Grade: 2

In Antarctica, the coldest spot on the planet, male Emperor penguins perform one of the most difficult tasks in the natural world. For two months, in the middle of winter, they take care of the eggs laid by females who are out at sea hunting for food. This book explains this phenomenon with simple, fact-filled text and beautiful blue-tinged illustrations. It is a wonderful study in natural history as well as an eye-opening lesson for students about male and female parenting roles in nature.

This sensitive companion to the bestselling book The Care and Keeping of You helps girls understand their emotions and learn to deal with them. They’ll get tips on expressing their feelings and staying in control, plus advise on handling fear, anxiety, jealousy, and grief. Girl-friendly format features fun illustrations and letters from real girls written to American Girl magazine. A special section addresses fears related to events like school shootings and terrorist attacks.

Three curious kids discover a world of brownies, fairies, and other fantastic creatures in this ultra-enchanting launch to Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s Spiderwick Chronicles.
When the three Grace children — Mallory, Jared, and Simon — and their mom move into Aunt Lucinda’s old house, readers know there’s magic afoot. The kids uncover a nest of assembled junk, and on a visit to the secret library via the dumbwaiter, Jared finds a note describing “my secret to all mankind.” After a few mysterious pranks that get blamed on Jared, the boy finally digs up the real prize: Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. Fortunately enough, the kids meet one of the critters listed in the guide — a brownie named Thimbletack — who makes it all “real” and helps provide the book’s suspenseful conclusion: “‘Throw the book away, toss it in a fire. If you do not heed, you will draw their ire.’”

This Cherokee creation tale tells the story of a quarrel between the first man and woman. When the woman walks away from her husband’s harsh words, he follows, but is not able to catch up. The Sun sees how sorry the man is and tries to help by causing various berries to grow in her path. Only the sweetness of strawberries, however, has the power to stop her and allow her husband a chance to ask for forgiveness. This is how strawberries came to be, and now whenever Cherokee people eat strawberries they are reminded to be kind to one another.

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.

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.