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Beginnings: How families come to be
Kroll, Virginia
Parents tell their children how they became a family. There are birth families, adoption families, single-parent families, two parent families, and different ethnic families.

Beginning to learn about colors
Allington, Richard
An artist mixes many colors and draws pictures representing them. For example, red for apple, white for egg, and gray for mushroom.


Before the storm
Yolen, Jane
On this hot summer day not much activity is taking place. The dog is laying around trying to keep cool and the children were not active. When one of the children gets the hose out, everyone became excited to be cooled off. A storm came through and it rained all day. The rain caused the children to wish for the hot summer sun.

Before John was a jazz giant: A song of John Coltrane
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Before John became a jazz giant, he loved music, singing, instruments, and the radio. The bustling of the south and the foundation of his church and family allows John to listen and create his own music.

Before i go to sleep
Hood, Thomas
Prior to going to sleep, a child imagines himself as many animals.

Beep beep, vroom vroom!
Murphy, Stuart J.
Molly wants to play with her big brother's brightly colored toy cars just like him. But her family thinks she is too little to share Kevin's cars and besides, he likes to keep them in a special order. Each family member catches Molly playing with Kevin's cars and they help her put them back the way Kevin likes them. In the end, Molly gets a surprise of her own!

Bedtime, zachary!
Blaustein, Muriel
Zachary is a young tiger cub who simply refuses to go to bed. One night, his parents decide to teach him a lesson and let Zachary be the parent-an he learns a lesson!

Bedtime monster (A dormir, pequeno monstruo!)
Burnell, Heather
A little boy doesn't want to go to bed. He whines. He cries. He throws a tantrum. He begins to grow a tail. What? A tail? It's true! This little boy is not only acting like a monster, he turns into one! He growls a scary growl. He grows long hair and sharp claws. But, his parents know what to do. They calmly cuddle, rock, and sing to him. Here is a monster you might actually want to snuggle with as bedtime draws near.

Bedtime for frances
Hoban, Russell
It's France's bedtime but she isn't very tired, so she makes up an alphabet song, imagines a tiger, sees a giant, and learns that the wind has a job before she falls asleep.

Bed bouncers
Knutson, Kimberly
Two young children become bed bouncers in a fantasy through the sky. They see the moon, the stars, and friends from other lands. The kids return home to wait for their next bed bouncing adventure.

Becky and the bear
Van Woerkom, Dorothy
Becky's father and brother go hunting for some food while she stays at home with Granny. Becky wishes she was old enough to go hunting and be brave. When Granny has to leave, Becky is left behind to finish some chores and is chased by a large bear.

Becca backwards, becca frontwards: A book of concept pairs
McMillan, Bruce
Through the use of photographs, a little girl named Becca, displays opposites. For example, a full glass of milk and an empty glass of milk are opposites.

Because I am human
Buscaglia, Leo
With few words, this story describes all the aspects of humanity in a child's vocabulary.

Beautiful moon/ Bella luna
Jeffers, Dawn
What if days went on forever and nighttime never came? Find out what a girl does to fill her days and fulfill her dreams.

Beautiful blackbird
Bryan, Ashley
Colorful birds in the forest want to be like the blackbird. The blackbird teaches the other birds that each one is beautiful in its own unique way and that beauty does not come from a color.

Beats me, claude
Nixon, Joan Lowery
Shirley and Tom are a lonely old couple until Tom comes to stay with them. Shirley tries to make pie but everytime she tries, robbers come. The pie is so bad it makes them all sick.

Beatrice's goat
McBrier, Page
Beatrice lives in Uganda and helps her mother care for her younger siblings. Money is scarce until Mugisa, a goat arrives. Mugisa provides milk, and the family is nourished by it. Mugisa's milk and babies provide enough money so Beatrice and her family can live a better life. Beatrice can afford her dream of attending school. This story has an afterwords by Hillary Rodhman Clinton.

Beastly feast
Goldstone, Bruce
The animals are going to have a feast. Each animal brings a food that rhymes with its name. From carrots to honey, all of the food is enjoyed by all of the animals. When the armadillos arrive with pillows the feast is over.

Beast
Meddaugh, Susan
Anna sees a beast in the forest. Her family thinks it must be mean, dangerous, strong, ferocious, and fearless. Anna discovers it is hungry, scared, and gentle, so she helps the beast.

Bearskin
Pyle, Howard
Bearskin, an infant son of a miller, is sent down the river by the king only to be found by a she-bear who raises him. As Bearskin gets older he goes out into the world to be with other people. He learns about a three-headed dragon who takes the princess. If anyone can kill the dragon, then they get to marry the princess. Will Bearskin be able to kill the dragon and win her heart?

Bearsie bear and the surprise sleepover party
Waber, Bernard
Bearsie bear is all snuggly in his bed when Moosie moose arrives. This is when all the chaos starts. After Moosie moose arrives, Goosie goose, Foxie fox, Cowsie cow, and finally Porkie porcupine stop by for a visit. Everyone jumps out when Porkie porcupine gets into bed. In the end, they all sleep peacefully during the surprise sleepover party.

Bears in pairs
Yektai, Niki
Several different bears are described by their activities, feelings, and different colors.

Bears
Krauss, Ruth
As a young boy drifts off to sleep with his teddy bear, his dog jumps up, takes it, and runs away. The boy follows the dog through a series of scenes involving bears with simple rhyming text. At last the dog retrieves the bear. The boy, the bear, and the dog happily retreat to bed. Was it a dream or was it reality? Decide for yourself.

Beardream
Hobbs, Will
It is spring, and all the bears are out except one. Short Tail decides to go find the one they call the Great Bear. He quickly tries climbing the mountains and goes to sleep, where he often finds the Great One in his dream. The Great One is so impressed by Short Tail's respect, that he shares an important secret.

Bearabics: A hip-hop counting story
Parker, Vic
Where's all that music coming from?It's bear doing his bearobics!Everyone wants to get in on the action, so kangaroos start hopping, penguins start sliding, and ants start marching. Soon everyone is doing that cool bearobics thing.

Bear's bargain
Asch, Frank
Bear wishes he could fly like Little Bird, and Little Bird wants to be big and strong like Bear. Both of them got their wishes fulfilled in a very creative and imaginative way.

Bear shadow
Asch, Frank
Bear sees his shadow and tries to get away from it. He tries many things but nothing seems to work. Eventually, he learns that he and his shadow can be happy together.

Bear party
du Bois, William Pene
The bears in Koala Park are not nice to each other. They have a party and make up. After the costume party, they do not recognize each other so they all keep part of their costumes on to recognize each other.

Bear mouse
Freschet, Bernice
Follows the natural habitat of a mouse who must feed her family, dodge predators, and search for food during the winter.

Bear circus
du Bois, William Pene
At Koala Park, grasshoppers are eating all of the food. The koala bears are without food and don't know what to do. They get help from the kangaroos and find circus equipment. They put on a show.

Bear and mrs. duck
Winthrop, Elizabeth
Nora loves Bear. They eat lunch, read stories, and sleep next to each other. Bear gets sick so Mrs. Duck comes to babysit. Bear and Mrs. Duck become friends.

Bear
Schoenherr, John
A young bear wakes one morning to find that his mother is gone. He goes through many adventures trying to find her and learns to live on his own.

Beach days
Robbins, Ken
There are many reasons why people go to the beach. Some include riding the waves, eating hot dogs and ice cream, playing in the sand, or just sitting and watching the sunset.

Beach ball
Sis, Peter
Mary and her mother visit the beach. They see numbers, opposites, letters, and shapes. There are many fun things to do at the beach.

Be ready at eight
Parish, Peggy
Miss Molly was never good at remembering. One day, she woke up with a string tied around her finger to remind her of something special. But she had forgets what it was. Miss Molly throws a party for herself, which turns out to be a surprise party.

Be quiet, Marina!
DeBear, Kristen
Marina and Moira are very much alike, and yet very different. They like to play with one another, but often have conflicts. They learn to work through their differences and become the best of friends.

Be nice to josephine
Horvath, Betty
Charlie devotes every Saturday to playing baseball. This Saturday his cousin Josephine comes to visit and his mother insists that he entertain her.

Be good to eddie lee
Fleming, Virginia
As Christy and Jim Bud approach the pond to search for frog eggs, they realize Eddie Lee, a neighbor with Down's Syndrome, has followed them. Christy's mother has always told her to be good to Eddie Lee. Christy is kind, but Jim Bud is not. As the story evolves, Eddie Lee shares the best discovery of all with Christy.

Be brave, baby rabbit
Manushkin, Fran
Baby rabbit and his big sister go trick-or-treating. In the beginning baby rabbit is afraid of all the costumes, but in the end, he proved that he was brave.

Be boy buzz
hooks, bell
bell hooks poetically describes the pleasures of being a boy. Boys are beautiful. Sometimes, they are all boy. Sometimes, they like to laugh and talk, and sometimes they like the quietness of being alone. Boys have many moods, actions, and emotions.

Be bop-a-do walk
Hamanaka, Sheila
Emi and Martha go on a very long walk with Emi's dad. After many stops they reach Central Park, where Emi's dad makes them paper sail boats and hats. They are too tired to walk home so they take the bus. Emi's dad makes paper cranes for everyone.


Bayberry bluff
Lent, Blair
Bayberry Bluff starts out as a summer tenting island but some of the campers wish to extend their visit. The campers stay and the little island becomes a small village with houses instead of tents.

Baxter Barret Brown's bass fiddle
McKenzie, Tim A
Baxter Barret Brown loves to play his bass fiddle. He decides to take it with him wherever he goes and turn it into whatever he needs. However, he soon learns that when he changes the fiddle he can't play the music he loves and must change it back if he wants what really makes him happy.

Batwings and the curtain of night
Davol, Marguerrite W.
In the beginning, there was nothing. Then the mother of all things created day, night, and the animals. The animals discover that there is a problem with the night curtain because it is too dark at night. How can the animals work together to solve the problem?

Batter up!
Johnson, Neil
A young boy named Nick joins a baseball team and learns everything about the game. He has to deal with losing a big game. The loss helps him to refine his weaknesses.

Bathwater's hot
Hughes, Shirley
A little girl discovers opposites in the world around her. She discovers the difference between hot and cold water and many other things in her world.

Bat boy and his violin
Curtis, Gavin
Reginald loves playing the violin. His father only has time to worry about the Duke's losing streak. Reginald passionately plays the violin to improve the baseball team's losing streak. Find out what else Reginald's love for the violin improves.

Basket moon
Ray, Mary Lynn
When a young boy learns through nature his purpose in life, he has a hard time dealing with it. He has to overcome peoples' judgement on the career he chooses. But in the end he comes to se the true meaning of his work.