When Louis’ uncle sends a tadpole from a certain lake in Scotland, the small tadpole grows to enormous proportions. With the help of a resourceful librarian, Louis figures out a way to feed his large and ever-hungry Alphonse as well as determine a permanent solution. Humor abounds in this contemporary classic.
The Mysterious Tadpole
A boy and his dog, each with his own thoughts, begin to deliver newspapers before the sun rises. Deeply hued, evocative illustrations document their journey through the quiet morning. As the sun comes up, boy and dog return to bed, satisfied that the job was well done.
The Paperboy
The family in this story meets and plays with a stray dog while at the park. After they leave, they think about him all week long and decide to look for him the next Saturday — as does the dogcatcher. As the dogcatcher closes in, the children cleverly handle the situation for a happy resolution. Gentle watercolor illustrations add to the well-paced text to create a very satisfying story.
The Stray Dog
A long time ago, an old man who lived in a rustic cabin in the woods ate the tail of mysterious critter. That night, the critter came back to get his tail saying, “Tailypo, tailypo, all I want is my tailypo.” Getting that tailypo makes for a satisfyingly spooky tale bound to make readers or listeners jump. Galdone’s cartoon-like illustrations add humor to a creepy yarn drawn from the oral tradition.
The Tailypo: A Ghost Story
Contrary to what these children thought, not all witches are wicked. They find this out when they get to know their new neighbor: the friendly, off-beat witch next door.
The Witch Next Door
One warm Wednesday morning, the sun winked through Wombat’s window and woke her up. “What a wonderful day to wander the world,” she thought. What if Wombat woke one Wednesday with wanderlust? What if she wrangled her wander-worthy companions – Weasel and Woodchuck – to wend their way through the world with her? What if the world, the woods, and its wicked things wrestled with their wishes for wild adventure? But what if these wily wanderers used their wits to ward off worries and all the world’s wild creatures? Why, then it would be a most wonderful day to wander the world.
The Worrywarts
Original illustrations define and enhance a selection of over 200 mostly familiar nursery rhymes. Open format and gentle colors in a large format make this a wonderful book to share with young children.
Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose
For their family’s Christmas celebration, María’s mother makes lots of tamales. But while María is helping out, she tries on her mother’s ring and loses it in the dough. Without telling the adults, María and her young relatives try to find it — by eating all the tamales!
Too Many Tamales
Uncle Elephant takes care of his nephew until his parents who were lost at sea are found again. The elderly uncle and young boy share laughter and concern in this easy chapter book that leads to a satisfying conclusion in a perfect combination of pictures and story.
Uncle Elephant
One of the most well known of African American folktales are the Uncle Remus tales, originally written down by Joel Chandler Harris over a hundred years ago. This four-book series drops the heavy and difficult dialect of the original tales and adds contemporary language and references to Brer Rabbit’s fun.
Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales
A girl and her grandmother prepare to visit the girl’s father by packing a big lunch then boarding a bus. The joyful reunion takes place in a prison, emphasizing the love between a father and his daughter. Notes from both the author and illustrator complete this book.
Visiting Day
Nocturnal animals wake up as everyone else goes to sleep. Illustrations show their nighttime activities illuminated by moonlight while the gently rhyming text creates a soothing rhythm. Filled with movement, all of which starts with wake-up kisses, this is a comfortable and comforting story to be shared at bedtime.
Wake-up Kisses
Mrs. Tully’s puppy, Walter, is friendly and happy. His wagging tail is fine while he’s small but when Walter grows into large dog, the folks in town dread seeing Mrs. Tully and Walter’s tail coming. Sad and despondent, Mrs. Tully and Walter talk a long walk out of town where Mrs. Tully slips into trouble and Walter’s tail becomes an asset. Line and wash illustrations effectively convey the mood and movement of this familiar and appealing story.
Walter’s Tail
As they make cupcakes, a group of messy warthogs count to ten then eat their work and end with zero. Energetic, cartoon-like illustrations and a lively, rhyming text result in a slapstick comedy that may inspire an attempt to try one of the recipes included.
Warthogs in the Kitchen: A Sloppy Counting Book
After being badly scarred by smallpox, Ursula isolates herself in the family stagecoach stop in Whistle, Montana. An unlikely friendship with a cook at the station brings the old Ursula back as she leads the preparations for Chinese New Year in the small town, which is even more isolated than usual by a blizzard. This riveting book explores difficult themes in an accessible way.
When the Circus Came to Town
Wilson, a third grader, struggles with multiplication. He wishes he were as smart as the other kids in his class, or even his little brother, Kipper, who is a kindergarten math wiz. Wilson perseveres, however, and not only passes his times table test but gains a pet!
7 x 9 = Trouble!
Rosalba imagines flying over New York City with her much loved abuela. The young girl uses a lovely mix of English and Spanish to describe their journey, moving from the busy streets of Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty. Brightly colored illustrations detail what Rosalba and her grandmother glimpse as they fly, and the rich tales of Abuela’s memories.
Abuela
Alfie, a preschooler, understands his baby sister, Annie Rose. Like most siblings, Annie Rose is both a delight and a trial. In this book, realistic illustrations depict real children in sometimes untidy but always recognizable settings.
Annie Rose Is My Little Sister
Human kids will understand where little green, freckle-faced Henry P. Baloney is coming from. He’s late again, and is sure to serve detention forever if he can’t come up with a good excuse for his teacher as to why he’s late again. Words Henry uses sound truly alien, but there’s enough context to figure out their meaning — and a funny surprise waiting at book’s end.
Baloney (Henry P.)
In a story of the Ila people of Zambia, the colorful birds of Africa ask Blackbird, whom they think is the most beautiful of birds, to decorate them with some of his “blackening brew.” The story line is simple and the rhythmic chants of the flock frequently interspersed throughout the text add drama and a rapper’s cadence to this award-winning book that is ready-made for participative storytelling.
Beautiful Blackbird
Readers will delight in the playfulness of this word romp as they venture beyond the letter Z. Inventive letters and creatures are introduced in this funny, rhyming, alphabetic adventure in typical Seussian style.
On Beyond Zebra
Cecilia and her cat, Chica, create a special birthday present for her great-aunt’s 90th birthday — a basket filled with things Cecilia and her tía have shared. This affectionate autobiographical story is illustrated with warm colors, suggestive of Mexican American traditions.
A Birthday Basket for Tía
Rhythmic language and luminous paintings show the joy of this warm and loving family as they rejoice in their differences.
Black Is Brown Is Tan
Bunny siblings, Max and Ruby, want to get their grandmother the perfect present. Ruby’s full wallet slowly empties as their shopping expeditions require a trip to the Laundromat, a snack and more! Young readers can copy endpapers with funny bunny money to “spend” and count along with the indomitable Max and Ruby.