Tredyffrin/Easttown School District

Dear Parents,

We provide this list of wonderful books to help you find selections to share with your developing reader in grades K-1. The list was compiled from the suggestions of a dedicated core group of classroom teachers, a reading specialist and a librarian. Some of the books are for you to read to your child, some are for you to read with your child, and some of the familiar ones your child will want to read independently. We hope you enjoy this reading list and we welcome your suggestions and comments.

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When his grandchildren come to visit, a grandfather proves that he can still perform an exciting vaudeville act.

Rhymed text and illustrations invite the reader to play "I Spy" with a variety of Mother Goose and other folklore characters.

Students take advantage of their teacher's good nature until she disappears and they are faced with a witch for a substitute.

The great Japanese artist sets his rich and complex counting book in a countryside that looks like New England.

During a game of hide-and-seek, Moon hides behind a cloud, leaving her friend Bear very concerned about her disappearance.

Jungle animals flee from the tiger until he points out their similarities.

Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers.

Dinosaurs, big and small, those with spikes, and those with long sharp teeth, fill the pages of this colorful book.

Little Rabbit's loose tooth comes out and she has to decide what she is going to do with it.

When you know other ways to listen, you can hear wonderful sounds. This book tells about someone who was very good at it - and one who took a long time learning.

Twelve little girls and their headmistress travel through a series of madcap adventures.

While the Bear family has adventures, information is given on holidays, weather, the seasons and other things young readers wish to know.

Paddington Bear arrives from Peru and is adopted by the Brown family who delights in his antics.

The world's best-loved turtle overcomes the challenges of the everyday life of a five-year-old in a way that resonates with children.

When Nicki drops his newly knitted mitten in the snow, the animals put it to good use!

Clifford is big, red and very full of life. This book describes the dilemmas and delights of having a really BIG dog.

A little boy builds a snowman which comes to life.

Embarrassed by his new glasses, aardvark Arthur tries to lose them.

When three hungry soldiers come to town where all the food has been hidden, they set out to make soup from water and stones.

In clear, rhythmic prose, the idea of stopping and going is reinforced.

A young girl receives a toy gorilla for her birthday and they go on a trip to the zoo together.

An orphaned baby elephant goes to live in the city with an old lady who gives him everything he wants. He eventually returns to the forest where he is crowned king of the elephants.

Marvin slips out of the zoo and finds that he likes it on the outside.

On Wednesday nights when Grandma stays with Anna everyone thinks she is teaching Anna to read.

At bedtime a young boy takes a trip on his toy train and rescues several endangered animals.

The little house shows the changes over the years of the seasons and a neighborhood.

May-May and Rose have several adventures while traveling west by covered wagon.

A baby bat falls into a bird's nest and learns the ways of the bird family but eventually finds her mother and discovers a wonderful mystery of life.

A lonely firefly goes out into the night searching for other fireflies.

Spending a day outdoors, Anna revels in the joys of the sun, sky, grass, berries, frogs, ants and beetles.

The sister of the Three Little Pigs comes to visit and tries to persuade her brothers to overcome their fears of the wolf.

While harvesting ice on the Hudson River with his uncle one winter, a boy uses quick thinking to save his uncle's horse.

Count all the way to ten through simple rhymes, everyday objects and beautiful pictures.

Seven-year old Yonie's sense of curiosity is always getting him into trouble.

Lars, a polar bear, accompanies his father on a hunting trip and an unexpected adventure presents itself.

A boy enjoys his relationship with his grandmother and great-grandmother.

The King and Queen keep inviting the little boy to visit, and each time he comes, he brings along a growing entourage of remarkable animal friends whose manners are not what they should be.

A young scarecrow plans to scare the crows away from his pumpkin patch.

Petunia, a very silly goose, thinks that if she carries a book around the barnyard she will be wise.

A young boy sets out one winter day to become a hunter but when he traps a helpless rabbit, his plan changes.

A baby bird falls from the nest and tries to find his mother.

Verses with ridiculous premises and distinctive illustrations for counting from 1 to 20.

An anthropological alphabet book that conveys a vision of tribal life in East Africa.

This book illustrates rhyming text and describes the activities of animals busy in and near a small pond as spring progresses to autumn.

Jessie receives a pair of shoes from Grandpa and in cumulative rhyme, family members describe the clothes they will give her to go with her new shoes.

A stuffed teddy bear accompanies Lisa to a laundromat where he realizes that while he now has a button, he is missing a pocket.

A grandmother writes to her granddaughter and explains how the arrival of winter brings changes in nature and the earth's creatures.

A boy and a girl in the woods find an empty nest, a cocoon, gnawed bark, and other signs of unseen animals and their activities.

One busy day at Long Pond, Box Turtle searches for food, basks in the sun, and escapes a raccoon.

A Native American story about a girl who is fond of her people but prefers to live among the wild horses.

Lloyd, the llama, in looking for his mother, questions each animal he meets until he finds her.

An early 19^th century New England family's day-to-day life throughout the seasons is described.

Chrysanthemum loves her name until she goes to school and finds kids making fun of it.

A little badger has trouble falling asleep at night because she sees so many things - both real and imaginary.

Tana Hoban looks at the riot of colors that surround us and makes us see them in a new way.

Bumble Bear tries just about everything to outsmart the bees and find the honey pot at the end of the rainbow, but the bees outwit him every time!

Holabird, K. -- Angelina Ballerina (series)

A little mouse wants to be a ballerina and gets her heart's desire.

A cricket wishes he were a butterfly and learns a lesson in finding truth, beauty and joy from within.

Silvia, a little girl who lives in Latin America, receives a pair of bright red shoes in the mail. Unfortunately, she has a problem with the shoes.

Each time the doorbell rings, there are more people who have come to share Ma's wonderful cookies.

One night when Harold cannot sleep, he takes his purple crayon and draws himself an adventure.

A pioneer mother stitches a quilt for her daughter. Many years later another mother mends and patches it for her little girl.

The strength of this universal story is the unconditional love a mother demonstrates for her daughter.

A little boy has such fun in the snow that he decides to save a snowball for the next day.

While Louise is away for the summer, Kathy meets a new neighbor whose dog is expecting puppies, with some unforeseen results.

Anansi the Spider uses a strange moss-covered rock in the forest to trick all the other animals, until Little Bush Deer decides he needs to learn a lesson.

Leo takes a little longer to grow up.

With small illustrations of small, wistful and ordinary children, this book is full of wonderful things to think about.

This is the story of Harriet Tubman, written in verse.

Ferdinand the Bull does not want to go into the ring and fight. He really wants to sit under the cork tree and smell the flowers.

Secrets of the dark are revealed in this lovely poem describing a farm at midnight.

Alexander, a real mouse, wants to be a toy mouse like his friend Willy, until he discovers Willy is to be thrown away.

Papa Mouse promises his boys one story each before bedtime. In the resulting seven tales, some are funny, some wise, and all quite wonderful.

The letters of the alphabet are transformed to create expressive animal faces.

The antithesis of the typical sweet-appearing Goldilocks, this story is set in the present day and abounds with color, humor, and wit.

This is a classic story for children about animals of different colors.

Foolish rabbit dreams under an apple tree in the African version of "Chicken Little."

Sal loses a tooth in this story of a family which lives on an island.

A little mouse gets lost on the way to a family picnic.

Anansi, the West African spider-hero, has six sons who combine their talents to save their father.

A tricycle relegated to the trash heap manages its own salvation.

This story, written in the folk tale traditions, tells how the moon gives twelve tiny babies to a childless couple who take good care of their charges and receive an unexpected reward.

Minarik, E. -- Little Bear (series)

Little Bear, his doting parents in their Victorian dress, and his considerate friends are featured in one of the first of a series of early-reader books.

First-born sons in China were once given long names, but not any longer.

Relating the cycle of requests a mouse is likely to make after you give him a cookie takes the reader through a young boy's day.

Five talented lions suffer from stage fright and are unable to perform their circus act. A new lion-tamer is hired.

The Rainbow Fish, with his shimmering scales, learns a special lesson about friendship.

A little girl gets a doll that turns out to be twice as rambunctious as her owner.

Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail are good little bunnies, but Peter disobeys and goes to Mr. MacGregor's garden with nearly disastrous consequences.

With fine, bright illustrations, these 200 familiar rhymes are ideal for reading aloud.

A child and her mother take a nighttime walk in August and discover wonderful facts about stars.

Rey, H.A. -- Curious George (series)

In the first of a series about George, a small monkey captured in Africa by a man wearing a yellow hat is brought back to live in the city. However, George's curiosity leads him to wreak havoc everywhere he goes.

A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family.

A collection of thirty fun-filled poems including the poetry of Arnold Lobel, Jack Prelutsky, Robert Louis Stevenson, Judith Viorst, and many others.

In this wordless book, time unravels as a bird makes a startling journey through the age of dinosaurs.

Dad, his four children, and their dog go on an adventure which leads into a gloomy cave and a bear.

An adaptation of a traditional Navajo folk tale which acknowledges the close relationship between all forms of life.

In brief poetic text, a day in the life of a hummingbird is described. Useful advice on how to attract and feed hummingbirds is included.

Charlie, a shy boy, watches at a distance while an artist paints by a lake. Charlie eventually finds a new friend and discovers the excitement of creativity in using his imagination.

A Japanese boy learns of Christmas when his mother decorates a pine tree with paper cranes.

This is the story of the night Max wore his wolf suit and went to bed supperless only to dream a strange, wild and glorious dream.

Sharmat, M. -- Nate the Great (series)

Nate, a boy detective, puts on his Sherlock Holmes outfit and confidently sets out to solve mysteries.

The concept of time zones is introduced in this book which takes the reader around the world.

A boy and a tree both grow, but one gives generously.

Zeke discovers a musical talent on the harmonica.

A mouse is transformed and finally finds the far-off land in this Great Plains Indian legend.

Sixty-six of the verses from one of the most famous collections of poems for children are illustrated in a sweet and rosy way.

Hippo and jungle friends disagree about most things, but they all love Hippo.

Thompson, K. -- Eloise (series)

Eloise is six, rather adorable, and terribly clever. She lives in the Plaza Hotel in New York City and has many adventures there.

A hundred-year-old oak tree crashes to the ground in a forest and gives new life to animals and the environment.

An unseen adult narrator remembers a mysterious Christmas Eve when he rode the special train to the North Pole and was selected by Santa Claus to receive the first Christmas gift.

When Barney the cat dies, his young owner struggles to understand the finality of death as he thinks of good things about his pet.

Waber, B. -- Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (series)

The crocodile who lives in the house on East 88^th Street wants to make friends with Loretta, the cat. The Primm family copes, of course.

A young boy protects and encourages a newly hatched sea turtle until it finds its way to the sea.

Timothy learns about being accepted and making friends during the first week of his first year at school.

In this brightly illustrated version of the folk song, a silly old woman keeps swallowing larger and larger things until eventually she swallows a horse. She dies, of course.

In this first of three stories about Rosa, her mother, who works in the Blue Tile Diner, and her grandmother, the family is burned out of their home. They relocate and begin saving for a comfortable chair.

A hilarious and ridiculous wordless book about three bears who are at dinner when a fly enters and chaos ensues.

With its checkerboard binding and delightful, old-fashioned illustrations, this was read by grandparents and great-grandparents.

The very idea of going out late on a moonlit winter's night with your father and calling for owls is quite magical, as is this story.

Even though there is no money, Anna's mother finds a way to make Anna a much-needed winter coat.

Mr. Rabbit helps a gentle little girl gather the components of a truly, lovely present for her mother.

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ccb, 06/08