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Never poke a squid
Cazet, Denys
Arnie and Raymond come home from a Halloween celebration at school. Arnie's mother asks them all about the adventures of the day. They tell her about decorating the classroom, playing games, and marching in a parade. After their story, they go off to trick-or-treat.

I speak English for my mom
Stanek, Muriel
Lupe lives with her mother who cannot speak English. Lupe helps her mother by translating what people are saying. Lupe's mother fears she may lose her job. She decides to try to learn English so she can get a better job.

Fraction action
Leedy, Loreen
Miss Prime's class is learning about fractions. After class they all go home and practice using their new knowledge by dividing fruit and selling lemonade. The next day the class has a test, but even Miss Prime doesn't always have the right answer.

Seashore story
Yashima, Taro
Come learn about the old legend of Urishima, which tells about the birth of the sun.

Lots of moms
Rotner, Shelley
Take a look at mothers and the many ways they are involved in their children's lives. They teach you, play with you, protect you, and love you.

Kindle me a riddle: A pioneer story
Karm, Roberta
Jack, Constance, Mama, and Papa play a riddling game which helps them understand life on the frontier. Their riddles are about their log cabin, food, icehouse, candles, and baskets.

Math curse
Scieszka, Jon
Don't let math overwhelm you!Your teacher can help you so math is not a curse. Or will she?

Billy and the big new school
Anholt, Laurence
Billy is very nervous about starting at his new school. He wants to stay home with his mother. Then he meets a small bird who is hurt and cannot fly. Billy takes care of it until it is ready to fly again. Find out how Billy gets himself ready to go to school and how he uses his bird story to make a friend.

Smoking stinks
Gosselin, Kim
Maddie and Alex get the facts about smoking!They learn the truth by interviewing Maddie's grandpa, Norman. His mistakes intrigue their class's journey to stay healthy and live smoke-free.

A. lincoln and me
Borden, Louise
A young boy discovers that he shares a birthday on the same day as Abraham Lincoln's. Learn how many other common characteristics a boy shares with a past president.

Ella's trip to the museum
Clayton, Elaine
Ella and her class are going to the museum. She is very excited about being there. All of the art work seems to be calling to her. They ask her to fly with the angels, spin with the ballerinas, or dance with the statues. Her teacher wants Ella to enjoy the art, but doesn't understand that it is exactly what Ella is doing!

Thank you, mr. falker
Polacco, Patricia
Trisha loves being read to and loves being at school because she can draw there. When it is Trisha's time to read, she is teased and feels dumb. Thanks to Mr. Falker, one of her teachers, she gains confidence and learns how to read.

A fine, fine school
Creech, Sharon
Mr. Keeene knows he has a fine school with great teachers and students. Since everyone is learning so much, he decides to have school on Saturdays, then Sundays, and then eventually all summer. Eventually, one student named Tillie tells Mr. Keene that they are not learning anything outside of school. Everyone is relieved when Mr. Keene announces the return of a normal school year.

It's hard to share my teacher
Prestine, Joan Singleton
Josh is having a hard time learning to share in school. He is especially frustrated when his teacher is busy helping other students. He wants to share his artwork with his teacher and his classmates. He ends up learning why sharing is so important.

All the cats in the world
Levitin, Sonia
Mikila, a poor old woman, goes down to the seaside cliffs each day to feed scraps to many hungry cats. She encounters harassment from the old man who controls the lighthouse. The man taunts her, claiming she will never feed all the cats in the world. But Mikila's faithfulness and determination teach the man a lesson.

Duck duck
Miller, Edna
After losing his mate, Duck Duck teaches his two duckling children how to find food and detect enemies. As winter approaches and his ducklings fly south, Duck Duck finds a new home and attracts a new mate.

Panther's dream: A story of the African rainforest
Weir, Bob//Weir, Wendy
Lokuli lives in the rainforest. His village will soon starve if they do not find meat. Even though the rainforest is supposedly full of evil spirits, Lokuli is brave enough to go inside. Amidst the splendor of the jungle animals, he meets a panther who teaches him an important lesson.

The dot
Reynolds, Peter H.
A little girl talks herself into believing she can't draw. She won't even try. Her teacher slowly coaxes her to at least try. Soon her effort snowballs into success. She passes on her confidence to another doubting student.

The cow that went oink
Most, Bernard
All of the animals on the farm laugh at the cow that says oink and the pig that says moo. This makes the animals feel badly about themselves. The cow and the pig decide to work together and teach each other what they know. In the end, they become the envy of all of the other animals on the farm.

Somebody has done it, why can't you?
Annoh, G. Kwesi
Two sisters in Ghana pursue their dreams of becomming career women. They receive help from their parents and teachers, and work hard to study math and science. Abena becomes a mathematician and Akousa becomes a medical officer in public health.

The talking cloth
Mitchell, Rhonda
Aunt Phoebe has a collection of many wonderful things, each having an interesting story. The little girl's favorite thing is an adinkra cloth from Ghana. It has many colors and symbols to represent feelings, faith, power, and love.

The wisdom bird: A tale of Solomon and Sheba
Oberman, Sheldon
Queen of Sheba, the wisest woman in the world, travels to Jerusalem after hearing about King Solomon, the wisest man in the world. She hopes to learn something new, but after asking for a palace made out of bird beaks, they both learn something important. This folktale is derived from Jewish, African and Biblical tales.


My teacher for president
Winters, Kay
Oliver writes a letter to the local news station to nominate his teacher for president in the next election. He thinks she meets the requirements because she signs important papers, likes white houses, goes to meetings, acts quickly in a crisis, is used to being followed around, wants peace, cares for people and the environment, goes on trips, and deals with the media. The only downfall is he doesnï¾’t want her to leave before the end of the year.

A slimy story
Knudsen, Michelle
Dan runs into a problem when he has no money and no time to buy his mom a birthday present. He canï¾’t think of anything and feels hopeless. One day, a bully puts a slimy, gross worm in Danï¾’s pocket on the walk to school. His teacher, Mrs. Stewart, places the worm in a jar, and all the children become interested. Dan even starts to like the worm and decides to give it to his mom to help her garden. She thinks the worm is a great gift.

Sumi's first day of school ever
Pak, Soyung
On Sumiï¾’s first day of school, she experiences loneliness because she doesnï¾’t know anyone and doesnï¾’t understand the language of the other children. She also thinks school is a scary and mean place because the other children are loud and one boy even sticks his tongue out at her! Eventually, Sumiï¾’s nice teacher makes her feel comfortable in her new environment. After meeting a new friend at recess, Sumi recognizes that school is not as lonely, scary, or mean as she originally thought.

Sometimes my mommy gets angry
Campbell, Bebe Moore
When Annie wakes up in the morning, she is relieved to find her euphoric mother in the kitchen. They share a healthy breakfast, then her mother helps her get ready for school. After a fun day at school, Annie comes home to an angry and yelling mother. Annie copes by calling her grandmother to talk about her feelings. She takes care of herself and maintains a positive attitude with happy thoughts. She uses effective strategies to accept her motherï¾’s bipolar disorder.

Once upon an ordinary school day
McNaughton, Colin
An ordinary boy has no idea what is in store for him one fateful, ordinary day. Everything appears to be normal until his new school teacher; Mr. Gee walks through the door. The once ordinary day turns into a whirlwind of adventures

Papa's mark
Battle-Lavert, Gwendolyn
Simms teaches his father how to write. For many years, Simm's father struggled when writing his own name. However, Papa learns just in time so he can vote in the first election which gave Blacks the right to vote.

Teacher! Sharing, helping, caring
Hubbell, Patricia
Great big school! In we go! Our teacher greets us, waves hello! A teacher and her class do lots of interesting things throughout the week. They paint, read, look at weather charts, count money, work on the computer, and greet a special guest. The students not only learn, but they have fun, too. And so does the teacher!

The best nest
Mueller, Doris
Long ago, magpie nests were the envy of all other birds. To help the other birds, Maggie Magpie patiently explains how to build a nest. But some birds are impatient and fly off without listening to all the directions, which is why, to this day, bird nests come in all different shapes and sizes. This clever retelling of an old English folktale teaches the importance of careful listening.

Freedom school, yes!
Littlesugar, Amy
Jolie shows courage in her community by protecting the school that will educate her and others. Jolie is afraid others will burn down the school. Jolie never gives up hope, and learns about famous African Americans who were brave and made a difference in their community, just like Jolie.

Making room for uncle joe
Litchfield, Ada B.
Uncle Joe has Down Syndrome and must leave his home at the hospital because it's closing. He goes to live with his sister and her family. His family learns to live with him and to love him.

Clouds
Bauer, Marion
A boy spends his day outside with his cat exploring different types of clouds and the different things that clouds do. He also explains in a colorful and easy way, what clouds are made of and how we interact with clouds on an everyday basis, using weather terminology.

Zen shorts
Muth, Jon
One day, three young children meet a panda after his umbrella lands in their yard. The children become friends with the panda, whose name is Stillwater. He passes on folktales to them to help them solve problems they are having.

Mooove over!
Beil, Karen Magnuson
A trolley driver has a set system that he always uses to keep track of the number of passengers: he counts by twos. One day, everything is going right on schedule, until a big, bossy cow comes on the trolley. The driver loses count and the cow forces the other passengers onto the roof. Finally, the driver realizes there is only one passenger, gets everyone back inside the trolley, and pushes the cow off to the streets.

Elephants can paint too!
Arnold, Katya
Comparisons are made between human students and elephants who are learning how to paint. Photographs of elephants and their artwork are shared. Children learn that these elephants have many similarities to humans and must take part in the same learning process as them in order to achieve goals.

The goat lady
Bregoli, Jane
Two young children new to Lucy Little Road, help us reveal the simple yet important life of the goat lady; a life that many people in the town despise. Through the children's time spent helping the goat lady, they learn of her vast life experiences. It isn't until after the children's mother takes portraits of the goat lady, that the rest of the town see waht a truly wonderful person the goat lady is.

Degas and the little dancer: A story about Edgar Degas
Anholt, Laurence
Marie dreams of being a famous dancer until one day her chance of being in the Christmas show diminishes when her father becomes ill. Marie begins to model for a painter to earn money for her family's lost income. One day, Maria's sculpture shows up in the art museum and becomes the famed sculpture of Edgar Degas.

May'naise sandwiches & sunshine tea
Belton, Sandra
Big Mama shares family memories of her childhood with her grandchild about a special friendship she had with Bettie Jean. Little Miss and Big Mama share the pages of a scrapbook which tells the favorite story of May'naise sandwiches and sunshine tea.

Goose's story
Best, Cari
A young girl and her dog care for an injured goose with one leg. They encourage her to learn to walk, swim, and fly. When they goose leaves for winter, they search for her everyday. A year later the goose returns with a mate and with seven baby geese.

The meanest thing to say
Cosby, Bill
Little Bill meets a new boy at school who challenges him to play a game to find the meanest thing to say. When Bill learns a new strategy from his dad, he decides to avoid the game and ignore the criticism. Soon the new boy gets embaressed, but Bill reaches out to make him his friend.

Danny and the dinosaur
Hoff, Syd
Danny visits a museum one day and comes across a dinosaur who begins to speak with Danny. The two spend the day together playing and having fun. By the end of the day it is time for the dinosaur to go back and Danny, although sad, admits he had a wonderful day.

Odd velvet
Whitcomb, Mary E.
Velvet is different from all her other classmates. After thinking she is quite odd, that students decide she's not reall that different after all. They admire Velvet's picture of an apple and love going to her unique birthday party.

Hunter bunny learns to ski
Weaver, Alexis Rae
Hunter Bunny is eagerly awaiting for winter to arrive and is determined to take part in all the activities that come along with it. He visits his fellow animal friends who teach him to ski, skate and snowboard, but with Hunter Bunny's shorter leg, he is unable to be successful. With the help of his best friend Clark, the two find a way for Hunter to be able to ski in the animal ski race. Determined to win, Hunter Bunny practices day and night for the big competition and it pays off in the end when he brings home the first place ribbon.

I was born to be a brother
Michels-Gualtieri, Zaydek G.
A big brother describes the duties he has when teaching his little sister. He has many responsibilities to uphold and for the most part gets along well with his baby sister. There are times, however, when siblings get in the way, but in the end a little sister is the best thing in the world. (With music CD)

Hunter bunny saves Easter
Weaver, Alexis Rae
Hunter Bunny, made fun of because of his limp leg, meets Clark, the duck who has trouble seeing and the two become best friends. The night before Easter, the two find the Easter bunny lying on the ground and it is now up to them to deliver the baskets around town. After successfully saving Easter, the return to the forest to find all the animals praising and cheering for them.

Doodler doodling
Gelman, Rita
A girl ponders what she will draw on her lined paper with her multicolored pen. She draws people in action. The girl mixes and changes the actions of the people in her drawings. She is proud of her drawings.

Painting the wind
MacLachlan, Patricia // MacLachlan, Emily
A young boy observes the various painters who travel to his island. Through discussions and interactions with the painters, the boy learns about painting and is finally able to achieve his goal.

Sister Anne's hands
Lorbiecki, Mary Beth
Anna begins her second year of school in the early '60's. Her new teacher, Sister Anne, is different from other teachers because she has a different skin color. She inspires students all around her and overcomes challenges. Students learn what respect and tolerance are, and everyone learns from one another.