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  • Tags: verbal communication
Monster goes to the beach
Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann
On a nice sunny day, Monster and the little boy and little girl go to the beach. While relaxing near the water, all the children came over to ask Monster to play hide and seek. Monster hides, but the children always find him. They tell Monster to hide where he cannot be found, so he covers himself with sand. When the children canメt find him, they play on a sand hill. Soon, a boy begins to dig in the sand and found Monster.

The bully blockers club
Bateman, Teresa
Lotty is very excited to begin a new school year. When she arrives at school, Grant Grizzly changes her attitude. He picks on her everyday, causing her to feel ill. Lotty tries to get Grant to stop by ignoring him, being his friend, and telling the teacher. It seems as if nothing can stop the bully, until Lotty and her friends create the Bully Blockers Club.

Monster and the toy sale
Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann
Monster and the little boy see an ad in the newspaper that reads モTOY SALE TODAY!ヤ Together, they bicycle to the store. On their journey, they are very helpful to others. Monster and the little boy serve as policemen to direct traffic, and as mangers at the toy store. They are so busy that they run out of time to shop for their own toys. Everyone is grateful for their unselfish behavior.

Jazzy Miz Mozetta
Roberts, Brenda C.
One night Miz Mozetta decided that she felt like dancing. Her friends outside made excuses not to dance and the children across the street would not let her. Miz Mozetta sulks to her room, but soon enough her friends and the children show up in her memories ready to dance the jitterbug all night long.

Duck for president
Cronin, Doreen
Duck gets tired of doing chores on the farm, so he holds an election to change the way things are run. Duck wins the election, but gets bored and runs for Governor. He wins again and does not like the stress, so he runs for President and wins. Being President is even harder work than being on the farm so he returns to the farm to write his autobiography.

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 motherメs bipolar disorder.

Zathura:  A space adventure
VanAllsburg, Chris
Danny and Walter Budwing have a typical brotherly relationship. It isnメt until Danny finds an old game that takes the boys away to another galaxy that the brothers finally reach a new appreciation for one another.

Death in a nut
Maddern, Eric
Jackメs mother tells him she is dying. He stops the grim reaper from taking her by fighting him. He realizes death has to occur to survive, because he needs to eat. Grim reaper allows Jackメs mother to live longer.

Sumi's first day of school ever
Pak, Soyung
On Sumiメs first day of school, she experiences loneliness because she doesnメt know anyone and doesnメ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, Sumiメ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.

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.

A new improved Santa
Wolff, Patricia
Santa is determined to become a new and improved Santa. He changes his hair, loses weight, and changes his clothing style. The children are not happy with his changes; they want the old Santa back.

The heroic symphony
Harwell-Celenza, Anna
Ludwig Van Beethoven learns he is going deaf. He is an accomplished and promising young pianist and this devastates him. Beethoven realizes his condition is actually leading to his destiny not his downfall. In creating his symphony no. 3 he searches for a hero on which to base his musical inspiration. He eventually realizes it is about him!

My pal, Victor
Bertrand, Diane Gonzales
Dominic and Victor have a special friendship in spite of Dominicメs disability. They laugh, tell jokes, and do many fun things together on the baseball field, at the amusement park, and during sleepovers.

In the small, small night
Kurtz, Jane
A young boy moves to America from Ghana. He is worried about forgetting his past. Thanks to his mother, he is able to go back to the world he once knew.

The silence in the mountains
Rosenberg, Liz
Iskander and his family live in Lebanon until war breaks out. Then, they are forced to flee the country they love to live in American where there is no war. However, Iskander is homesick. To help him feel better, each of his family members do something special to make him feel better.

The barking mouse
Sacre, Antonio
A Spanish speaking mouse family goes on a picnic. The parents spend the day showing each other affection while the brother and sister go play. While they are playing, the come across a cat. The cat scared everyone, except the mother mouse who saves them by speaking another language.

Going north
Harrington, Janice N
Goodbye, Alabama, hello, Lincoln, Nebraska! This family moves from the South to the North so that the papa can find a better job. During their trip up North the family endures a couple struggles, such as the children not wanting to leave their home, the baby crying, and getting restless, and lastly, almost running out of gas! They make it to Nebraska and realize they are together and need to be brave and pioneering.

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 doesnメt want her to leave before the end of the year.

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.

Sun mother wakes the world: An Australian creation story
Wolkstein, Diane
The indigenous people of Australia believe their ancestors created the world through the sun shining on all living things to wake them up, bringing them to life. Sun Mother then creates the Morning Sun and the Moon to watch over ther children living on Earth in this spiritual, emotional, and multicultural story of creation.

The monster behind the wall
Herbert, Barbara N.
Danny moves to a new house and discovers a monster on the other side of their garden wall. The monster throws Dannyメs soccer ball back to him, talks, plays, and eats candy with Danny. At school the next day, Danny plays soccer and gets tripped. Both boys yell nasty names at each other. Then, Danny goes home to talk to the monster, Fred, but he wasnメt there. Later, a huge thunderstorm tears down the wall, and Danny sees that モFredヤ is the child that tripped him during soccer. They become fast friends, tear the wall down, and play soccer together

The biggest soap
Shaefer, Carole
Kessy loved to listen to stories told by his Mama and his cousins on laundry days. One laundry day, Kessy is asked to go to the store and bring back the biggest piece of laundry soap. Kessy returns and tells his story about the biggest soap.

Jump into January:  A journey around the year.
Blackstone, Stella
The twelve months are packed with much action! Discover all twelve months and the four seasons while looking for the items and details in the illustrations. People demonstrate all of what makes the entire year so special, starting with January, of course!

The balloon sailors
Swanson, Diana
When bickering princes take the throne, the kingdom is split in two by a wall so that each brother rules half. The kingdom is divided and it is illegal for people to cross the wall. Since Tamala and Abalon are forbidden to see their grandmother and cousin on the other side of the wall, they decide to float over it in a hot air balloon. They work with their parents to collect materials, build the balloon, and wait for the perfect weather conditions. The family departs during the night, escapes military fire from soldiers, and surprises their relatives in the morning. This adventure is loosely based on the true story of two East German families sailing over the Berlin Wall in their own hot air balloon in 1979.

Monster and the surprise cookie
Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann
Monster and the little boy decide to throw a party! They travel to the supermarket to find refreshments for their guests. They pack their shopping cart full of cookies, but when they go through the line, they realize that they donメt have enough money! Instead, they buy a few ingredients, so they can make cookies at home. Using a recipe book, they make a variety of shaped cookies. Surprisingly, these cookies take the shape of Monster when placed together. The cookies are delicious and everyone is pleased!

Something to tell the grandcows
Spinelli, Eileen
Hoping to have a wonderful adventure to tell her grandcows, Emmadine volunteers to go to the South Pole in 1933. Emmadine learns a lot of interesting facts about Antarctica. After being there for a while, Emmadine misses the other animals on the farm. When she returns home from her adventure, her grandcows are very impressed with her experiences on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition

My first Chinese New Year
Katz, Karen
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year! A Chinese child is getting ready for the Chinese New Year by decorating the walls with red, making an alter to honor ancestors, getting a new dress to wear, and getting a haircut to start the new year off fresh and new. They eat a New Year Eve feast for good health and enjoy the New Year parade with lion dancers, drummers, and the dragon! Then, they wish each other Gung Hay Fat Choy!

The patchwork path: A quilt map to freedom
Stroud, Bettye
Hannah and her father are slaves who decide to escape to freedom. They use the patterns in the quilt made by her mother, who passed away, to follow the Underground Railroad.

Marsupial Sue
Lithgow, John
Marsupial Sue is not a happy kangaroo. She does not enjoy the things kangaroos do. Marsupial Sue decides to go explore and find the place where she belongs. She tries to fit in with many other groups of animals. She finally discovers the place where she is happiest.

The red bird
Lindgren, Astrid
A brother and sister who live a very poor and hard life find a secret doorway to a モperfect worldヤ. The children leave it to go back to their lives after being told if they shut the door they can never return. But, one cold hard day they entered the モroomヤ again and face the decision, モDo we shut the door?ヤ.

Days with frog and toad
Lobel, Arnold
Frog and his friend, Toad, go through many adventures. On these adventures, Toad learns many valuable lessons from Frog.

Frog and toad are friends
Lobel, Arnold
The friendship and adventures of frog and toad unfold with many activities that strengthen their relationship.

We

We

Schertle, Alice
Describes the emergence of humankind out of Africa, charting the course of human development from seven million years ago to today, highlighting the development of diversity among peoples and our ability to invent and discover.

The first bear in africa
Ichikawa, Satomi
The animals of the African savanna help Meto as he tries to return the toy bear left behind by a young tourist.

The heart of the lion
Watson, Pete
An American boy comes to understand and admire the rich culture and traditions of West Africa.


A triangle for Adaora: An African book of shapes
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
When Adaora's cousin promises to find a triangle for her, he does'nt realize just how difficult the task might be. As they search through their village, the cousins encounter a variety of other shapes - heart-shaped leaves, circular elephant drums, crescent-shaped plantains - everything but the shape they seek. Just when the children are too tired to look anymore, they find a perfect triangle...and a great surprise to go along with it!

Dog biscuit
Cooper, Helen
Bridget ate a biscuit, but it was a dog biscuit. Her babysitter, Mrs. Blair, found out and told her she would turn into a dog. The rest of the day, Bridget could feel things changing and she even starts acting like a dog, but even her mom did not notice. During the night, she goes out and plays with other dogs and is finally happy about eating the dog biscuit until she thinks about her family. She starts howling, until she finds herself back in her bed with her mom by her side. When she confesses, her mom assures her Mrs. Blair was teasing and the next day Mrs. Blair agrees and gives her human treats instead!

First come the zebra
Barasch, Lynne
In the Kenyan grassland, Abaani, a Maasai boy takes his cattle out to graze. While he is out he sees a vegetable stand with a young boy from the Kikuyu farms, who are rivals of his tribe because they destroy their land. While arguing, a group of Kamba women and children approach to trade for fruits and vegetables, and one baby wanders toward three warthogs. Abaani sees this and knows he can save the baby himself so he calls to Haki to help. Together they save the boy, which is the beginning of a growing friendship. They learn how to appreciate one another and hope to teach their families to be friends.

Africa brothers and sisters
Kroll, Virginia
At lunchtime Daddy and Jesse play their favorite game: a question and answer game about people who live in Africa and the ways in which they are connected to Jesse.

Boundless grace
Hoffman, Mary
According to the stories Grace read, her family is not normal. Grace's father lives in Africa while she and her mother live in America. Grace visits her father to learn about his new family and the African culture in Gambia. Grace's visit to Africa helps her to understand that her family is normal.

African beginnings
Haskins, James//Benson, Kathleen
Come explore and celebrate the powerful impact people of African descent have made on world history and on the American experience.

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.

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!

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.

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.

A is for africa
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
The author, a member of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, presents text and her own photographs of twenty-six things, from A-Z, representative of all African peoples.

Galimoto
Williams, Karen Lynn
Kondi needs wire to make his galimoto, the word in Malawi Africa which means car. He thinks of clever ways to make his galimoto in the shape of a car. He falls asleep imagining what shape he might twist it into the next day.

Gift of the sun: A tale from south africa
Stewart, Dianne
Thulani is a South African farmer who keeps trading his animals in order to please his wife until all he has is a pocket full of sunflower seeds. The sunflowers produce many more seeds, which are also used to feed the animals and eventually lead to more wealth for the family than ever before.

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.