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Alex, the kid with AIDS
Girard, Linda Walvoord
Alex has AIDS. In school, he begins as a visitor with special privileges and ends up making friends and being a part of the class. Alex realizes that although he is sick, he cannot misbehave in school.

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.

If nathan were here
Bahr, Mary
Nathan was a brother, a wonderful best friend, and a great classmate. Then one day, Nathan was gone. If Nathan Were Here tells a story of what it is like for a community and family to lose a loved one. This book shows us the true need and meaning for friendship.

Shi-shi-etko
Campbell, Nichola I.
Shi-shi-etko is a young Native American who will be leaving for residential school in a few days. Before she leaves, her family takes her on walks and canoe rides to learn about nature. She gathers all the information she can and adds them to her memories before leaving.

Straight to the pole
O'Malley, Kevin
A little boy is trudging through the snow to the bus stop. He comes up with every excuse why he can't go any further in the snow. Suddenly, he finds out school is closed and he gets up to play.

The storm
Harshman, Marc
A young boy confined to a wheel chair because of an accident, doesn't like the way people see and talk about him. He wants people to see past the wheelchair and see him. A tornado comes through Indiana and he shows how strong and able he truly is.

The red piano
Leblanc-Barroux, Andre
A young pianist is sent to a re-education camp in China. She lives for her secretive two hours of music after a long day's work. Her parents managed to send a piano to Mother Han's house and she manages to smuggle music in notebooks. One night the pianist is caught at the piano, forcing her to live through an extended-re-education while her love and talent for music are challenged.

Little bit & big byte: A day at the beach
Feigh, C
Big Byte, Joy, and Little Bit go to the beach to be with their friends Webster and Kay Board. They all see a couple of nefarious bugs named Vi and Russ who are going surfing. Big Byte and Kay Board want to go with them but Joy and Little Bit warn them that it is too dangerous. When Big Byte and Kay Board find themselves in danger, what will happen? Will Little Bit, Joy, and Webster be able to do anything to help them in this computer age adventure?

Princess Candy: The green queen of mean
Dahl, Michael // Nickel, Scott
The students at Midnight Elementary School are assigned a project on ways to reduce pollution. Miss Doozie Hiss is the star student and feels threatened by Halo and Flora. After Halo and Flora finish the project, Doozie electrifies their flash drive which blows up the computer. After class, Doozie leaves a cup on the ground and Flora transforms into the Green Queen and attacks Doozie. Halo is left to stop the fight and help Doozie and Flora see the good side of nature.

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.

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.

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!

Letters to a soldier
Falvey, David// Mrs. Julie Hutt's fourth-grade class
A collection of letters written by Mrs. Julie Hutt's fourth grade class to 1st Lieutenant David Falvey during his tour in Iraq. Read the students' letter to Lieutenant Falvey and his responses back to each individual student. Pictures of the letters, students, and Lieutenant Falvey's safe arrival back to the states are included!

Cool dog, school dog
Heiligman, Deborah
Tinka is a cool dog, a breaking-all-the-rules dog! A hall dog, a ball dog, a crash-into-the-wall dog! Join Tinka, a dandy, sandy Golden Retriever, as she unexpectedly visits her owner at school and helps his class learn to read.

Babu's song
Stuve-Bodeen, Stephanie
Bernardi lives with his grandfather, Babu, who is mute and makes toys. Because they do not make much money, Bernardi can not afford to go to school in his native Tanzanian town. Bernardi wants to go to school and play soccer with the other children. Through the unconditional love of Babu, Bernardi learns that sacrifice leads to achieving the impossible dream.

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.

A child's day in a Ghanaian city
Provencal, Francis & McNamara, Catherine
Nii Kwei gets up with the sun, and at half past five, he's already hard at work chasing the chickens and sweeping the compound clean with his straw broom. As the city begins to wake up, he washes, changes into his school uniform, and sits down to chocolate milk and sandwiches for breakfast. Photographs capture the lively rhythms of West African daily life, and this delightful dawn-to-dusk journal will encourage young readers, wherever they live, to compare and contrast Nii Kwei's day with their own.

Creativity
Steptoe, John
Charles speaks English and Hector speaks Spanish. They learn that even though they speak different languages, they both come from African ancestors. Charles helps Hector adjust to life in the U.S. through fun activities.

In my momma's kitchen
Nolen, Jerdine
A young girl's fondest memories happen in her momma's kitchen. Achievements, family, stories, cooking and love are all celebrated in the kitchen. Great-Aunt Caroline, corn-pudding time and nighttime serenades are a few of the special moments in this loving family.

The bus ride
Miller, William
Sara stands up for justice on her city bus. Sara gets tired of sitting in the African American section of the bus. Sara does not undertsand why she does not have the same rights as the white Americans, so she takes a stand to change that law.

Yesterday I had the blues
Frame, Jean Ashford
A family explores the various emotions they face each day. Through the use of colors, the main character realizes that even with all the ups and downs of emotions, one color really matters- LOVE of family.

Bird
Elliot, Zetta
Mehkai struggles with the challenges of life: death of his grandfather and his older brother's drug addition. He soon learns how to cope and manage his stress through drawing. In fact, drawing is an outlet for Bird's emotions and imagination. Mehkai learns the benefits of perseverance, hard work, and family.

Pig william
Dubanevich, Arlene
William takes his time doing everything. One day he messes around so long that he misses the bus and also the school picnic. At home, William takes his fish and radio outside for his own picnic. At the school picnic, it starts to rain and the picnic is cancelled. By the time his brothers arrive home, it stopped raining and they join in his picnic.

Hometown hero
Aiello, Barbara//Shulman, Jeffrey
Scott Whittaker recounts the events between Thanksgiving and Christmas in his diary. He starts a karate club at school and meets Bill Walters, a homeless man who was the quarterback of the local high school football team in 1967 The book ends with questions and answers about asthma.

Fernando's gift: El regalo de fernando
Keister, Douglas
Fernando and Carmina, friends who live with their families in the Costa Ricaru rain forest, discover their climbing tree is cut down. As a present, Fernando gives her a new tree to plant and replace the destroyed rain forest environment.

Caps, hats, socks, and mittens: A book about the four seasons
Borden, Louise
Learn the many colors, smells, and activities of each season. We start and finish the cycle with the caps, hats, socks, and mittens of winter.

Peacebound trains
Balgassi, Haemi
Sumi, a young Korean girl, lives with her grandmother when her mother goes off to the army. Sumi watches the train go by each day, wishing her mother would come home soon. The train reminds her grandmother of the days of war when she had to leave her own husband.

See you in second grade
Cohen, Miriam
A first grade class spends their last day of school at the beach. They are afraid of going onto second grade, but the teacher assures them it will be fun. When they go home for the summer, they are excited about what the next school year may bring.

It's hard to share my teacher
Prestine, Joan Singleton
Josh is having a hard time learning to share in school. He is especially frustrated when his teacher is busy helping other students. He wants to share his artwork with his teacher and his classmates. He ends up learning why sharing is so important.

A fine, fine school
Creech, Sharon
Mr. Keeene knows he has a fine school with great teachers and students. Since everyone is learning so much, he decides to have school on Saturdays, then Sundays, and then eventually all summer. Eventually, one student named Tillie tells Mr. Keene that they are not learning anything outside of school. Everyone is relieved when Mr. Keene announces the return of a normal school year.

Thank you, mr. falker
Polacco, Patricia
Trisha loves being read to and loves being at school because she can draw there. When it is Trisha's time to read, she is teased and feels dumb. Thanks to Mr. Falker, one of her teachers, she gains confidence and learns how to read.

Vera's first day of school
Rosenberry, Vera
It's Vera's first day of school!She is so excited that she is up before the sun. But when she finally gets to the school yard, it is full of older children who scare Vera. When she finally gets to her classroom, with a little help from her mother, it is everything she hoped it would be.

Ella's trip to the museum
Clayton, Elaine
Ella and her class are going to the museum. She is very excited about being there. All of the art work seems to be calling to her. They ask her to fly with the angels, spin with the ballerinas, or dance with the statues. Her teacher wants Ella to enjoy the art, but doesn't understand that it is exactly what Ella is doing!

Taking asthma to school
Gosselin, Kim
Justin has asthma so he explains a day in his life to his classmates. Justin takes special medicine to help him breathe. But he is like any other child his age: he likes to play with his friends, go outside at recess, and take part in gym class just like any other kid.

A. lincoln and me
Borden, Louise
A young boy discovers that he shares a birthday on the same day as Abraham Lincoln's. Learn how many other common characteristics a boy shares with a past president.

Smoking stinks
Gosselin, Kim
Maddie and Alex get the facts about smoking!They learn the truth by interviewing Maddie's grandpa, Norman. His mistakes intrigue their class's journey to stay healthy and live smoke-free.

Me and neesie
Greenfield, Eloise
Janell and her make-believe friend, Nessie, have many adventures. The friendship ends when Janell begins school.

Weslandia
Fleischman, Paul
Wesley never really fits in at school. Even his parents think he is odd. One summer though, he creates his own civilization. Everyone develops a new respect for Wesley by the time he returns to school in the fall.

Billy and the big new school
Anholt, Laurence
Billy is very nervous about starting at his new school. He wants to stay home with his mother. Then he meets a small bird who is hurt and cannot fly. Billy takes care of it until it is ready to fly again. Find out how Billy gets himself ready to go to school and how he uses his bird story to make a friend.

Math curse
Scieszka, Jon
Don't let math overwhelm you!Your teacher can help you so math is not a curse. Or will she?

Robert lives with his grandparents
Hickman, Martha Whitmore
After his parents divorce, Robert goes to live with his grandparents. Robert's father moves away and his mother goes into drug rehabilitation. Even though Robert loves his grandparents, he is embarrassed to bring them to Parent's Day at school.

Dear annie
Caseley, Judith
Annie receives many letters from her grandfather. She shares her letters with her class at school and spurs the rest of the class to get pen pals from all over the world.

Pete's chicken
Ziefert, Harriet
Pete's picture of a chicken doesn't make it to the classroom bulliten board. Is it really that funny?

Twizzlers percentages book
Pallotta, Jerry
It's not everyday that aliens invade your classroom and teach math! Come along for the ride as aliens from outer space use twizzlers to explain numbers as fractions, decimals, and percentages. See how numbers are used in everyday situations, sports, and school. This math lesson is certainly out of this world.

Heroes
Mochizuki, Ken
Donnie is always the bad guy when he plays war with his friends. They think because Donnie is Japanese American that he should be the enemy. When his father and uncle take a trip to school, they prove they can be heroes too.

I know a lot of things
Rand, Ann//Rand, Paul
This book describes all the things one child is familiar with.

School days
Hennessy, B.G.
A rhyming text that describes and illustrates all the familiar objects and activities in a typical school kindergarten.

What the mailman brought
Craven, Carolyn
William Beauregard is sick in bed in a new town. He has missed school and will be missing another week. He puts a sign in his window that says Sick of this and soon starts receiving the most unusual packages from the most unusual mailman.

What i did last summer
Prelutsky, Jack
During a summer, a little boy plays baseball and goes to the beach, a museum, and a county fair. By the end of the summer, he is ready to go back to school.

Going to my nursery school
Kuklin, Susan
Heath describes his day playing with his classmates at nursery school. The children play with the water table, the class rabbit, and the blocks. After their snack, they run, climb, ride, slide, bounce balls, play chase and pretend games on the rooftop playground.