1st grade summer reading list

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.