Skip to main content
  • Tags: happiness
From far away
Munsch, Robert
In a letter, Saoussan tells about when she first moved to Canada from her old country where there was war. She was scared at school because she didn't understand the language or traditions. Two years later, she has learned them and is happy.

New shoes, red shoes
Rollings, Susan
The little girl's shoes are too small so her mom takes her to get new shoes. On their way she observes different kinds of shoes different people are wearing. She wears her new shoes to a party and is very proud of them.

What zeesie saw on delancey street
Rael, Wlsa Okon
On her 7th birthday, Zeesie goes with Mama and Papa to her first party where suprise packages are auctioned off to raise money. While there she explores a secret money room, and learns a lesson about money, generosity, and the importance of community.

The wagon
Johnston, Tony
A slave boy grows up on a plantation with his family. He hates being a slave and wishes that he could be free. Soon the war comes and President Lincoln sets the slaves free. The boy and his family celebrate as they leave the plantation in the wagon they built.

The language of doves
Wells, Rosemary
On her sixth birthday Julietta is given a dove by her grandfather, and he shares a story about his doves being used for communication during World War I. Julietta is comforted by the dove after her grandfather's death.

Grandpa's house
Stevenson, Harvey
Woody spends an exciting summer weekend visiting Grandpa. Together they go canoeing, out for breakfast, and to the beach, as well as share many other special memories.

Flood
Calhoun, Mary
As the rain falls day after day, Sarajean and her family prepare for the flood. They place sandbags around the banks of the river and their house, but nothing can keep the water out. Eventually, Sarajean and her family are forced to leave their home, but they are grateful for their safety.

The good-bye book
Viorst, Judith
A little boy is angry when he finds out that his parents are going to a French restaurant without him. He tries to convince his parents to either stay home or take him along. The little boy finally says good bye to his parents when his favorite babysitter arrives.

The butterfly
Polacco, Patricia
When a little girls meets a ghost which turns out to be a girl that is hiding in the cellar with the rest of her family from the Nazi's. They form a friendship that is strong. But the friendship is broken up by the sudden movement of her and her family. But butterflies show that everything is fine even though they are apart.

Little tim and the brave sea captain
Ardizzone, Edward
Tim wants to be a sailor, so he stows away on a boat. He stays on the boat until a storm overturns it, and then he heads for home.

Dreamland
Schotter, Roni
Theo's favorite uncle, Gurney, moves west to try to find work. They correspond through letters, and Theo sends drawings of all his dream machines he has made up. Gurney builds Theo's machines to make an amusement park.

Is that josie?
Narahashi, Keiko
An adult and child play an imaginative question and answer game. The questions are real situations that Josie experiences, but Josie becomes wild animals when she uses her imagination to answer the questions.

Tim all alone
Ardizzone, Edward
Tim, a little boy, comes home after being at sea to find his parents have moved. He goes out looking for them. He travels on different boats and stays with different people. Then, one day by luck, he finds his parents.

How georgie radbourn saved baseball
Shannon, David
Before a boy named Geogie is born, baseball becomes illegal. Baseball can't even be talked about. Georgie breaks all the laws and challenges the man responsible for the laws to play against him. Georgie strikes him out and wins.

The painter
Catalanotto, Peter
A young girl loves to spend time with her father but he plays with her only at mealtimes. Between meals, he paints in his studio. She wants to play with her father but he says no. When she asks to paint, she spends time with her daddy and becomes a painter too.

When the wind stops
Zolotow, Charlotte
A little boy questions the beginning and end of nature, and his mother helps him to understand that there truly is no end.

Voices in the park
Browne, Anthony
A typical day's walk through the park is seen through the eyes of a grouchy woman, an unhappy man, a lonely boy, and a happy young girl. An intriguing look at how friendships are made and torn apart.

Louie's goose
Ehrlich, H.M.
Louie's toy goose goes everywhere he goes. Sometimes the goose needs to be fixed. Louie's mom and dad, and even the sun, fixes the goose.

Emma's rug
Say, Allen
Emma is a talented child artist who always finds her inspiration in an old rug. After her mother ruins the rug by washing it, Emma must discover that she can still draw without it.

Who is ben?
Zolotow, Charlotte
On a dark night, Ben contemplates where he came from and where he will go after he dies.

The sunday outing
Pinkney, Gloria Jean
Ernestine and her great-aunt spent Sunday afternoons at the train station watching the passengers, and Ernestine always dreamed of being one of them. Finally Ernestine's family saves enough money so she can ride the train herself.

Great aunt martha
Jones, Rebecca C.
A young girl wonders what is so great about Great Aunt Martha when she comes to visit. Since Great Aunt Martha is visiting, the girl has to be very quiet. She decides nothing is great about her great aunt until Great Aunt Martha wants to have fun and make noise.

Dark day, light night
Carr, Jan
Manda curls up on her bed, mad because Bobby took the basketball right out of her hands. Aunt Ruby sits down and talks with Amanda, trying to cheer her up. With Manda in the crook of her arm, Aunt Ruby shares her list of favorite things causing Manda's frown to turn into a smile.

Lottie's princess dress
Dorrie, Doris
Lottie wakes up from a dream of castles and gold and realizes that it is a very special day. She cannot wear her usual outfit to school, she must wear her special princess dress. Although her mother says that it is too cold outside, Lottie tries to explain that it is a very special day and everyone should be dressed up. Eventually, Lottie's mother agrees and they both wear princess dresses all day.

I live with daddy
Vigna, Judith
Olivia lives with her father since her parents have divorced. For a school assignment she writes a book about her mother, but dedicates it to her father to show that she loves them both.

Turtle spring
Zagwyn, Deborah Turney
One summer, as young Clee finds herself lost in the shuffle with the arrival of a new baby brother, Uncle Fishtank Hal comes to the rescue when he asks her to care for his special southern-breed turtle. For Clee, caring for the turtle is like therapy to cope with the new changes in her life. That is until the turtle dies due to the harsh cold winter and Clee is forced to bury him out in the yard. Without the turtle, Clee spends time with her new brother and learns to enjoys his company. In spring however, the turtle springs back to like in the compost pile and Clee gains a new outlook on the changes in her life.

Potato: A tale from the great depression
Lied, Kate
During the Great Depression Dorothy is just a baby, but she remembers how hard her parents had to work. For two weeks the family moves to Idaho and picks potatoes. They use the leftover potatoes to trade for groceries which helps the family survive the Depression.

Happy birthday
Harris, Robie H.
A child is born and loved from the very first day of his life. Though long and tiring, the day of birth is filled with hearing voices, seeing faces, and many more wonderful things.

Tell me again about the night i was born
Curtis, Jamie Lee
A young girl asks her mom and dad to tell her again about the night she was born and adopted by them. She knows the story well, but asks again about their feelings, their trips to pick her up, and their first night at home as a family.

Once there were giants
Waddell, Martin//Dale, Penny
People look like giants to infants. A young girl grows up and experiences a lot through life. Now she is a mother and a giant herself.

Sad days, glad days: A story about depression
Hamilton, Dewitt
Amanda Martha's mother has a disease called depression. Amanda and her father call them sad days, glad days, mostly in-between days. Amanda wants a cuddly pet and when an alley cat comes along she finally gets a chance.

Peter's chair
Keats, Ezra Jack
Peter has a new baby sister. He is upset because his crib, chair, and other furniture have been painted pink. Peter runs away and becomes very frightened to be by himself. When his mom calls him home, he is very happy and tells his father that he wants to paint his favorite chair pink for his little sister.

The quilt story
Johnston, Tony
A quilt is passed from one generation to the rest. It holds many of the same meanings for each generation.

Manners can be fun
Leaf, Munro
Stick figures are used to demonstrate good manners and how to act properly for play, home, and visits.

Bunny cakes
Wells, Rosemary
Young Max and his older sister Ruby are making cakes for their grandmother's birthday. Max adds ingredients for his cake to the shopping list, but the grocer doesn't know what it says until Max thinks to draw a picture of what he wants.

Little cliff's first day of school
Taulbert, Clifton
Little Cliff is dreading the first day of school. He has heard that school is all work and no fun. With the continued encouragement of his great-grandmother, Cliff finally heads to school. Upon arrival, he sees all of his friends and discovers that school can be fun too.

Matthew wheelock's wall
Weller, F.W.
Matthew Wheelock built a stone wall around his field with great care. The stone wall was his pride and joy and eventually a home and playground for the animals and his grandchildren.

Willy's silly grandma
DeFelice, Cynthia
Even though Willy's grandma is very superstitious, Willy doesn't believe in her superstitions. One dark and scary night, Willy realizes how smart his grandma really is when he goes down by the Big Swamp.

Trick-or-treat for diabetes: A halloween story for kids living with diabetes
Gosselin, Kim
Halloween is quickly approaching. Sarah is feeling sad because she knows that she cannot eat as many sweets as her friends. This is because Sarah has diabetes. Sarah and her mother eventually learn that Halloween is not all about candy; it's about having fun.

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.

Halmoni's day
Bercaw, Edna Coe
Jennifer's Korean grandmother arrives just in time for Grandparents Day at school. But Jennifer is afraid that her grandmother will embarrass her because she doesn't speak English. However, after her grandmother tells Jennifer's class the story of her childhood, Jennifer is not embarrassed at all.

Can you dance, dalila?
Kroll, Virginia
Dalila tries many different forms of dance, but it isn't until she dances in response to her own feelings that she truly becomes a star.

Bravo, zan angelo!
Daly, Niki
Angelo Polo is a young boy who passionately wants to be a clown like his grandfather Zan Polo. His grandfather tells him that the theater is no place for a little boy. Finally, Zan Polo tells Angelo that he can be the little red rooster who crows in the last act. So, Angelo scurries and runs all over the city to prepare for his performance during the carnival. It turns out that Angelo is an excellent rooster and his grandfather agrees that the theater can be a place for a little boy.

Rita goes to the hospital
Davison, Martine
Rita gets very scared when a letter from the hospital arrives announcing that her tonsils will be taken out. Eventually, the hospital workers help Rita overcome her fears of surgery. She is happy when she wakes up afterwards and is given her favorite ice cream for dinner -- strawberry!

When mommy is sick
Sherkin-Langer, Ferne
When a little girl's mom is sick and has to stay in the hospital she becomes sad and doesn't want to sing or play with her friends. She visits her mom, but she is nervous that her hugs might hurt her. When her mom finally comes home, the little girl is happy to have her back but worries that she won't be there when she wakes up.

Abel's moon
Hughes, Shirley
Abel Grable returns from his work greeted by his family. When he tells them all about his adventures, his children only want to hear more. Before he sets out on his next outing for work, he writes his stories down. As he is away, his children take his writing table and create a certain machine that lets them be with their dad all the time while he's gone.

Martha blah blah
Meddaugh, Susan
A dog Martha has the ability to speak when she eats alphabet soup. But when the soup company starts using only half the letters in the soup to save money, Martha can't say what she wants. Afraid of what will happen to her, Martha confronts the owner of the company who agrees to put all the letters back in.

The cheerful quiet
Horvath, Betty
Patricia comes from a large family. He wants peaceful quietness but can find it nowhere. He decides to get up early in order to have quiet.

How does a czar eat potatoes?
Rose, Anne
The life of a peasant farmer and the czar are compared and contrasted by the peasant's child.

Roller coaster
O'Malley, Kevin
A young girl visits Fantasy Park and gets to play golf, games, and eat ice cream. She is not tall enough to ride the roller coaster though. This year she has grown and now she can ride the roller coaster.