Little Bear


Else Holmelund Minarik - 1957
    Children will be entranced by Little Bear's trip to the moon, his birthday party, and his wishes and adventures.This is the first of the five classic books about Little Bear, introducing the funny and strikingly childlike bear cub and his friends. The combination of Else Holmelund Minarik's simple, yet eloquent, stories and Maurice Sendak's warm, tender illustrations have made this beloved character an enduring favorite among beginning readers.

Pete the Cat: Play Ball!


James Dean - 2013
    But when the game doesn’t go Pete’s way, what will Pete do?Pete the Cat: Play Ball! is a My First I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for shared reading with a child.

Erika-San


Allen Say - 2009
    Even as a small girl, Erika loved that picture.It will pull her through childhood, across vast oceans and modern cities, then into towns—older, quieter places—she has only ever dreamed about.But Erika cannot truly know what she will find there, among the rocky seacoasts, the rice paddies, the circle of mountains, and the class of children.For Erika-san, can Japan be all that she has imagined?

Weekends with Max and His Dad


Linda Urban - 2016
    Weekends mean pancakes, pizza, spy games, dog-walking, school projects, and surprising neighbors! Every weekend presents a small adventure as Max gets to know his dad’s new neighborhood—and learns some new ways of thinking about home.        Acclaimed author Linda Urban deftly portrays a third-grader’s inner world during a time of transition in this sweet and funny illustrated story that bridges the early reader and middle grade novel.

Wolfie and Fly


Cary Fagan - 2017
    For fans of Ivy & Bean, Judy Moody or Nate the Great.Wolfie and Fly is an early chapter book at its simplest and best. Our heroine, Renata Wolfman (Wolfie) does everything by herself. Friends just get in the way, and she only has time for facts and reading. But friendship finds her in the form of Livingston Flott (Fly), the slightly weird and wordy boy from next door. Before she knows it, Wolfie is motoring through deep water with Fly as her second in command in a submarine made from a cardboard box.Out on a solo swim to retrieve a baseball vital to the mission, Wolfie is finally by herself again, but for the first time, she finds it a little lonely. Maybe there is something to this friend thing...

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie


Julie Sternberg - 2011
    Cordell’s halftone cartoons convey the story’s pathos and humor, as well as Eleanor’s changeable moods.” –Publishers Weekly “Cordell’s winsome cartoon drawings complement the text without overcrowding the verse. It tells a simple, poignant story that will resonate with any child who has ever had to say good-bye.” –Booklist “This first novel is a promising debut. Eleanor’s concerns, not only about her babysitter, but also about playmates, friends and a new school year will be familiar to readers, who will look forward to hearing more about her life.” –Kirkus Reviews“Sternberg hits all the right notes here, capturing a sensitive kid’s first experience of loss with tender respectfulness and full acknowledgment that separation is a bereavement too. Sprightly line drawings, with the same perky homeyness as the story, add visual energy.” –Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “Heartfelt, accessible, and energetic…” –Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books "This heartwarming novel and its winsome cartoon-like illustrations draw readers right into the story. Children would enjoy this short chapter book as an independent read, but it would also be a particularly good choice for parents to read to or with their children." –BookPage

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners


Joanna Ho - 2021
    They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self love and empowerment.

Freckle Juice


Judy Blume - 1978
    Sitting behind him in class, Andrew once counted eighty-six of them, and that was just a start! If Andrew had freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck was dirty.One day after school, Andrew works up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. When know-it-all Sharon overhears, she offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe for fifty cents. It's a lot of money, but Andrew is desperate. At home he carefully mixes the strange combination of ingredients. Then the unexpected happens...

How to Test a Friendship


Theanne Griffith - 2020
    It's a laboratory full of robots, 3D printers, an antigravity chamber, and more. Doors line the walls of the makerspace, with a new science adventure waiting behind each one.

Behind the Mask


Yangsook Choi - 2006
    “What are you going to be?” the children ask one another. Kimin says he will be his grandfather. “Going as an old man is not very scary,” they tease. What the children don’t know is that Kimin’s grandfather was a Korean mask dancer. And Kimin doesn’t know that the mask holds a secret for him.With vibrant illustrations, Yangsook Choi joins Korean and American folk traditions in her story about a boy who finds a link to his grandfather, behind the mask. Behind the Mask is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Happy Like Soccer


Maribeth Boelts - 2012
    Her shoes have flames as she spins the ball down the spread-out sea of grass. But nothing makes her sad like soccer, too, because the restaurant where her auntie works is busy on game days and she can’t take time off to watch Sierra play. On game days, her auntie helps Sierra get ready and tells her, "Play hard and have fun." And Sierra does, but she can’t help wishing she had someone there to root for her by name, and not just by the number on her uniform. With honesty and rare subtlety, author Maribeth Boelts and illustrator Lauren Castillo portray an endearing character in a moving, uplifting story that touches on the divides children navigate every day- and remind us that everyone needs someone to cheer them on from the sidelines.

Pie in the Sky


Remy Lai - 2019
    School is torture, making friends is impossible since he doesn’t speak English, and he's often stuck looking after his (extremely irritating) little brother, Yanghao.To distract himself from the loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu of Pie in the Sky, the bakery his father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. The only problem is his mother has laid down one major rule: the brothers are not to use the oven while she's at work. As Jingwen and Yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they'll have to cook up elaborate excuses to keep the cake making a secret from Mama.Told in prose and graphic novel elements, this middle-grade novel is about a boy's immigration experience, his annoying little brother, and their cake-baking hijinks!

Molly's Pilgrim


Barbara Cohen - 1983
    As Molly nears her first Thanksgiving in the New World, she doesn't find much to be thankful for. Her classmates giggle at her Yiddish accent and make fun of her unfamiliarity with American ways.Molly's embarassed when her mother helps with a class Thanksgiving project by making a little doll that looks more like a Russian refugee than a New England Pilgrim. But the tiny modern-day pilgrim just might help Molly to find a place for herself in America.The touching story tells how recent immigrant Molly leads her third-grade class to discover that it takes all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving. Originally published in 1983, Molly's Pilgrim inspired the 1986 Academy Award-winning live-action short film.

Princess Cora and the Crocodile


Laura Amy Schlitz - 2017
    She's sick of running in circles around the dungeon gym. She's sick, sick, sick of taking three baths a day. And her parents won't let her have a dog. But when she writes to her fairy godmother for help, she doesn't expect help to come in the form of a crocodile, a crocodile who does not behave properly.

The Nine Lives of Aristotle


Dick King-Smith - 2003
    What’s even better is that Aristotle has found the kind witch Bella Donna to be his owner. Somehow she is always there when he gets into trouble, whether tumbling down the chimney, tipping over a giant milk jug, or tearing away from a snarling watchdog - just as a truck comes areening by. Is it luck? Or maybe a little bit of magic?