by Justin Somper (book 4) 5th+
Grace and Connor have just met the one person they never thought they would meet—their mother. Grace is thrilled at how things are going and at finally meeting their mother but Connor is not so sure about it and does not like being around the Vampirates. So, Grace stays and Connor goes back to pirating with the newly appointed Captain Cheng Li and her crew. But when Captain Li’s ship and crew are appointed the secret mission of Vampirate Assassins Connor has a choice to make. Can he assassinate Vampirates when he knows they are not all bad and that his sister has become very close to them? Also, lurking in the shadows is a secret hidden from them since they were born which is about to come to light and which may change the rest of their lives. Find out how Connor and Grace fare in the war that is about to take place and what will happen when this secret becomes known by reading Vampirates book 4: Black Heart by Justin Somper.
by Judith Bauer Stamper (3rd+)
Have you ever been really scared of something? Well the kids in this book have. They’ve been hunted by graveyard ghosts. They have been chased by scary looking monster people, turned into mummies and disappeared without a trace. Would you like to read more about what scary things have happened to these kids? Then read the thirteen scary stories in Night Frights by Judith Bauer Stamper.
by Gary Paulsen (4th+)
John is a thirteen-year-old boy who loves to do chores on his farm and who loves to hunt with his grandfather. But when his grandfather is diagnosed with cancer and only given a couple of months to live he tells John that it is time for him to go out hunting by himself. When he does he follows this doe but his idea of hunting has changed. He’s struggling to decide whether or not he actually wants to shoot her or not. What will he decide? Read Gary Paulsen’s Tracker for a great story of hunting.
by Matt Faulkner (K+)
When Jack sells the family cow for five supposedly magic beans his mother is furious. But when those beans prove to be magic and a giant beanstalk grows, Jack climbs up to investigate. What does he find at the top of the giant beanstalk? Giants, of course! Giants with all sorts of riches. But when Jack begins to start helping himself to those riches the giant gets very angry. Find out what happens in Jack and the Beanstalk by reading.
by Brian Wildsmith (K+)
Hare thinks he is more clever than tortoise and is faster too. So tortoise challenges him to a race, which Hare knows for sure he will win. When the race begins Hare takes off while Tortoise slowly keeps on going. But when Hare comes upon food he eats and eats until he feels sleepy, laying down to have a rest. Will tortoise with encouragement from friends be able to win the race even though Hare is faster. Find out when you red Brian Wildsmith’s The Hare and the Tortoise.
by Rod Clement (2nd+)
Oh, my goth! Grandthpa’s teeth hath been stholen! In this small town, this is the biggest mystery of all. The police have been brought in to investigate and everyone is a suspect because grandpa says their teeth look just like the ones that were stolen from him. Everyone in town begins smiling all the time because if you aren’t you are thought to be a suspect in the robbery and get taken into the police station for questioning. This in turn makes business in town go down because all of the tourists find the non-stop smiling to be a little creepy. They have got to find grandpas teeth and soon. Will they locate the thief before it’s too late? Read this comical story of Grandpa’s missing teeth and the most unlikely thief you’ve ever met.
by Leah Wilcox (2nd+)
In this funny rhyming spin-off of the fairytale Rapunzel the prince tries to get Rapunzel to throw down her hair so he may climb up but the princess is a little hard of hearing and the prince is so far away that she mistakes his requests for other items. He asks her to throw down her “silky tresses,” she throws down “silky dresses.” He asks her to perhaps throw down a “rope,” she throws down a “cantaloupe.” Will he ever get Rapunzel to understand and make it up the tower to marry her? Read Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox to find out.
by Paul O. Zelinsky (2nd+)
A young girl is born named Rapunzel but since her father stole an herb from a sorceress’s garden the sorceress comes and steals her away. She is taken into a clearing and locked in a tall tower with no doors and only one window way at the top. The only person to visit is the sorceress who will call for Rapunzel to throw down her long hair so that she may climb up. But when a prince witnesses this one day and does the same thing he marries Rapunzel in the tower. When the sorceress finds out she cuts Rapunzel’s hair and sends her away in order to trick the prince. Will her devious plan work? Will Rapunzel ever see her prince again? Read Paul O. Zelinsky’s Rapunzel to find out.
by Nancy Van Laan (1st+)
When winter hits the land the animals are not sure what to do. The snow is getting so deep that soon it will bury them all. They make a decision to send one animal to the Sky Spirit to ask him for help but who will it be? They can’t decide until Rainbow Crow comes to see them. He volunteers to go and brings back something to help the other animals but in the process something happens to his beautiful feathers. Will he ever be the same? Read Rainbow Crow to find the true fact about crows in the legend.
by Brian Wildsmith (1st+)
One day in the jungle a lion meets a rat and does him a favor. The rat tells the lion that someday he will repay the favor. But how could such a small creature as the rat do a favor for the lion, king of the jungle. But when lion gets caught in a hunters trap and the other animals think themselves to weak who do you think comes to the lions rescue? Read The Lion and the Rat by Brain Wildsmith to learn of the heroic rat and the friendly lion.
retold by Eric A. Kimmel (1st+)
An old woman baking a gingerbread man made the mistake of opening the oven too soon to see if he was done baking. Out of the oven popped the gingerbread man and he ran away. He was able to run from the old woman, the old man, and many of the farm animals. But when he reaches the lake he can’t cross he meets the fox. The fox says he will take him across and the gingerbread man hops on his back . As they swim across, the water gets deeper and pretty soon the gingerbread man finds himself on the foxes snout. What will happen? Read The Gingerbread Man retold by Eric Kimmel to find out.
by Eugene Trivizas (3rd+)
In this hilarious modern twist of the fairytale The Three Little Pigs, the wolves are the ones being hunted by the pig. The wolves set out to build a home and they begin with building a brick house. Soon, along comes the Big Bad Pig who huffs and puffs and tries to blow their brick house down. When this doesn’t work he brings in his sledgehammer to take down the house and the wolves have to start over with their building. From concrete to steel, no matter what the wolves use to build their house the pig finds a way to destroy it. Will the wolves build a house that the Big Bad Pig can’t destroy? Find out when you read the comical spin-off The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas.
by Dr. Seuss (3rd+)
Dr. Seuss can read books all sorts of ways. He can read with his eyes shut, he can read in a circle and he can even read upside down. Read along with him and see if you too can read many different ways.
by Dr. Seuss (5th+)
A young boy walks to and from school every day and every day when he gets home his father asks the same question, “What did you see on your way home from school today?” The boy doesn’t want to answer something boring about what he actually did see so he tells his father what he imagines could happen. What types of things can he imagine? Well, find out when you read Dr. Seuss’s And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street.
by Bonnie Worth (2nd+)
In this tale of the rainforest, Dr. Seuss takes you on a tour telling you the facts. He explains about the different levels of the rainforest as well as which animals, plants, and trees can be found there. Tag along with Dr. Seuss as he has an adventure in the rainforest learning everything there is to know about rainforests.
by Dr. Seuss (K+)
Mr. Brown can moo and make all kinds of sounds. He can do thunder and lightning and even a cat drinking. Mr. Brown can even make the sound of a goldfish kiss or a hippopotamus chewing gum. Can you make these sounds? Read Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? and find out.
by Dr. Seuss (4th+)
While fishing in McElligot’s pool one young boy dreams of what might be in there. He knows that there might only be tin cans and old boots at the bottom of McElligot’s Pool. But he dreams instead that McElligot’s Pool breaks into an underground river that goes all the way under town and out to sea where all kinds of strange fish can swim through the river and end up in McElligot’s Pool. Now using his imagination he comes up with all kinds of fish that might swim up including an eel type fish with two heads, Eskimo fish who have parkas, a kangaroo fish with a pouch, a grouchy fish who looks like the Grinch, and even a dog fish with collar who would chase all of the cat fish to McElligot’s Pool too. To find out what other strange fish this young man has imagined, pick up and read McElligot’s Pool by Dr. Seuss.
by Paul Fleischman (4th+)
Joyful Noise is a book of poems about insects in which two people read. You can read these poems with a friend, a family member, or anyone else you can think of. Using two voices to read the poems makes them sound even better. In some poems you may start a sentence while your partner finishes it. Some sentences you and your partner may read at the same time. Enjoy this fun book of partner poems and have a good time with a friend.
by Dr. Seuss (2nd+)
Have you ever had a day where you maybe felt like a color? Well, in My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss you can take a journey with a little boy who tells us each color and with that color how he feels. He has days that are black and he feels mad or angry. He has days that are green when he feels like a fish, cool and quiet. He even has days when the colors get all mixed up and he feels like he doesn’t know who he is. Find out what other feelings this boy has with certain colors when you read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss.
by James Marshall (2nd+)
Fox has broken his bike and thinks that his mother will just give him money to buy a new one. But he gets a big surprise when his mother tells him that if he wants money for a new bike he will have to get a job. Even his little sister won’t help him out. Soon, he can’t stand not having a bike and decides to begin looking for a job. Each job he tries however he has trouble with. He either quits or gets fired for not doing what he is supposed to. He finally finds the perfect job and you won’t believe what it is. To find out read Fox on the Job by James Marshall.
by Dom DeLuise (2nd+)
This is a comical spinoff of the original Hansel & Gretel. When Hansel & Gretel lose their mother to a sickness the mean old Ms. Brown from next store starts coming by a lot to visit their father. Pretty soon Ms. Brown and their father get married and they hear Ms. Brown plotting to get rid of them. She wants to take them out in the woods and leave them there for some other family to find and take care of. But when Hansel & Gretel hear this they know they must do something. So when it comes time for their picnic in the woods the two children leave behind a trail of beans to follow home. When they return to the beans though they find they have been eaten by the forest animals. They think they will be stuck in the forest forever until they come upon a gingerbread house with so many sugary treats that they think they are in candy heaven. But they are soon to find out that Mrs.’s Glut Annie who lives in the house has a secret and does not intend to let the children leave. Will they find out before it is too late? Read Dom DeLuise’s Hansel & Gretel.
by Mercer Mayer (1st+)
One little boy does everything he can to keep the nightmare from getting out of his closet at night when he goes to bed. He makes sure the closet door is shut tight and then climbs into bed with his toy gun and hides. But one night when he gets brave and decides to peek what does he find? When you read There’s a Nightmare in my closet you will surely find out.
by Dr. Seuss (1st+)
Everyone and everything are up! The animals are up, kites are up, feet are up, and even elevators are up. Everyone that is except one, can you guess who it is? Well, in order to find out you will need to read Dr. Seuss’s Great Day for Up.
by Maryann Cocca-Leffler (1st+)
Some people have all the luck! Others have all the bad luck! What would you do if you had bad luck all the time? What if your birthday party was cancelled because of a huge snowstorm, would your birthday be ruined? Find out what one little girl does when this happens to her and whether or not her birthday is ruined when you read Ice-Cold Birthday by Maryann Cocca-Leffler.
by Justin Somper (book 4) 5th+
