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Painted dreams
Williams, Karen Lynn
Ti Marie loves to paint, but her family is too poor to afford paint so she uses bricks, stones and charcoal. One day, as she is walking to the river, she sees Msie Antoine painting a snake and admires his art supplies. Later on in the night she decides to look through his trash to see if he has any left over supplies. She uses them to paint on the wall behind her family's place at the Haitian market. Find out how the people at the market react.

I lost my tooth in africa
Diakite, Penda
Amina and her parents take a trip to Mali to visit family. On the way, Amina realizes that her tooth is loose! While visiting her father's family, Amina loses the tooth and places it under a calabash tree. She receives a hen and a rooster from the African Tooth Fairy.

Dancing feet
Agell, Charlotte
Diversity in the world is shown through rhythmical lyrics and warm pictures. Diversity also includes the names of major body parts and functions.

My dad has HIV
Alexander, Earl//Rudin, Sheila//Sejkora, Pam
The virus (called HIV) is explained in this gentle and descriptive story about a young girl whose father is living with HIV. The facts about the virus are described in a way that children can understand. The story helps children to know that a person with HIV can lead a normal life.

Ruth and naomi
Marzollo, Jean
After their husbands sadly pass away, Ruth moves to Bethlehem with her widowed mother-in-law Naomi. With no money and no sense of hope, the two women are unsure as to what will happen. A kind farmer known as Boaz, however shows his kindness and restores their happiness so that they can begin anew.

Bertie the ghost
Neale, Richard
Bertie the ghost wants a new place to live and new friends. He crosses through each page of the story then arrives at an old farmhouse and finds friends and a home.

Our community garden
Pollak, Barbara
Neighborhood children plant a garden together and each contribute by helping to take care of the garden. They set goals, work hard, and build healthy friendship. After harvesting their crops, everyone from the community comes together for a special meal made from vegetables grown in the garden. What a nutritious, heart-warming treat!

Cork and fuzz: Short and tall
Chaconas, Dori
Cork and Fuzz are best friends, but there's one problem, and it's not that one is an opossum and the other is a muskrat. The problem is that Cork is older than Fuzz, but shorter than him. Bothered by this difference, the pair try to make Fuzz shrink and Cork grow. Fortunately, they realize that friendship is more important than a difference in height.

Yuck!
Granstrom, Brita & Manning, Mick
Yuck! shows us some of the animal world's most interesting babies, along with what they love to eat for supper! Let's look at what human babies eat!

Elephant dance: memories of India
Heine, Theresa
Ravi's grandfather comes from India so Ravi asks him questions aabout India. Grandfather uses a simile to describe different aspects of India. Ravi is interested in the elephants of India and dances an elephant dance.

Hedgehog haven: A story of a British hedgerow community
Dennard, Deborah
A young male hedgehog is learning about the ways of nature and how to survive within it. Through close encounters with danger, he learns how to change his life to survive. This young hedgehog takes many adventures to learn that every place and time is not always safe.

Manana, Iguana
Paul, Ann Whitford
Following the story line of Little Red Hen, Iguana decides to throw a fiesta and invite all of her friends. Set in the desert, the lazy cat, dog, and mouse are replaced by Conejo (rabbit), Culebra (Snake), and Tortuga (tortoise). As Iguana sets the stage for invitations, decorations, and of course, food preparation, her three lazy friends have an excuse for every task presented to them. Either they are too fast, too slow, or have no arms. As the evening of the fiesta approaches, Iguana decides that her three friends should not be included, as they did nothing. Feeling bad about not only being left out, but disappointing Iguana, the three friends decide to right the situation, and prove themselves worthy of her friendship.

Pie for piglets: Counting by twos
Dahl, Michael
Two pigs decide to make a pie. They put in many different ingredients two-by-two.

Over in the pink house: New jump rope rhymes
Dotlich, Rebecca Kai
Predictable rhyming patterns and basic themes, such as nature, animals, food, and so much more, work together to complete this collection of thirty-two jump rope rhymes.

Toni's topsy-turvy telephone day
Ljungkvist, Laura
Toni wants to have a potluck dinner. She calls all of her guests and tells each of them what to bring. It's the day of the party and her guests have arrived. Something has happened! Her friends misunderstood what Toni told them to bring. Now Toni has no food to feed her guests. What will Toni do?

Spaghetti eddie
SanAngelo, Ryan
Eddie loves spaghetti. He eats it all the time. While running an errand for his mother, Eddie helps several neighbors by using his spaghetti noodles as a shoestring, a fishing net, and guitar strings. Eddie even stops a robber with a meat ball.

Cherry free
Bond, Ruskin
A girl from India gathers cherries and plants a cherry seed. She takes care of the cherry tree even when experiencing many problems. The girl watches the tree grow up as her grandfather watches her grow up.

Bird, fly high.
Horacek, Petr
As the bird flies, flaps, hops, pecks, and tugs; she fetches food. For the bird and her little ones, it is breakfast time.

Little fur family
Brown, Margaret Wise
A father bear goes to work, and the younger bear goes exploring. He comes across many animals different from him. He comes home for dinner and bed.

Magic beach
Johnson, Crockett
Two children draw different words in the sand. As the tide washes over the word, the object written in the sand appears. They explore the land they created by writing in the sand.

Eating
Swain, Gwenyth
Food is eaten in different ways around the world and is prepared by different families. Real life photos glimpse into multiple eating customs and habits around the globe.

Food fight
Shields, Carol Diggory
Food takes on a whole new perspective with a play on words. A steady rhythm is evident and the food springs to life. Makes you wonder what really happens when that refrigerator door closes.

Just like new
Manson, Ainslie
It is a time of war and children in England won't have Christmas presents. A little girl's class decides to give gifts they love that are like new. The little girl unselfishly gives up her most cherished doll and inserts a note, and a girl from England becomes her pen pal after receiving the gift.

The spirit of tio fernando: A day of the dead story
Levy, Janice
Fernando, a little boy from Mexico, loses his favorite uncle. The family celebrates a holiday called Day of the Dead. Fernando must find the perfect gift to remember his uncle. What does he choose?

Welcoming babies
Knight, Margy Burns
People celebrate the gift of a new baby in different ways around the world. Babies are welcomed into their families using different customs like singing, kissing, touching, blessing, naming, and other special actions.

Do like Kyla
Johnson, Angela
A little girl looks up to her older sister Kyla. Anything Kyla does, her little sister mimics. Her adoration for her sister is evident from waking up to bedtime.

A country mouse in the town house: A hide-and-seek fable
Henrietta
A content country mouse receives an invitation from a friend in the city. Her friend promises delightful foods but fails to mention a prowling dog and cat. While the country mouse finds her friend's house elegant and full of food, she would rather be in the country without the cat and dog.

Kitten's first full moon
Henkes, Kevin
A little kitten sees a full moon for the first time. He thinks it is a bowl of milk and tries to reach it. Then he sees the full moon reflecting in a pond and thinks it's a bowl of milk. After getting wet and sad, he goes home to find his very own bowl of milk.

Old granny and the bean thief
Defelice, Cynthia
Granny loves her beans any way she can get them. A mischievous thief steals Granny's beans three nights in a row. She embarks on a journey to tell the sheriff about the thief. Along the way she makes several friends. They help Granny stop the thief in a very unique fashion.

Goldilocks and the three bears
Aylesworth, Jim
A curious little girl sometimes forgets what her mother tells her. Sometimes this gets her into trouble. One such time found her deep into the woods at a cottage belonging to three bears. You probably know the rest of the story.

The marshmallow incident
Barrett, Judi
The town of Right and the town of Left do not have anything to do with one another. Someone had even painted a yellow line that nobody ever dared cross. The Order of the Ambidextrous Knights of the Dotted Yellow Line, watch over the line as well as guarding their marshmallows. In June, the town of Right has their picnic, and someone accidentally trips over the yellow line. The knights immediately grab the closest ammunition: their marshmallows, and minutes later both towns are covered with marshmallows, until they realize how silly it was. The towns hold town meetings and no one could think of reasons why they should keep the yellow line. The two towns join together to wash the yellow line and socialize for the first time.

Good enough to eat: A kid's guide to food and nutrition
Rockwell, Lizzy
Using colorful pictures, the author describes what our bodies need to survive. This book demonstrates to children which foods they should eat to stay healthy as well as what each food provides for the body (i.e., protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals). The end also provides healthy recipes for children to try with adult supervision.

Pumpkin day!
Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth
A rabbit goes to a farm to learn about pumpkins. The parents teach their children how they grow, how to carve them, and how to cook multiple recipes with this great vegetable.

Ice cream Larry
Pinkwater, Daniel
Larry loves to eat ice cream. It keeps him cool and he doesn't get hungry. After eating a ton of ice cream, Larry is asked to be the spokesbear for Iceberg Ice Cream's new product. Larry is so excited! His picture is shown on posters, billboards, and fliers which advertise the new Larry Bars. Thanks to his new job, Larry has his own walk-in freezer to sleep in and 50 ice cream bars a day.

An apple pie for dinner
VanHecke, Susan
Wishing to bake an apple pie, Old Granny Smith sets out with a full basket, trading its contents for a series of objects until she get the apples she needs.

Garibaldi's biscuits
Steadman, Ralph
In nineteenth-century Italy, the wife of General Garibaldi bakes biscuits, as a peace offering for a defeated French army.

Little sister and the Month brothers
Schenk de Regniers, Beatrice
A retelling of the Slavic folktale in which the Month brothers' magic helps Little Sister fulfill seemingly impossible tasks. Little Sister's tasks prove the undoing of her greedy stepmother and stepsister.

A castle on Viola street
Disalvo, Dyanne
Andy's family lives in a small, cramped apartment, and his parents work long hours to support the family. He never thought that they would ever live in an actual house, but one day they find a flyer saying You too can own a home. The organization buys empty houses and allows families to fix-up houses and then other people will help fix up a house for them. Andy's family is so excited as they help clean, paint, put down hard wood flooring, and pass out lemonade. At the end of the year, they find out that the next house to be built will be theirs!

Namaste!
Cohn, Diana
Nima Sherpa lives next to Mount Everest, and her father guides people to the top of the mountains once a year. Before he leaves, he tells Nima that he will have a story for her when he returns and asks Nima if she will have a story for him. As Nima walks around the village thinking of what her story could be, she greets everyone with Namaste, just as her mom taught her. She struggles with her story until she realizes that she spreads sweetness everytime she says Namaste.

The fox and the hen
Battut, Eric
Henrietta Hen lays her first egg, but she doesn't know what it is. Red Fox comes along and asks to trade her egg for a nice juicy work and she agrees. The other animals help Henrietta realize her mistake, so they each try to offer something valuable to trade for Red Fox's egg. When the animals solve the problem with one final idea, Henrietta goes home to find a little yellow chick. Coming out of her original egg.

Pick a pumpkin, Mrs. Millie!
Cox, Judy
Silly Mrs. Millie is at it again. In the fall, she takes her kindergarten class on a trip to pick pumpkins for their harvest party. The class has fun guessing the meanings of their favorite teacher's nonsense words. They go on a dragon (wagon) ride, pet the boats (goats), and drink apple spider (cider). Coupled with hilarious artwork in pen, pencil, and colored dyes by Joe Mathieu, this lighthearted text sets a class trip on its ear with subtle lessons in wordplay.

Buffalo
Brodsky, Beverly
The buffalo was very important for the survival of Native Americans. Learn about the history and importance of the buffalo. Excerpts from Native American songs and many original paintings add an artistic dimension.

Rocks! Rocks! Rocks!
Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth
Buddy likes looking at and collecting rocks so Mama suggests they visit the local nature center. They hike the Blue Diamond Trail to five learning centers where they meet Roxie, a Rock Ridge Ranger. Buddy learns about bedrock, erosion, and how three types of rocks are formed. He finds out many surprising things about rocks, rocks, rocks!

The birthday pet
Javernick, Ellen
Danny can have a pet for his birthday and he knows exactly what he wants. The other members of his family think differently.

Three names of me
Cummings, Mary
Ada is a Chinese American girl. Ada shares her experiences of being adopted and moving to a new country. She collects new names that melt into one compelling identity for her.

Genghis Khan
Demi
The author's interpretation of Genghis Khan's life is based upon both historical resources and Mongolian folklore.

Things that go
Rockwell, Anne
Tractor trailers, convertibles, police cars, and tankers are some of the things that travel on the road. Food is delivered in some of these vehicles. Things that go in the air, in the city, in the yard, and in the park are also described. Can you ride a bicycle?

Count on your fingers African style
Zaslavsky, Claudia
This beautifully illustrated four color picture book takes children through the markets, showing traditional finger counting of various African people - the Maasai, the Kamba, and the Taita in Kenya, the Zulu of South Africa, and the Mende of Sierra Leone. This book examines the role that numbers play in creating a common language across cultural boundaries.

Meet Kofi, Maria and Sunita: Family life in Ghana, Peru and India
Simmons, Lesley Anne
Kofi, Maria, and Sunita come from Ghana, Peru, and India. They tell about traditions of their country, their school, and their family.

Welcome dede!: An African naming ceremony
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
Amarlai has a new baby cousin and he can't wait for her to be given a name. A tradtional African name will tell people where she comes from and which child she is in the family.