Skip to main content
It's my birthday!
Hutchins, Pat
It's Billy's birthday party and all of his monster friends want to play with his new toys. Billy does not want to share, so his friends find new games to play without him. He thinks he can have more fun by himself but soon figures out that isn't the truth. When he receives a gift he can't play by himself, he asks his friends to play finally.

How big is a foot?
Myller, Rolf
The king wants to have a bed made for his wife's birthday, so he measures her by using his feet. They have a problem, because the carpenter's foot is not the same size as the king's.

Dream snow
Carle, Eric
A farmer lives on a small farm with his animals named one, two, three, four and five. One night as he naps, he dreams of snow fall covering his animals and him. He wakes up to discover real snow covering the ground and almost forgets a special Christmas surprise.

Fox under first base
Latimer, Jim
Fox has a habit of stealing baseballs. With the help of his bear friend, he learns the error of his ways and returns the balls. In turn, he receives a baseball autographed by Shoeless Joe Jackson.

A river dream
Say, Allen
Mark is sick in bed. He opens a box from his uncle and finds many wonderful things to prepare him for a boat trip with his uncle.

Mommy, buy me a china doll
Zemach, Margot
Eliza Lou has a plan for Mommy to buy her a China doll -- she asks her to sell her Daddy's featherbed.

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.

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.

The twelve days of Christmas
Spirin, Gennady
The Twelve days of Christmas is sung in churches, houses, and concert halls throughout the Christmas season. It is hard to imagine a Christmas celebration without it. From the partridge in the pear tree to the five golden rings to the twelve drummers drumming, carolers enjoy taking turns singing different verses. Gennady Spirin's paintings bring new life and spectacular beauty to this classic song, making it a gift to be treasured at Christmastime. An illustrator' note addresses the song's origin and history.

Start saving Henry
Carlson, Nancy
Henry gets $5 every week for his allowance, but he spends it immediately on something that catches his eye. One day he sees Super Robot Dude, but his mother won't buy it for him and tells him he has to save his allowance. Whenever Henry is close to $30, something happens to make him lose his money again. One day, his grandma has a surprise for Henry, and he learns that working hard to save money will pay off in the end!

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.

Here comes our bride
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
Ekinadose wants his Uncle Osaere to get married - then he can go to a wedding. One day, he sees people welcomed into his grandfather's house. They come to collect their bride - and Edinadose will be going, not just to one wedding ceremony, but two!

A slimy story
Knudsen, Michelle
Dan runs into a problem when he has no money and no time to buy his mom a birthday present. He canメt think of anything and feels hopeless. One day, a bully puts a slimy, gross worm in Danメs pocket on the walk to school. His teacher, Mrs. Stewart, places the worm in a jar, and all the children become interested. Dan even starts to like the worm and decides to give it to his mom to help her garden. She thinks the worm is a great gift.

Elephant prince:  The story of Ganesh
Novesky, Amy
In this mythical story, that takes place in India, a girl grows up listening to her motherメs and grandmotherメs stories. As a princess, she meets her love and is married. He promises her a baby and has one within a year. When gods gather around the babyメs head vanishes. Another god helps save the baby with the help of an elephant offering his life. The little boy was saved and became the elephant prince, listening to his motherメs stories everyday.

Saturn for my birthday
McGranaghan, John
Jeffrey wants Saturn for his birthday, and he wants the moons too- all 47 of them! But he's not selfish: he'll share the rings with some of his friends at school and with his teacher, Mrs. Cassini. Facts about Saturn are woven seamlessly throughout this funny story as Jeffrey explains just what he'll do with his present and how he'll take care of it.

The piano man
Chocolate, Debbie
A young girl listens to her grandfather share his deep love for music and the piano. Grandfather shares the history of silent movies, Vaudeville, Ragtime, and Broadway. He never lets his passion for music end and continues to share it with his grandaughter.

Names for snow
Beach, Judi K.
A rabbit asks his mother what is snow? and she responds with several different descriptions of snow and the many names there are for it.

A seed was planted/ Sembre una semilla
Palazeti, Toulla
A wonderful cycle of giving begins when a single seed is planted and sprouts are passed along from one person to the next. An entire community is touched.

Willie and the all-stars
Cooper, Floyd
Willie is a young African American boy who learns about discrimination against black baseball players. Willie's fear of prejudice will prevent him from being a famous baseball player. Willie receives tickets to attend a Negro league game and realizes that maybe his dream is possible.

Mac & marie & the train toss surprise
Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald
Mac and Marie receive a letter from Uncle Clem which says that he will toss them a package when his train passes their house. They anxiously await the arrival of the train in the field one summer night. When the train passes, they find a package and open it to find a conch shell from Florida!

Bunnies at christmas time
Ehrlich, Amy
An invitation is sent to Santa Claus to join the bunnies for a Christmas party. Instead of Santa, their Uncle Jack dressed as Santa arrives with plenty of gifts.

While the horses galloped to london
Watts, Mabel
Sherman is given a special pot for his grandmother in London. Everyone on the carriage to London thinks the pot is a nuisance. Only when Sherman saves the day was everyone proud to hold the pot.

Sleds on boston common: A story from the american revolution
Borden, Louise
It's 1774 and British troops are occupying Boston. King George closes Boston Harbor to punish people who speak out against his laws. Henry, a young boy from Boston, hopes to try out his new sled on his birthday. But when he and his brothers and sister get to the hill they find that the troops have set up camp there. After building up enough courage, Henry asks General Gage to move his troops because Boston Common is for everyone. Being a kind man of his word, General Gage agrees and the children can once again sled.

Odd velvet
Whitcomb, Mary E.
Velvet is different from all her other classmates. After thinking she is quite odd, that students decide she's not reall that different after all. They admire Velvet's picture of an apple and love going to her unique birthday party.

How Willy got his wheels
Mohler, Diana & Turner, Deborah
As a homeless and handicapped dog, Willy never finds true happiness until he is rescued from the animal hospital and given a home and family. However, Willy lacks the ability to walk on his own and his owner Deborah tries several attempts to help Willy. Finally, Willy is given a wheel chair which enables him to finally be free and live his life to its fullest.

Three cheers for catherine the great!
Best, Cari
A family moves from Russia to America. The grandma of the family has a birthday and she does not want presents. Her grand-daughter spends hours trying to figure out the perfect no present for her grandma.

Ten mice for Tet
Shea, Pegi Deitz // Weill, Cynthia
A group of mice prepare for Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. The mice plan parties and a feast to celebrate.

I have an olive tree
Bunting, Eve
On Sophia's seventh birthday, her grandfather gave her an olive tree. Sophia is a little disappointed by the gift and doesn't understand why her grandfather would give her an olive tree that she can't even see. After all, it is Greece and she lives in California! It isn't until her grandfather passes away that Sophia truly understands the importance and meaning of the gift when she and her mother visit the olive tree in Greece.

Muriel's red sweater
Dokas, Dara
Muriel Magee's party invitations are very late because her birthday is today! She runs around town handing out invitations to her friends. What she doesn't realize is that her sweater unravels with each person she invites. By the time she gets home, she sees that her sweater is all gone, but she is in for a surprise! Her friends are all there to wish her a happy birthday, and they give her a present. When she opens it she realizes it's just what she needed - a new sweater!

Alejandro's gift
Albert, Richard
A lonely man plants a garden full of vegetables in the middle of the desert. A wide array of desert wildlife finds their way to his garden and watering hole. He wants to be friends with the animals and help them.

Beatrice's goat
McBrier, Page
Beatrice lives in Uganda and helps her mother care for her younger siblings. Money is scarce until Mugisa, a goat arrives. Mugisa provides milk, and the family is nourished by it. Mugisa's milk and babies provide enough money so Beatrice and her family can live a better life. Beatrice can afford her dream of attending school. This story has an afterwords by Hillary Rodhman Clinton.

The third gift
Park, Linda Sue
A young boy learns his father's trade by observing the use and importance of resin from certain trees. One day becomes an important day for the family - and especially for the young boy - when they exchange tears with three merchants who are off to see an important baby.

Santa from Cincinnati: How a little boy named Santa grew up to become the real thing
Barrett, Judi
Calus was born on Christmas Day at Cincinnati General Hospital, and as he grew up, he developed a love for toys. As a young boy, Calus began building toys with his dad and delivering them to other kids in his neighborhood on Christmas Eve. Soon, everyone wanted toys from Calus, and after going to college and meeting Claus, they moved to the North Pole and began manufacturing toys year-round.