Summer Reading List 2012
Incoming First Grade
Picture Books
Aardema, Verna. Bringing the Rain to
Kapiti Plain. A cumulative rhyme relating how Ki-pat brought rain to the
drought-stricken Kapiti Plain.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. The Hair of
Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School. Zoe and Zoe’s parents love her unruly,
luxurious head of hair. But her talented, and untamed tresses do not impress
her strict first-grade teacher, who has rules for everything, including hair.
Can Zoe’s hair find a way to fit into first-grade?
Arnold, T ed. Parts. * A five-year-old
boy thinks his body is falling apart until he learns that new teeth grow, and
hair and skin replace themselves.
Demi. The Empty Pot. When Ping admits
that he is the only child in China unable to grow a flower from the seed
distributed by the Emperor, he is rewarded for his honesty.
Fox, Mem. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald
Partridge. A small boy with a big name tries to discover the meaning of
memory, so he can restore that of an elderly friend.
Henkes, Kevin. Chrysanthamum. Chrysanthemum loves
her name, until she starts going to school and the other children make fun of
it.
Hill, Tad. How Rocket Learned to Read. A little yellow
bird teaches Rocket the dog how to read by first introducing him to the
alphabet.
Kimmel, Eric A. Anansi
and the Moss-Covered Rock.* Anansi the spider uses a strange
moss-covered rock in the forest to trick all the other animals, until Little
Bush Deer decides he needs to teach Anansi a lesson.
{*Look for other books in this series! }
Lin, Grace. Lissy’s Friends. What do you do
when you’re the new girl at school? If you’re Lissy, you make a paper friend.
And to Lissy’s surprise, her little origami bird opens his eyes and says hello!
She quickly makes more paper friends. But what do you do when your friends have
to leave? If you’re Lissy, you make another friend, but this time one that
stays.
London, Johnathan. Froggy Goes to Camp.* Look out, Camp
Run-A-Muck! Here comes Froggy! Camp Run-A-Muck will never be the same! Froggy
packs a lot into one week: hikes, archery lessons, food fights, scary stories
and funny songs around the campfire. But only Froggy could manage to lose his
trunks during swim class and overturn his kayak with the camp director in it.
Makhisani, Pooja. Mama’s Saris. A young girl eyes
her mother's suitcase full of gorgeous silk, cotton, and embroidered saris and
pleads with her mother to be allowed to wear one in honor of her seventh
birthday. The mother shares her memories of various special family occasions
for which she wore the different saris and, finally, realizes how special it
would be for her daughter to dress up in this traditional way for her birthday.
Mayer, Mercer. Liza Lou and the Yeller
Belly Swamp. With her quick thinking, Liza Lou manages to outwit all the
haunts, gobblycocks, and witches in the Yeller Belly Swamp.
Mora, Pat. The Rainbow T
ulip. Stella loves her family and her Mexican heritage, but she
doesn't always like being different from the other kids at school. Now her
class is going to dance around the Maypole at the school's May parade, and
Stella wants her tulip costume to be special, even if she won't look like the
other girls at school.
Munsch, Robert. The Paper Bag Princess. Elizabeth, a
beautiful princess, lives in a castle. Just when she is about to marry Prince
Ronald, a dragon smashes her castle, burns her fancy clothes with his fiery
breath, and prince-naps Ronald. Undaunted, she dons a large paper bag and sets
off to rescue him.
Piven, Hanoch. My Dog is as Smelly as
Dirty Socks. A young girl draws a family portrait, then makes it more
accurate by adding common objects to show aspects of each member's personality,
such as her father's playfulness, her mother's sweetness, and her brother's
strength.
Robbins, Jacqui. The New Girl—and Me! Shakeeta is the new
girl at school and Mia would really like to be her friend, but she doesn't feel
she has a chance because everyone wants to be Shakeeta's friend. But when
Shakeeta boasts that she has a pet iguana, Mia comes up with a special way to
help Shakeeta "feel at home" even when she is in school.
Rylant, Cythina. The Relatives Came. When a raucous
group of relatives come to visit from Virginia everyone has a wild and
wonderful time.
Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. Gila
Monsters Meet You at the Airport. A New York City boy's preconceived ideas of
life in the West make him very apprehensive about his family's move there.
Meanwhile, a Westerner headed to New York worries about what his new life will
be like in the Big Apple. Both children are happily surprised at what life is
actually like in their new hometowns.
Steig, William. Sylvester and the
Magic Pebble. Sylvester the donkey finds a magic pebble and unthinkingly
wishes himself turned into a rock when he's frightened by a lion. How Sylvester
is eventually reunited with his loving parents is a magical tale of the
transforming power of love.
Uegaki, Chieri. Suki's Kimono. A little girl
declares that on the first day of school she will wear a kimono that her
grandmother brought her during her visit from Japan, no matter what anyone
says.
Wilcox, Leah. Falling for Rapunzel. A prince tries to
get Rapunzel to throw down her hair, so he can rescue her, but she mishears him
and throws down an assortment of objects from her room instead.
Williams, Suzanne. Library Lil. A formidable
librarian makes readers not only out of the once resistant residents of her
small town, but out of a tough-talking, television-obsessed motorcycle gang as
well.
Beginning to Read Books
Arnold, Ted. Hi! Fly Guy.* When Buzz
captures a fly to enter in the Amazing Pet Show, his parents and the judges
tell him that a fly cannot be a pet, but Fly Guy proves them wrong.
Bonsall, Crosby
. The Case of the Cat’
s Meow . When Snitch’s
cat, Mildred, suddenly disappears, the four members of the Private Eyes
Club—Skinny, Wizard, Snitch, and Tubby—work together to solve the baffling case
of the missing cat.
Byars, Betsy. Boo’s Dinosaur.* When Boo is
followed home by a dinosaur that only she can see, it causes more than a bit of
trouble for her older brother Sammy. Boo and her dinosaur are inseparable
until, one day, Boo’s dinosaur suddenly disappears. When Sammy sees how sad his
sister is, he understands how important Boo’s dinosaur is to her.
Cristalidi, Kathryn. Baseball
Ballerina. Forced by her mother into taking ballet lesson, a
baseball-obsessed girl discovers that there’s team spirit at the barre as well
as on the baseball diamond.
Egan, Tim. Dodsworth in New York.* Dodsworth wanted
adventure. He wanted to see the world. He starts out by visiting New York City
before going to Paris, London, and beyond. His journey is turned into a
frantic, fun-filled romp when he is unexpectedly joined by a crazy, stowaway
duck.
Greene, Stephanie. Princess Posey and
the First Grade Parade.* Posey's fear of starting first grade is alleviated
when her teacher invites students to wear their most comfortable clothes on the
first day of school.
Gilman, Grace. Dixie.* Dixie the puppy
plays with Emma every day after school until Emma starts memorizing her lines
for the school play.
Grindley, Sally. Poppy and Max and the
Big Wave.* Poppy and her dog, Max, go to the beach where she plans to
surf. Max is afraid to surf so he chases crabs on the sand, but when one crab
gets very close to the water, Max finds
himself surfing after all.
Marshall, James. George and Martha. Two stories
featuring hippo friends George and Martha in which George must find a way to
tell Martha he does not like the split pea soup she has made without hurting
her feelings, and Martha consoles George when his plans to fly in a hot air
balloon do not go as expected.
Silverman, Erica. Cowgirl Kate and
Cocoa.* When Cowgirl Kate starts school her best friend, Cocoa the
horse, suffers separation pangs. He follows her school bus, and feels
frustrated when she turns her attention to homework. He is even jealous of her
new school friend. Kate must reassure Cocoa that she will always have room for
him in her life.
Suen, Anastasia. Hamster Chase. When Peter takes
Mikey, the class hamster, out of his cage to pet him, Mikey escapes. Peter and
his friends search the classroom, but every time they come close, Mikey runs
away again! How can they get Mikey back into his cage?
Thaler, Mike. Class Trip From the
Black Lagoon.* The students must deal with a scary bus driver named Mr.
Fenderbender, mosquitoes as large as Dracula, and their mean teacher, Mrs.
Green, on their class trip to the Black Lagoon.
Van Leeuwen, Jean. Amanda Pig, First
Grader.* It’s time for first grade, and Amanda Pig is so excited. This
year she won’t have to take naps, she’ll play on the big playground, and best
of all, she will know how to read! But when reading is more challenging than
she expected, Amanda begins to worry. With the help of her best friend,
Lollipop, she discovers what makes first grade so much fun.
Weeks, Sarah. Mac and Cheese. Mac and Cheese are
as different as two cats can be. Their differences don’t stop them from being
friends, but sometimes they make things a little complicated, and a little
crazy.
Chapter Books
Cameron, Ann. The Stories Huey T
ells. * Six-year-old Huey hates it when his big brother Julian puts
him down, but Huey gets his revenge when he fools Julian with a clever trick.
In another episode the family eats in a fancy restaurant, but Huey loses his
appetite when he sees a trout's head on the plate, with its big, sad eye
looking straight at him.
Cleary, Beverly. Henry Huggins.* Henry Huggins
picks up a stray dog, and names him Ribsy. Together the pair set out on
numerous adventures, including breeding fish and collecting a thousand worms.
Dahl, Roald. Fantastic Mr. Fox. Three farmers,
each one meaner than the other, try all-out warfare to get rid of the fox and
his family.
LeGuin, Ursula. Catwings.* Four young cats
with wings leave the city slums in search of a safe place to live, finally
meeting two children with kind hands.
Norton, Mary .The Borrowers. The Borrowers live
in the secret places of quiet old house; behind the mantelpiece, inside the
harpsichord, under the kitchen clock. They own nothing, borrow everything, and
think that human beings were invented just to do the dirty work. But when
Arrietty breaks the rules and makes friends with a human boy their lives are
changed forever.
Rylant, Cynthia. Gooseberry Park. When a storm
separates Stumpy the squirrel from her newborn babies, her animal friends come
to the rescue.
Selden, George. The Cricket in Times
Square.* The adventures of a country cricket who unintentionally arrives in New
York, takes up residence in a subway station, and is befriended by Tucker Mouse
and Harry Cat.
Taylor, Sydney. All of A Kind Family.* The everyday
adventures of five sisters growing up in a Jewish family in New York City in
the early twentieth century.
{*Look for other books in this series! }
Non-fiction Books
Burliegh, Robert. One Giant Leap. Spoken by Neil
Armstrong moments after he became the first human being to set foot on the
moon, the words are instantly recognizable: “That's one small step for man; one
giant leap for mankind.” To commemorate the 40th anniversary of this extraordinary
moment in human history, Burleigh and Wimmer have created a beautiful tribute
that transports readers to the stars.
Hatkoff, Isabella. Owen & Mzee:
The True Story of A Remarkable Friendship. The inspiring true story of two
great friends, a baby hippo named Owen, and a 130-yr-old giant tortoise named
Mzee. When Owen was stranded after the 2004 tsunami, villagers in Kenya worked
tirelessly to rescue him. To everyone's amazement, the orphan hippo and the
elderly tortoise adopted each other. Now they’re inseparable, swimming, eating,
and playing together. A joyous reminder that in times of trouble, friendship is
stronger than the differences that too often pull us apart.
Hoffman, Mary. The Great Big Big Book
of Families. An illustrated overview of families, examining various aspects
of families from houses to holidays to schools and pets, and discussing
feelings and family trees.
Jenkins, Steve. Big & Little. Jenkins uses his
signature collage illustrations, combined with simple text, to compare animals
of different sizes, from the smallest visible creatures to the largest animal
giants.
Jenkins, Steve. How Many Ways Can You
Catch A Fly?. Flies are fast! They can hover, walk upside down, and use their
lightning-quick reflexes to escape predators. But rainbow trout, slender
lorises, assassin bugs, and Chimney swifts can catch them. How do such diverse
creatures manage to capture the same prey? Introduces readers to a menagerie of
animals that approach the same challenges in different ways.
McDonnell, Patrick. Me—Jane. Holding her
stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books,
and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals. Includes biographical
information on the prominent zoologist.
Mclimans, David. Gone Wild: An
Endangered Animal Alphabet. Feast your eyes on these amazing creatures
before they disappear. This stampede of wild animals, from Chinese Alligator to
Grevy’s Zebra, are so rare, they're all endangered. McLiman’s bold and playful
illustrations transform each letter into a work of art. Scales, horns, even
insect wings transform the alphabet into animated life.
Mitton, Jacqueline. Zoo In the Sky: A
Book of Animal Constellations. Identifies the groups of stars known as
constellations and discusses their origin, uses, and observation.
Stauffacher, Sue. Nothing But Trouble:
The Story of Althea Gibson. Born in 1927, Althea Gibson was the first
African American to compete in and win the Wimbledon Cup. But when she was a
little girl growing up in Harlem, Althea is nothing but trouble! Everyone
agrees: her mama, her daddy, her teacher, even the policeman. Her reputation
changes when Buddy Walker, the play leader on Althea's street in Harlem,
watches her play paddle tennis and sees real potential. Buddy buys Althea her
own stringed tennis racket, and before long, she's on her way to becoming a
great athlete.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Poetry for
Young People: Robert Louis Stevenson. An illustrated collection of thirty-two
popular poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, mostly from "A Child's Garden of
Verses." Includes an introduction about the poet's life and work.
Villa, Laura. Building Manhattan. Vibrant
illustrations and spare text come together to tell the story of the building of
Manhattan. There was a time when the city was little more than an undeveloped
island. But as the small patch of land shifted from Native American to Dutch to
English to American hands, it was built, layer on top of layer, into the
bustling metropolis of today. This book explores the city’s many layers and
shows they’re still visible, as long as you know where to look! A timeline and
bibliography are included.
