Skip to main content
Rip van winkle: Adapted from washington irving
Locker, Thomas
Rip Van Winkle drinks the brew of Henry Hudson and sleeps for twenty years. When he awakens, his own daughter does not recognize him.

Cricket boy
Ziner, Feenie
Hu Sing's father is asked to come to the emperor's palace to fight his champion cricket against the emperor's own champion. In trying to protect the cricket, Hu Sing accidentally kills it, and then kills himself, until he has a strange dream.

The red comb
Pico, Fernando
Vitita discovers a runaway slave under her porch. Vitita is determined to save the slave woman from the slave catcher. Vitita and sina Rosa furnish the woman with supplies through a mango tree. Vitita and sina Rosa come up with a plan to get the slave catcher out of town. After the slave catcher leaves, Vitita and sina Rosa introduce their new friend to the neighbors.

Nobiah's well: A modern African folktale
Guthrie, Donna
Nobiah is an African American boy who is very generous. One day he fetches water for his mother, but by the time he gets home, his water is all gone. His generosity pays off when his friends build him a well in return.

This year's garden
Rylant, Cynthia
As summer comes and goes, we can see all of the good things that come out of a garden. It's never too early to think about next year's garden.

Asleep, asleep
Ginsburg, Mirra
Everyone and everything sleeps. Sometimes children must be reminded of this so they can fall back to sleep like the boy in the story.

I won't go to bed!
Ziefert, Harriet
It was time for small boys to be in bed, but Harry said he wouldn't go to bed, so his father let him stay up. As the hours pass and Harry gets bored and tired, his feeling about staying up all night begins to change, and he falls asleep.

Going to sleep on the farm
Lewison, Wendy C.
A father and his son are playing on the floor. The son asks how each farm animal sleeps, so the father describes each animal's sleep patterns in a quiet, gentle rhythm to the boy.

Storm in the night
Stolz, Mary
On the night of a big storm, Thomas is a little afraid, so his grandfather tells him a story about how he overcame his fear when he was a young boy. Thomas is no longer afraid, so he can go to sleep.

I am not going to get up today!
Seuss, Dr.
A day in the life of a young kid who decides he will sleep all day long. His parents and friends try to wake him up, but the boy refuses.

Daddy makes the best spaghetti
Hines, Anna Grossnickle
A little boy and his dad go to the grocery store to get food for dinner. They decide to make spaghetti, so they buy noodles and sauce. When they get home, he helps his mom make dinner and then they eat. After they do the dishes, it is bedtime so his dad carries him to bed.

A weekend with wendell
Henkes, Kevin
Wendell visits his friend Sophie and her family for a weekend. He spends most of his time terrorizing Sophie. She wants him to leave but by the end she finds that a weekend with him was not all that bad.

Mortimer
Munsch, Robert
It is Mortimer's bedtime but he just will not stop singing. Everyone has yelled at him, even the police. What will make him stop singing?

Moonlight
Ormerod, Jan
A little girl has bad dreams and wants to be near her mom and dad to feel secure. When they try to put her to sleep, the parents get more and more sleepy.

There's something in my attic
Mayer, Mercer
A little girl thinks she hears something in the attic. Her parents won't go look, so she investigates. She finds the nightmare, catches it, then helps it escape.

Father's rubber shoes
Yeo, Yumi
Yungsu's family moves from Korea to America. When Yungsu goes into his new town and sees children playing, he missed his friends from Korea. Yungsu tells his mother that he wants to go back to Korea, but his father explains that their life will be better in America.

The lost and found house
Cadnum, Michael
A moving truck and moving men load items from a boy's house until the house is empty. The boy and his parents feel differently as they leave and travel to their new house. The boy meets two children and hopes someday they will be his friends!

Ant plays bear
Byars, Betsy
Ant is a young boy with a wild imagination. An imagination that allows him to be a bear and a dog. He also imagines a giant outside his window and experiences the careers of his dreams.

Somebody and the three blairs
Tolhurst, Marilyn
When the Blair family returns home one day, they find that someone or something has been there. Food is all over the floor, chairs are broken, and there is water all over the bathroom. Little do they know, the culprit is asleep in baby's bed!

The fish in the castle
Fife, Dale H
Eric, a young boy, is on vacation at the beach with his family but has not found a treasure to take home. Eric meets a native Californian who tells him of a fish that comes to shore that night. Eric catches a fish at the beach in his hands, gets his picture taken with the fish, and then lets it go back to the sea.

All the better to see you with!
Wild, Margaret
Kate is small, quiet, and no trouble at all compared to her four big, noisy, feisty brothers and sisters. It takes a while for her parents to notice that Kate is nearsighted and needs glasses.

Waiting to sing
Kaplan, Howard
A young boy loves playing the piano but especially listening to his father play while his mother sings along. The boy's mother also listens to him play. Shortly after the boy, his sister, and his father come back from a vacation at the beach, the mother dies. Playing the piano helps the young boy and his father cope with their loss.

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.

The boy on the beach
Daly, Niki
Joe loves the beach. He likes splashing his mom and playing in the sand. He doesn't like the big waves though. He would rather pretend to be in the water. When Joe's pretending game tosses him overboard, he becomes scared. A friendly lifeguard helps him find his parents and everyone is happy again.

The boy in the drawer
Munsch, Robert
Shelly's room is a mess but it is not her fault. A little boy that is living in her sock drawer is causing all the problems. How can she get others to believe her?

Dealing with feelings: I'm furious
Crary, Elizabeth
When Matt sees his Reggie Jackson baseball card floating in the toilet, his jaw drops. He is furious that his little brother did that. One thing that will solve his problem is to hit his little brother, right?Wrong!His mother presents him with six ways to successfully handle his anger. After resolving his problems, Matt makes peace with his brother.

The babe and I
Adler, David A.
A young boy and his family are living through the Great Depression of 1932. When he learns that his father does not have a job, he gets a job with his friend selling newspapers to help make money for his family. He sells all of his papers outside of Yankee Stadium due to the popularity of Babe Ruth and his stories in the paper. He even gets to meet the Babe!

Where is gah-ning?
Munsch, Robert
A little girl is determined to go shopping in a place called Kapuskasing. Her father stops her from going several times, but Gah-ning doesn't give up. Finally she ends up getting there by balloons.

Hush little baby: A folk song with pictures
Frazee, Marla
The baby will not hush and the family can't take it any longer. A peddler, who has a wagon filled with toys and animals, tries to aid the family. Nothing works, until exhaustion takes over and the loving family has the sweetest baby in town.

This quiet lady
Zolotow, C.
A little girl looks at pictures of her mother through her life and ends by looking at a photo of her mother holding her as a baby.

Go and hush the baby
Byars, Betsy
Will wants to go out and play, but keeps having to hush his baby brother when he cries. Will tried everything to entertain him, but all the baby really wanted was a bottle.

Waiting for baby joe
Collins, Pat Lowery
Missy was waiting for her new brother or sister. The baby came prematurely and had many problems. Missy waited and waited for the baby to get better. Finally, he came home and she was glad that she waited.

Why is baby crying?
Johnson, Ryerson
A mother reminices about when her little girl was a baby and would not stop crying. The baby just wanted to be held, just like tonight.

I think he likes me
Winthrop, Elizabeth
Eliza's mother brings home her new baby brother. Eliza learns how to play with Andrew.

Mockingbird
Ahlberg, Allan
The familiar lullaby beginning with Hush, little baby, don't say a word,finds many new twists in this story. Read all about the many adventures that the baby encounters with other members of the family.

Lu lu and the flying babies
Simmonds, Posy
Lu Lu is an impatient little girl who wants to play outside, but because her baby brother is cold, they end up in a museum. Her imagination takes over and she has a great time.

Kim and me: A book about a little boy and his baby sister
Kessler, Ethel//Kessler, Leonard
A three-year old boy describes all the things he can do that his baby sister, Kim, can't do. He then reflects that all the things he used to do, that Kim does now. Someday she will be able to play with him too.

Henry's baby
Hoffman, Mary
Henry wants to be a part of the in crowd at his school. They want to come over to Henry's house, but he is afraid for them to see he has a baby brother. However, all the guys think the baby is neat.

Molly's rosebush
Cohn, Janice
A young girl deals with the loss of her newborn sibling. After spending time with her grandmother, she is better able to understand death.

Ouch!
Babbit, Natalie
A baby born with the destiny of marrying a princess is brought by the King and thrown into the river to prevent a possible marriage with his newborn daughter. Rescued by a loving couple, the boy grows up and meets the King once again. The Kings plan to kill the young man backfires again and the young man marries the princess. As a test, the King sends the new prince to steal the golden hairs off the devil's head. In a surprise ending, the prince prevails, but the King is not so lucky.

The baby who would not come down
Knight, Joan
The new baby in the family is smothered with kisses and love. Tired of the excessive attention the baby floats into the air after his uncle tosses him up. The baby does not come down until the family realizes that he has too much of some things and not enough of others.

Elizabeti's doll
Stuve-Boden, Stephanie
After the arrival of her new baby brother, Elizabeti, from Tanzania, sees her mother care for him and she decides she wants a doll to care for herself. She does everything her mother does to her 'doll' and also faces the problem of losing her. Elizabeti also teaches the reader a little about her culture.

Arthur's baby
Brown, Marc
Arthur finds out he is going to have a baby brother or sister. At first, he feels left out and doesn't like his baby sister. Then when he has to help his sister, he realizes that he loves the baby.

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.

Open house for butterflies
Krauss, Ruth
An easy to read children's how-to-book. Random definitions and observations from a child's perspective. This story promotes respect for the little everyday things and language development.

The tin heart
Ackerman, Karen
Mahaley and Rosa are best of friends. They play together in the river every day while their fathers worked together. When the Civil War broke out, their fathers disagreed about slavery. Mahaley and Rosa rarely see each other now, But the tin heart charm that they wear around their necks are constant reminders of their special friendship.

The garden in our yard
Quinn, Greg Henry
A family plants seeds in spring, watches them grow in summer, says goodbye to the garden in fall, then lets it sleep in winter.

My favorite time of year
Pearson, Susan
Kelly enjoys all the seasons, because she and her family do many things together.

Gathering a northwoods counting book
Bowen, Betsy
Starting in May, the winter countdown begins. Preparation activities are described using the numbers one through thirteen. For example, winter countdown includes five blueberries and six bags of rice.

The unbreakable code
Hoagland Hunter, Sara
A young boy is insecure about moving away and leaving what is familiar to him. His grandfather tells about the time when he felt the same way and how he grew proud of his accomplishments.