Skip to main content
  • Tags: frustration
Cork and fuzz: Short and tall
Chaconas, Dori
Cork and Fuzz are best friends, but there's one problem, and it's not that one is an opossum and the other is a muskrat. The problem is that Cork is older than Fuzz, but shorter than him. Bothered by this difference, the pair try to make Fuzz shrink and Cork grow. Fortunately, they realize that friendship is more important than a difference in height.

The steel pan of Harlem
Bootman, Colin
The city of Harlem has rats everywhere in houses, subways, restaurants, stores and business, and the citizens are fed up! One day, a steel pan man comes to the subway station and when he plays his music everyone is entranced, even the rats. He tells the mayor that he will fix the rat problem if the mayor pays him a million dollars. The mayor reluctantly agrees and the man keeps his promise. However, the mayor, does not keep his end of the bargain, so he is given what he deserves!

Billy Twitters and his blue whale problem
Barnett, Mac
When Billy Twitters doesn't brush his teeth or finish his peas, his mother says we are going to buy you a whale. This does not worry Billy, because he knows how large blue whales are and he couldn't possibly have one delivered. To his surprise, one morning there is a blue whale sitting outside his house, and it is his responsibility. The whale causes problems at school because Billy's classmates pick him at gym. And it just gets worse: his parents give him the owner's manual for the whale. While feeding him, Billy realizes that when he's inside the whale, nobody's laughing and nobody's telling him what to do...so he decides to make himself at home!

Always in trouble
Demas, Corinne
Emma's dog ,Toby, always seems to be in trouble. When Emma gives him more attention, he still gets into trouble. At dog training school, he is the best dog and receives a diploma after all the classes, but he still gets into trouble. So Emma takes him back to the school, and leaves Toby with the teacher for a week. When he comes back, Toby seems like the perfect dog, but Emma soon finds out, no dog is perfect.

Earth mother
Jackson, Ellen
The day begins by Mother Earth tending to her plants and animals. As the day progresses, Mother Earth comes upon a man, a frog, and a mosquito. Each tell Mother Earth what can be changed in their life.

April fool! Watch out at school!
DeGroat, Diane
It's April Fool's Day so Gilbert is excited to trick his friends. Throughout the day, his friends keep on tricking him, but he can't seem to trick anyone else. Gilbert doesn't give up though: he has one more trick in mind. The rest of the afternoon, he's extra nice to Lewis. Lewis gets so nervous about what Gilbert's trick is, the other classmates manage to trick him. At the end of the day, Lewis finds out Gilbert didn't have a trick after all. He had been tricked!

Madoulina: A girl who wanted to go to school: A story from south africa
Bognomo, Joel Eboueme
Madoulina has dreams of becoming a doctor. She doesn't, however, go to school because her mother needs her to sell fritters in the marketplace to earn money. Madoulina meets her brother's new teacher, who convinces her mom to find a way to let her go to school.

Michael Rosen's sad book
Rosen, Michael
Michael Rosen discusses sadness. He describes his sadness about the death of his son. Sometimes being sad makes him feel angry. Sometimes, he likes to talk about it. Other times, he wants to keep his sadness to himself. Rosen writes about his personal sadness and the various ways he tries to cope with this feeling.

The two Tyrones
Hudson, Wade
Tyrone Rashon Williams goes to school on the first day, excited about his new sneakers that he bought himself. He is disappointed when he gets there and finds that everyone has the same ones, and there is a new student, Tyrone Rashon Williams. Tyrone must deal with both of his problems, and get things back to normal.

If I had my way
Klein, Norma
Ellie wishes that - for just one day - she could have her way. She is tired of being told what to do! Why canメt she have a say? In her dreams, the tables turn and Ellie finds herself in charge. Giving her parents orders and trading in her baby brothers are Ellieメs first orders of business. Her old life doesnメt seem quite so bad.

Where am I sleeping tonight?
Ekster, Carol Gordon
Mark and Evan have a hard time keeping up with all the changes in their lives. Their parents are divorced and it's not easy remembering all the things they need to do. Mark's teacher, Mrs. Demott helps Mark, Evan and their parents get organized and also teaches them how to cope with divorce.

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.

Octavia and her purple ink cloud
Rathmell, Donna//Rathmell, Doreen
Octavia Octopus and her sea-animal friends love playing camouflage games to practice how they would hide from a モbig, hungry creature.ヤ Octavia, however, just cannot seem to get her colors right when she tries to shoot her purple ink cloud. What happens when the big, hungry shark shows up looking for his dinner? Learn your basic colors along with the camouflage techniques of various sea animals, and you'll be on your way to being a marine biologist!

Little john
Orgel, Doris//Storm, Theodor
Little John constantly wants to be rocked to sleep in his bed. When his mother falls asleep and can no longer trundle the bed, the moon befriends Little John and takes him on a journey.

Animals should definitely not wear clothing
Barrett, Judi
Wouldn't it be silly if animals wore clothing? It would probably make the lives of animals much more difficult. Enjoy exactly why clothes for animals are completely unnecessary. Would you want your new dress ruined by your porcupine quills?

Do not open this book!
Muntean, Michaela
A pig tries to dissuade the readers from opening the book because it is not finished yet. However, as the reader turns the pages, a frustrated pig realizes the book is being written after all.

He's your dog
Schories, Pat
A young boy's pet dog is on the verge of getting sent away. Before acting out, he comes up with possible solutions for the two of them. He realizes that the problem is sitting right in front of him.

Prudy's problem and how she solved it
Armstrong-Ellis, Carey
Prudy loves to collect things. But unlike most kids who collect only a few things, Prudy collects everything. Some things are even unsanitary. One day her enormous collection becomes too much for her to handle. She must come up with an idea on what to do with all her stuff. Finally she has it. She solves her problem by creating a collection museum. Here her collection can be neat, orderly and seen by everyone.

Elephant games and other playful poems to perform
Bagert, Brad
An entertaining and exciting array of poems cover many issues that children face. Gleeful elephants help explore child-friendly issues such as bullying, feelings, nutrition, parents, animals, dreams, school, pets, trouble-makers and sports. Entertaining illustrations and catchy poems invite the reader to continue exploring.

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.

The princess knight
Funke, Cornelia
Princess Violetta has been raised by her father, King Wilfred, to joust, ride horses, and fight with swords. Despite her small size, Princess Violetta quickly becomes one of the best knights in her father's kingdom, ever surpassing her three older brothers. Princess Violetta learns that before her sixteenth birthday, her father will hold a tournament to win her hand in marriage. Princess Violetta is not about to let a tournament decide her future and she decides to take action.

I hate to be sick!
Bermiss, Aamir Lee
A young boy wakes up feeling ill with a sore throat, cough, fever, and aching body. He soon realizes that he will not be able to attend school that day and experiences feelings of disappointment, since he will miss his friends and school activities. However, after eating soup and reading a bood with his father, the boy realizes that although he hates to be sick, he can get well again and return to school by eating well and resting.

Armadilly chili
Ketteman, Helen
Billie decides to make armadilly chili. She asks her friends to help her but they are all busy and do not want to help. After Billie makes the chili, all of her friends knock on her door. Billie will not let them eat because they wouldn't help. She soon realizes her chili is missing something: her friends!

The chocolate-covered-cookie tantrum
Blumenthal, Deborah
As Sophie walks home from the park with her mother, she sees another little girl eating a chocolate-covered-cookie. Sophie's mother does not have any cookies to give her and will not allow Sophie to eat cookies so close to supper time. Sophie is outraged and throws a temper tantrum! Sophie learns that not eating a cookie before supper isn't so bad after all.


Ruby's wish
Bridges, Shirin Yim
Ruby is known for wearing red and being an exceptionally bright student. Even during a time in China when ...most girls were never taught to read and write. However, Ruby's grandfather hires a teacher to come to the house, making it possible for any grandchild living in the house to learn. This initiates a desire in Ruby to attend university, a place that women in China were not encouraged to go.\r\n*Based on a true story of the author's grandmother.

The day I had to play with my sister
Bonsall, Crosby
A boy has a hard time dealing with his younger sister while teaching her the rules of hide-and-seek. She just won't listen! Uggh...being a big brother can be tough!

What planet are you from, Clarice Bean?
Child, Lauren
Clarice Bean is having a hard time coming up with an idea for her project on the environment. To make matters worse, she is paired up with her tag-along neighbor, Robert Granger. Her situation looks hopeless until her brother becomes an ecowarrior in an effort to free the tree from being cut down in their neighborhood. Robert and Clarice become ecowarriors themselves, saving the tree and their project.

Crickwing
Cannon, Janell
Crickwing is different from all the other cockroaches. He likes to create sculptures and has a twisted wing. Crickwing is tired of being bullied by the bigger animals in the forest and mistakenly takes his anger out on the leaf-cutter ants, learning a valuable lesson in return.

Loudmouth George and the sixth-grade bully
Carlson, Nancy
George's first day of school is ruined by Big Mike, who bullies George and steals his lunch. All week, George does everything he can to keep Big Mike happy. However, George can't live in fear forever! George and his friend Harriet spend the weekend devising a plan to stop Big Mike and his evil ways.

Tales for very picky eaters
Schneider, Josh
James battles his father on what to eat. James tries the disgusting broccoli, the smelly lasagna, repulsive milk, lumpy oatmeal, and slimy eggs. As James' father suggests very creative alternatives to the food that James doesn't like, he settles for the food that was offered to him originally.

All-of-a-kind family hanukkah
Jenkins, Emily
Gertie, the youngest of five children, wants to help her mother cook for their family dinner on the first night of Hanukkah in New York City’s Lower East Side. After many attempts of trying to help in the busy kitchen, Gertie is sent to her room by her mother and is eventually called down for dinner by her dad. In order to get her to come downstairs, Gertie’s father asks for her helping to light the candles of the menorah for the first time and Gertie happily accepts the offer.