Grade: 2

In the Australian outback, everyone waits for rain. Old Stephen says it’s on its way, but still the dogs, frogs, and Rosie’s kids have to wait, swimming in the billabong (a small, still pool) and sleeping outside. Bold colors and patterns fill each page up to the final spread: “Wonderful, cool, wet rain.”

Maurice, too, is unique. From the time he is born, his family wonders who he will grow up to be. Will he be a baker like Papa, a writer like his mom, a taxi driver like Uncle Eddie, or a gardener like his grandmother? Children who are compared with one relative or another will identify with Maurice and have their own reasons to shout, “Bravo, Maurice!” as they turn the last pages.

A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck all parade across the pages of this delightful book. Children will immediately respond to Eric Carle’s flat, boldly colored collages. Combined with Bill Martin’s singsong text, they create unforgettable images of these endearing animals.

Jack’s mother has just had a baby. Jack and Mickey used to be friends, but lately Jack has become a bully, stealing Mickey’s cookies at lunch and breaking his dinosaur pencil in half. Mickey’s family offers him a variety of ideas for handling the situation. Mickey tries everything, but then comes up with his own special way of working things out with Jack.

With each turn of the page, readers will be presented with a new puzzle. The rhyming text presents challenges to spot specific trinkets in eye-catching photographs of odds and ends (e.g., “A ladybug, three stars of blue, a piece of a jar, a die showing two…”). In addition, each rhyme concludes by asking readers to follow a maze, match objects, or spot an optical illusion. More difficult than they appear, Wick’s puzzles will captivate any reluctant reader.

“Across water so quiet it becomes part of the sky, the canoe slides in green magic without a ripple.” Even readers who have never been in a canoe or visited a lake will paddle along with Paulsen as he describes a day on the water. The spare text makes a perfect read-aloud, so don’t be surprised if listeners fall under Paulsen’s spell. After all, any noise might frighten the fawn at the lake’s edge or the sunfish darting below its surface.

Caps for Sale is a timeless classic, in print for over fifty years, and beloved by generations of readers. This easy-to-read story about a peddler and a band of mischievous monkeys is filled with warmth, humor, and simplicity. Children will delight in following the peddler’s efforts to outwit the monkeys in this new, enlarged, and redesigned edition, and will ask to read it again and again.

Cats is part of a series of nonfiction readers about animals that have kid-friendly illustrations with helpful labels. It’s a great introduction to the behavior and characteristics of felines and includes information on the history of their domestication, descriptions of different breeds, and a primer on cat body language. Additional pages provide a list of famous sayings about felines, as well as tips on caring for your pet.