Grade: 1

Six fictional children talk about what they would do if they were president of the United States. “If I were president,” says one child, “the people would be my boss.” With simple text in a picture book format, Stier touches on the duties, responsibilities, and traditions of the office of the president.

A blend of poetic text and hand-tinted photographs transform common stones into prized possessions. Rocks are for skipping, splashing, climbing, and wishing. Some rocks even work well as tools for drawing on sidewalks. This quiet gem invites young readers to ponder over the possibilities.

Twenty-one insects take center stage in this collection of poems and paintings. After reading a few poems aloud, turn children loose to pore over the detailed pictures and read more poems on their own. Each poem celebrates the distinctive features of its subject, from the lengthy limbs of “O Daddy/Daddy O” Long Legs to the “pure evil” of a boll weevil.

From anemones to zooplankton, Rose’s simple, rhyming text introduces readers to an alphabet of sea creatures that cling, sting, prance, prey, dive, and thrive across these beautifully illustrated pages. Jenkins’s amazing paper collages fill each page with marine animals and plants. A glossary tells readers more about the sea life they discover throughout the book.

Iris is miserable. She has moved from the city to the country and is sure that she’ll always be lonely. Things change, however, when she discovers a rope ladder hanging from an enormous tree — with Walter on the other end. Though Iris still dreams of her city home, Walter introduces her to the wonders of country life. This story begins a series of books about Iris and Walter’s friendship and experiences that young readers will enjoy.

In this rollicking volume of verse, more than 100 poems are packed with Prelutsky’s zany humor.

Prelutsky is a stretcher of language, a champion of wit, and an expander of children’s imaginations. James Stevenson’s hilarious black-and-white drawings only add to the fun.

If you have ever been lucky enough to hear great jazz, then you will understand the pure magic of this book. Leo and Diane Dillon use bright colors and musical patterns that make music skip off the page in this toe-tapping homage to many jazz greats. From Miles Davis and Charlie Parker to Ella Fitzgerald, here is a dream team sure to knock your socks off. Learn about this popular music form and read a biography of each player pictured-and then hear each instrument play on a specially produced CD. What’s the featured song? “Jazz on a Saturday Night,” written and recorded to accompany this book.

It’s time to pay tribute to the Fab Four Founding Fathers: John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, and Ben “Beat the Liberty Drum” Franklin. Lane Smith’s cute history picture book introduces kids to a freedom-loving quartet who loved to stretch the rules.