Kids and Families

Family Reading
Books to Enjoy with Children in Kindergarten to First Grade

 

Auch, Mary Jane. Monster Brother. Holiday House, 1994
At bedtime, Rodney dreams of nightly visits by monsters. He tries everything to chase them away--extra lights, stinky cheese--but nothing seems to work. Then baby brother, Sidney, arrives, with a secret weapon. Sidney screams so loud that no monster would dare come near Rodney's room.

Baer, Edith. This is the Way We Go to School: A Book about Children around the World. 1992.
Some children walk to school, others ride a bus. In San Francisco, they take the trolley car, in the Alaskan Tundra, a helicopter. This book, part of a series, show children just how much fun getting to school can be.

Bottner, Barbara. Bootsie Barker Bites. Putnam, 1992.
Bootsie Barker is a nasty guest--kicking dogs, throwing temper tantrums, and biting. She makes life miserable for a little girl whose mom says she has to learn to get along with all kinds of people. Bootsie reigns until her friend comes up with a better game.

Brown, Marc. Arthur's Chicken Pox. Turtleback, 1996.
After Arthur comes down with chicken pox, he worries that he'll miss the trip to the circus. Because D.W. is jealous of all the attention Arthur receives, she pretends to have the "polka dots" also. Pretense becomes a reality, however, when D.W. comes down with "polka dots" for real and is unable to go to the circus.

Buehner, Caralyn. A Job for Wittilda. Dial Books for Young Readers, 1993.
Wittilda has trouble making successful career choices--as a hairdresser, she arranges Mrs. Hatrack's hair into a web. Because she has the aid of her magic broom, she decides she is more cut out to deliver pizzas. Look for the mouse and spider hidden on every page.

Cannon, Janell. Stellaluna. Harcourt Brace, 1993.
Accidentally knocked into a bird's nest, a baby fruit bat is adopted by birds. When the bat is finally reunited with her mother, the baby bat learns that the differences between bats and birds are much less significant than the new friendships she formed.

Carlson, Nancy L. A Visit to Grandma's. Penguin, 1993.
When Tina and her parents visit their new Grandma's condominium in Florida, they're amazed at the many changes in her since moving from Minnesota. She has a new sports car and she now buys her pies from a bakery because she's now too busy with her aerobic class to bake them herself.

Depaolo, Paula. Rosie and the Yellow Ribbon. Little Brown & Co, 1992.
After Rosie's favorite new ribbon disappears, Rosie accuses her best friend Lucille of theft. After Lucille leaves angrily, Rosie is so sad, she is unable to enjoy her birthday party. After the ribbon is located in a sparrow's nest, Rosie and Lucille resume their friendship.

Engel, Diana. Fishing. Macmillan, 1993.
After moving north, Loretta misses her Grandfather and the many fishing trips they enjoyed together. While pretending to fish in her new backyard, Loretta catches herself a new friend.

Heller, Nicholas. Up the Wall. Greenwillow, 1992.
Thinking that everyone in his family is too busy to pay attention to him, a little boy packs up a big sack with food and toys, and, with his dog, walks up the ceiling and finds a place for himself.

Henkes, Kevin. Chrysanthemum. Greenwillow, 1991.
Chrysanthemum is a mouse who loves her name dearly until she goes to school and is teased mercilessly. She dreads going to school until a wonderful music teacher--Mrs. Delphinium Twinkle, announces she plans to name her own baby Chrysanthemum. Afterwards, everyone wants to be named after a flower.

Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace. Magi, 1994.
Grace's schoolmates tell her she can't be Peter Pan in the upcoming play because she is a girl and she is Black. Convinced by her mother and grandmother that all is possible, Grace wins the part and plays Peter Pan, proving herself amazing indeed.

Hurwitz, Joanna. "E" is for Elisa. William Morrow and Co. 1991.
Four-year-old Elisa desperately wants to catch up to her eight-year-old brother Russell. After imitating him by jumping off a bureau and breaking her arm, Elisa learns to bide her time.

Kimmel, Eric A. The Chanukkah Guest. Holiday House, 1990.
Bubba Brayna, nearly totally blind and deaf, makes the best potato latkes in the village. On the first night of Chanukkah, she cooks up a batch for the rabbi, who is coming to visit. Answering a thump at the door, Bubba lets in her guest, only to find out later that it was not the rabbi who enjoyed the latkes, but a big hungry bear.

Leach, Norman. My Wicked Stepmother. Macmillan, 1993.
Tom has a great deal of difficulty adjusting to his new stepmother. Though determined not to like her, he relents when he realizes that she is a person, and not a witch at all.

Lindbergh, Reeve. There's a Cow in the Road. Dial Books, 1993.
As a young girl gets ready for school in the morning, she watches as assorted farm animals assemble outside her house. Each time the cow--who was first on the scene--moos, another animal joins the fun.

Numeroff, Laura J. If You Give a Moose a Muffin. Harper Collins Juvenile Books, 1991.
"He'll want some jam to go with it." And so begins a journey of crazy antics by a boy and a visiting moose. Sequel to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, this story goes full circle.

Rattigan, Jama Kim. Dumpling Soup. Little Brown & Co. 1993.
In this tale set in the Hawaiian Islands, Marisa makes dumplings for Grandma's special New Year's soup. Her relatives enjoy foods from many cultures represented by her diverse family--Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Hawaiian.

Russo, Marisabina. Alex Is My Friend. Greenwillow, 1992.
Five-year-old Ben suddenly notices that his six-year-old friend Alex is smaller than he is. Ben soon realized that, although Alex has a handicap that keeps him small, it will not keep him from being a great friend.

Soto, Gary. Too Many Tamales. Putnam Publishing Group, 1993.
Maria tries on her mother's wedding ring while helping her parents make tamales for Christmas dinner. After the preparations are completed, the ring is missing. Maria and her three cousins eat all 24 tamales in hopes of retrieving it.

Wells, Rosemary. Voyage to the Bunny Planet Books: First Tomato, The Island Light, Moss Pillows. Dial Books for Young Readers. 1992.
In each of the Bunny Planet Books, a little rabbit has an abominable day. Each then travels to the Bunny Planet where s/he can experience the day as it should have been. Afterwards, the rabbit returns home, content that Bunny Planet exists.

Wright, Kit. Tigerella. Scholastic, 1994.
A wild take on a Cinderella-like tale introduces the reader to constellations through the adventures of Ella. Though appearing normal in the daytime, Ella becomes a huge jungle cat traveling the moonlit sky in search of adventure each night at the stroke of midnight.

Zolotow, Charlotte. This Quiet Lady. Greenwillow Press, 1992.
A young girl takes the reader on a journey through time--as she discovers photographs of her mother as a baby, child, student, bride, and mother. This book explores the mystery we all feel when looking at pictures of our parents before we knew them.

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