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A hole is to dig
Krauss, Ruth
Look at definitions and observations from a child's perspective. Learn childlike explanations for what different things are.


A green christmas
Kroeber, Theordora
A family moves to California from Colorado. The little boy and girl have to adjust to a green Christmas, which they do not like. But then, they receive a letter from Santa Claus that cheers them up.

A good morning's work
Zimelman, Nathan
When Mitsuo hoes his garden, he finds rare things in nature which he tries not to harm. All the while, his dad makes sure he's working.

A gift for abuelita: Celebrating the day of the dead
Luenn, Nancy
Rosita and her grandmother are very close. Rosita's grandmother teaches Rosita how to braid, garden, and make tortillas. When Rosita's grandmother dies, Rosita feels a great loss without her around and misses her terribly. Her family tells Rosita that she can make a gift to give to her grandmother on the Day of the Dead. Rosita braids a cord that is filled with love and memories for her grandmother.

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.

A father like that
Zolotow, C.
A little boy wishes he had a father. He tells his mother all the things he would do with his father if he were there.

A family that fights
Berstein, Sharon Chesler
Henry, Joe, and Claire live in a very sad family. Sometimes, their dad gets very angry and hits their mom. This doesn't happen all the time, though-sometimes, Dad is nice and fun. Henry, Joe, and Claire wish these fun times would never end. They must learn to understand that the fights are not their fault, and they must learn to talk to an adult about the feelings they are having.

A family like yours
Dotlich, Rebecca K.
There are so many families who do different things. Different families eat different foods, enjoy different activities, speak different languages, and live in different dwellings. There is always a family that is just right for you.

A day's work
Bunting, Eve
Fransico takes his grandfather out to look for work. His grandfather does not speak English, so Fransico must translate. Fransico accepts a gardening job for his grandfather by telling the man he is a great gardener. When the man comes at the end of the day, he finds the job done incorrectly. Fransico's lie teaches him an invaluable lesson.

A day with Wilbur Robinson
Joyce, William
Wilburs best friend spends the day at his house looking for his grandfather's false teeth. In the process, they meet one crazy relative after another.

A day with daddy
Girimes, Nikki
A young African American boy living with his mother spends the day with his father. They spend time together doing a variety of activities that leave the boy satisfied with his life.

A crack in the wall
Haggerty, Mary E
A young boy and his mother move into a new apartment. While his mother spends her time looking for a new job, the boy spends a great deal of his time transforming an ugly, scary crack in the wall into something beautiful for his mom.

A cow for jaya
Grant, Eva
Jaya, a young boy in India, desperately wants a cow for his family. However, when his parents buy Khubi, the cow, Jaya is disappointed because she is so ugly. Despite Khubi's physical apperance, she and Jaya develop a close friendship when Khubi saves Jaya from trouble.

A Christmas like Helen's
Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie
Christmas in the early years of America's life describes the life of a younh girl names Helen. Living on a farm before the time of telephones or cars, Helen spends her days working on the farm, walking to school in the cold of winter and spending time with her family, hearing stories of her ancestors. Helen's Christmas begins in the summer when her family plants the food that will be eaten on Christmas morning and their Christmas spirit stays alive throughout the year by helping ill and injured neighbors with tasks around their farms. Christmas is a time for Helen's family to come together from all over and build their relationships over feasts, church, midnight skating and fun.

A chocolate moose for dinner
Gwynne, Fred
A girl imagines the things her parents talk about from watching television. What are such things as gorilla warfare, car pools, and fishing tackle?It is a fun play-on-words.

A child's treasury of nursery rhymes
Denton, Kady MacDonald
A collection of nursery rhymes provides children with rhyming skills and patterns. Over 100 nursery rhymes are remembered through illustrations, songs, and verse.

A child's day in a Ghanaian city
Provencal, Francis & McNamara, Catherine
Nii Kwei gets up with the sun, and at half past five, he's already hard at work chasing the chickens and sweeping the compound clean with his straw broom. As the city begins to wake up, he washes, changes into his school uniform, and sits down to chocolate milk and sandwiches for breakfast. Photographs capture the lively rhythms of West African daily life, and this delightful dawn-to-dusk journal will encourage young readers, wherever they live, to compare and contrast Nii Kwei's day with their own.

A child story in a south african city
Wulfsohn, Gisele
Presents a day in the life of a child living in Johannesburg, discussing the social life, customs, religion, history, and language of South Africa.

A chair for my mother
Williams, Vera B.
There is a jar that a mother saves all her change in from work. When the jar is finally full, she buys a chair that is very comfortable. This is important because all of her furniture was destroyed in a fire.

A castle on Viola street
Disalvo, Dyanne
Andy's family lives in a small, cramped apartment, and his parents work long hours to support the family. He never thought that they would ever live in an actual house, but one day they find a flyer saying You too can own a home. The organization buys empty houses and allows families to fix-up houses and then other people will help fix up a house for them. Andy's family is so excited as they help clean, paint, put down hard wood flooring, and pass out lemonade. At the end of the year, they find out that the next house to be built will be theirs!

A carp for kimiko
Kroll, Virginia
Kimiko is a young Japanese girl who desperately wants a carp kite to fly on Children's Day. But only boys are allowed to have these kites, and Kimiko questions this rule.

A cane in her hand
Litchfield, Ada B.
Valerie, a young girl, has poor eyesight. She needs to use a cane to walk around. She eventually learns to use the cane and not feel bad about it.

A candle for christmas
Speare, Jean
Thomas's parents need to help his uncle, so they leave Thomas with a friend one week before Christmas. Thomas is afraid that his parents won't make it home. They show up late Christmas Eve and Thomas is happy.

A button in her ear
Litchfield, Ada B.
Angela Perkins sturggles to hear others, so her parents take her to the doctor for an examination. She must wear a hearing aid. Her friends think she is special and she enjoys wearing the hearing aid.

A boy named giotto
Guarnieri, Paolo
Dreams really do come true for Giotto, a young shepard boy, who is mindless of his chores and duties because of his strong passion and talent for painting. Although he loses a sheep, Giotto's curiosity and persistence lead him to find someone who can unlock the door to his artistic future.

A birthday for frances
Hoban, Russell
Frances buys a candy bar for Gloria's birthday then thinks about how she can keep it or eat part of it. However, her heart softens and she decides Gloria should have it all.

A birthday for blue
Lydon, Kerry Raines
It was little Blue's seventh birthday. He must celebrate while traveling west with his family on a conastoga wagon. Blue's father was unable to give him a present, so he planted seven trees along the wagon trail that would be Blue's forever.

A birthday basket for tia
Mora, Pat
A little Mexican girl and her family throw a surprise party for her tia (aunt). She makes her a special present of sentimental value. Tia opens her present and loves it.

A bedtime story
Fox, Mem
Polly has a room filled with books but does not know how to read. With her stuffed animal, Bed Rabbit, Polly interrupts her parents' reading time for a bedtime story.

A beautiful pearl
Whitelaw, Nancy
The feelings of three generations are shared through the loving story of a girl and her grandmother who has Alzheimer's Disease.

A bear for christmas
Keller, Holly
Joey gets a big package for Christmas from Grandma. Joey's mom hides the package but Joey finds it and ends up tearing the teddy bear. He is depressed, but in the end, his mom fixes the bear.

A beach day
Florian, Douglas
A family takes a trip to the beach on the Fourth of July. The family flies kites, collects shells, builds castles, and watches fireworks.

A band of angels: A story inspired by the jubilee singers
Hopkinson, Deborah
A young girl listens to a story told by her aunt. Her story is about the young girl's great great grandmother and how she used her voice and dedication to fight for her education after the slaves were freed. The story was also tells how a group of singers toured and sang slave songs. They were trying to save their school, but ended up creating a university.

A balloon for grandad
Gray, Nigel
Sam lost his balloon out the back door. At first he was sad, but his father reminded him of his grandfather Abdulla who lived very far away. Sam thought about how his balloon might travel to his grandfather and make him very happy.

A baby sister for frances
Hoban, Russell
Frances has a new sister, Gloria. She believes that she is not loved because of her new sibling and runs away to the dining room. Her parents cleverly talk her into returning.

100th day worries
Cuyler, Margery
When her teacher tells the class that everyone must bring in collections of 100 for the 100th day of school, Jessica begins to worry. What will she bring in?Her family finally helps her come up with a special collection.

10 minutes till bedtime
Rathmann, Peggy
When dad yells 10 minutes till bedtime, the hamster parade shows up to take you on a tour to get ready for bed. From the kitchen to the bath and the bedroom the hamsters help along each step of the way to make getting ready for bed fun.

1,2,3 thanksgiving
Nikola-Lisa, W.
It is Thanksgiving, so this book gives a step-by-step sequence of what to prepare to eat and how to set the table. It focuses on the numbers 1-8