Grade: 2

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.

The Hat is a welcome companion to her popular tale The Mitten. Set on a Danish farm, this amusing story about Hedgie, a hedgehog who gets a sock stuck on his head, will engage children on many levels. Everyone will giggle at Hedgie’s plight as he tries to convince his animal friends of the benefits of his new “hat.” The class also will have fun discussing the folly of blindly following a leader. Best of all, though, are Brett’s richly layered illustrations, with borders that portray the sock owner’s preparations for winter, the animal featured on the next page, and the clothesline as, one by one, the animals make away with various garments. Together, illustrations and text offer rewarding reading, inviting children to examine picture clues and make predictions, without losing the spirit of the tale. The book can also inspire a fine study of hats and the reasons people wear them, which could culminate in a parade of children sporting their own chapeaus.

Doing homework becomes a thing of the past! Meet the D Squad, a foursome of fifth graders at the Grand Canyon School made up of a geek, a class clown, a teacher’s pet, and a slacker. They are bound together by one very big secret: the homework machine. Because the machine, code-named Belch, is doing their homework for them, they start spending a lot of time together, attracting a lot of attention. And attention is exactly what you don’t want when you are keeping a secret. Before long, things start to get out of control, and Belch becomes much more powerful than they ever imagined. Now the kids are in a race against their own creation, and the loser could end up in jail…or worse!

Here’s a book that teaches children an important lesson. When Libby gets caught telling a lie, her mama reprimands her, so she decides to always tell the truth. When children admire her best friend Ruthie Mae’s outfit, Libby points out the hole in Ruthie Mae’s sock. She confides to her teacher that Willie hasn’t done his homework, and she tells her neighbor Miz Tusselbury that her yard looks like a jungle. Before long, everyone is angry at Libby.

This picture book is narrated by animal characters, ages 5-12, who are part of a support group that helps children cope with their mothers’ breast cancer. Each character shares with the reader a different aspect of dealing with cancer — what it was like when their family found out, what they learned about the disease (including that it isn’t contagious), what doctors are doing to treat their mothers, and how they look for “the good” in the days their mothers go through chemotherapy. They also share their emotions, helpful hints, and the hope that their mothers will get better. This reassuring book with charming animal illustrations will comfort young children struggling with a parent or loved one with cancer or another serious disease.

The fourth episode of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s Spiderwick Chronicles is here and more spellbinding than ever! When the Grace children and their mom attend Mallory’s fencing competition, Jared spies an odd-looking fellow rooting through Mallory’s duffel bag. The problem is, the thief looks just like Jared himself, and when the boy confronts his mysterious double with a knife — iron is known to repel faeries — the “Not-Jared” disappears and Jared winds up almost expelled from school. But when Mallory disappears, a trip to the quarry results in a harrowing meeting with dwarves, a run-in with a googly-eyed “knocker,” a scheme to rescue their sister from a strange sleep, and finally, a startling fight over the book. All may look hopeless for the Grace kids, but thankfully, help is right at home. A page-turning installment that even includes an image of Jared’s expulsion letter, The Ironwood Tree packs the punch that fans have come to love.