I Dream of an Elephant

I Dream of an Elephant
by Ami Rubinger

Elephants of many colorful shades are described in couplets that invite the reader to complete the rhyme using color-themed clues.

1 Zany Zoo

1 Zany Zoo
by Lori Degman

When one fearless fox grabs the zookeeper's keys and opens all the cages, increasing numbers of animals behave in most unusual ways.

Bad Kitty Gets a Bath

Bad Kitty Gets A Bath
by Nick Bruel

Takes a humorous look at the normal way cats bathe, why it is inappropriate for humans to bathe that way, and the challenges of giving a real cat a bath with soap and water.

Jellaby

Jellaby
by Kean Soo

Not long after Portia and her mother move to a new town, she discovers a huge purple monster she calls Jellaby and enlists the help of a fellow student to find him a home.

These is My Words

These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Anges Prine, 1881-1901, Arizona Territories
by Nancy Turner

Inspired by the author's family memoirs, Sarah Prine's diary portrays the joys and hardships of living out west at the end of the 1800's. Includes accounts of Indian attacks, marriages, births, and death.

Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs

Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs
Roscoe Riley Rules series
by Katherine Applegate

When the first graders' bee antennae would not stay on their heads and the drummers would not stay in their seats for the open house play, Roscoe decides to help by using "don't-you-dare" glue.

Savvy

Savvy
by Ingrid Law

Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.

Willoughby and the Lion

Willoughby and the Lion

by Greg Foley

When Willoughby moves to a new house far away from his friends, he meets an enchanted lion who shows him what is truly important in life.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
by Rodman Philbrick

Twelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.

The Strange Case of the Missing Sheep

The Strange Case of the Missing Sheep
by Mircea Catusanu

When ten sheep go missing in the Dark Forest, Super Sheep Dog Doug comes to the rescue.

The Contest Between the Sun and Wind

The Contest Between the Sun and Wind
Retold by Heather Forest
Illustrated by Susan Gaber

The sun and the wind test their strength by seeing which of them can cause a man to remove his coat, demonstrating the value of using gentle persuasion rather than force as a means of achieving a goal.

The Lion and the Mouse

The Lion and the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney

In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.

All the World

All the World
by Liz Garton Scanlon
Illustrated by Marla Frazee

Follow a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night as they discover the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.

The Tear Thief

The Tear Thief
by Carol Ann Duffy
Illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli

In the evening, between supper and bedtime, an invisible fairy slips into homes to steal tears of shame, fear, pain, and sadness, then climbs to the moon where she transforms the sackful of droplets into something wonderful.

The Birthday Pet

The Birthday Pet
by Ellen Javernick
Illustrated by Kevin O'Malley

Danny can have a pet for his birthday and he knows exactly what he wants, but the other members of his family think differently.

The Odd Egg

The Odd Egg
by Emily Gravett

Duck is trying to hatch the oddest egg of all.

Magic Pickle

Magic Pickle
by Scott Morse

Magic Pickle tries to save the day against other vegetables that were a result of a government experiment gone wrong.

Zoobreak

Zoobreak
by Gordon Korman

After a class trip to a floating zoo where animals are mistreated and Savannah's missing pet monkey is found in a cage, Long Island sixth-grader Griffin Bing and his band of misfits plan a rescue.

Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem

Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem
by Mac Barnett
Illustrated by Adam Rex

A blue whale is longer than thirty dogs lined up nose to tail. Its tongue weighs as much as four hundred cats. Blue whales make terrible pets .... just ask Billy Twitters.

Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball
by Jessica Day George

A retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who wear out their shoes dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the king's gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse.

In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog

In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog
by Gail Donovan

When irrepressible fifth-grader Josh finds a five-legged frog in his backyard pond, it leads to him learning a lot about amphibians--and himself.

Pirates Drive Buses

Pirates Drive Buses
by Christopher Morgan
Illustrated by Neil Curtis

While conducting a tour of the "landlubbers' world" for a bus load of sea creatures, Pirate intercepts school-bound siblings Billy and Heidi and enlists their aid in recovering his hijacked ship from a troupe of mischievous monkey-crabs.

I Need My Monster

I Need My Monster
by Amanda Noll
Illustrated by Howard McWilliam

When Ethan checks under the bed for his monster, he finds a note saying that Gabe has gone fishing and will be back in a week. He tries out several substitute monsters, but finds that none are as perfect as Gabe.

The World is Your Oyster

The World Is Your Oyster
by Tamara James
Illustrated by Emma SanCartier

What do you do when your world is raining cats and dogs, you're up to your neck in alligators, and all you want to do is bury your head in the sand? A playful book of animal idioms.

Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians

Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians
by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

The school lunch lady, a secret crime fighter, sets out to stop a group of librarians bent on destroying a shipment of video games, while a group of students known as the Breakfast Bunch provides back-up.

Round Trip

Round Trip
by Ann Jonas

Black and white illustrations and text record the sights on a day trip to the city and back home again to the country. The trip to the city is read from front to back and the return trip, from back to front, upside down.

Charlotte's Rose

Charlotte's Rose
by A.E. Cannon

As a twelve-year-old Welsh immigrant carries a motherless baby along the Mormon Trail in 1856, she comes to love the baby as her own and fear the day the baby's father will reclaim her.

The Boy Who Dared

The Boy Who Dared
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

In October, 1942, seventeen-year-old Helmuth Hübener, imprisoned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler and the war to the German people.

The Seeing Stick

The Seeing Stick
by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini

Hwei Min, the only daughter of the emperor of China, cannot see, and it seems that no one can help her ... until one day a wise old man with a mysterious seeing stick visits the princess. Will he be able to teach Hwei Min that there is more than one way to see the world?

T4: A Novel in Verse

T4: A Novel in Verse
by Anne Clare LeZotte

When the Nazi party takes control of Germany, thirteen-year-old Paula, who is deaf, finds her world-as-she-knows-it turned upside down, as she is taken into hiding to protect her from the new law nicknamed T4.

One Weighs a Ton

One Weighs a Ton
by Salina Yoon

Rhymes for the numbers one to ten plus factual information about certain animals.

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
by Betty MacDonald

From her upside-down house, the eccentric Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle issues to parents her marvelous cures for such common children's diseases as Won't-Put-Away-Toys-itis, Answerbackism, and Fighter-Quarrelitis.

Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting

Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting

by Jim Murphy

Describes the Christmas truce that occurred along Western Front trenches in 1914 and features quotations from young men on both sides, a timeline, and additional source material.

Every Friday

Every Friday
by Dan Yaccarino

Every Friday a father and his child share a special ritual.

Do Not Build a Frankenstein!

Do Not Build a Frankenstein
by Neil Numberman

A boy warns his new neighbors of the trouble that comes with building a monster, including having to move to a different town in hopes of escaping his creation.

Chalk

Chalk
by Bill Thomson

A wordless picture book about three children who go to a park on a rainy day, find some chalk, and draw pictures that come to life.

Swindle

Swindle
by Gordan Korman

After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino cons him out of a valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card back, planning to use the money to finance his father's failing invention, the SmartPick fruit picker.

Can You Make A Scary Face?

Can You Make A Scary Face?
By Jan Thomas

A ladybug invites the reader to play a game of "let's pretend."

The Amaranth Enchantment

The Amaranth Enchantment
by Julie Berry

Orphaned at age five, Lucinda, now fifteen, stands with courage against the man who took everything from her, aided by a thief, a clever goat, and a mysterious woman called the Witch of Amaranth, while the prince she knew as a child prepares to marry, unaware that he, too, is in danger.

Princess Hyacinth: (The Surprising Tale of the Girl Who Floated)

Princess Hyacinth: (The Surprising Tale of the Girl Who Floated)

by Florence Parry Heide

Illustrated by Lane Smith

Princess Hyacinth is bored and unhappy sitting in her palace every day because, unless she is weighed down by specially-made clothes, she will float away, but her days are made brighter when kite-flying Boy stops to say hello.

Anything But Typical

Anything But Typical
by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Jason, a twelve-year-old autistic boy who wants to become a writer, relates what his life is like as he tries to make sense of his world.

Wait Till Helen Comes

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story
by Mary Downing Hahn

Molly and Michael dislike their spooky new stepsister Heather but realize that they must try to save her when she seems ready to follow a ghost child to her doom.

Half-Minute Horrors

Half-Minute Horros
Edited by Susan Rich

Compilation of scary stories from well known authors.

Turk and Runt

Turk and Runt
by Lisa Wheeler
Illustrated by Frank Ansley

Runt the turkey is much smaller than his brother, but his intelligence keeps his family from becoming Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Turkey Trouble

Turkey Trouble
by Wendy Silvano
Illustrated by Lee Harper

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, Turkey nervously makes a series of costumes, disguising himself as other farm animals in hopes that he can avoid being served as Thanksgiving dinner.

A Book of Sleep

A Book of Sleep
by Il Sung Na

While other animals sleep at night, some quietly and others noisily, some alone and others huddled together, a wide-eyed owl watches.

A Birthday for Bear

A Birthday for Bear
by Bonny Becker
Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton

Despite Bear's efforts to ignore his birthday, Mouse will not rest until his friend celebrates.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin

Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.

Jump!

Jump!
by Scott M. Fischer

From bugs and frogs to alligators and whales, frightened animals always move out of the way of a larger opponent.

Sticky Burr

Sticky Burr: Adventures in Burrwood Forest
by John Lechner

Sticky Burr is on the verge of being kicked out of his village in Burrwood Forest because he is not prickly enough to suit some of the other burrs, but when the village is attacked by wild dogs, Sticky Burr and his friends come to the rescue.