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The surprise party
Cohen, Lee
How do you tell Mom and Dad you love them? How about throwing them a surprise party? For Rip Squeak and his friends, Jesse, Abbey and Euripides, it's all part of a nonstop, fun-filled day where cleaning the house, baking a cake, and blowing up balloons becomes an adventure they'll never forget!

Mr. fong's toy shop
Politi, Leo
Mr. Fong entertains the children with stories and toys. In preparation for the Moon Festival, he creates a shadow puppet play for the children.

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.

The birthday swap
Lopez, Loretta
Lori wants to find her older sister the perfect gift for her birthday. At the market, Lori learns that it's not easy to find the right gift. Little does Lori know that the best gifts can come to us when we least expect them. Why is this the year of the best birthday party ever?

Fish fry
Saunders, Susan
Edith wakes up and rushes out of bed. She is excited because today is the fish fry. The whole town gathers down by the river to fish and have a picnic.

Bearsie bear and the surprise sleepover party
Waber, Bernard
Bearsie bear is all snuggly in his bed when Moosie moose arrives. This is when all the chaos starts. After Moosie moose arrives, Goosie goose, Foxie fox, Cowsie cow, and finally Porkie porcupine stop by for a visit. Everyone jumps out when Porkie porcupine gets into bed. In the end, they all sleep peacefully during the surprise sleepover party.

Hurray for the fourth of july
Watson, Wendy
A family shows how they enjoy celebrating the Fourth of July through a series of events like a parade, picnic, and watching fireworks.

The moon was at a fiesta
Gollub, Matthew
The moon over Oaxaca, Mexico is jealous of the sun. She plans for a fiesta one night so she can have fun like the sun. Afterwards though, she realizes that this causes imbalance in nature, so she never does it again.

Lyle and the birthday party
Waber, Bernard
Lyle, the crocodile, lives with the Primms who are preparing to celebrate Joshua's birthday. Lyle is jealous because he wants a party too. After Lyle does good deeds for others who are sick, the Primms throw him a party.

We're making breakfast for mother
Neitzel, Shirley
It's Mother's Day so the kids are making breakfast. They remember everything from the silver tray to the jam for toast. On the way to Mother's room, things begin to fall apart. Mother loves her surprise anyway, and everyone enjoys going out for breakfast.

Day of the dead
Johnston, Tony
A Mexican family spends many days preparing for the celebration of the Day of the Dead, one of Mexico's most important holidays. They eat food, sing, dance and use flowers to celebrate and honor the family members who have passed on.

Merry christmas, strega nona
dePaola, Tomie
Strega Nona has a huge Christmas feast to prepare. How will she finish with untrustworthy Big Anthony as her only helper?Big Anthony will suprise us in the end!

The magic dreidels: A hanukkah story
Kimmel, Eric A.
Instead of helping his family clean, Jacob plays with his new brass dreidel. Jacob's mom has had enough, so she sends Jacob to the well for a pail of water. At the well, Jacob meets a goblin who gives him two new magic dreidels.

Skip to my lou
Quackenbush, Robert
Matt writes a letter to his cousin George recalling many of the events of his sister Lou's engagement party. The verses go to the famous song Skip to My Lou.

Only at the children's table
Baron-Hall, Daria
Relatives visit for Christmas Eve dinner. With a house full of children and adults, there are two separate tables. One little girl does not want to sit at the children's table because she thinks she's too grown up. In the end, she sits with the kids and discovers the true magic of Christmas.

Dorrie and the pin witch
Coombs, Patricia
It's the day of the Witches' Ball and all the witches are grouchy. Little Dorrie figures out that the evil Pin Witch is responsible for the mayhem and saves the day.

Jumping the broom
Wright, Courtni Crump
Despite their troublesome lives, these slaves find reason to celebrate and be happy. Lettie and her family dance, sing, feast, and play games in honor of her sister's marriage.

My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world
Reyher, Becky
Varya helps her parents Marfa and Ivan prepare the wheat for the harvest, but she loses her way. In her search for her mother, she discovers the value of an old Russian proverb about beauty and love.

We had a picnic this sunday past
Woodson, Jacqueline
Teeka and her grandmather wait fo the arrival of all their relatives at the family picnic. They both fear that Aunt Martha will show up with her dried-out apple pie. When everyone arrives, they have a wonderful feast.

An early american christmas
dePaola, Tomie
A Christmas family moves into a not so spirited town. See how their joy and traditions eventually rub off on the town and gives them the Christmas spirit.

The chanukkah tree
Kimmel, Eric A.
The citizens of Chelm are tricked by a salesman selling Christmas trees. All the citzens of Chelm are Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah. The salesman tells them that Hanukkah trees are the latest trend in America. They believe him, buy the tree, and find out they were tricked. The citizens make the best of it by continuing the Hanukkah tree for the birds to enjoy.

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.

Mary ann
James, Betsy
A moving of a best friend is sad for a young girl. She befriends a praying mantis and names it after her best friend. She must cope with the death of the mantis and the surprise at the end.

La boda: A mexican wedding celebration
Van Laan, Nancy
Little Maria learns all about La Boda, a mexican wedding, from her grandmother, in a bilingual manner. She becomes part of the celebration and is happy to learn about and be part of her first wedding.

Hooray, a pinata!
Kleven, Elisa
It's Clara's birthday, and she wants a pinata for her party. Clara, her mom, and her friend Samson go to the pinata store and Clara chooses a cute dog. Clara grows to love the dog and will not break him open. Samson saves the day by bringing another pinata to the party!

Bright april
De Angeli, Marguerite
April Bright's family encounters all sorts of racism as African Americans. April ends up making a new friend when prejudices are overcome.

When mindy saved hanukkah
Kimmel, Eric A.
Mindy, a mouse-sized girl, bravely faces a cat in the synagogue to retrieve a candle for her tiny family's Hanukkah menorah. Her mission allows her family to celebrate their special holiday together.

Hooray for diffendoofer day!
Prelutsky, Jack
Everyday the students at Diffendoofer School learn many new things. They become worried though, when they discover that they must pass a special test. They pass with no problems and Diffendoofer Day is declared!

The best-loved doll
Caudill, Rebecca
Betsy is invited to a party and can bring one doll. The doll should be dressed well, do something, or be old. Instead of taking one of these dolls, Betsy took Jennifer. Although Jennifer did not fit the party requirements, she was awarded a medal for being the best-loved doll at the party.

Coral island
Mordivnoff, Nicolas
Terii dreams of growing bigger so he can become a pearl-shell diver like his Uncle Teopu. Uncle Teopu always tells Terii that he will grow bigger when Teopu's hat is all worn out. Whe Terii saves the hat from Kaveka, Uncle Teopu let Terii paddle the canoe. After he saves Teopu from a shark, Terii is ready to become a diver.

Wilbur waits
Sherrow, Victoria
Wilbur is waiting for his birthday. When it finally arrives, he gets exciting presents like a kite, a sail boat and a sled. Unfortunately, the weather is not suitable for playing with any of his new toys. Instead of using his new toys, Wilbur finds other things to occupy his time until the weather improves.

Pulling my leg
Carson, Jo
Uncle Tom is willing to help pull the loose tooth. He says he will need a hammer, screwdriver, and pliers. As she is being tickled by her father and Uncle Tom, her loose tooth falls out. She is now able to eat porkchops at her grandmother's birthday. Uncle Tom decides that all of his tools were not necessary to remove her tooth.

Oh no, it's waylon's birthday!
Stevenson, James
These three short animal stories describe a different birthday for an elephant, rest for a hippo, and fun for a bunch of penguins.

Good driving, amelia bedelia
Parish, Herman
Amelia Bedelia is a maid who is not quite together. She misunderstands everything she is told to do, always with hysterical results. What will happen if Mr. Rogers lets her test drive his car?

The magic school bus gets baked in a cake
Beech, Linda
It is Ms. Frizzle's birthday so the kids plan a party, but something is missing -- a cake!For a field trip, they go to the bakery and bake a cake and accidentally get baked inside the magic school bus.

Song of the swallows
Politi, Leo
Since Juan loves to watch the swallows in the Mission Garden, he is sad when they fly away at the end of the season. While waiting for their return, Juan decides to build a garden at his house in hopes that swallows will return to his garden.

Prince boghole
Haugaard, Erik Christian
Princes from all around want to marry the princess. The king promises his daughter to the prince that brings back the most wonderful bird.

Pierino and the bell
Cassedy, Sylvia
Pierino, the son of a church warden in a small village in Tuscany, claims the bell is what brings all the pigeons. On San Colombino Day, Pierino finds a silver egg. The silver egg hatches into a beautiful silver pigeon. Pierino says the bird is his and does not share it with the village. One day, Pierino sets the bird free. Some time later, the village is full of silver eggs for everyone.

The present
Emberley, Michael
Arne Hansen has been invited to his nephew's birthday party. His search for the perfect gift creates a problem when he discovers he would rather keep the gifts for himself. He must find something new for his new nephew, and in the end it all works out.

Tea and whoppers
Walton, Marilyn J.
Karen goes to Gwendolyn's house for a tea party. They tell stories, drink tea, and eat whoppers.

A real nice clambake
Hammerstein, Oscar
A bunch of friends gather to have a big clambake at the beach. Everyone eats a lot and enjoys the beautiful day.

How do i feel?
Simon, Norma
A young boy named Carl encounters many people and activities in the course of a day. We see how he feels about each one.

The baseball counting book
McGrath, Barbara Barbieri
Smell the hot dogs, hear the crowd, see the ball soar. Time for a baseball game!Count from 1-20 while having baseball fun.

You can't take a balloon into the national gallery
Weitzman, Jacqueline//Glasser, Robin
A little girl is sad when she must leave her balloon outside the National Gallery with the lady who takes pictures for tourists. Little does the girl know that the balloon will take the picture lady along with many famous people on a tour of Washington D.C.!Will the balloon come back to the little girl?

The sleeping lady
Dixon, Ann
Nekatla and Susitha are a young couple preparing to wed. THe wedding is put on hold when war breaks out, and Nekatla must travel to another village to try to restore peace. Susitha waits on a grassy hill for Nekatla to return, and she falls asleep. Nekatla is killed in war, and Susitha never awakens and is now known as the sleeping lady.

Jump up time: A trinidad carnival story
Joseph, Lynn
The Trinidad carnival is coming up and Lily's sister Christine is getting all the attention from her family over her hummingbird costume. Lily wishes that she could wear a fancy costume and jump up at the children's carnival too. When the big day comes, Lily helps Christine have courage to go up on the stage.

So much
Cooke, Trish
A baby shares the love and attention that he gets from his family. From the moment the doorbell rings to bring in baby's Auntie, Uncle, Nannie, Gran-Gran, and cousins, lots of hugs and kisses, ooohing and aaahing, keep baby happy and loved. Wait until you see the eating, singing, and dancing until baby goes to sleep!

Dumpling soup
Rattigan, Jama Kim
Marisa, a young Asian American girl, attempts to help make the dumplings for dumpling soup which her family has been making for generations. She hold a strong sense of pride, honor, and love in her heart for her family.

Each one special
Wishinsky, Frieda
Henry, the baker, creates magnificent cakes. No two cakes are alike and his customers love the beautiful decorations. Henry's friend Ben visits Henry and watches him work each day after school. When the bakery is bought by new owners, Henry loses his job. Henry is sad when he can no longer decorate cakes, but only until Ben helps his friend find a new outlet for his creativity.

Arthur yorinks' the flying latke
Yorinks, Arthur
A traditional family celebration of Hanukkah turns into a national emergency when a minor dispute between family members triggers a food fight that sends a latke flying out the window into outer space. The flying potato pancake is mistaken for a UFO by news reporters which forces the family to remain in the house with only the company of each other and the remaining plate of latkes to survive on for eight days and nights. In the end, they learn to get along and the true meaning of Hanukkah is shared.