Reading is one of the most important activities children, and their parents can do together. From day one, reading helps children learn words, the cadence of language, and how to construct sentences. Not only that, but reading enhances learning through story and connection with caregivers. This reading list is designed for families to read together, especially to children aged 0-5. In celebration of Read Across America Day, each one is meant to be enjoyed no matter where families are around the country.
Contributed by: Mary Lanni
Bears Don’t Read! By: Emma Chichester Clark Bored with doing the usual bear activities, George finds a book under a tree and goes to town hoping to find someone who will teach him to read. |
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The Book with no Pictures By: B. J. Novak In this book, with no pictures, the reader has to say every silly word, no matter what. |
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Don’t Turn the Page! By: Rachelle Burk Illustrated by: Julie Downing In this story within a story within a story, is the little hedgehog and his mother reading a bedtime story about a sleepy bear, or is the little bear and his mother reading a bedtime story about a sleepy hedgehog? |
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I’m Not Reading! By: Jonathan Allen Baby Owl agrees to read a story to Tiny Chick, but before he can start reading, Tiny Chick’s numerous brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends join in and test Baby Owl’s patience. |
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Inside this Book (are Three Books) By: Barney Saltzberg Given blank books by their mother, Seymour, Fiona, and Wilbur let their imaginations fly, then put their stories, poems, and pictures together in a single, shared book. |
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The Jellybeans Love to Read By: Laura Joffe Numeroff and Nate Evans Illustrated by: Lynn Munsinger The Jellybeans–four friends who have different strengths and talents–discover a shared love of reading when Anna persuades the others to go with her to the library. |
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Lines, Squiggles, Letters, Words By: By: Ruth Rocha Illustrated by: Madalena Matoso A child who has not yet learned how to read looks out at the world and sees language as lines and squiggles that don’t exactly make pictures but don’t seem to make anything else either. Then, when the child starts to go to school and begins to learn his letters, his way of seeing begins to change. |
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Lola at the Library By: Anna McQuinn Illustrated by: Rosalind Beardshaw Every Tuesday, Lola and her mother visit their local library to return and check out books, attend story readings and share a special treat. |
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A Place to Read By: Leigh Hodgkinson A young reader has a hard time finding the ideal reading spot that is not too noisy, smelly, hot, or cold. |
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Play This Book By: Jessica Young Illustrated by: Daniel Wiseman Illustrations and simple, rhyming text invite the reader to try various instruments and join a band. |
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Reading Makes You Feel Good By: Todd Parr Describes the characteristics and various advantages of reading. |
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When You Trap a Tiger By: Tae Keller When Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother move in with her sick grandmother, Lily traps a magical tiger and makes a deal with him to heal Halmoni. |
A book can change a thought, a belief, an action. A book can bring understanding and exploration. While books can have these powers, it sometimes takes a powerful person to connect us with these books. That powerful person in the library is the librarian. A librarian shares in the reading journey by connecting the voice of the book with the soul of the chosen reader. These ten books focus on stories of readers whose lives were impacted by a librarian. One book even demonstrates how a librarian affected an entire city. How lucky we are to have school and public libraries staffed with these knowledgeable individuals!
The Boy Who Was Raised By Librarians By: Carla D. Morris Illustrated by: Brad Sneed Melvin discovers that the public library is the place where he can find just about anything–including three librarians who help in his quest for knowledge. |
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Carlo and the Really Nice Librarian Written and illustrated by: Jessica Spanyol When Carlo the giraffe and Crackers the cat visit the new library, they meet Mrs. Chinca, a very friendly and helpful librarian. |
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The Librarian from the Black Lagoon By: Mike Thaler Illustrated by: Jared Lee While preparing for a class trip to the school library, a young boy recalls all the horrible things he has heard about the librarian and her policies. |
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The Librarian of Basra: a true story from Iraq Written and illustrated by: Jeanette Winter Alia Muhammad Baker is the real-life librarian of Basra. As the war in Iraq approaches her city, she wonders what will happen to the library’s 30,000 books. Will they be destroyed, or can she find a way to save them? |
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Library Lil By: Suzanne Williams Illustrated by: Steven Kellogg A formidable librarian makes readers not only out of the once resistant residents of her small town but out of a tough-talking, television-watching motorcycle gang as well. |
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Lola at the Library By: Anna McQuinn Illustrated by: Rosalind Beardshaw Every Tuesday, Lola and her mother visit their local library to return and check out books, attend story readings and share a special treat. |
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Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) By: Barbara Bottner Illustrated by: Michael Emberley A first-grade girl who does not like to read stubbornly resists her school librarian’s efforts to convince her to love books until she finds one that might change her mind. |
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Noob and the Librarian Supervillain By: Tristan Bancks & Dean Gorissen Charlie Boon, called Noob, who believes himself to be a secret superhero, decides that Miss Chowder, the school librarian, is a supervillain–and once again, he lets his imagination run away with him. |
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That Book Woman By: Heather Henson Illustrated by: David Small A family living in the Appalachian Mountains in the 1930s gets books to read during the regular visits of the “Book Woman”–a librarian who rides a pack horse through the mountains, lending books to the isolated residents. |
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Tomás and the Library Lady By: Pat Mora Illustrated by: Raúl Colón While helping his family in their work as migrant laborers far from their home, Tomás finds an entire world to explore in the books at the local public library. Based on the real experience in the life of the famous writer Tomás Rivera, the son of migrant workers who became an education leader and university president. |
Little Libraries, Big Heroes
By: Miranda Paul
Illustrated by: John Parra
Reviewed by: Mary Lanni
The written word is the cornerstone of modern human society, and Little Free Libraries help spread that word far and wide. Little Free Libraries are small, elevated boxes that are designed to store books. These libraries can be found nearly anywhere, from a front lawn to a bike path to a storefront. And each Library is designed with the same message: take a book, leave a book. Todd Bol was an ordinary man. He was not particularly noteworthy in school, and he did not feel heroic at all. But his mother saw him differently. She assured him that one day, he would do big things. After his mother passed away, Todd began searching for ways to alleviate his sadness. His mother’s love of books inspired him to create the first Little Free Library that he placed on his front lawn in 2009. Though it took a while to gain traction, over 2,510 Little Free Libraries can now be found worldwide. Designed as a narrative non-fiction account of Todd Bol’s notable contribution to the world, this book is enjoyable for readers of all ages. John Parra’s memorable artwork brings the story to life alongside the carefully crafted text by Miranda Paul. From end paper to end paper, the world of books is seen and felt on every page. Detailed, emotive images showcase humans in many different environments, emphasizing that these Little Free Libraries can really be found anywhere. The amount of text on each page makes this book best suited for mid- to upper-elementary aged readers, especially those reading with a parent or caregiver. After reading this book, readers of all ages will be inspired to seek out a Little Free Library in their neighborhood or even build one for themselves.
Children’s Literature is a division of CLCD, LLC.
Storytime = a librarian surrounded by small children as he/she reads a story.
Oral storytelling = a storyteller surrounded by listeners as he/she tells a story.
Who doesn’t love storytime? The answer would be very few. A fun story read to a group of young children who are usually seated on the floor, escaping into a different setting- sometimes realistic, sometimes not- is an experience that can develop and strengthen literacy, listening, comprehension, and communication skills. Sometimes the storyteller uses props or puppets. Sometimes the storyteller will wear a silly hat or dress in costume for the story. Sometimes the storyteller will ask for interaction from the crowd. Most of all, the storyteller is engaging with his audience by inviting his/her listeners to enter the story with him.
While most library storytimes revolve around a published picture book, the original storytimes did not. These original storytimes are the centuries old activity of oral storytelling. Stories that were passed down through time, usually spread throughout a country or region, some eventually spreading throughout the entire world. Because the stories were not written down, the storyteller might change part of the story or add a character. These oral stories were usually told as a form of entertainment, to teach a moral lesson, or provide a historical account of a person or event. Many oral stories had repeated themes of bravery or death. Various ones used the ‘rule of three’, with three characters or a character having three chances. Oral stories could be told in rhyme, repetition, or as a song. In modern times when we think about oral storytelling we think of the tales we learned from the Grimm brothers and Aesop. Those oral stories were eventually written down so that they could be passed on to future generations.
Many of the stories used in storytimes are similar to the original oral storytelling. Librarians choose stories to entertain, teach, or provide a bit of history. Most storytimes are also times to share nursery rhymes, songs, or fairy tales. It is believed that libraries began offering Storytime just before 1900, at the Pratt Institute Free Library (http://www.ala.org/tools/history-preschool-storytimes).
Storytime continues to be a powerful program in most libraries today. With most libraries offering storytimes for ages 2 and up, we understand just how impactful storytime can be to our young audiences. Just as original storytelling captivated and engaged its listeners, so can your storytime. The tone of your voice, your gestures, and facial expressions all work together to keep little listeners interested, as I’m sure it did for those centuries old storytellers. Asking questions, having the audience share in repetitive lines, and pointing to book illustrations help your listeners engage with the story. Last, remember that you have the power to make even the most mundane story exciting. If your listeners see how excited you are about a story, they will want to share in your excitement.