Cover Title Author Illustrator Year Tags Summary Comments CollectionsI Go With My Family to Grandma’s

Riki Levinson Diane Goode 1986 G-RFF-PBFamily, travel, grandma

“From each of the five boroughs of NYC, five cousins and their families go to Grandma’s, each in a different way.”

Repetitive, not many words, very detailed pictures

USA

Tambourine Moon Joy Jones Terry Widener

1999 G-RFF-PBGrandpa, love, south, moon, music

Grandpa tells grand-daughter story of walking home at night and falling in love with her grandma

Longer story, tells as a flashback, beautiful love story, comforts his grand-daughter with the story on walk home

USA

When I Was Young in the Mountains

Cynthia Rylant Diane Goode 1982 G-RFF-PBSiblings, grand-parents, mountains

One sibling tells the story of growing up in the mountains w/ grand-parents and what they do

Slightly religious (baptism story) sibling shares weird stories, very outdated, not interesting

USA

The Crayon Box that Talked Shane Derolf Michael Letzig

1997 G-FantasyF-PB Crayons, talking, overcoming differences

A little girl buys a box of talking crayons who don’t get along, uses them in one drawing to show them all the importance of their uniqueness

Loved! Teaches acceptance for all, goofy and colorful images, good for younger ages (Pre-K)

USA

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Grace Lin 2008 G-FantasyF-CBStories, Chinese, family, fortune, dragon

Mini wants to change family’s fortune, meets friends along the way with stories teach her she is fortunate

Exciting, loved the little stories intertwined, beautiful drawings every few pages, heartwarming lessons of how we are all fortunate

International-China

Peach Heaven Yangsook Choi 2005 G-RFF-PBPeaches, farmers, S. Korean, family

Rain storm in Puchon, S. Korea strips all peach trees of peaches, city eats them, Yangsook returns

Didn’t think it was well written-couldn’t easily follow story, large photos, wouldn’t recommend

International-South Korea

bunches to farmers to help them

Curious George Visits a Police Station

H.A. Rey 1989 G-FantasyF-PBMonkey, man in yellow hat, police, curious

Curious George visits the police station and curiously gets himself into trouble as usual!

Favorite childhood series, each story is simple but exciting, good for Pre-K ages

USA

Sleeping Beauty: the Ballet Story

(Adapted by) Marian Horosko

Todd L. W. Doney

1994 G-FantasyF-PBBallet, adaptation, traditional, prince charming, kiss

Storybook adaption of ballet by Tchaikovsky ballet, princess awoken my true loves kiss

Favorite ballet, enjoyed it, better for older kids (7 & up, longer book), beautifully dramatic pictures

USA

Campfire Mallory Laurie Friedman Jennifer Kalis

2008 G-RFF-ChpBCamp, best friends, new friends, letters

Mallory is nervous to go to camp with best friend, must make new friend once they are in different cabins

Same name as me , easy read-small chapters with photos in them, cute story about new friends and second chances

USA

The Three Little Javelinas Susan Lowell Jim Harris 2004 G-FantasyF-PBJavelinas, southwest

Twist on the three little pigs-set in the southwest with Javelinas and a coyote instead

Cute twist on traditional story, great for kids in SW or to teach other kids about SW animals

USA

Mystic Horse Paul Goble 2003 G-FantasyF-PBHorse, Native American, grieving, forgiveness

Boy rescues old horse, animals helps him find greatness, until he betrays the horse

Teaches grieving and forgiveness, not for very young kids, abstract pictures

Multicultural-Native American

Sleeping Moon David Atwell Debby Atwell

1994 G-RFF-PBOrphan, death, moon, Christmas story

After Cora’s parents die, she is taught things will come back by the moon (goes from full, to nothing, back to full)

In the end is heartwarming, teachers about being optimistic and grieving over family death, loved!

USA

A Ceiling of Stars Ann Howard Creel 1999 G-RFF-ChpBHomeless, youth, stars, orphan

Vivien is left to live on the streets after he dad dies and mother abandons her, tells stories of struggles and trying to find her mother

Told through letters to her diary and other family members, easy to read, sad, but Vivien stays optimistic, heartwarming

USA

Piggybook Anthony Browne 1990 G-RFF-PBFamily, ungrateful, pigs

Mother temp. leaves family to teach them to not be ungrateful for her, they learn their lesson and begin helping her with household chores

Pictures creped me out-looked like wooden dolls, beneficial story to teach respect for mothers

USA

Ish Peter H. Reynolds 2004 G-RFF-PBArtwork, siblings, creativity, uniqueness

Marisol saves her brothers’ artwork after he throws them away, shows them to him and ends all their descriptions with “ish” to teach him they don’t have to be perfect

Love the idea of drawing a (example) sun doesn’t have to be perfect, it could be sun-ish, teaches artistic freedom

USA

Matilda Roald Dahl Quentin Blake

1988 G-FantasyF-ChpBMagic, girl, troublesome

Matilda’s parents/teacher think she is a nuisance, she discovers she has magical-like powers to fight back with, finally gives her teacher what she does

Considered a childhood classic-a light story about a young girl who overcomes the nasty people in her life, another one of my favorite childhood authors

USA

Charlotte’s Webb E. B. White Garth Williams

1952 G-FantasyF-ChpB Pig, farm, spider, girl

Fern saves a runt pig, and then Charlotte the spider saves Wilbur the pig (again) from being killed by the farmer by making him

Classic story, teaches friendship for entire lives, one of the first chapter books I ever ready

USA

seem more than he is

Scrambled States of America Laurie Keller 2002 G-FantasyF-PBMap, states, US, mixed-up

The states change spots to se new parts of the world, but things begin to go wrong and they miss their original places!

Love that it also has factual information (geography and facts), bright and colorful-fun seeing the states as stick figures

USA

My Friend and I Lisa Clough 2003 G-RFF-PBFriendship, sharing, jealousy

Two kids friendship is questioned when one gets an awesome new toy but refuses to share with the other

Simple story with little dialogue, great for even very young kids, “childlike photos” –(Amazon)

USA

Quiet Bunny Lisa McCue 2013 G-FantasyF-PBBunny, forest, sounds

Quiet Bunny wants to join in on the wonderful sounds of the forests, but learns that he is still wonderfully unique even when he can’t chirp like the crickets (and other sounds)

Loved the artwork-Quiet Bunny actually looked fluffy, loved the animation and almost picture like descriptions of sound around the animals’ noises

USA

Quite Bunny’s Many Colors Lisa McCue 2013 G-FantasyF-PBBunny, spring, colors

Quiet Bunny is now jealous his colors aren’t as pretty as the other springtime animals, wise owl teaches him that they need his color to be beautiful too

Follow up to Quiet Bunny, just as wonderful of pictures, both books perfect for preschoolers

USA

No Two Alike Keith Baker 2006 G-FantasyF-PBBirds, snowflakes, winter, individuality

Two birds travel through a winter wonderland to explore how everything in the universe is different-like snowflakes

Beautiful photos of winter wonderland-good to show AZ kids who don’t experience it often, another great lesson on individuality

USA

Michael Recycle Ellie Bethel Alexandra Colombo

2008 G-FantasyF-PBRecycling, “super hero”, earth

Michael Recycle goes to towns to teach recycling and how to pay more attention to trash/waste

Rhyming, makes it acceptable for very young ages, cute way to teach kids about recycling

USA

The Deaf Musicians Pete Seeger Paul DuBois Jacobs

2006 G-RFF-PBDeaf, musicians, sign language

Lee become deaf and is kicked out of his jazz group, goes to school for deaf and meets other deaf musicians and realizes he can still find ways to play

While the story is a good lesson for kids, I feel the title is a little too blunt for young kids, love the more abstract-style art

Multicultural-Deaf and blind, ASL

The Keeping Quilt Patricia Polacco 1988 G-RFF-PBQuilt, family, New York, family heirloom

Great-great-grandmother made a quilt with immigrant neighbors that continues to be passed down through all generations

Based on author’s life, only the pictures of the quilt are in color (people in black and white), cool affect to make the quilt stand out

USA

Love You Forever Robert Munsch Sheila McGraw

1986 G-RFF-PBMother, son, growing up, song

I Love You Forever, “tells the story of the evolving relationship between a boy and his mother.” Barnes and Noble

Favorite childhood book, touching story, mother read it to me all the time

USA

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Laura Numeroff Felicia Bond 1985 G-FantasyF-PBMouse, cookie, series, bestseller

A mouse shows up and is given a cookie, and then wants milk, ad is given milk…and each time he is given something he asks for something more

Supports Common Core Standards-good for future classroom, the repetitiveness makes it perfect for young kids

USA

Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak 1963 G-FantasyF-PBWild things, wolf suit, dreams

Mischievous Max gets sent to bed in his wolf suit, forest grows in his room and he is taken away on boat to “where the wild things are”, comes home after they go to bed

Great for children with large imaginations, love the pencil-like pictures and creations of the imaginary creatures

USA

Fair, Brown & Trembling: An Irish Cinderella Story

Jude Daly 2000 G-FantasyF-PBCinderella story, Ireland, slipper, marriage, love

An Irish Cinderella Story-but she catches the eye of many men outside a church, loses shoe, and the prince returns her shoe, then fights other princes for her hand in marriage

Not as good as the original-story is slightly too different (for me), pictures are almost elf-like, didn’t like them

USA

The Three Pigs David Wiesner 2001 G-FantasyF-PBPigs, classics, comic

“The book is based on the traditional tale of the Three Little Pigs, though in this story they step out of their own tale and wander into others, depicted in different illustration styles.”

Adorable twist on traditional style, love the comic photos, and that the pigs take over other stories and other characters join them

USA

Fox Margaret Wild Ron Brooks 2006 G-FantasyF-PBFox, Dog, Magpie, friends, betrayal

Magpie and Dog are loyal friends, but Fox convinces Magpie to run away with him and eventually leads her stranded alone in the desert.

Story left with many possible endings; not recommended for preschool. Drawings are warm, neutral colors, noticeable paint strokes.

USA

Never Take a Shark to the Dentist

Judi Barrett John Nickle 2008 G-FantasyF-PBShark, bad ideas, funny

Different accounts of silly things to do with animals and objects that wouldn’t make sense: a shark at t the dentist, a giraffe at the movies.

Gives kids an opportunity to come up with their own reasons why it’s a bad idea, or their own silly scenarios in general. Detailed photos: lots going on in the each picture.

USA

Baboon Kate Banks Georg Hallensleben

1997 G-FantasyF-PBMonkey, newborn, mother, exploring

A newborn baby monkey is newly exposed to the world. He thinks everything is what he first sees, but his mom shows him what the world is really like.

Drawings were a little messy-a little childish for my tastes. Perfect story to talk about life as a journey and how children are always learning.

USA

Where I am From George Lyon 1999 G-Non-FictionF-Poem

A detailed description of how George Lyon grew up-the things that made him who he was.

No pictures. Difficult to understand pieces as the significance is unknown, great activity to great your own poem about what makes you who you are.

USA

Hanukkah! Roni Schotter 1990 G-RFF-PBHanukkah, holidays, celebrations, Judaism

A families adventure through their Hanukkah celebrations: food, family, gifts, games, and more.

Great way to teach children about Hanukkah. Pictures are traditional: doll-like and cartoonish.

Multicultural-Judaism

Me on the Map Joan Sweeney 1996 G-RFF-PBMap, location, individual

A young girl maps out the world by starting with her room, and grows bigger to the entire universe.

Educational-teachers readers how to use a map and locate things by starting small, going big, going back to small. Illustrations of people seem disproportionate; map of world

USA-but shows map of world

and location is better.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

Mem Fox Julie Vivas 1984 G-RFF-PBMemories, childhood, elderly, kindness

Wilfrid tries to help his elderly friend regain her memory by bringing things that other people describe to him as a memory (warm, sad, etc.)

Repetitive, easy read for younger kids. Heartwarming. Elaborate pencil drawings

USA

Juan Bobo and the Pig Felix Pitre 1993 G-FantasyF0PBPig, adventure, Spanish, folklore

Juan Bobo and his pig set out on adventures- classic twist on an old folklore

Comic book like pictures- very colorful. Teaches children Spanish.

Multicultural-Spanish language

Celia Monica Brown Rafael Lopez 2004 G-Non-fictionF-PBCelia, music, Spanish

“A Bilingual Storybook Biography of The Life of Celia Cruz, The Cuban-Born Queen of Salsa.”

Text integrated into the elaborate and colorful photos. Text in English in Spanish so both language speakers can read.

Multicultural-Cuban, Spanish language

Dog vs. Cat Chris Gall 2014 G-FantasyF-PBDog, cat, war, agreement

Dog and Cat do not get along, try to get the other kicked out, but eventually must get past their differences when another creature moves in their room.

Cute story showing differences in people can still make for friends. Some text integrated into the photos, very interactive.

USA

I Am the Dog, I Am the Cat Donald Hill Barry Moser 1994 G-RFF-PBDog, cat, differences, personalities

Shows the differences in personalities between dogs and cat. Written in third person format. Pictures lack that detail to make it more intriguing.

Pictures lack that detail to make it more intriguing. Third person (to me) is annoying and repetitive

USA

My Teacher is a Monster Peter Brown 2014 G-FantasyF-PBTeacher, monster, unlikely friendship

Bobby thinks his teacher is a monster, but once he sees her at the park outside of school he realizes she’s not so bad.

At first the illustration of the teacher is a monster, but it changes to human when Bobby see her different- good representation of change. Great to show kids teachers aren’t bad and have lives outside the classroom’s.

USA

Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis

Barbara O’Connor 2009 G-RFF-CBBoys, friends, adventure, summer, south

Elis comes to town and shakes things up with adventures that Popeye and his dog come along with.

Was a great discussion for Funds of Knowledge. The story wasn’t my favorite, but it could be beneficial to show kids different aspects of life/ living and home situations.

USA

If I Stay Gayle Forman 2009 G-RFF-CBCar accident, music, death, sadness

Mia loses her entire family in a tragic car accident, and must decide if she will continue to live or die as she watches her life from and outside-looking-in viewpoint while in the hospital

Now a major motion picture, more appropriate for teens than children, discusses the topic of death which could be helpful to some, suspenseful.

USA

Magical ABC Animals Around the Farm

Erni Cabat 1992 G-Informational textF-PBABC, colorful, animals, farm

An ABC book done with farm animals: one new animal each letter

Illustrations are very extravagant: unrealistic colors (blue horses, etc.). Teaches more advanced words like Appaloosa instead of just horse.

USA

Mortimer Robert Munsch Michael Marchenko

1983 G-RFF-PBBedtime, sleeping, loudness, disobeying

Mortimer won’t go to sleep and his family continues to tell him to, and eventually calls the police he’s being so loud. Mortimer eventually falls asleep while everyone argues over how to make him sleep.

Very cartoonish drawings. Story is repetitive, so easy for younger ages. Interactive, can act out ‘thump thump thump’ when family walks up the stairs, or the song Mortimer sings when he’s not being quiet

Multicultural-Canada

Max and the Dragon Shirt Rosemary Wells 1991 G-FantasyF-PBMax and Ruby, new shirt, shopping

Max must go to the store with his sister Ruby to buy new pants. He ends up walking out with a Dragon shirt, spilling ice cream on it, so they must buy it, and then all their money is gone!

Series: read to my preschool class and many new the characters already so they became engaged. Illustrations are pretty basic, almost watercolor-esque

USA

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

Linda Williams Megan Lloyd 1986 G-FantasyF-PBHalloween, old lady, scarecrow

Shoes, gloves, pants, shirts, a hat, and a pumpkin head trying to scare her chase a little old lady. When they can’t, they become a scarecrow in her yard to scare away the birds.

Great story for Halloween. Was also read in my preschool class and kids dressed up and interacted, pretending to be the clothing trying to scare the old lady. Illustrations are minimal, and didn’t always match to every piece going on

USA

each page.The Family Book Todd Parr 2003 G-RF

F-PBFamily, different, acceptance

This book discusses different types of family situations, and how they’re all okay.

Overly colorful pictures, very simple lines and shapes though: perfect for younger kids. Show acceptance for all family types, relatable for everyone.

USA

The Lion and the Little Red Bird

Elisa Kleven 1992 G-FantasyF-PBLion, bird, colors

“A little bird discovers why a lion's tail changes color each day.” –Goodreads

Great story about friendship. Text is intertwined with the photos.

USA

The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett

1910 G-RFF-CBOrphan, little girl, spoiled, secret garden

Orphan Mary moves in with her uncle, and begins tending to a secret garden where she takes her mentally ill cousin trying to help him get better.

Classic story. Not recommended for younger ages: discusses death and mental illness. Obviously from an older time.

Multicultural-England

Number the Stars Lois Lowry 1986 G-RFF-CBFriends, Judaism, Denmark, war

Two best friends live during the Nazi invasion. One family adopts the other little girl as their own so she does not get sent away.

Another one not appropriate for very young ages. Deals with the issues of World War II and the Nazis.

Multicultural-Denmark, Judaism

The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince)

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

1992 G-FantasyF-PBTravel, leaving home, adventure

One little boy leaves his home planet to explore the world, and learn about adult behavior

Most translated book from French to English: very popular. Cute story that has inspired other poems, picture books, movies, etc.

Multicultural-France

Green Eggs and Ham Dr. Seuss 1960 G-FantasyF-PBEggs, ham, rhyme, likes and dislikes

Sam tries to get his friend to eat green eggs and ham, he refused, but once he agrees he loves it.

Could be used a book for picky eaters. Pencil drawings with added color.

USA

Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 1989 G-RFF-PBHospital, Paris, 12 girls, 2 lines

Madeline has appendicitis and must have her appendix out, but her orphanage (?) family comes to visit her and takes care of her.

Repetitive in many ways, easy for young kids. Classic story. Pencil drawings, messy, but nice.

Multicultural-France

Everybody Bonjours Leslie Kimmelman Sarah McMenemy

2008 G-RFF-PBTravel, Paris, French, little girl

One little girl goes to Paris and sees they ‘Bonjour’ everywhere, and then she comes back home.

Repetitive, so easy to engage young kids in repeating with you. Uses lots of red, white and blue: colors of the French flag. Great for introducing simple French words.

Multiculutural-France

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Bill Martin Jr. Eric Carle 1967 G-FantasyF-PBAnimals, colors

“A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck-- all parade across the pages of this delightful book.”

Another repetitive story, easy for children to follow. Kids in my preschool have mesmerized and can repeat it back. Great for teaching animals and colors, Eric Carle’s work is admired by many

USA

Guess How Much I Love You Sam McBratney Anita Jeram 1994 G-FantasyF-PBRabbits, father, baby, love

Father and baby rabbit show each other how much they love each other by giving distances (arm length, to the moon and back)

Heartwarming story, love between two parents. Simple photos without much color to them

USA

Llama Llama Mad at Mama Anna Dewdney 2007 G-FantasyF-PBLlama, shopping, unhappy

Baby llama throws a fit when having to shop with mama, who then tells him she doesn’t enjoy it either, but at least they’re together.

Rhyming story, so perfect for younger kids. Large drawings with lots of detail.

USA

Stellaluna Janell Cannon 1993 G-FantasyF-PBBats, birds, differences, accepting

“Stellaluna is the tender story of a lost young bat who finally finds her way safely home to her mother and friends.”

Well-known story. Beautiful and clean illustrations. Longer story, so not appropriate for younger kids.

USA

Big Red Lollipop RukhsanaKhan

Sophie Blackall

2010 G-RFF-PBFamily, sister, birthday party, lolipop

Rubina is going to a party, and is forced to bring her sister along. Her sister misbehaves by being greedy and stealing Rubina’s lolipop

The story has a lot to offer: dealing with siblings and their shenanigans. Pictures of the people remind me of dolls (not sure I liked that-big red circles for rosy cheeks look weird.

Multicultural-Pakistan

My Shoes and I Rene Colato Lainez Fabricio Vanden Broeck

2010 G-RFF-PBTraveling, moving, new country, shoes

Mario is moving to USA from El Salvador to join his mom, and is sent shoes to walk to meet her. Stories of his different adventures of traveling, and being reunited.

Touchy subject for a picture book as how it’s about crossing the border illegally. Might come across as offensive if read to certain students-wouldn’t read in my classroom. Pencil illustrations are beautiful though.

Multicultural-El Salvador

From North to South/Del Norte al Sur

Rene Colato Lainez Joe Cepeda 2010 G-RFF-PBCalifornia, Mexico, parents, losing, deportation

Jose’s mom is deported from California to Mexico for not having valid paperwork, so he remains with his dad wondering when mama will come back.

Another touchy subject, as it might not be appropriate to read books about parents being deported. Wouldn’t have in my classroom. Vibrant colors in detailed illustrations make the book easy to be drawn to though.

Multicultural-Mexico/USABook in Spanish and English

Home Now Lesley Beake Karin LittleWood

2007 G-RFF-PBAunt, elephant, orphan, sad

Sieta moves to Africa to live with her aunt, and is sad she’s away from home. She befriends an orphaned elephant that shows her things in a different light.

Watercolor-esque illustrations are messy, but in a beautiful way. Cute story of an unlikely friendship, easy for kids who are sad about moving and need to see it differently.

Multicultural-Africa

I Hate English Ellen Levine Steve Bjorkman

1995 G-RFF-PBNew York, Hong Kong, new school, learning, language

“ When her family moves to New York from Hong Kong, Mei Mei finds it difficult to learn the alien sounds of English.”- Good Reads

Illustrations really make it clear that Mei Mei is an outsider compared to the others, accompanies the story well. Great for students who are reluctant to learn the new language of their country, but shows them why the need to.

Multicultural-Chinese

Rene Has Two Last Names Rene Colato Lainez Fabiola Graullera Ramirez

2009 G-RFF-PBNew school, name, two, forgetting

Rene moves to a new school and the teacher and students always forgets his second last name. He finally does a family tree assignment showing why both his last names are important, and the teacher doesn’t forget again.

Perfect for students to understand why one student might have two last names, as others aren’t used to that. Illustrations of kids have giant heads, found that distracting.

Multicultural-Spanish/English

Christmas Cat Maryann Macdonald 2013 G-HolidayF-PBJesus, birth, kitten, friendship

A little kitten is present for the birth of Jesus and comforts him as he cries; a new friendship is born.

Cute twist on traditional birth of Jesus. Wouldn’t but in classroom just for religious views. Illustrations are light and beautiful illustrations that are eye catching, based of Leonardo DiVinci’s work.

Multicultural-religion

My Name is Yoon Helen Recorvits Gabi Swiatkowska

2003 G-RFF-PBKorean, English, name, changing

Yoon likes her name in Korean, but doesn’t like how it looks in English, and tries new names to see if she likes how those look better.

Good for kids dealing with learning to write their name with a different alphabet, as it is a huge change and might upset them. Oil pastels give a life-like feel to the pictures in the story.

Multicluturla-Korean

Half a World Away Cynthia Kadohata 2014 G-RFF-CBAdoption, lonely, helping family, choosing, sibling

Jaden is adopted at 11, and feels like a failure. He joins his new family in adopting an infant in Kazakhstan, but it falls through last second, and they must pick a new child. Jaden picks a toddler who turns his life around.

Sad story with a happy ending. Not many will be able to relate to it, but would be beneficial for many students to read to gain insight on a completely different living situation.

Multicultural-USA

Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons

Eric Litwin James Dean 2012 G-FantasyF-PBCat, buttons, shirt

Pete the Cat has four buttons on his shirt, but he loses them all. Each time one is lost he doesn’t cry, cause even when they’re all gone he still has his bellybutton.

Cartoonish drawings and font emulate what a child’s work would be like, easily relatable. Repetitive, so easy for preschoolers to read.

USA

Waiting for Mama Lee Tae-Jun Dong-Seong Kim

2006 G-RFF-PBWaiting, station, conductor, snowy

A little boy waits for mama at a train station, asking each conductor if they’ve seen her. They respond no and then advise him to move away from the tracks.

Pencil drawings are very detailed-that’s where most of the story is told. The words never say mom returns, it is only shown (but difficult to find) that she returns in an illustration after all the text has ended.

Multiculturla-Korean

Dear Juno Soyung Pak Susan Kathleen Hartung

1999 G-RFF-PBLetters, artifacts, sharing, grandma

Juno, a Korean-American boy, cannot read the letter he receives from his grandmother in Seoul, but as he opens the envelope and finds a picture and a dried flower, he intuitively understands what the words must have meant. He decides to send her the biggest leaf he could find in his yard, and he sends her a collection of drawings.

Drawings don’t include a lot of details in the face-tends to adhere to the stereotype of all Asians look the same and have small eyes, some might find offensive. Great story for how to understand without being able to read, relatable for preschoolers.

Multicultural-Korean

Those Darn Squirrels Adam Rubin Daniel Salmieri

2008 G-FantasyF-PBBirds, squirrels, stealing, tricking

Old Man Fookwire builds bird feeders for the birds, and tries to keep the squirrels away. They try to create ways to get to the food, and he tries to keep them out.

Illustrations are abstract and cartoonish, but really fit each person or animals personality well. Story of differences overcome

USA

A Bedtime Story Mem Fox Elivia Savadier

1996 G-RFF-PBBedtime, stories, mom & dad

“Bedtime is the perfect time to read a story, and that's exactly what Polly and Bed Rabbit want to do. Are Mom and Dad ready?”-GoodReads

Great story about learning to wait for others-just because you’re ready doesn’t mean someone else is. Kids can relate because it’s about being read bedtime stories. Drawings are messy and distracting from the story.

USA

Hush, Baby, Hush!: Lullabies from Around the World

Kathy Henderson Pam Smy 2011 G-PoemsF-PBPoems, songs, universe

Bedtime songs from around the world, all in their original language and translated into English.

Illustrations were very descriptive, and incorporated all over the page. Personally didn’t find this book interesting because I couldn’t hear music with them.

Multicultural-universe

Let’s Eat! Ana Zamorano Julie Vivas 1996 G-RFF-PBFamily, food

Everyday mom prepares food, but at first each day someone can’t make it to dinner. Finally, they all make it to dinner and share stories.

Illustrations make the children look like little old people, found that weird. The story is great for families that have issues all getting together, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.

Multicultrual-Hispanic

Grandpa Green Lane Smith 2011 G-FantasyF-PBGrandpa, grandson, memories, garden

Grandpa Green’s grandson takes us through a garden filled with plant statues of grandpa’s memories, to help him remember.

Illustrations are unique: the people are done in simple pencil but the plants in a more detailed painting-like style. Cute story about family, growing old, and sharing memories.

USA

The Cat Who Walked Across France

Kate Banks Georg Hallensleben

2004 G-FantasyF-PBCat, France, home, walking

A cat and her owner live in the south of France, but the owner dies, and the cat is sent back up to North France to her hometown. The cat walks back to the south, and moves into the same house with a new family.

Oil paintings give children exposure to a new type of illustrations. Great representation of all parts of France with a story that makes you wonder where the cat will end up.

Multicultural-France

Sweet Dreams Rose A. Lewis Jen Corace 2012 F-RFG-PBBedtime, stories, animals, lullabies

“In this sweet rhyming picture book, a mother prepares her daughter for bed by telling her about the different animals that live nearby and their nighttime activities.”-GoodReads

Song like writing makes it easy to follow along for young children. The illustrations are very choppy and not asymmetrical.

USA

Waiting for the Biblioburro Monica Brown John Parra 2011 G-FantasyF-PBStories, books, library, burros

Ana loves stories, but has read all the books in the library there. A traveling library on the back of two burros comes to her town and she now has more books.

Blocky illustrations follow a similar style to many of the books I have also read. Great to discuss making the best of what you have, and why reading is great.

Multicultural-Mexico

My Friends/Mis Amigos Taro Gomi 1989 G-RFF-PBFriends, bilingual

“Simple words and bold illustrations show children that friends are easy to find even in the most unlikely places.”-GoodReads

Great for preschoolers who speak either language, or to try to teach them a new one. Bold illustrations make it eye catching

Multicultural-English & Spanish

The Wonderful Thing About Hiccups

Cece Meng Janet Pedersen

2007 G-FantasyF-PBHiccups, adventure, library

A little girl gets the case of the hiccups in the library, and is taken on an outrageous adventure. She must return library books on time so she can get her own library card.

The story has a lot going on, so easy to grasp the attention of little kids. Illustrations go along with the crazy adventures in details, every time you noticed something different

USA

The Table Sets Itself Ben Clanton 2013 G-FantasyF-PB

Izzy sets the table the same every night, but Spoon and Dish run off. Izzy treid to find a way to convince them to come back to the table.

Great to teach about setting the table (begins with where each utensil goes). Illustrations make utensils life-like and fun.

USA

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster

Mo Willems 2005 G-FantasyF-PBMonsters, scary, sad, friends

Leonardo is terrible at being a scary monster. He finds the most nervous little boy to try to frighten, and scares him. He realizes he’s upset about many other things, an befriends him instead.

Unique way of formatting the text and illustrations. Some pages have the words take up every inch, or only one tiny picture on an otherwise blank page. One of my favorite stories form this reading record.

USA

The White Elephant Sid Fleischman Robert McGuire

2006 G-FantasyF-CBElephant, curse, punishment, prince

A prince punishes a young elephant trainer by giving him an elephant that isn’t allowed to work. The boy must feed, clean, and keep it from working in any form. He tried to make the elephant disappear, but the curse follows.

Inspired by a true story, teaches hard work and punishments.

Multicultural-India

The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925 G-RFF-CBNew York, money, love, death, cars

A triangular love story involving money, lying, cheating, death.

Classic book: one of my favorites. I reread twice a year, and find new nuances every tiem.

USA

Pirates Past Noon (Magic Tree House#4)

Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca

1994 G-FantasyF-CB

Jack and Annie go back to pirate times, trying to find buried treasure, but encounter ruthless pirates along the way.

Magic Tree House follows the adventures of Jack and Annie, they access new places by entering through the books in their tree house: past, present, and future….

Multicultural-universe

Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9)

Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca

1997 G-FantasyF-CB

Jack and Annie end up in the middle of the ocean. The find an old submarine, but must fight off an octopus and a hungry shark, dolphins come along to save them.

…..the drawings are all done in black and white pencil. They are scattered through every couple pages. Since they are not very frequent, they are simple and only have details relevant

Multicultural-universe

to those….Lions at Lunchtime (Magic Tree House #11)

Mary Pope Osborne Sal Murdocca

1998 G-FantasyF-CB

Jack and Annie end up in Africa. They must try to get home by sneaking past lions, wildebeests, and a Masai warrior

….pages. Great series for kids with great imaginations. Teaches them about many different places and cultures.

Multicultural-universe