List of Picture Books

Illustrator- Ard Hoyt
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
2008
RL- 2.9
This story is about an otter that thinks he is now a big otter and he doesn't listen to his mom and dad when they ask him to go home. He ends up into trouble and realizes that he isn't too big for his family.

Publisher: Salim Eorini/Tsai Fong
2008
RL-2.9
The great illustrations that tie this story together, deserved a Caldecott Honor award in 2008. It is a special day for Trixie. She is bringing her Knuffle Bunny to school and she is all excited. However, she has an unexpected surprise at school when another classmate brings a Knuffle Bunny also. The teacher ends up taking the bunnies away and returns the wrong bunny at the end of the day.

Illustrator: Auch, Mary Jane and Auch, Herm
Publisher: Holiday House
2009
RL- 2.9
Henrietta loves to read and wants to become a writer. Soon she writes a book and wants to have it published. Henrietta never gives it. This book goes through the steps in writing a fictional story. A great book to read children who will begin to write stories of their own.

Illustrator- Boris Kulikov
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
2006
RL- 2.6
Max's brothers collect something and he wants to collect something too. He decides to collect words. When the brothers rearrange the words, a story comes to life. The quirky illustrations help bring this story to life.

Illustrator- Hanna, Dan
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
2010
RL- 2.6
Are you afraid of the dark? A fun rhyming story of friendship. Mr. Fish, with the hellp of a friend, is able to keep his promise to Ms. Clam.

Publisher: Scholastic Press
2005
RL- 2.7
In this thought provoking story, children learn lessons in life from the neighbor, a panda named Stillwater. There are three short Zen stories within this book. Each Zen story has different water colors showing that Stillwater is telling a story.

Publisher: Greenwillow Books
2008
RL- 2.0
This rhyming song details the life at a pong while six turtles sit on an a rock. The collage picteres tie together the words to create a great story.

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
2005
RL- 2.3
Using colored copies of actual leaves, Lois Ehlert is able to illustrate the entire book using leaves. In the fall, the wind will take the Leaf Many afar.

Publisher: Atheneum
Illustrator- Betsy Lewin
2008
RL- 2.7
This is another adventure of Duck and Farmer Brown. Farmer Brown is making a corn maze for the annual Corn Maze Festival. Farmer Brown is in for a big surprise. Duck is always up to something. The great illustrations add humor and keep the story moving along.

Publisher: HarperCollins
2005
RL- 2.5
Dive into the life of a spider through this humorously illustrated story of a spider's diary. Ever heard of a Vacuum Cleaner Safety Day- Stop, Drop, and Run! And the Secret of Life is to never fall asleep in a shoe.

Publisher: Greenwillow Books
2008
RL- 3.3
Kevin Henkes famous character Lilly wants to be a flower girl in her teachers wedding. Through Keven Henkes amazing artistry, he is able to capture the emotions and feelings of every character and bring the story to life.

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Illustrator- He Zhihong
2005
RL- 3.5
The warm glow of the background and the two-page illustrations done by a Chinese artist bring this story of goodness to life. Long-Long helps his grandfather sell food so they have money for the spring festival.

Illustrator- Elena Odriozola
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
2008
RL- 3.9
This story is about love and giving. Babba Zarrah wanted to help people in need. By taking parts of her story blanket, she was able to make socks, shawls, scarves, etc... until she did not have a story blanket anymore. The townspeople gathered more wool yarn so she could make a new one.

Illustrator- Thomas Gonzalez
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
2009
RL-3.7
Symbolism is a key component to this autobiographical story. In Kenya, the cow is a symbol of life. The Maasai people, blessed 14 cows for the American people to help comfort the grieving Americans. The illustrations help portray empathy the people felt for the Americans.

Publsher: HarperCollins
2006
RL- 3.0
This book answers the question, "What is a treasure?" Russell goes looking for a treasure. At first he doesn't think it is a treasure at all, but he soon discovers differently.

Illustrator: Cyd Moore
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press;
2008
RL- 3.4
A touching story about a young girl who did not go by the norms. She drew blue apples and purple trees against the wishes of her art teacher. But does her art teacher actually learn a lesson from Willow?

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
2008
RL- 3.1
A fantastic rhyming story with great illustrations that will capture children's attention. The story is based around bats going into the beloved library at night.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
2008
RL- 5.0
In this funny remaking of the traditional story "Stone Soup," Finnigan finds a new way to trick the towns people into providing eyeballs, bat wings, and frog legs for his soup. There are intriguing illustrations that pull the story along. There are many two-page folds and many separate boxes as well that play into the plot of the story.

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
2010
RL- 6.9
After the first big dinosaur finding, Andrew Carnegie asked people to start looking for more and to "find home something big." Earl Douglass set out to an area in Utah that he felt would have dinosaur fossils. He was right. In his time at Dinosaur Mountain, he excavated ten different species from the Jurassic Era.

Publisher: Holiday House
2009
RL- 7.2
There are many hereoic stories of people helping save the Jews during th Holocaust. This is another historical story recounting the events of Jews being hidden in a a mosque in Paris until they could move on to a safer locatin. The great oil-painted illustrations help the readers feel the emotions of the story.

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Illustrator- Melanie Rose
2005
RL- 6.8
While going through the alphabet, the book highlights hockey equipment, famous players, hockey awards, famous hockey games, and much more. It gives children a deeper understanding for the game of hockey.