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The christmas donkey
McClure, Gillian
When news arrives that everyone has to return to the place where they were born to pay tax, a local donkey dealer sells all of his donkeys, including Arrod, a wild and proud donkey. Arrod believes only a king is good enough to have him, but he leads the way to Bethlehem when Joseph, a poor carpenter, and his pregnant wife, Mary, buys him.

Lucy's christmas
Hall, Donald
Lucy is a very creative girl who begins making Christmas presents for her family in August. She thinks of new things to make throughout the year and helps her younger sister too. Her family gets a new stove and celebrates a traditional Christmas.

Lights on the river
Thomas, Jane Resh
Teresa and her family are migrant farm workers whose home is wherever there is work. With no permanent home, Teresa carries with her a wooden box containing a single candle from her grandmother that reminds her of the place she considers home.

The gingerbread doll
Tews, Susan
Rebecca lived during the Depression when times were hard, so when she gets a gingerbread doll instead of the porcelain doll she has always wanted, she understands and loves the doll. When times get better, Rebecca eventually gets a porcelain doll, but remembers the love she had for her gingerbread doll.

Papa, please get the moon for me
Carle, Eric
Monica wants her father to get the moon so she can play with it. So her father finds the tallest items he can and climbs until he reaches the moon. He brings the moon back only to discover that it keeps changing sizes as it passes through the lunar cycle.

Katie's trunk
Turner, Ann//Himler, R.
Katie hides in her mother's wedding trunk when the British rebels comes to search her house during the American Revolution. Katie gets scared because it is hard for her to breathe. Someone finally opens the trunk so she can breathe again.

I am the mummy, heb-nefert
Bunting, Eve
Hef-Nefert, an Egyptian mummy, tells her story as the wife of pharaoh's brother. She and her husband are very much in love and enjoy a wonderful life together. Eventually both die and become mummies that are viewed by disbelieving people in museums.

Uncle elephant
Lobel, Arnold
Uncle Elephant comes to the rescue of his nephew because his parents are lost at sea. When the parents are rescued, Uncle Elephant leaves. The nephew promises to keep in touch with his uncle.

A candle for christmas
Speare, Jean
Thomas's parents need to help his uncle, so they leave Thomas with a friend one week before Christmas. Thomas is afraid that his parents won't make it home. They show up late Christmas Eve and Thomas is happy.

Uncle james
Harshman, Marc
Jimmy's family needs all the help they can get and Uncle James is promising them that help. When Uncle James arrives and brings nothing with him, Jimmy is very disappointed. He realizes that Uncle James needs help in becoming a hero.

Lester's dog
Hesse, Karen
Two boys are afraid to go by the house where the fierce dog, Lester, hides under the porch. On their adventure they cross busy streets then find a baby kitten. They try to save the kitten and find an excellent home for it.

No dragons for tea: Fire safety for kids (and dragons)
Pendziwol, Jean//Gourbault, Martine
A little girl meets a friendly dragon at the beach and invites him to tea and lunch. During lunch the dragon sneezes fire and the table and curtains catch on fire. The fire alarm goes off but the little girl knows the important rules of fire safety. She tells the dragon that they must not stay inside and must meet their mother outside by the tree. When the dragon tries to go back in for his teddy bear, the little girl tells him to never to go back insidde a burning building. The little girls mother calls for help and the fire men come and put out the fire. Everyone is safe which is really important. The next time that they want to have tea, the friends will have a picnic on the beach.

Waiting for hannah
Russo, Marisabina
Hannah wants to know how her mother spent her time before she was born. Hannah's mother talks about the hot summer when she got proper exercise, food, and recreation so she could have a good delivery.

In the middle of the night
Henderson, Kathy
In the middle of the night while most people are asleep, some people are hard at work. For example, janitors, astronomers, bakers, postal workers, and parents of newborns.

A good morning's work
Zimelman, Nathan
When Mitsuo hoes his garden, he finds rare things in nature which he tries not to harm. All the while, his dad makes sure he's working.

Owen
Henkes, Kevin
Owen just loves his yellow blanket named Fuzzy, which he takes everywhere. Owen's parents decide Owen is getting too old to carry around a blanket. Owen is terribly upset and isn't happy again until Fuzzy is cut up into small pieces for Owen to carry around.

The little fir tree
Brown, Margaret Wise
A fir tree is cut down to be used as a Christmas tree for a boy with a handicap. After the holidays, the tree is replanted in the forest. Every year, the boy's father digs up the tree to be decorated. One year, the boy goes to the forest by himself to decorate a tree.

Tap-tap
Williams, Karen Lynn
After spending a long day selling oranges at the market, a Haitian mother and daughter earn enough money to ride the tap-tap home. The tap-tap is a vehicle that takes passengers where they need to go. It stops when a passenger taps on the side twice.

Goodbye, Mitch
Wallace-Brodeur, Ruth
Mitch has been Michael's pet for 15 years. He is an important part of the family, and Michael loves him very much. When Mitch becomes ill, Michael has a difficult time dealing with the fact that Mitch is dying.

The almond orchard
Coats, Laura Jane
The narrator explains what it was like when she was a little girl helping with her father's almond orchard. She explains how things around the orchard have changed since she has grown older.

First words and pictures
Salt, Jane//Hawksley, Gereard
A baby has many new things to see and touch at the supermarket. At home, it is time to unload the groceries and make dinner.

Willie blows a mean horn
Thomas, Ianthe//Toulimin-Rothe, Ann
Willie spends a night watching his father play jazz on his trumpet. Willie wants to be like his father and his appreciation for music causes him to dream to be a jazz player like his father

A chair for my mother
Williams, Vera B.
There is a jar that a mother saves all her change in from work. When the jar is finally full, she buys a chair that is very comfortable. This is important because all of her furniture was destroyed in a fire.

Giving
Hughes, Shirley
A young girl talks about how she gives to others and how others give too. She describes the difference between good giving and bad giving.

Trouble at the mines
Rappaport, Doreen
With the help of Mother Jones, a famous leader, the miners go on strike to fight for better working conditions and wages. Rosie's family struggles to survive the eight-month strike. The persistant women and miners force the owners to give in, and the strike ends with victory.

Matt's grandfather
Lundgren, Max
Matt and his family go to visit Matt's grandfather in a retirement home for his eighty-fifth birthday. Matt's grandfather is old and he forgets a lot. At first, Matt is afraid of his grandfather, but when they go for a walk in the park, he learns that older people are not so scary.

Yonder
Johnston, Tony
Vivid pictures depict the cycle of seasons while the story of a pioneer's life is told. The story begins with the pioneer's marriage then ends with the lives of the pioneer's children.

Flower garden
Bunting, Eve
A young girl and her father buy flowers at the grocery and prepare a flower box for her mother's birthday.

The shrinking of treehorn
Heide, Florence Parry
Treehorn is shrinking. Being little is not easy. Treehorn discovers this by having difficulty doing his daily routine, like trying to mail a letter or go to school. One day, Treehorn finds a magical board game that helps him solve his problem.

Nova's ark
Kirk, David
A young robot turns a field trip to space into a quest for his father when his stolen ship crashes. He makes new friends and finds his father as well as an alternative source of energy.

Summer wheels
Bunting, Eve
A kid without a father learns from the bicycle man about trust. From other kids he learns honesty and friendship.

Gorilla
Browne, Anthony
Neglected by a busy father, a young girl receives a gorilla stuffed animal from her father. Gorillas are her favorite animal and soon she and her gorilla are off on a magical trip.

Stephanie's ponytail
Munsch, Robert
One day Stephanie shows up at school with her hair in a ponytail. At first all of her friends make fun of her, but she quickly becomes a trend-setter. When Stephanie tricks everyone into shaving their heads, they aren't very happy with her.

The hating book
Zolotow, C.
A little girl stops speaking to her friend without telling her why. Her mother tells her to go to her friend's house and ask her what the problem is. She does and finds out that it was just a misunderstanding.

The big box
Morrison, Toni//Morrison, Slade
Patty, Mickey, and Liza Sue just can't handle their freedom. The things they do frighten the adults around them. The adults decide to put them in a big brown box because they care about the youngsters. The children will have everything they need, except their freedom. Isn't that the one thing children need?

Bread is for eating
Gershator, David//Gershator, Phillis
When a little boy leaves bread on his plate, his mother reminds him how important bread is and the hard work that goes into making it. Through a song, children learn why they should not waste food, and how to be thankful for grain and bread.

Peanut butter and jelly
Westcott, Nadine Bernard
Through a rhyme, two little children show how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Sunshine
Ormerod, Jan
A little girl wakes up very early then wakes her father so they can make breakfast. Afterwards, her dad gets back into bed and reads the paper while the mother sleeps. The little girl then begins to get herself ready for school.

Little pink pig
Hutchins, Pat
When Little Pink Pig's mother is calling him for bedtime, his head is buried in apples and he can't hear her. As his mother goes around the barnyard gathering animals to help her find her son, Little Pink Pig keeps falling into places where he can't hear the animals' calls to him.

Breakfast time, ernest and celestine
Vincent, Gabrielle
When Celestine, a mouse, breaks a cup, her bear friend Ernest offers to help her clean up the mess. But Celestine thinks that is is her responsibility.

Fruits: A caribbean counting poem
Bloom, Valerie
Counting fruit can be fun, especially if you get to eat it when you're done! From half a pawpaw to ten bananas, these two sisters count it all. They forget one thing though -- eating too much can make you sick!

Hannah's farm
McCurdy, Michael
Hannah helps her family cut wood, plant crops, gather crops, and make Christmas dinner on their farm in the early days of America. She discovers that her job changes with the seasons.

The rattlebang picnic
Mahy, Margaret
Jack and Marion McTavish decide to get an old car and have 7 children instead of 1 new car. They go on a picnic adventure with their children and Granny McTavish who always cooks everything too long.

How my parents learned to eat
Friedman, Ina R.
An American sailor meets a Japanese school girl. Neither of them know how to eat in the same manner as the other.

Passover
Nerlove, Miriam
It is time for Passover and a father tells his son the tradition of Passover. He explains the different types of food that are eaten and the hunt that occurs after dinner. They then sing songs together.

Thanksgiving treat
Stock, Catherine
It is time for Thanksgiving and everyone is busy running around to get ready for the big feast. The youngest child wants to help, but everyone tells him he isn't needed. His grandpa comes to the rescue and makes everyone happy.

The pea patch jig
Hurd, Thacher
Farmer Clem had a beautiful garden. He shares his garden with another family that he did not know about - mice!Baby mouse is always up to something and keeps her parents very busy.

Arthur's christmas cookies
Hoban, Lillian
Arthur decides to bake some cookies for his parents for their Christmas presents. Even though they turn out badly, Arthur finds another way to make wonderful presents out of his cookies.

City rhythms
Grifalconi, Ann
Jimmy's dad talks about keeping up with the rhythm of the city, but Jimmy doesn't understand what his dad means until the end of the summer when Jimmy makes the city rhythms his own.

And if the moon could talk
Banks, Kate
A young child gets ready for bed. Her father reads her a book, and her mother tucks her into bed. Soon, she is fast asleep and dreaming. The moon watches from outside as the world prepares for nightfall.