly follows his dreams to flip, flap, fly! Age range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Have I Got a Book for You – Melanie Watt ©2013 Scaredy Squirrel presents a character you just can't say "no" to: salesman Mr. Al Foxword. Al can sell anything. You can't help but be impressed by his lineup of satisfied customers: he's sold an icebox to a penguin, an umbrella to a fish and a dirt vacuum to a mole. Al knows you're looking for a great book, and this is your lucky day. Age Range: 6 – 9 Years Grade Level: 2 – 4 I Am Trying to Love Spiders – Bethany Barton ©2015 I’m Trying to Love Spiders will help you see these amazing arachnids in a whole new light, from their awesomely excessive eight eyes, to the seventy- five pounds of bugs a spider can eat in a single year! Age range: 5 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Noah Webster and His Words – Jeri Chase Ferris ©2012 A portrait of the man who wrote the first U.S. dictionary traces his youth as a bookish Connecticut farm boy and his twenty-year effort to write the all- American dictionary that was published in 1828 when he was seventy years old. Biography Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 2 The Little Red Pen - Jannett Stevens ©2011 When a little red pen accidentally falls into the waste basket while trying to correct papers all by herself, the other classroom supplies must cooperate to rescue her. Age Range: 6 - 9 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Penny and her Marble – Kevin Henkes ©2012 Penny finds a beautiful marble on her neighbor's lawn and must decide whether or not to keep it. 2014 Geisel Honor Book Age Range: 5 – 8 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten – 3 Red Sings from Treetops – Joyce Sidman ©2009 With original and spot-on perceptions, Joyce Sidman's poetry brings the colors of the seasons to life in a fresh light, combining the senses of sight, sound, smell and taste. Age Range 5 – 7 Grade Level: Kindergarten – 3 6 March 1, 20 16 That Is Not a Good Idea! – Mo Willems ©2013 One day, a very hungry fox meets a very plump goose. A dinner invitation is offered. Will he outfox her, or will her goose be cooked? Age Range: 5 – 8 Years Grade Level: Kindergarten – 3 The Unforgettable Season: Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of 1941 – Phil Bildner ©2011 At the start of the 1941 baseball season, neither Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees nor Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox were beloved by baseball fans. But all that changed when Joe started a 56-game hitting streak and Ted’s batting average rose to over .400. Age Range: 7 – 9 Years Grade Level: 2 - 4 What’s it Like to Be the President – Kathleen Connors ©2014 Some people say the US president is the most powerful leader in the world. Its got to be a stressful job! Readers will learn the powers given to the president by the US Constitution and the presidential duties that have developed over time. Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Xander's panda party – Linda Sue Park ©2013 Xander's plan to host a panda party falls through, since he is the only panda at the zoo, but when he extends the invitation to all of the bears, complications ensue. Includes author's note on the wonders of the animal kingdom and the international effort to save pandas from extinction. Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 7 March 1, 2016 Second Grade Entering Third Grade Ah, Music! – Aliki @2005 Surveys the history and components of music, concentrating on Western musical traditions. Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Almost Zero – Nikki Grimes ©2010 Dyamonde really wants red high-top sneakers. Too bad they're so expensive! A classmate tells her it's her mom's job to give her what she needs, but when Dyamonde tries that argument, her mom teaches her a lesson by literally only giving her what she needs. Age Range: 7 – 9 Years Grade Level: 2 – 4 The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man - Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade - Melissa Sweet ©2011 Everyone’s a New Yorker on Thanksgiving Day, when young and old rise early to see what giant new balloons will fill the skies for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Who first invented these "upside-down puppets"? Meet Tony Sarg, puppeteer extraordinaire! In brilliant collage illustrations, Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet tells the story of the puppeteer Tony Sarg, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America—the inspired helium balloons that would become the trademark of Macy’s Parade. Robert F. Sibert Medal and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 The Case of the Lost Boy – Dori Hillestad Butler ©2010 "My name is King. I am a dog. I am also a detective." King has a very big mystery to solve. His family is missing, and he's been put in the P-O-U- N-D. Why doesn't his beloved human (Kayla) come to get him? When King is adopted by Connor and his mom, things get more confusing. The new family calls him Buddy! Christian the Lion – Anthony Bourke ©2009 As Ace and John, two friends, are searching for holiday gifts in London, they come across a lion cub for sale in Harrods, the famous department store! Unable to bear the thought of leaving the cub, Ace and John take him home and name him Christian. Age Range: 9 - 11 Years Grade Level: 3 - 5 Dear Primo a Letter to My Cousin – Duncan Tonatiuh ©2010 Two cousins, one in Mexico and one in New York City, write to each other and learn that even though their daily lives differ, at heart the boys are very similar. Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 How I Learned Geography - Uri Shulevitz ©2008 Recounting memories of his family's flight from the Warsaw Blitz and his years as a refugee during World War II, Shulevitz employs watercolor and ink to depict a boy liberated from his dreary existence. Caldecott Honor Book Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 – 3 The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse - Patricia MacLachlan ©2014 If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France, what would your life be like? Would it be full of color and art? Full of lines and dancing figures? Age Range: 6 – 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 It's Probably Penny - Loreen Leedy ©2007 Lisa’s class is learning about probability. For part of her homework, she has to think of an event that will happen, one that might happen, and one that can’t happen. Who is that Boston terrier that keeps popping into Lisa’s imagination? It’s probably Penny! Age Range: 6 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 Just Grace Goes Green - Charise Mericle ©2009 Grace can do a lot of things ... but can she save the planet? Or at the very least, can she help her best friend Mimi get her favorite stuffed animal back? Age Range: 6 - 9 Years Grade Level: 1 - 4 Libby of High Hopes – Elise Primavera ©2012 Ten-year-old Libby Thump loves two things: her dog Margaret and horses. She dreams about them, draws them all the time, and more than anything she wants to take lessons and learn to ride like a real horsewoman. Age Range 7 – 10 Years Grade Level: 2 - 4 Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat - Susanna Reich ©2012 While Julia is in the kitchen learning to cook up elaborate, delicious dishes; the only feast Minette is truly interested in is that of fresh mouse. Age Range: 5 - 8 Years Grade Level: 1 - 3 8 Ma rch 1, 2016 My Senator and Me: A Dog's Eye View of Washington, D.C. – Edward Kennedy ©2010 There's an old saying: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." Senator Ted Kennedy decided to do just that. His beloved Portuguese Water Dog Champion Amigo's Seventh Wave (nicknamed Splash) is one of the most famous canines on Capitol Hill. Here we follow Senator Kennedy and Splash through a busy day in D.C., from press conferences to meetings with school groups to committee discussions to a floor vote. Age Range: 6 – 8 Grade Level: 1 - 3 We the Children (Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School) - Andrew Clements ©2011 Benjamin Pratt’s school is about to become the site of a new amusement park. It sounds like a dream come true! But lately, Ben has been wondering if he’s going to like an amusement park in the middle of his town—with all the buses and traffic and eight dollar slices of pizza. Age Range: 7 - 10 Years Grade Level: 2 – 4 The Year of the Baby – Andrea Cheng @2014 Last year, Anna learned how to be a good friend. Now that her family has adopted a baby girl from China, she wants to learn how to be a good sister. Age Range: 6 – 9 Grade Level: 1 - 4 Year of Billy Miller - Kevin Henkes @2013 Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons. Newbery Honor Book Age Range: 8 – 10 Years Grade Level: 2 - 4 9 Marc h 1, 2016 Third Grade Entering Fourth Grade Adventure According to Humphrey - Betty G. Birney ©2010 The students in Room 26 are learning about boats and building their own for a race on Potter's Pond. Humphrey the hamster loves dreaming about being a pirate and watching his friends build ships. Age Range: 8 - 11 Years Grade Level: 3 – 6 The Adventures of South Pole Pig: A Novel of Snow and Courage – Chris Kurtz ©2013 Flora the pig was born for adventure: “If it’s unexplored and needs to get dug up, call me. I’m your pig,” she says. The day Flora spots a team of sled dogs is the day she sets her heart on becoming a sled pig. Age Range: 10 - 12 Years Grade Level: 3 – 7 Almost Home – Joan Bauer ©2013 When twelve-year-old Sugar's grandfather dies and her gambling father takes off yet again, Sugar and her mother lose their home in Missouri. They head to Chicago for a fresh start, only to discover that fresh starts aren't so easy to come by for the homeless. Age Range: 10 – Up Years Grade Level: 5 and Up Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo ©2009 Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie. Newbery Honor Book Age Range: 9 - 12 Years Grade Level: 3 - 7 Duke – Kirby Larson ©2013 With World War II raging and his father fighting overseas in Europe, eleven-year-old Hobie Hanson is determined to do his part to help his family and his country, even if it means giving up his beloved German shepherd, Duke. Hoping to help end the war and bring his dad home faster, Hobie decides to donate Duke to Dogs for Defense, an organization that urges Americans to "loan" their pets to the military to act as sentries, mine sniffers, and patrol dogs. Age Range: 8 - 12 Years Grade Level: 3 – 7 Framed – Frank Cottrell Boyce ©2008 The story is told by a young boy who is endearingly naive and who understands less than the reader about what is really going on. He is missing a parent and doing the best he can with his limited understanding to make things better for everyone. And his well- meaning but clueless actions change not only his family, but his town. Age Range: 8 – 12 Years Grade Level: 3 - Up Hooper Finds a Family: A Hurricane Katrina Dog's Survival Tale – Jane Paley ©2011 Here comes Hooper, one plucky, spunky dog whose warm spirit and goofy personality are irresistible. Hooper tells his own dramatic rescue tale after being left homeless in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and taking a daring trip from New Orleans to New York to meet his new family. Age Range: 8 - 12 Years Grade Level: 3 – 7 I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 – Lauren Tarshis ©2010 Ten-year-old George Calder can't believe his luck -- he and his little sister, Phoebe, are on the famous Titanic, crossing the ocean with their Aunt Daisy. Age Range: 7 – 10 Years Grade Level: 3 - 5 Jake Drake, Bully Buster – Andrew Clements ©2007 When Jake was three years old at Miss Lulu's Dainty Diaper Day Care Center, what did he know about bullies? Nothing! But he learned fast! Why? Because Jake was kind of smart and not a tattletale, and he had no big brother to protect him. He was a perfect bully magnet. Age Range: 7 - 11 Years Grade Level: 1 - 5 Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little – Peggy Gifford ©2008 It wasn't as if Moxy hadn't tried to do her summer reading. She and Stuart Little had been inseparable all summer, like best friends. If Stuart Little wasn't in her backpack, it was in her lap . . . or holding up the coffee table . . . or getting splashed when Moxy went swimming. Age Range: 9 – 12 Years Grade Level: 4 - 7 Queen of the Falls – Chris Van Allsburg ©2011 The story of Annie Edson Taylor, who in 1901 decided to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Age Range: 7 – 11 Years Grade Level: 2 - 5 10 March 1, 2016 Rain Reign – Ann M. Martin ©2014 Rose Howard is obsessed with homonyms. She's thrilled that her own name is a homonym, and she purposely gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose's rules of homonyms, is very special. Not everyone understands Rose's obsessions, her rules, and the other things that make her different – not her teachers, not other kids, and not her single father. Age Range: 9 – 12 Years Grade Level: 4 - 7 The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus – Jen Bryant ©2014 For shy young Peter Mark Roget, books were the best companions -- and it wasn’t long before Peter began writing his own book. But he didn’t write stories; he wrote lists. Peter took his love for words and turned it to organizing ideas and finding exactly the right word to express just what he thought. Caldecott Honor Book, Sibert Medal Winner Age Range: 8 – 11 Years Grade Level: 2 – 5 Rumf: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin – Liesl Shurtliff ©2014 This funny fractured fairy tale goes behind the scenes of Rumpelstiltskin. "A most magical feat," writes Newbery Honor-winner Kirby Larson, "Liesl Shurtliff spins words into gold." Age Range: 9 – 12 Years Grade Level: 4 – 7 The Volcano of Fire - Geronimo Stilton ©2011 After receiving a mysterious message summoning him to a meeting, Geronimo Stilton finds himself back in the Kingdom of Fantasy, summoned by the Elves, who want him to travel to the Great Explanatorium to find an answer to the earthquakes that are threatening the Kingdom. Age Range: 7 - 11 Years Grade Level: 1 - 5 11 March 1, 20 16