Grade: 1

The tale of Rumpelstiltskin is known around the world. This stunning West Indian version is told by one of today’s most distinguished storytellers, Virginia Hamilton. The Dillons’s breathtaking paintings further enhance Hamilton’s masterful tale.

“Once there was a tree . . . and she loved a little boy.” So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein. Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk . . . and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave. This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another’s capacity to love in return.

A boat full of critters get ready for bed in this oversized board book from Sandra Boynton! With zippy yet serene artwork that’s sure to make any Boynton fan feel comforted for sleep time, this before-bed read follows an elephant, dog, pig, and other animals as they “take a bath in one big tub with soap all over — SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB,” put on their pj’s, and crowd around the sink brushing their teeth. Of course, they can’t forget a little exercise as part of their routine, and afterwards, when “The moon is high. The sea is deep. They rock and rock and rock to sleep.” Boynton’s relaxing words and bedtime palette — which includes dark pastels and other nighttime colors — combine to make a winning book that should make those eyelids a little bit heavier. Perfect for reading to your child and a fun complement to other Boynton books like Snoozers and Pajama Time!

This Grimm tale about goodness begins when three brothers go (one at a time) into the forest to chop wood. Each meets a hungry old man who begs for food. The first two brothers refuse to help, but the youngest, a simpleton, generously offers his bread. After being rewarded with a gold-feathered goose, he sets out on a journey, and “hokety, pokety, stickety, stuck” he attracts three goofy sisters who are down on their luck. Each person this simpleton encounters on his way through the town — a parson, a sexton, a lady, and a peasant — gets stuck to a feather when they touch the golden goose. But when the goose gets the attention of a princess who is longing for a laugh, the simpleton wins her heart and ends the caravan at last. This humorous story is full of giving, goodness, and good rhymes!

This clever book is told in rhymes that give clues for solving math problems quickly and innovatively. Tang makes looking for patterns and regrouping numbers both fun and challenging. Strategies for solving these problems are found in the back.

In this simply told and elegantly illustrated Chinese tale, the wealthy Pang cannot enjoy adding up his money, because he loses count every time he hears laughter and music wafting from his neighbor’s farm. Although a poor farmer who works all day, Li still finds time to play his flute–a pleasure Pang puts a stop to by giving Li a bag full of gold. Realizing that the “treasure almost robbed me of my happiness,” Li returns the money along with far greater treasures: peace, happiness, and a homemade flute for each member of Pang’s family.

A busy triangle gets tired of holding up roofs, being slices of pie and halves of sandwiches, and even of doing its favorite activity — slipping into place when people put their hands on their hips. It thinks life would be more interesting if the local shapeshifter gave it one more side and one more angle. And so the triangle is transformed into a quadrilateral. Although as a quadrilateral it is a television screen, a window frame, and more, it soon grows tired of that shape, too. Each time it tires of its shape, it asks the shapeshifter to add another side and angle. The triangle successively becomes a pentagon, hexagon, and heptagon . . . until it has so many sides it doesn’t know which side is up! Not surprisingly, it asks the shape-shifter for its old shape back and then is content to be a triangle again. The colorful illustrations and engaging text make a great introduction to shapes and geometry. A guide at the end includes background information and suggestions for extending children’s learning.

Detailed colored- pencil drawings show hand shapes for the 26 letters of the American Sign Language alphabet as well as corresponding letters of the written alphabet. For example, a gloved hand forms the letter “G,” fingers dip into a palette of paint to form the letter “P,” and so on.