Recommended Books for Grades PreK-2

• PreK-Kindergarten
• Grades One & Two

Pre-K TO Kindergarten

Allard, H. & Marshall, J. (1977).Miss Nelson is Missing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

The kids in room 207 take advantage of their teacher's good nature until she disappears and they are faced with a vile substitute.

Call Number: Pj All

Asch, F. (1983). Mooncake. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Bear builds a rocket so he can go to the moon to taste it.

Call Number: Pj Asc

Carle, E. (1991). The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York: Scholastic.

A very hungry caterpillar eats more and more each day until he is transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

Call Number:Pj Car

Dorros, A. (1991). Abuela. New York: Dutton.

A little girl imagines that she and her grandmother fly over the sights of New York City. A number of Spanish words are included in the text.

Call Number: Pj Dor

Ehlert, L. (1989). Color Zoo. New York: Lippincott.

Colors and shapes are used to depict a series of animals

Call Number: j701.8Ehl

Freeman, D. (1978). A Pocket for Corduroy. New York: Viking Press.

Lisa's toy bear wants a pocket for his overalls, and looks for one in the laundromat.

Call Number: Pj Fre

Greenfield, E. (1977). Africa Dream. New York: HarperCollins.

A young girl dreams of long-ago Africa, and is welcomed there by her granddaddy from long ago.

Call Number:Pj Gre

Henkes, K. (1996). Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Lilly loves her school and her teacher, but is impatient to show her new purse.

Call Number: Pj Hen

Johnson, S. (1995). Alphabet City. New York: Viking.

Imaginative photographs of city objects are used to present the letters of the alphabet.

Call Number: P J Joh

Keats, E. J. (1962). The Snowy Day. New York: Scholastic.

A little boy enjoys a snowy day in the city.

Call Number: P j Kea

Kraus, R. (1974). Herman the Helper. New York: Prentice Hall.

Herman is a cheerful octopus who is always willing to help others.

Call Number: P j Kra

Marzollo, J. (1993). Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King. New York: Scholastic.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King is presented to very young children. Available in both Spanish and English.

Call Number: [Big Book]j B Kin

Nash, O. (1991). The Adventures of Isabel. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

The fearless Isabel defeats creatures such as bears, giants, and witches.

Call Number: j811.52 Nas

Opie, I. (Ed.). (1996). My Very First Mother Goose. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

More than sixty nursery rhymes are wonderfully illustrated by Rosemary Wells.

Call Number: j398.8 Mot

Pandell, K. (1996). Animal Action. New York: Dutton.

Colorful photographs of children imitating animals illustrate rhyming verses for each letter of the alphabet.

Call Number:j591 Pan

Pilkey, D. (1996). The Paperboy. New York: Orchard Books.

A boy and his dog enjoy their early morning rounds delivering papers.

Call Number: P J Pil

Ringgold, F. (1991). Tar Beach. New York: Scholastic.

Lying on the roof of her apartment building, Cassie uses her imagination to soar above the beauty of her neighborhood of 1939 Harlem.

Call Number: P J Rin

Sendak, M. (1984). Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row.

Max is sent to his room, but he is able to tame all the wild creatures that appear there.

Call Number: Pj Sen

Seuss, Dr. (1960). Green Eggs and Ham. New York: Random House.

Humorous verse and pictures present Sam-I-Am as he tries to convince a friend to try this dish.

Call Number: P J Seu

Zimmerman, A. G. (1999). Trashy Town. New York: HarperCollins.

Simple repetitive verse and vivid colors and shapes depict Mr. Gilly, the garbage collector, as he goes about town collecting the trash.

Call Number: P J Zim

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Grades One & Two

Alexander, S. (1983). Nadia the Willful. New York: Pantheon Books.

A strong-willed Bedouin girl teaches her father about grief. Beautifully illustrated with black-and-white drawings.

Call Number:Pj Ale

Aliki. (1998). Marianthe's Story: Painted Words/Spoken Memories. New York: Greenwillow Books.

In two beautifully illustrated stories, Mari tells of starting school in a new country and what life was like before her family left their village.

Call Number: Pj Ali

Andrews, J. (1998). Very Last First Time. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

A young Eskimo girl survives danger and enjoys the fruits of her first visit alone, and under the ice, to gather mussels on the seabed floor.

Call Number:Pj And

Angelou, M. (1994). My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me . New York: C. Potter.

An African girl describes her pet chicken, her house, her clothes, and her brother. Beautiful photographs accompany the text.

Call Number:j704 Ang

Bang, M. (1985). The Paper Crane. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Elegant cut-paper and collage illustrations describe a tale of kindness in which a mysterious man pays for his dinner with a magical origami crane that comes to life.

Call Number: Pj Ban

Barracca, D. & Barracca, S. (1990). The Adventures of Taxi Dog. New York: Dial Books.

Maxi, a stray dog adopted by a taxi driver named Jim, narrates this story of their adventures as they ride around the streets of New York.

Call Number: P J Bar

Bemelmans, L. (1953). Madeline's Rescue. New York: Viking Press.

The ever-popular and feisty Madeline is rescued from the river Seine by a dog named Genevieve.

Call Number: Pj Bem

Booth, B. D. (1991). Mandy. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

Mandy, who is afraid of the dark (and also hearing impaired), goes out into the night during an approaching storm to find her beloved Grandma's special pin.

Call Number: PJ Boo

Bunting, E. (1990). The Wall. New York: Clarion Books.

A young boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C., and find the name of the boy's grandfather on the wall.

Call Number: P J Bun

Calhoun, M. (1994). Henry the Sailor Cat. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Henry the Siamese cat is a stowaway on The Man's sailboat and helps The Kid rescue The Man when he falls overboard.

Call Number: PJ Cal

Chorao, K. (1988). Cathedral Mouse. New York: Dutton.

Little Mouse visits a cathedral and is befriended by a stone carver.

Call Number: PJ Cho

De Paola, T. (1988). The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. New York: Putnam.

Tommie De Paola retells this legend about Little Gopher who becomes an artist for his people and brings the colors of the sunset down to earth.

Call Number: J398.2 Dep

Gwynne, F. (1976). A Chocolate Moose for Dinner. New York: Simon & Schuster.

A little girl is confused by homonyms when she tries to picture the things her parents are talking about, such as a chocolate moose, a gorilla war, and shoe trees.

Call Number: J428.1 Gwy

Monjo, F. N. (1993). The Drinking Gourd: A Story of The Underground Railroad . New York: HarperTrophy.

Sent home alone from church for misbehaving, Tommy discovers that his house is a station on the Underground Railroad.

Call Number: J Mon 1993

Osofsky, A. (1992). My Buddy. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

A young boy with muscular dystrophy has a very special dog who is trained to help him.

Call Number: P J Oso

Parish, P. (1977). Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Amelia Bedelia, who always takes things very literally, has a very funny time when she becomes a substitute teacher for a day.

Call Number: J Par

Ringold, F. (1999). If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a bus sparked a boycott and led to improved civil rights in Montgomery, Alabama. Beautifully illustrated.

Call Number: JB Par

Rylant, C. (1987). Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their Adventures. New York:Bradbury Press.

This first adventure brings the puppy Mudge into Henry's life; Mudge quickly grows to 180 pounds and begins the first of many fun adventures with Henry.

Call Number: P J Ryl

Sis, P. (1991). Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus. New York: Knopf: Random House.

Christopher Columbus overcomes numerous obstacles to follow his dream of sailing to the orient.

Call Number: JB Col

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