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Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
Viorst, Judith
Alexander has what everyone has experienced at least one time -- a bad day. Nothing goes right the entire day for Alexander. He gets gum in his hair in the morning and has to eat lima beans for dinner. His mom tells him that there are good days and bad days.

Eliza's daddy
Thomas, Ianthe
Eliza's mother and father are divorced so she spends every Saturday with her father. She is curious about his new family and wants to visit them more often.


Bootsie barber bites
Bottner, Barbara
A little girl's mother and Bootsie Barber's mother are best friends. Bootsie is a very mean child. Bootsie is mean to the little girl and her pet salamander. Finally, the little girl cannot take Bootsie's meanness any more, so she decides to get back at Bootsie.

She's not my real mother
Vigna, Judith
A little boy, Miles, has a hard time when his parents divorce. He does not like his stepmother and is mean to her because she is not his real mother. After they spend the day together, however, they become friends and he realizes that he can be nice to her and his mother will not mind.

Badger's parting gifts
Varley, Susan
When Badger dies, the rest of the animals are very sad. It is not until they remember all of the good times with Badger that they get over their sadness.

Oh, the places you will go
Seuss, Dr.
A young person receives advice for going out into the world: expect life's ups and downs, be prepared for the unexpected, learn to roll with the punches, and perserverence pays off.

Very shy
Hazen, Barbara Shook
A girl becomes shy when she is not around her family. One day, she meets a boy who has just moved into her school. She becomes friends with the new boy and overcomes her shyness.

The terrible thing that happened at our house
Blaine, Marge
When a mother goes back to work, things in the house get out of control. The kids feel left out and start to get upset. Finally, with a little compromising, things work out for the best.

Get set!Go!
Watanabe, S.
A bear starts an obstacle race. He encounters obstacles and problems, but he keeps going. He finishes the race, but no one knows who wins.

The clown's smile
Thaler, Mike
After the smile flies off the clown, he must chase it from the lion tamer to the mayor's wife. After staying away for awhile, the smile comes back to the clown.

The nightgown of the sullen moon
Willard, Nancy
The moon wants a nightgown and a cozy bed to sleep in. The moon finds a nightgown and decides not to come out one night. All the people in the world are sad, so the sun makes the moon promise to take the nightgown back.

Father christmas
Briggs, Raymond
Father Christmas has one very rough day a year, Christmas Eve. He is happy when his day comes to an end for one more year.

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.

Don't forget me, santa claus
Mayo, Virginia
Santa Claus comes to deliver presents but he forgets to give them to the youngest boy. The boy becomes very upset and follows Santa outside and gets in his sleigh. When Santa realizes he has company, he gives the boy his presents and takes him back home.

Alexander, who's not (do you hear me?I mean it!) going to move
Viorst, Judith
Alexander loves his home, friends, and his life the way it is. Faced with a move to another town, Alexander becomes agitated and upset. In time he finds a way to adjust.

White snow, bright snow
Tresselt, Alvin
This book outlines the activities of various towns people, starting from when they realize it will snow, to the time it snows, to the time it melts.

Hide and seek fog
Tresselt, Alvin
A town is hit with heavy fog. Everyone in the town descibes the fog and what they are doing as their town is covered with fog.

The snowman
Briggs, Raymond
A boy builds a snowman which comes alive in the middle of the night. The boy and the snowman spend all night together. When the boy wakes up in the morning, his friend has melted.

My prairie christmas
Harvey, Brett
Christmas is a very special time for Elenore. This is her first Christmas on the prairie, and she doesn't think it will be as good as it was in Maine. But it ends up being better than ever, because her family pulls together to make everything work out.

Sunshine home
Bunting, Eve
Tim and his parent go to visit his grandmother in the Sunshine Home. Tim's mother and grandmother both act brave and refuse to cry in his presence. Tim catches both of them crying at the end of the visit, and he insists that they share their feelings.

Where do i fit in?
Noble, Joan
John's parents get divorced and his mom re-marries. He does not understand where he belongs. When he goes to his new grandparents and has a good time, he realizes they love him and he does have a place where he belongs.

Harry and tuck
Keller, Holly
Harrison and Tucker are twin brothers who are very close and act alike as they are growing up. When they go to kindergarten, they end up in different classrooms. Although they are upset intially, they learn to develop differences and like it.

Hey, al
Yorinks, A.
Al wants a new, more relaxed life. One day, a bird comes and takes him to a little paradise. Al turns into a bird, so maybe his life at home was not so bad afterall.

My ol' man
Polacco, Patricia
Patricia Polacco tells the story of her childhood summers at her dad's house. As a traveling car salesman, her father brought home many stories to share with his children. Together they experience a magic rock that has the power to change their outlook on life.

Will there be a lap for me?
Corey, Dorothy
We follow Kyle through the experience of his mother's pregnancy and the birth of his new baby brother. Kyle questions and then finds his place in his growing family.

Gracias, Rosa
Markel, Michelle
When Kate gets a new babysitter, she is not too excited because Rosa speaks Spanish. Soon Kate and Rosa learn to communicate and share each other's traditions.

Through moon and stars and night skies
Turner, Ann//Hale, James
A little boy from another country is adopted by a couple in another country. On his flight to his new home he deals with the fears of moving and he wonders if his new mom and dad will love him.

When andy's father went to prison
Hickman, Martha Whitmore
Andy Wilson's father is sent to jail for stealing. In order to be closer to him, Andy and his family move to a new city. Andy has to deal with the added pressure of a new school and a father who is in prison. He actually seems to cope and deal with the situation very well.

It happens to everyone
Myers, Bernice
It is the first day of school. Michael is nervous as he gets dressed, eats his breakfast, and rides the bus to school. Mrs. Daniels, a teacher, also gets ready for school. She is nervous, too. When Michael and Mrs. Daniels arrive at school, they discover that they are in the same classroom.

Someone new
Zolotow, C.
A little boy grows up and begins to find out what is different in his life.

Now let me fly
Johnson, Dolores
A family moves from Africa to America. They suffer hardships in anticipation of a different future.

When the whipperwill calls
Ransom, Candice F.
A small family who lives a simple life in the Blue Ridge Mountains is forced to leave because a park is being built on their land. The little girl tries to fulfill the mountain legend told to her by her father.

Bang bang you're dead
Fitzhugh, Louise
A group of kids like to play fake war on a hill. Another group of kids come to the hill to play too. Both groups have a real war, and some of them get hurt. They eventually decide to share the hill.

How the reindeer saved santa
Haywood, Carolyn
Santa Claus tries to modernize Christmas by using a helicopter. His problems begin to multiply and so eventually he goes back to his dependable sleigh and reindeer.

Will you come back for me?
Tompert, Ann
A four year old girl is worried about being left in day care for the first time. Her mother reassures her that when she leaves her, she will always come back for her.

Would they love a lion?
Denton, Kady MacDonald
Trying to get noticed with a new baby in the house, Anna pretends to be different animals. But even a lion, the biggest, loudest animal of all, still needs a nap!

The smallest cow in the world
Paterson, Katherine
A very mean cow named Rosie is sold by her owners. Five-year-old Marvin gets extremely upset when his parents move.

Little bear's friend
Minarik, Else Holmelund
Little Bear made a new friend named Emily one summer. They play with each other until Emily has to go back to school in the fall. Little Bear is sad to lose his friend.

Trouble with trolls
Brett, Jan
Treva takes her dog with her to visit her cousin in the mountains. Unfortunately, nasty trolls, who want to steal Tuffi, confront Treva. Treva refuses to give up, which leads to quite an adventure.

George shrinks
Joyce, William
George wakes up one day to find he has shrunk. He spends the day trying to complete the tasks his parents have left for him to do.

Preep: The little pigeon of trafalgar square
Shulman, Milton
An odd little pigeon is taken from Trafalgar Square. All the rest of the pigeons go on strike until he is returned. Life returns to normal when the little pigeon is returned.

The rich man and the shoemaker
La Fontaine
A poor, old, but happy shoemaker sings all day long to keep his rich neighbor from sleeping. A rich man gives the shoemaker a bag of gold to keep quiet. The gold causes him to worry constantly and the shoemaker loses all his friends. The shoemaker realizes he is unhappy, returns the gold, and decides to go back to making shoes and friends.

The lady who put salt in her coffee
Schwartz, Amy//Hale, Lucretia
A lady puts salt in her coffee one morning by mistake and did not know what to do. Her family calls a chemist and an herb lady. They both were unsuccessful. At last, a wise lady from Boston suggests making a fresh cup.

Saying goodbye to daddy
Vigna, Judith
A young girl copes with the death of her father. Her mother and grandfather help her through the painful grieving after the car accident.

When eric's mom fought cancer
Vigna, Judith
A young boy copes with his mother's cancer. Going through a range of emotions, he finally comes to more of an understanding about her illness.

Hester in the wild
Boynton, Sandra
Hester wants to go camping, but she keeps running into problems. First she has a hole in her canoe, then in her foot. After many other catastrophies, she finally goes home.

Angel mae
Hughes, Shirley
The event of a birth in her family and preparations for a Christmas play cause Mae to be anxious. Mae's courage helps her to make decisions to solve her problems.

Someday with my father
Buckley, Helen E.//Eagle, Eleen
A little girl has many dreams of things she would like to do with her father. She is not able to do them because she has a broken leg. She will have fun when the cast comes off.

Fish in the air
Wiese, Kurt
Little fish owned everything that looked like a fish. One day he makes his dad buy him the biggest fish kite. The kite is caught by a gust of wind and little fish is taken into the air and dropped into a fish net in the nearest pond.