1st Grade (Age 6)

In this African American version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the main character, Leola, has a mind of her own. Even though her grandmother asks her not to stray from home, she decides, “I’m going to do what I want to.” So Leola wanders off to encounter a frightening Mr. Weasel and the gentle Honeybear family. Rosales’s vivid oil paintings make this oversized picture book a perfect read-aloud.

With a kaleidoscope of color and cut paper, Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee and two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan celebrates three favorite spirituals: “This Little Light of Mine,” “Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In,” and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” The power of these beloved songs simply emanates through his joyous interpretations. Come, sing, and celebrate!

You may never have heard of a lightship. Once, lightships anchored on waters across America,
on the oceans and in the Great Lakes, floating where lighthouses could not be built. Smaller than most ships, but more steadfast, too, they held their spots, through calm and storm, to guide sailors toward safe waters. In these pages one lightship and her crew (and cat) again hold their place. The crew goes again from bow to stern, from keel to mast, to run their engines, shine their lights, and sound their horns. They run the small ship that guides the large ships. They are …

Lilly loves everything about school, especially her cool teacher, Mr. Slinger. But when Lilly brings her purple plastic purse and its treasures to school and can’t wait until sharing time, Mr. Slinger confiscates her prized possessions. Lilly’s fury leads to revenge and then to remorse and she sets out to make amends.

This simple poem speaks the languages of the owl, toad, snake, dove, coyote, fish, mice, rain, and wind. And it is told in the languages of English and Spanish. Easy to read, this poem invites children to participate in both languages.

Little Rat can’t wait to make music like the violinists she sees at concerts in the city. But her biggest obstacle is practicing. It’s boring. It’s hard. And her violin squawks a lot. Luckily, Little Rat’s teacher believes she has talent. And her new tutor agrees. With their encouragement–and some fine-tuning–Little Rat hits all kinds of high notes. But most important, she discovers where beautiful music really comes from. In this third book of Little Rat’s celebrated tales of triumph, Monika Bang-Campbell and Molly Bang prove that with a bit of pluck, patience, and practice, anything is possible.

Clever Liza Lou has the stuff that makes leaders. In this fanciful tale, she faces off against “swamp haunts,” witches, devils, “gobblygooks,” and more! Not only is Liza Lou victorious against these evil forces, but she gets them to do her chores.

This is a heartwarming story based on the real-life relationship between Sarah, a busy teacher, dancer, and musician, and Perry, her guide dog. Through Perry’s eyes, young readers follow this pair through a typical day — watching them waking up, shopping, visiting a class of school children, playing in the park, and going to bed. Through illustrations with bold shapes and rich colors and a simple, warm text, children will learn about the ways a guide dog helps a blind person and the deep bond that develops between the two.