Far Hills Country Day School
Primary School Recommended Reading List (PreKindergarten through Grade 2)
1
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
Table of Contents Page 3
Introduction
Pages 4-5
Books for PreK and Kindergarten
Page 6
First Grade
Pages 7-8
Favorite Authors
Pages 9
Nonfiction
Page 10-11
New Picture Books
Page 12
Award Winning Books
Pages 13-14
Great Websites
Page 15
Acknowledgements
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
2
Welcome To the Far Hills Country Day School Recommended Reading List for 2012! Please use these lists as a guide for great summer reading and great reading throughout the year! The books listed here are suggestions based on selections from School Library Journal, the American Library Association, and Winners! Best books list from Judy Freeman, children’s literature consultant. The local public libraries and bookstores near FHCDS have a copy.
TIPS FOR CHOOSING A BOOK YOU WILL ENJOY 1. Try the “five finger” test on each book to make sure that the book is a good fit for your reading level. • Read a page in the book that is filled with text. • Each time you do not know a word, put a finger up. • If you get 4 or 5 words on a page, the book may not be right for you. 2. Examine the cover and read the back and inside jacket to find a short description of the book. 3. Read the first couple paragraphs to see if it grabs you. 4. Look for books by a certain author that you enjoy. 5. Ask a friend or your librarian for suggestions! Happy Reading! 100 Fantastic Book Sites for Kids http://www.associatesdegree.com/2010/01/19/100-‐fantastic-‐book-‐sites-‐for-‐kids-‐ teens/
3
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
PRE K and Kindergarten
Stories to make you laugh!
1-2-3 Peas by Keith Bakerl Meet the peas—the 1-2-3 Peas! Come along as they count from one to one hundred in this pea-filled picture book that’s packed with bright, bold numbers and playful number-themed scenes. These tiny green mathematicians will have young readers everywhere calling for more peas, please! Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. The carrots that grow in Crackenhopper Field are the fattest and crispiest around and Jasper Rabbit cannot resist pulling some to eat each time he passes by, until he begins hearing and seeing creepy carrots wherever he goes.
Good News, Bad News by Jeff Mack. While on a picnic, Bunny and Mouse see everything that happens to them from opposite points of view--Bunny sees only the good, while Mouse sees only the bad. Dog and Bear, Two Friends, Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. This is the first book in a charming series about the friendship between a dog and a bear who have many every-day adventures together. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. When a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place-a pigeon! But you've never met one like this before. In his hilarious picture book debut, popular cartoonist Mo Willems perfectly captures a preschooler's temper tantrum.
Knuffle Bunny series by Mo Willems. Follow the adventures of Trixie and her beloved Knuffle Bunny in this trilogy of stories. Children can relate to Trixie’s affection for her special bunny.
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
4
Friends and Feelings Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein. A little girl's smile as she skips down the street in New York inspires a neighbor to send cookies to her grandson in Mexico, and the good will soon spreads around the world Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. When Ms. Albert teaches a lesson on kindness, Chloe realizes that she and her friends have been wrong in making fun of new student Maya's shabby clothes and refusing to play with her.
I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black. When a bored girl meets a potato who finds children tedius, she tries to prove him wrong by demonstrating all of the things they can do, from turning cartwheels to using their imaginations.
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes. It started out as a bad day for little yellow bird, little white dog, little orange fox, and little brown squirrel. Until . . .
Rocket Writes a Story by Tadd Hills. This irresistible sequel to the New York Times bestselling How Rocket Learned to Read is "a perfect choice to inspire new readers and writers.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by
Judith Viorst. Viorst's classic tale of a little boy who must accept the reality that "some days are like that," when everything he does goes awry, is one of her most popular works.
5
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
FIRST GRADE
Bi Students come to first grade with varying reading readiness skills. Picture books g are normally about 30-32 pages with beautiful illustrations and are written on a Ba level so that they may be read to young children. d The beginning reader books are made for children to read independently. These Bu books have short sentences, larger print, and a controlled vocabulary. The cover nn usually suggests the reading level. y Step Into Reading Random House Publishers by Bank Street Bantam Books Fr All Aboard Reading Putnam Publishers Hello Reader Scholastic Publishers an Beginning to Read Modern Curriculum Press ny I Can Read Harper Collins Publishers Bill Easy Reader Series and Authors ing sle y. Illu s. by G. Bri an Biscuit series Mr. Putter and Tabby series I Can Read seriesKa By Alyssa Satin Capucilli By Cynthia Rylant ras . At he ne um , 20 Amelia Bedelia series Henry and Mudge series Frog and Toad series 08. By Peggy or Herman By Cynthia Rylant By Arnold Lobel Bi Parish g 6 Ba Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013 d Bu nn
Favorite Authors for Primary Students
Kevin Henkes
Patricia Polacco
Janell Cannon
Doreen Cronin
Mo Willems
7
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
Margie Palatini
Jan Brett
Moving to Chapter Books Great Series -
My Weird School Dan Gutman
Gooney Bird Greene
Judy Moody
Stink
Megan McDonald
Megan McDonald
A to Z Mysteries Ron Roy
Mercy Watson Kate DiCamillo
Geronimo Stilton Geronimo Stilton
Marvin Redpost Louis Sachar
Magic Tree House
Magic Puppy Sue Bentley
Mary Pope Osborne
Lois Lowry
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
8
Nonfiction Recommendations
Abe Lincoln’s Dream Lane Smith The Amazing Harry Kellar: Great American Magician Gail Jarrow Annie and Helen Deborah Hopkinson Barnum’s Bones: how Barnum Brown discovered the most famous Dinosaur in the World Tracey Fern
The Boston Tea Party Russell Freedman The Camping Trip That Changed America Audrey Vernick From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World James Rumford The Christmas Tugboat: How the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Came to New York George Matteson Island: A Story of the Galapagos Jason Chin Just Behave, Pablo Picasso! Jonah Winter Minette’s Feast: the Delicioius Story of Julia Child and her Cat Susanna Reich Nic Bishop Snakes Nic Bishop Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas Molly Bang Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John “Appleseed” Chapman Esme Raji Codel
New Poetry Books Forgive Me, I Meant To Do It: False Apology Poems Shiver Me Timbers! Pirate Poems & Paintings In the Sea I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus: More than 100 Poems Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems 9
Gail Carson Levine Douglas Florian David Elliott Jack Prelutsky Kate Coombs
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
New Picture Books 2013 The Art of Miss Chew Patricia Poloacco Boot and Shoe Marla Frazee Because Amelia Smiled David Ezra Stein Chloe and the Lion Mac Barnett Each Kindness Jacqueline Woodson Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs Mo Willems The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore William Joyce Fox Tails: Four Fables from Aesop Amy Lowry Goldilocks and Just One Bear Leigh Hodgkinson Good News, Bad News Jeff Mack One Two, That’s My Shoe!` Alison Murray Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-It-All Peter Catalanotto Rocket Writes a Story Tad Hills One Special Day Lola Schaefer The Quiet Place Sarah Stewart A Rock is Lively Dianna Hutts Aston Silly Doggy! Adam Stower H.O.R.S.E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination Christopher Myers I’m Bored Michael Ian Black It’s a Tiger! David La Rochellle Hello! Hello! Matthew Cordell I Gotta Draw Bruce Degen Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money Emily Jenkins Let’s Go for a Drive Mo Willems Listen to My Trumpet! Mo Willems Next Stop – Zanzibar Road! Niki Daly Max & Ruby’s Treasure Hunt Rosemary Wells Mom, It’s My first Day of Kindergarten Hyewon Yum Oh, No! Candace Fleming The Three Ninja Pigs Corey Rosen Schwartz Underground Denise Fleming Z is for Moose Kelly L. Bingham
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
10
Award Winning Picture Books
The Caldecott Award 2013 This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press) Honor Books: • Creepy Carrots!, illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division) • Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) • Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press) • One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo (Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group) • Sleep Like a Tiger, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company)
11
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
GREAT WEBSITES FOR KIDS!! (And literature loving adults too!) Book Adventure. Perfect for kids in grades K-8, this site lets readers create a list of books from 7,000 listed, then take quizzes and earn points for their progress. Bookwink. Bookwink posts three-minute videos each month about specific books in an attempt to spark interest in students in grades 38 to read. You can search their book list by subject, grade level, author, or title. Leading to Reading. Sponsored by RIF, this site is geared to preschoolers and the grown-ups who care for them
Read.gov. The Library of Congress hosts this site that has something for both younger and older readers, no matter what their interests. They even have a fun story project with contributions from a variety of popular authors. ReadKiddoRead.com. James Patterson started this site to encourage the love of reading in children. Find book recommendations, reading guides, fun quizzes, and more. Reading Rockets. This site is from the US Department of Education and is designed to help emergent and struggling readers. Goodreads. Join a virtual book club, organize your books by shelves, and more when you join this network. GuysRead. A website by author Jon Scieska that suggests great books for boys.
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013
12
Online Libraries These sites provide an opportunity for kids to read online, free of charge International Children’s Digital Library. Children around the world can access this awesome library. Register for free to have access to cool features such as bookmarking your page in a particular book and creating your own bookshelf. Project Gutenberg. This site offers over 30,000 free downloadable ebooks, many of which are also available as audiobooks. Read Print. Get over 8,000 free books online with authors such as Jane Austen, Mark Twain, and Beatrix Potter. Classic Reader. Browse through categories such as "Young Readers" or "Non-Fiction" or search by author or title to find a free online book here. Page by Page Books. Scroll through this alphabetical listing to find books like Anne of Green Gables and Cinderella. StoryPlace. This digital library has books organized by preschool and elementary, and is also available in Spanish Acknowledgements: Suggested Reading Lists prepared by Susan Rikkola, Library Media Specialist Far Hills Country Day School, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Some annotations taken from: Follett Titlewave Read Kiddo Read website Good Reads website Cover art from Barnes and Noble website 13
Far Hills Country Day School , Route 202, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Primary School Recommended Reading List, 2013