Grade: 3

Have you ever encountered an underwater marching band, a pig in a bathing suit, a pet orangutan, or a witch in a hardware store? Have you ever sat with a skunk in a courtroom, shopped for a dinosaur, or conversed with a Bupple, a Wosstrus, a Violinnet, or a Celloon? You will have, once you’ve read this exuberant collaboration from Jack Prelutsky and his “partner in crime” James Stevenson. The “reigning czars of silliness”* have once again teamed up to bring readers an irresistible collection of poems that will have tongues twisting, imaginations soaring, and sides aching with laughter. The result is genius, indeed.

Bestselling picture book creator Mo Willems is making his debut in the early-reader arena with the Elephant and Piggie series. The books feature two lovable and funny characters: an optimistic (and sometimes reckless) pig, and a cautious, pessimistic elephant. Children who sat on their parents’ laps to have Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! read to them will eagerly take the plunge with these books to start reading on their own. With each text reviewed by an early-learning specialist, these sweet and surprising stories are a breath of fresh air in the early-reader category. In My Friend Is Sad, Gerald is down in the dumps. Piggie is determined to cheer him up by dressing as a cowboy, a clown, and even a robot! But what does it take to make a sad elephant happy? The answer will make even pessimistic elephants smile.

After reading about Libby who learns a valuable lesson, share this book about Saruni who also learns something important. Although his mother encourages him to spend the money she gives him on the tempting things in the market, Saruni keeps his coins safely in his pocket. He plans on surprising her by saving up money to buy his own bicycle to use to help her at the market. Saruni soon discovers that coins, even a big pile of them, don’t add up fast enough to buy a bike. Mollel’s story of a generous boy, who finally gets his wish, gives young readers a lesson in perseverance, patience–and math!

For the first to third grade set, spiders are fascinating and suitably gruesome, especially when looked at in EXTREME close-up. Amazing images show the beauty and otherworldliness of spiders. Simple, engaging text conveys basic information about spiders as well as cool and quirky facts. One stop-action montage shows a spider leaping twenty times its body length!

A girl. An iguana. An island. And e-mail. Meet Nim–a modern-day Robinson Crusoe! She can chop down bananas with a machete, climb tall palm trees, and start a fire with a piece of glass. So she’s not afraid when her scientist dad sails off to study plankton for three days, leaving her alone on their island. Besides, it’s not as if no one’s looking after her–she’s got a sea lion to mother her and an iguana for comic relief. She also has an interesting new e-mail pal. But when her father’s cell-phone calls stop coming and disaster seems near, Nim has to be stronger and braver than she’s ever been before. And she’ll need all her friends to help her.

In this exciting volume there are 13 “folktales about heroes — regular sword-wielding, spear-throwing, villain-stomping, rescuing-type heroes who also happen to be female.” Feisty and fearless females, ranging from the Greek Atalanta to the Nigerian Nana Miriam, are all represented as strong and resourceful.

Officer Buckle knows more about safety than anyone else in Napville, but his dull presentations put his audiences to sleep. Enter Gloria, Napville’s new police dog. Gloria knows just how to liven up the safety speeches–as long as Officer Buckle’s back is turned!

Don’t be fooled by the title of this seriocomic ode to success; it’s not ‘Climb Every Mountain,’ kid version. All journeys face perils, whether from indecision, from loneliness, or worst of all, from too much waiting. Seuss’ familiar pajama-clad hero is up to the challenge, and his odyssey is captured vividly in busy two-page spreads evoking both the good times (grinning purple elephants, floating golden castles) and the bad (deep blue wells of confusion). Seuss’ message is simple but never sappy: life may be a ‘Great Balancing Act,’ but through it all ‘There’s fun to be done.’