Have You Seen My Dragon?


Steve Light - 2014
    Readers will certainly spot the glorious beast, plus an array of big-city icons they can count. Is the dragon taking the crosstown bus, or breathing his fiery breath below a busy street? Maybe he took a taxi to the zoo or is playing with the dogs in the park.

You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder!: A Hazardous Job You'd Rather Not Have


Jacqueline Morley - 2004
    During the wet season you are ordered to help build the pharaoh's tomb. As a pyramid builder you will get an insider's look at what it took to build these massive monuments, such as excavating stone blocks, hauling stones to the site and setting them, masonry work, painting, and sculpting. After reading this book there will be no doubt in your mind that this is definitely a hazardous job you'd rather not have.

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World


Marjorie Priceman - 1994
    in full color. An apple pie is easy to make...if the market is open. But if the market is closed, the world becomes your grocery store. This deliciously silly recipe for apple pie takes readers around the globe to gather ingredients. First hop a steamboat to Italy for the finest semolina wheat. Then hitch a ride to England and hijack a cow for the freshest possible milk. And, oh yes! Don't forget to go apple picking in Vermont! A simple recipe for apple pie is included.

Don't You Know There's a War On?


Avi - 2001
    With a little snooping around, Howie finds out something even more alarming. Principal Lomister may not be a spy, but he is plotting to get rid of Howie's favorite teacher. Howie's dad is fighting Nazis overseas, and his mom is working hard to support the war effort, so Miss Gossim is the only person Howie can depend on. With the help of his friends, and a plan worthy of radio show superhero Captain Midnight, Howie intends to save Miss Gossim!

Alice the Fairy


David Shannon - 2004
    She has a magic wand, fairy wings, and a blanket, all of which she uses to disappear, to fly, to transform her dad into a horse, and to turn his cookies into her own! There are still a few things Alice needs to learn to become a Permanent Fairy, like how to float her dog on the ceiling and make her clothes put themselves away, but she's working on it--sort of. Here's an endearing, funny story about a girl and her magical imagination, sure to delight every fairy in training!

Walter the Baker


Eric Carle - 1972
    The Duke and Duchess especially love his warm sweet rolls, delivered fresh to their castle every morning. But one day the cat spills the milk, and Walter is forced to serve the Duke and Duchess rolls made with water. After one bite the Duke throws down his roll in disgust and summons Walter to the castle. He threatens to banish the baker unless he can take the same dough and make a good-tasting roll that the rising sun can shine through three times. Will Walter succeed in his task, or will he have to leave his town forever? With good humor and the vibrantly colored paper collages that are known and loved the world over, Eric Carle has concocted a delicious book that kids will savor, now available in a Level 2 Ready-to-Read edition that’s ideal for newly independent readers.

Crow Call


Lois Lowry - 2009
    Dad has been away at WWII for longer than she can remember, and they begin their journey of reconnection through a hunting shirt, cherry pie, tender conversation, and the crow call. This allegorical story shows how, like the birds gathering above, the relationship between the girl and her father is graced with the chance to fly.

Ben's Trumpet


Rachel Isadora - 1979
    Using the art-deco style of the period, Rachel Isadora not only captures the poignancy and yearning of a youthful talent, but in page after page of striking art seems to convey the very sound of music.

Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter


Jamie Michalak - 2021
    As the clock in the great museum tick-toocks pas midnight, a little mouse with a sack and a treasure map scurries past the guards. Plucky and intrepid Dakota Crumb scours the museum for artifacts, including the rare purple jewel of Cairo (a gumdrop stashed in an exhibit). By day, the little mouse shares her carefully curated finds with fellow tiny creatures that flock to Miss Crumb’s tiny Mousehole Museum. A feast for sharp-eyed readers—who’ll delight in circling back after the story to pore over the illustrations in search of treasure—this gently suspenseful tale, splashed with soft, dusky hues, evokes a world of wonders after dark.

The Emperor's Egg


Martin Jenkins - 1999
    While his mate is off swimming in the ocean and catching loads of fish, he stands around in the freezing cold with an egg on his feet for two whole months, keeping it warm and waiting for it to hatch. This charming, oversize picture book is full of fabulous facts about nature’s most devoted dad.

One


Kathryn Otoshi - 2008
    Red’s a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don’t like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand—until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count. As budding young readers learn about numbers, counting, and primary and secondary colors, they also learn about accepting each other's differences and how it sometimes just takes one voice to make everyone count.

Madeline and the Gypsies


Ludwig Bemelmans - 1958
    Join Madeline in another adventure when she and Pepito run off to join the carnival with a band of traveling gypsies! At first they're having the time of their lives—they don't have to go to school, brush their teeth, or ever go to sleep. But soon Madeline and Pepito start to feel homesick. Leave it to clever Miss Clavel to find Madeline and Pepito and bring them home.

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story


Kelly Bennett - 2005
    He wanted a different kind of pet — one that could run and catch, or chase string and climb trees, a soft furry pet to sleep on his bed at night. Definitely not Norman. But when he tries to trade Norman for a "good pet," things don’t go as he planned. Could it be that Norman is a better pet than he thought? With wry humor and lighthearted affection, author Kelly Bennett and illustrator Noah Z. Jones tell an unexpected — and positively fishy — tale about finding the good in something you didn’t knowyou wanted.

Down Comes the Rain


Franklyn Mansfield Branley - 1997
    After rain comes down, the sun comes out and dries the puddles. But the water isn’t gone. The heat from the sun has turned it into water vapor—it has evaporated. Eventually, this moisture in the air condenses to form new clouds. Soon the rain will fall again.

My Teacher Is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.)


Peter Brown - 2014
    You see, his teacher is a monster.But when Bobby runs into his teacher outside of school, he learns there is more to her than meets the eye.