Martin Jr., Bill
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
The bold, bright pictures of each animal and the easily memorized text make this a must-read, or at least a must-listen to, for all young children. Children will be reading this book to you before they can even read!
War has always been a game to Philip, and he’s eager to experience it first hand as he and his mother travel on a freighter to the United States when the Germans attach his home island of Curacao. The freighter is torpedoed, and Philip wakes up on a raft, in the middle of the sea and blind—his only companion a West Indian named Timothy, upon whom he must depend, in spite of his mother’s warning that black people “are different and they live differently.”
After their mother abandoned them, Dicey Tillerman and her brothers James and Sammy, and sister Maybeth spend the summer on their own, looking for their grandmother in hopes that they can find a home with her. After being responsible for her younger sister and brothers, Dicey is looking forward to having someone else look after them while she works on refurbishing an old sailboat in Gram’s barn. Letting go is hard—Dicey has been responsible for her family for so long, it’s hard to let go and let Gram take care of them.
Upon seeing soldiers coming down the road, the townspeople hide all the food under mattresses or in barns because everyone knows soldiers are always hungry, and there’s not enough food for the soldiers and the townspeople. What follows is a battle of wills between the people of the town and the intrepid soldiers who ask only for a pot and some water so they can make a soup using a stone. Maybe a carrot or two would add flavor. . . some onion. . . some meat. . . .pooling resources results in a feast fit for a king. . . or selfish townies and weary, hungry soldiers.
Raskin, Ellen
The Westing Game
This Newbery Medal winner is perfect for mystery lovers. After the death of the secretive millionaire Sam Westing, various tenants of the Sunset Towers are told that they have been named as beneficiaries of his estate. They must compete in groups of two to figure out who murder Sam Westing using clues each team receives. The team who correctly identifies the murder gets his money. If you like the 39 Clues series, you are sure to enjoy The Westing Game.
Cleary, Beverly
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
The lure of a motorcycle is just too much for a clever young mouse named Ralph. Having always dreamed of escape, Ralph gets his chance when he sees a toy motorcycle that belongs to a young boy named Keith. Ralph and Keith become friends and find themselves in all sorts of exciting situations that require their bravery!
Montgomery, L.M.
Anne of Green Gables
A heartwarming tale of brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert and their decision to adopt a young boy to help around their farm. A misunderstanding results in feisty, imaginative red-headed Anne coming to live with them, and the lives of all three are changed by hilarious mishaps caused by Anne’s vivid imagination and her heart of gold.
Sometimes, life in the Hatcher household is enough to make a guy want to run away. Twelve-year-old Peter’s worst problem is his younger brother Fudge. Just when he thought life couldn’t get any rougher, Peter finds out his mom is having another baby, the family is moving AND he will have to start sixth grade in a strange school—the same school as Fudge.
DeJong, Meindert
The Wheel on the School
Lina had to write a composition about storks. It was not a long composition because she didn’t know much about storks, but it set her to wondering why storks had never nested in her fishing village of Shora as they did in neighboring villages. Lina’s composition set her classmates wondering also—and sometimes, when you start wondering, things start happening. Never giving up, believing, in spite of daunting obstacles, Lina and her classmates achieved the impossible—storks nesting on every roof in Shora.
Carroll, Lewis
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
When Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole, she meets all the curious inhabitants of Wonderland, including the March Hare, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts who wants to chop off Alice’s (and everyone else’s!) head. Lewis Carroll’s classic fantasy tale has been delightfully illustrated in watercolors for this volume.
Collodi, Carlo
The Adventures of Pinocchio
Geppeto, the woodcarver, creates a fantastic puppet which comes to life. This is not the sugary Walt Disney version, but the original story of Pinocchio’s difficult, often dangerous, quest to become a real boy. Roberto Innocenti has created gorgeous, haunting illustrations to give the classic tale a concrete setting.
Follow the story of Madeline, the smallest of Miss Clavel’s charges, who wakes late one night with a terrible pain and is rushed to the hospital. Children will enjoy this Caldecott Honor Book for its beautiful illustrations of Paris, France as well as its rhythmic text.
Carle, Eric
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
On a moonlit night a little caterpillar hatched out of an egg and was he hungry! Children can learn about colors, counting, and even the days of the week with this book and they’ll love the ending.
Silverstein, Shel
Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is something for everyone, the young and young at heart, in this beloved collection of humorous and off-beat poems. Accentuated by the pencil and line drawings readers can take a trip on a boat, have a hug o’ war, or find out what happens where the sidewalk ends.
Lindgren, Astrid
Pippi Longstocking
Meet Pippi Longstocking, an irrepressible nine-year-old who lives in old house on the edge of town. Her papa is a sea captain and her mama is an angel, so she lives with a horse that drinks tea on the veranda and Mr. Nilsson, a monkey, and a suitcase full of gold coins. She happens to be the world’s strongest girl and has a very funny way of dealing with the world. Pippi has been entertaining readers for over sixty years.
When a peasant goes out looking for just one kitten, he finds himself being followed by hundreds – even millions – of cats! Eventually all the cats find other homes, except for one last little kitten who is the most special of all.
A large yellow straw hat leads one curious African monkey across the ocean and on some wild adventures. He tries to fly with the sea gulls, use the telephone, and escapes from prison. While George’s adventures have produced several series of books, a major animated film and a TV series, the original book is still worth reading again and again.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Little Princess
Sara Crew comes to Miss Minchin’s school as a very rich little girl who likes to imagine she is a princess. When her money suddenly disappears, she is forced to become a servant to the girls who used to be her friends. In spite of her hardships, Sara continues to pretend to be a princess. This is a wonderful, old-fashioned story with a fairy-tale ending.
Natalie Babbitt
Tuck Everlasting
What would it be like to live forever? After meeting the Tuck family, who will never die, Winnie Foster will have to make the most difficult decision of her life. Will she choose to stay mortal or will she follow the Tucks into eternity?
L. Frank Baum
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
After a twister carries Dorothy Gale far from her home in Kansas, she must travel through Oz to ask the powerful Wizard for help. With Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and her little dog Toto, Dorothy must defeat the Wicked Witch of the West before she will see her home again. If you enjoy the 1933 classic movie, you will love this story from which it is taken.
John Christopher
The White Mountains
This gripping tale is set in a time when Tripods, enormous alien machines, rule Earth. At age twelve, every boy and girl is Capped, giving control of their minds to the Tripods. How three boys struggle to flee the Capping Ceremony and retain mastery of their own thoughts makes an exciting science fiction story. The White Mountains is the first in a series of three books.
Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Poor Charlie Bucket loves Wonka chocolate. But his family can only afford to buy him one candy bar a year. When he stumbles upon a rare Golden Ticket, Charlie has a chance to visit Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory and see its wonders for himself. Afterwards, his life will never be the same!
Homer Price is a pretty ordinary boy who lives in the pretty ordinary town of Centerburg, somewhere in the Midwest, sometime in the middle of the twentieth century. In these six humorous tales, Homer acquires a pet skunk named Aurora, captures some bank robbers and finds a diamond bracelet in a doughnut. Modern readers will laugh out loud at Homer’s anything-but-ordinary escapades.
Seuss, Dr.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go
Starting kindergarten? Getting married? Whatever your age or circumstance, you will glean “shiny pearls of wisdom” about what lies ahead. Unavoidable pitfalls are rhythmically addressed as well as Dr. Seuss encourages you to dream your wildest dreams!
Blume, Judy
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Called by some one of the best children’s books in American Literature, this book never disappoints! Peter Hatcher is nine years old and his little brother Fudge is almost three. You will instantly understand the feelings of a kid who puts up with a little brother or sister. The happy ending is sure to please and this classic book is a must read for every young reader!
Atwater, Richard
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
This book has delighted many generations of children and their parents since 1938. It’s a story of a simple house painter who is sent a male penguin from the great Admiral Drake. Soon the fun begins when a female penguin arrives and the Popper’s bungalow is full of little baby penguins.
Brown, Margaret Wise
Goodnight Moon
In the great green room a little bunny is being tucked away in bed. “Goodnight room, goodnight moon.” Page by page, item by item, little bunny says goodnight. This bedtime children’s book has lulled generations of readers and listeners for 60 years, and many more years to come.
Ende, Michael
The Neverending Story
Here is a story within a story. Join Bastian as he reads the strange book that draws him, and the reader, into the doomed world of Fantastica. It’s a land full of dragons, giants, monsters, and magic. Read and be drawn deeper and deeper into the enchanted world of Fantastica. The adventure begins with the turning of the first page.
This is a story about a boy and his dog. When that old, ugly, yellow dog showed up out the nowhere, Travis wanted to run him off. But little brother Arliss took a real liking to that dog. And when old Yeller’s luck runs out, Travis realizes too just how much he has come to love that old, ugly, yellow dog.
This is a story based on actual events; it’s a story of the brave children of Riswyk, Norway that was once occupied by the Germans. The children smuggled thousands of pounds of gold bullion down a mountain on their sleds to a waiting ship bound for the United States. Day after day they made their way past the Nazis guards until one final daring confrontation.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Little House in the Big Woods
Laura Ingalls’ story begins in 1871, where Laura, at the age of four, lives with her Pa, her Ma, and her sisters, Mary and Carrie, and Jack, the dog. Pioneer life was fun and exciting for Laura living with her family in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. This is the first of nine books that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in her heartwarming Little House series.
Aiken, Joan
The Wolves of Willowby Chase
This Victorian melodrama contains all the hallmarks of classic British children’s novels – absent or brutal adults, brave and resourceful children and hair-raising adventures. If you liked Lemony Snickett’s Series of Unfortunate Events, you will love The Wolves of Willowby Chase.
The love of a boy for his great coon dog transcends time, hardship and oppression in the pre-Civil Rights era of the American South.
Brooks, Walter R.
Freddy the Detective
After reading about Sherlock Holmes, Freddy the pig sets himself up in the detective business. He and his animal friends solve a series of mysteries on the Bean farm and even hold a trial in the barn. There are twenty-six titles in all in this delightful series about Freddy.
Cleary, Beverly
Ramona the Pest
Long before there was Junie B. Jones, Ramona Quimby was entertaining young readers with her irrepressible spirit and hilarious escapades. Ramona’s interactions with her older sister Beezus, her parents and her beloved teacher Miss Binney will have you laughing out loud.
MacDonald, Betty
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle knows all about children, what they like, what they don’t like and how to help them with their behavior problems. So parents send their picky eaters, quarrelers and selfish kids to her. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle always has a solution and her solutions always work, with plenty of laughs along the way!
Marguerite Henry
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
Tale of Little Bub, an ordinary work horse who becomes one of the greatest stallions of all time.
Marguerite Henry
Misty of Chincoteague
A tale of a centuries old band of wild ponies who live on an island off the coast of Virgiinia, specifically the mysterious Phantom and her gentle colt Misty.
Madeleine L’Engle
A Wrinkle In Time
Meg and Charles Wallace, along with their friend Calvin set off on a perilous quest to find their scientist father. Their search takes them through space to a planet whose inhabitants are controlled by IT.
C.S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The adventures of four children as the go through the War Drobe into Narnia on a quest to rid the country of the Witch and her followers.
Patricia MacLachlan
Sarah Plain and Tall
Sarah answers an advertisement for a wife placed by a Midwestern farmer with two children. At first, she’s homesick for the ocean, and Caleb and Anna create an “ocean” of their own to make her comfortable with them.
Robert McCloskey
Make Way for Ducklings
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard think they have found the perfect, safe place for their ducklings to swim and grow. . . Boston’s Public Garden!
Robert McCloskey
Blueberries for Sal
Sal and her mother set off in search of blueberries at the same time as a mother bear and her cub. Sal and Baby Bear wind up following the wrong mothers when they become engrossed in eating berries.
Robert O’Brien
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children has a serious problem and the rats of NIMH come up with a brilliant solution.
Scott O’Dell
Island of the Blue Dolphin
Survival tale of 12-year-old Karana and her sick brother who are abandoned on an island off the coast of California.
Housekeeper Amelia Bedelia takes her instructions quite literally, and the results are interesting and hilarious messes.
Wilson Rawls
Where the Red Fern Grows: the Story of Two Dogs and a Boy
Billy Coleman and his two coonhound pups relentlessly try to tree the elusive ghost coon, successfully winning the coon hunt contest. After the dogs bravely fight a mountain lion, a grieving Billy finds comfort in the legend of the sacred red fern growing over the grave of his dogs.
Maurice Sendak
Where the Wild Things Are
When Max put on his wolf suit and became a wild thing, his mother sent him to his room, where he declared the rumpus to start. Adventures ensued, and he got back to his room just in time for supper.
Story of a horse in 19th century England, recounting his experiences with good masters and bad masters.
Elizabeth George Speare
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Forced to leave her sunny Caribbean home for a bleak Connecticut colony, spirited Kit, who isn’t your average Puritan maid, must defend herself against accusations of witchcraft.
After being abandoned by their mother somewhere in the middle of Connecticut, the four Tillerman children search for a family member who will help them stay together.
Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Boxcar Children
Four orphans take shelter in an old train boxcar during a storm. They were determined to make it their own, and turned it into a cozy home. First of the Boxcar Children Mysteries.
Affectionate pig Wilbur befriends Charlotte, the spider who lives in the rafters above his pen. He is devastated to learn he’s destined to become the farmer’s Christmas dinner until Charlotte steps in to help him.
Adventures of debonair mouse Stuart Little, when he set out to find his dear friend, a bird who had stayed in his family’s garden.
Juster, Norton
The Phantom Tollbooth: Special 35th Anniversary Edition
Through the tollbooth lays a strange land and a series of even stranger adventures in which Milo meets some of the most logically, illogical characters ever.
Milne, A.A.
Winnie the Pooh/ The House at Pooh Corner: 75th Anniversary Editions
The bear is back in a beautifully packaged two volume edition of these timeless classics which introduce new generations to the world of Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood.
Taylor, Mildred
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: 25th Anniversary Edition
Set in Mississippi at the height of the 1930’s Depression, this is the unforgettable story of a family’s struggle against prejudice and discrimination.
