2nd Grade (Age 7)

This beautiful deluxe edition marks the tenth anniversary of J.otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh’s modern Christmas classic the story of a little dog named Olive with big reindeer dreams! When the book was first published in 1997, it enjoyed great reviews and has since sold more than 1 million copies. This new edition is a larger version of the original book, and it features flaps to lift, spots to scratch and sniff, and a pop-up grand finale. Designed to be a perfect holiday gift, this edition will appeal to Olive’s many fans and is sure to make new ones.

Pay attention to Olivia. This is her debut, and I’m certain she will be in our lives for years to come. Falconer has created a treasure: spare text; black, white, and red drawings; and spunky Olivia, a theatrical pig with a clear sense of herself!

Everyone’s favorite Caldecott Honor-winning porcine heroine and #1 Kris Kringle enthusiast is helping to make the season brighter than ever. Christmas is coming, and Olivia is incredibly busy. She has to wait for Santa, make sure Dad sets up the tree, wait for Santa, watch Mom make the Christmas dinner, wait for Santa, oversee the care with which the stockings are hung, and, of course, open her presents! Do you see how hard it is to be so helpful during the holidays? A lovingly told and lavishly illustrated Olivia Helps with Christmas is the perfect stuffing for any stocking, and …

In return for a good deed, young Rani asks the greedy raja for just one grain of rice — doubled every day for 30 days. In a month she collects more than one billion grains of rice, enough to save the starving people of her village and to teach the raja a thing or two about wisdom . . . and math!

Tooth school is in session and 32 raucous students — including eight incisors, four canines, eight premolars, and twelve molars — get lessons on preventing tooth decay from Dr. Flossman. Your students will love the book’s wacky illustrations (wisdom teeth sport glasses, a vampire wears braces) and hilarious puns (”Buses . . . might be a little late because of some bridgework being done”). And they will also learn how to properly take care of their teeth.

Patsy Pig has guaranteed the principal that she can teach Ms. Klingensmith’s first-grade class how not to be rude in time for Parents Open House. But after a couple of days of effort, Patsy throws up her arms. What she fears will be a disaster, however, ends up being a big success. The night of Open House, Miss Klingensmith’s students turn into angels with model manners. Although this is a book about manners, it isn’t your usual “please” and “thank you” version. Patsy teaches the students about meeting and greeting guests, introducing themselves and others, serving refreshments, and making conversation. …

Gritch, the witch, wants piggies to put into her pie, but the pigs outsmart her at every turn. When she meets up with a wolf, also the victim of the pigs’ cleverness, the two hungry creatures go off arm in arm to an imagined conclusion that is fitting and funny.

Pink, pink, pink. More than anything, Pinkalicious loves pink, especially pink cupcakes. Her parents warn her not to eat too many of them, but when Pinkalicious does . . . she turns pink! What to do? This sparkling picture book, filled with such favorites as pink bubble gum, pink peonies, pink cotton candy, and pink fairy princess dresses, celebrates all things pink while showing that being yourself is best of all.