Grade: 2

Late one Christmas Eve after the town has gone to sleep, the boy boards the mysterious train that waits for him: The Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives, Santa offers the boy any gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the harness of a reindeer. The gift is granted. On the way home the bell is lost. On christmas morning the boy finds the bell under the tree. The mother of the boy admires the bell, but laments that it is broken—for you see, only believers can hear the sound of the bell.

A generous quiltmaker and a covetous king go head-to-head in this tale of good versus greed. When a can’t-have-enough king demands that a seamstress sew him a quilt, she refuses because she only makes them for the poor. Time after time, the king tries to intimidate her into making him a quilt — but she doesn’t budge a stitch! Instead she tells him that for each possession he gives away, she’ll sew him a patch of a quilt. The king finally receives his own priceless quilt and discovers the joy of giving. Readers will enjoy this quintessential quilt tale and the swatches of material, patterns, and directions for making quilts that are included.

Sometimes a rainy day is not wonderful. Clouds darken a sunny day and bring out people’s cloudy dispositions. With humor in both text and art, Shannon’s picture book captures how a change in the weather affects the mood of an entire neighborhood!

Parents are always spouting these rules. Do they really care about nutrients and mattresses, or are they hiding something? Luckily, one fearless grown-up will risk his neck and his dignity to find out. Disguised as everything from a chocolate milk scuba diver to a giant nose, this counterspy uncovers the disturbing truth. And what he learns will shock you like nothing before. Startling suckface emergencies! Dangerous digit gangs! Powerful sumo cells! Those are just some of the secrets revealed in this book by Caldecott medalist David Wisniewski. But don’t let anyone catch you reading it-especially grown-ups. Who knows what could happen if they knew that you knew?

A thrilling follow-up to DiTerlizzi and Black’s first Spiderwick Chronicles book, The Seeing Stone has Jared and Mallory rescuing Simon from a band of goblins. When the young boy is kidnapped, Thimbletack leads Jared to a stone that allows him to have “the sight,” or the ability to see magical creatures. Soon, the brother and sister are outfoxing a hungry troll, working with a helpful goblin named Hogsqueal to thwart the other goblins, and taking care of a wounded griffin. With more enchanted action than the first book and a suspenseful ending, this second installment will have kids chomping at the bit for more.

With this moving and suspenseful picture book, “readers” will experience the joy of a story without the struggle of deciphering words. This wordless chapter book has beautifully crafted black-and-white illustrations that tell the tale of a farm boy’s daring adventures with a powerful winged horse. Your students will also enjoy comparing their interpretations of the story.

Here are more trickster tales. Uncle Remus narrates these entertaining stories about a wily rabbit, who tries to outsmart every big and little critter around. Lester adds just enough dialect to keep in touch with the spirit of these adventures which feature Brer Rabbit, his friends–and enemies.

Another fairy tale to share is this story of kind, gentle Blanche. She must do all the work for her bossy mother and sister, until one day an old woman comes along and changes everything. Pinkney’s stunning watercolors add a touch of magic to this Creole version of Cinderella.