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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 I was little
Curtis, Jamie Lee
A little girl tells how much she has changed since she was a baby. Now she can eat pizza, noodles, fruit, and Chee-tos instead of goo and yucky stuff.

The little princess
Burnett, Frances Hodge
Young Sara is forced to attend Miss Minchin's select seminary for young girls in London when her father gets shipped off to war. Miss Minchin, the director of the seminary becomes a bit apprehensive about Sara's stay with them because her father said that she is to have the very best of everything. When a note arrives that says Sara's father died, things change for the worse. Poor Sara is forced to live the life of a slave. She eventually meets up with an Indian gentleman who helps her to gain her life back.

Tadpoles
James, Betsy
Growing up is an exciting process, especially for Molly and her brother, Darvy. Molly discovers frog eggs while she is at the pond and is allowed to bring them home until they develop into frogs. While Darvy experiences developmental changes of his own, he learns how to walk. In the end, Darvy teaches Molly an unexpected lesson.

Petronella
Williams, Jay
Getting what you want isn't always easy. This is the lesson that Petronella, once known as Peter, learns. Petronella battles off animals and people to get the man she loves. In doing so, she also realizes that the richest people aren't always the best people.

Mirette on the highwire
McCully, Emily Arnold
Mirette learns to walk a tightrope from Bellini, the world famous tightrope walker, who has quit because of fear. Mirette encourages Bellini and they walk the high wire together.

Come back, salmon
Cone, Molly
Mr. King's fifth grade students work on a project to restore Pigeon Creek to its original beauty. They cannot believe the water was once clear and had fish. They learn about the life cycle of salmon, grow their own salmon, and release them into their now clear Pigeon Creek. The next fall they look for their salmon to return.

Holiday for edith and the bears
Wright, D.
A doll, Edith, and Little Bear are told about boats by Big Bear. Little Bear is told not to go on a boat, but he and Edith disobey and get lost in the big ocean. Big Bear saves them and they learn their lesson about going on a boat by themselves.

Molly's pilgrim
Cohen, Barbara
Molly brings a pilgrim doll that's a replica of her mother when she left Russia to school. Only with this doll do the other students learn the true meaning of a pilgrim.

Just the two of us
Smith, Will
A father talks of ongoing love for his son from the moment he is born. As his child grows, the father tries to teach him how to be a man and also tells him how he will always be there for him. Having this child is the father's proof that his dreams have come true.

Taking asthma to camp: A fictional story about asthma camp
Gosselin, Kim
Justin is scared to leave his parents for the first time to travel to camp. Asthma camp turns out to be a place he greatly enjoys. He learns about asthma and its effects on his body. By the end of the week Justin leaves camp but he can't wait until the following year to come back.

Winter magic
Hasler, Eveline
Peter's mother tells him a story about winter magic. That night Peter dreams of winter magic and awakes. Peter's cat takes him out into the winter night and shows him the magic of winter.

The king's flower
Anno, Mitsumasa
The king believes he must have everything bigger and better than anyone else until he tries to grow the biggest flower. The little flower is so beautiful that the king realizes that bigger does not mean better.

A special kind of sister
Smith, Lucia B.
Sarah has a five year old brother who is mentally challenged. She has trouble coping with him, but loves him very much.


Grandmother five baskets
Larrabee, Lisa
A Native American girl learns how to make baskets from an elderly woman. As she learns, she also discovers many things about her life and herself.

Presenting tanya the ugly duckling
Gauch, Particia Lee
Tanya's ballet class is getting ready for their recital. Tanya is not sure why she was chosen to play the lead, after all she is only Tanya. During practices, Tanya has a hard time dancing like the ugly duckling. After the dress rehearsal, it is time for Tanya to find her character.

All wet!All wet!
Skofield, James
A little boy takes a walk while it is raining and finds that everything in nature responds to the rain. When the rain goes away and the sun dries everything, nature is even more beautiful.

City dog
Kuskin, Karla
A city dog goes to the country and experiences the sun, trees, and fields. The city dog runs, barks, and realizes the differences between the city and country.

Cornelius
Lionni, Leo
Cornelius, the crocodile, is able to walk upright by standing on his head. The other crocodiles become jealous when Cornelius brags about his skill.

The toll-bridge troll
Wolff, Patricia Rae
Everyday on his walk to school, Trigg must cross the toll bridge where a mean troll lives. The troll will not let Trigg pass, so Trigg must think of ways to outsmart the troll.

Aaron and gayla's counting book
Greenfield, Eloise
Two African American children explore numbers on a rainy day. The children play in the rain, counting all the things they see.

Dear mr. blueberry
James, Simon
Emily writes her teacher letters about a whale that is in her backyard pool. Her teacher tells and educates her that whales can't live in her pool. However, she has a great imagination and keeps trying to tell him.

Home lovely
Perkins, Lynne Rae
Tiffany and her mom, Janelle, have just moved to a new trailer that is pretty far away from everything else. Since Janelle has to work, Tiffany spends a lot of time playing alone. When she discovers plants growing by her driveway, the mailman helps her take care of them as they grow.

Everett anderson's goodbye
Clifton, Lucille
After his father's death, Everett learns how to accept this loss. The young boy suffers through the five stages of grief to learn that even when someone you love dies, your love for them does not die.

Clara and the bookwagon
Levinson, Nancy Smiler
Clara lives on a farm and does not have time to go to school, but she wants to learn to read. Eventually the Bookwagon (a mobile library) comes to her farm and the librarian convinces her father to let her borrow books and she learns to read.

Small green snake
Gray, Libba Moore
Small green snake, an adventurous garter snake, learns a big lesson about obedience. Instead of napping with his family, he wanders off and experiences a series of dangerous occurrences.

Alfie's feet
Hughes, Shirley
After shopping with his mother, Alfie gets some boots. While splashing in puddles, Alfie discovers he has been wearing the boots on the wrong feet. After correcting the problem, he continues to play.

The seeing stick
Yolen, Jane
A blind princess learns to see the world through her fingertips from an old blind man.

Becca backwards, becca frontwards: A book of concept pairs
McMillan, Bruce
Through the use of photographs, a little girl named Becca, displays opposites. For example, a full glass of milk and an empty glass of milk are opposites.

In the rain with baby duck
Hest, Amy
In order to get to Grandpa's house for the traditional pancake breakfast, Baby duck has to walk in the rain. Baby duck doesn't like the rain but his grandpa shows him a way to enjoy it.

Bathwater's hot
Hughes, Shirley
A little girl discovers opposites in the world around her. She discovers the difference between hot and cold water and many other things in her world.

Sophie and Lou
Mathers, Petra
Sophie is very shy and never talks to anyone. A dance studio moves across the street from her house so she decides to learn to dance. She goes to the bookmobile in town to get books on how to dance. Sophie eventually meets a man named Lou who dances with her.

The bee tree
Polacco, Patricia
A little girl is bored with reading. Her grandpa takes her on a chase which leads to a honey tree. The whole town goes with them and enjoys the honey with biscuits and tea. Grandpa uses the chase to teach his granddaughter that adventure, wisdom and knowledge must be pursued and can be found in books just as easily.

Rocks in his head
Hurst, Carol Otis
Carol Hurst's father loves collecting rocks in his spare time. After the Depression forces him to close his gas station, the father gets a job working with rocks at a science museum, realizing his dream.

The day we saw the sun come up
Goudey, Alice
A brother and sister witness their first sunrise. After spending the entire day frolicking in the sun, their mother teaches them about the Earth, the sun, day, night, and clouds.

A boy named giotto
Guarnieri, Paolo
Dreams really do come true for Giotto, a young shepard boy, who is mindless of his chores and duties because of his strong passion and talent for painting. Although he loses a sheep, Giotto's curiosity and persistence lead him to find someone who can unlock the door to his artistic future.

A winter walk
Barash, Lynne
A mother explains to her daughter that winter is more than just cold and gray. In fact, winter has the colors of blue, orange, green, and red. You can be happy in the wintertime too.

All alone after school
Stanek, Muriel
Josh learns how to take care of himself after school when his mother takes a new job and cannot afford a babysitter. Josh learns how to be confident while he's alone by knowing important phone numbers, always keeping the door locked and staying away from the stove. After his mother gives him a lucky charm, Josh learns to overcome his fear of being alone after school.

Island boy
Cooney, Barbara
Matthais learns many skills with age. He always returns to his island home and eventually watches new generations of families grow and learn the island ways

Gracias, Rosa
Markel, Michelle
When Kate gets a new babysitter, she is not too excited because Rosa speaks Spanish. Soon Kate and Rosa learn to communicate and share each other's traditions.

Preschool day hooray!
Strauss, Linda Leopold
A day in preschool is full of fun activities and energetic students. The students come into the classroom excited to learn and play with friends. They paint, play, eat and sleep. The students explore, dance and play until it's time to go home!

Teach us, amelia bedelia
Parish, Peggy
Amelia Bedelia goes to the school to give the principal a message and ends up teaching for the day. She follows the teachers directions in an unusual way. The teacher and the kids both enjoy her, especially her taffy apples she gives as a treat.

A visit to the bakery
Ziegler, Sandra
A group of children visit a bakery and learn how to bake bread and buns.

Simple pictures are best
Willard, Nancy
A shoemaker and his wife want to have their picture taken for their wedding anniversary. A photographer comes to their house to take their picture. The entire time, the couple keeps adding objects to their photo setting. The photographer keeps reminding them that simple pictures are best.

My father's luncheonette
Greenberg, Melanie Hope
A little girl enjoys going to her father's luncheonette to eat, dance, waitress, clean-up, and close.

Max in hollywood, baby
Kalman, Marina
Follow Max as he goes through Hollywood and finds out what it is all about. Max works with new and interesting people.

Good luck, mrs. k.!
Borden, Louise
Mrs. K teaches Ann's third grade class. In class they are explorers, scientists, poets, and astronauts. They are always learning something new. One day, Mrs. K doesn't come to school. The students learn that she is in the hospital with cancer. For the rest of the year the third grade has a substitute. On the last day of school, Mrs. K comes back to surprise her students.

Siggy's spaghetti works
Thomson, Peggy
Siggy takes a group of students through his spaghetti factory. He shows them how to make spaghetti from start to finish. The children get to test the pasta during their tour. Siggy tells the students of the history of spaghetti and then they all dine on spaghetti.

Mommy's office
Hazen, Barbara
A little girl goes to downtown to see the place where her mother works. She compares kindergarten to her mother's office and thinks that they are very similar