Books

FROM SARAH:

I just love all the Poppleton books (and, in fact, every single early reader written by Cynthia Rylant). Delightful.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Poppleton the pig makes a friend, reads a library book about adventure, and helps a sick friend get better.

FROM SARAH:

I love these early reader collections that give you a lot of bang for your buck, and of course this one is fabulous because it's written and illustrated by none other than Tomie dePaola.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Together for the first time in a collectable hardcover boxed set, join Andy & Sandy for four easy-to-read picture book adventures, from legendary author/illustrator Tomie dePaola and longtime Henson scribe Jim Lewis!

FROM SARAH:

By the same author/illustrator who gave us Frog and Toad. Delightful!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When Papa's seven little mouse boys ask for a bedtime story, Papa does even better than that—he tells seven stories, one for each boy!This Level Two I Can Read is geared toward kids who read on their own but still need a little help.

FROM SARAH:

By the same author/illustrator who gave us Frog and Toad. Delightful!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Weasel is ready for his dinner, and poor Mouse is it. Can Mouse stop Weasel from serving up mouse soup for supper? The clever mouse tells the weasel four stories to make the soup tasty—then manages to trick the weasel and get home safely.

FROM SARAH:

A sweet early reader in the spirit of Frog and Toad.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book It is a blustery spring day, and Mouse and Mole are very excited. They are going to go bird watching! They are planning to make bird books! Mouse and Mole pack paper and crayons and hurry outside. It turns out, birds are not so easy to watch.

FROM SARAH:

My twins absolutely loved this whole series from Grace Lin, both as read-alouds or to practice their developing reading skills on!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Ling & Ting are twins. They share a birthday. They bake cakes, and they make birthday wishes. They tell stories and wrap gifts. They also share a birthday secret! The simple text and colorful art makes this early reader a perfect choice for children learning to read.

FROM SARAH:

My twins absolutely loved this whole series from Grace Lin, both as read-alouds or to practice their developing reading skills on!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Ling and Ting like to be silly in the fourth book in this irresistible early reader series. The beloved twins from the Geisel Honor early reader series are back to share their favorite funny stories with beginning readers, now in paperback.

FROM SARAH:

I love the original Frances books these early readers are based on, and the early reader versions are equally delightful.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Frances is a fussy eater. In fact, the only thing she likes is bread and jam. She won't touch her squishy soft-boiled egg. She trades away her chicken-salad sandwich at lunch. She turns up her nose at boring veal cutlets.

FROM SARAH:

Kids love Mo Willems's delightful characters, and you just be surprised at how much you do, too! They are all funny, funny, funny.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.Gerald and Piggie are best friends.

FROM SARAH:

Mo Willems' humorous and heartwarming story about trying new things, featuring the lovable Elephant and Piggie. These books are perfect for early readers!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Elephants Cannot Dance! Piggie tries to teach Gerald some new moves. But will Gerald teach Piggie something even more important?

FROM SARAH:

What's better than an Elephant and Piggie book? A bunch of them, put together!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Mo Willems, a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, celebrates ten years of Elephant & Piggie in this special bind-up collection: Today I Will Fly!; Watch Me Throw the Ball!; Can I Play Too?; the award-winning Let's Go For a Drive!; and I Really Like Slop!

FROM SARAH:

Another old standby worth adding to your permanent collection.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

The meanings of "up" are conveyed with merry verse and illustrations in a happy book that celebrates the joy of life.

FROM SARAH:

This might have been Clara's favorite early reader to practice on. A Dr. Seuss classic that never gets old.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Three friends balance counting and fun in this silly Beginner Book by Dr. Seuss and illustrated by Roy McKie. When a lion, a dog, and a tiger meet up, they soon discover that they can each do different things while balancing apples on their heads.

FROM SARAH:

This Dr. Seuss title is a staple for any early reader! Worth owning.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Beginning with just five fish and continuing into flights of fancy, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish celebrates how much fun imagination can be.

FROM SARAH:

One of my own favorites on this list. A classic that doesn't get old.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Illustrated in full color. Mr. and Mrs. Bird's search for a "better" nest leads them to some peculiar spots.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A phonics-based reader, Run, Bug, Run!: a collection of short stories contains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A phonics-based reader, The Runt Pig: a collection of short storiescontains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

12 Short stories from the All About Reading Program.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A phonics-based reader, Queen Bee: a collection of short stories contains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A phonics-based reader, Chasing Henry: a collection of short stories contains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A phonics-based reader, Shipwreck!: a collection of short stories contains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A phonics-based reader, Heirloom Antics: a collection of short stories contains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.

FROM SARAH:

I think all of the early readers from All About Reading are worth owning. They were some of my younger kids' favorite books to practice reading on! Well written and illustrated. Easy to use either with All About Reading or on its own.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A phonics-based reader, The Voyage: a collection of short storiescontains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.

**Description from Amazon: A 2016 National Book Award Finalist! Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving, masterful story of an unforgettable summer friendship. Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win...

**Description from Amazon: From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be.When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana i...

FROM SARAH:

Wendell Berry’s storytelling is tender, wise, and steeped in the rhythms of rural America. He offers a meditation on the quiet heroism of an ordinary life faithfully lived. Jayber Crow invites readers to lean in and rediscover what it means to be part of a community that offers belonging and relentless love. I’d recommend it for readers 15+.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

“This is a book about Heaven,” says Jayber Crow, “but I must say too that . . . I have wondered sometimes if it would not finally turn out to be a book about Hell.” It is 1932 and he has returned to his native Port William to become the town's barber.

Wendell Berry’s clear-sighted depiction of humanity’s gifts―love and loss, joy and despair―is seen though his intimate knowledge of the Port William Membership.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

As the sun rises on her snow-covered world, Little Cub wonders aloud…“What is heaven like?”With tender words, her Papa describes a wonderful place, free of sadness and tears, where God warmly welcomes his loved ones after their life on earth is over.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2016!This heartwarming classic picture book by beloved children’s book author Margaret Wise Brown is beautifully re-illustrated for a contemporary audience by the critically acclaimed, award-winning illustrator Christian Robinson.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Gus lives in a big park in the middle of an even bigger city, and he spends his days with Ida. Ida is right there. Always. Then one sad day, Gus learns that Ida is very sick, and she isn’t going to get better. The friends help each other face the difficult news with whispers, sniffles, cuddles, and even laughs. Slowly Gus realizes that even after Ida is gone, she will still be with him—through the sounds of their city, and the memories that live in their favorite spots.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When Jack meets Old Man Death coming towards his cottage, he realises at once what's up. "You're not taking my old mother!" he cries, and hits out at Death with his fists. With each punch, Death gets smaller and smaller, until Jack is able to squeeze him inside a hazelnut shell.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

After being initiated into a neighbor's family by a solemn backyard ceremony, a young Russian American girl and her African American brothers' determine to buy their gramma Eula a beautiful Easter hat. But their good intentions are misunderstood, until they discover just the right way to pay for the hat that Eula's had her eye on. A loving family story woven from the author's childhood.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Little Bear's friends help him understand what it means to say goodbye Grandmother Bear has gone for ever, and Little Bear is feeling sad. His mother wisely suggests that perhaps asking his woodland companions what saying goodbye means to them will help him understand his loss.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Badger's friends are sad when he dies but treasure the memories he left them.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Sally and her brothers are walking home from school along the dunes in their Maine town when they come upon an enormous whale. He’s stranded on the beach. Her brother runs for help, and many people rally to respond, but the tide is going out quickly and the whale is just so big. Still, Sally is able to sit near the whale’s massive eye and tell him he’s beautiful and strong, and that she will miss him no matter what happens. Master storyteller Jane Yolen and illustrator Melanie Cataldo have created an authentic portrait of vulnerability that is at once spare, moving, and honest.

**Description from Amazon: Dr. Michael Gurian has studied and served children for thirty years. In The Wonder of Girls (2002), he presented a science-based approach to raising healthy and successful daughters. In the Minds of Girls, he pioneers new and intuitive approaches to health and wellness in all three important areas o...

#1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Mull launches Scholastic's wildly popular multiplatform phenomenon.Four children separated by vast distances all undergo the same ritual, watched by cloaked strangers. Four flashes of light erupt, and from them emerge the unmistakable shapes of incredible beasts ...

Adventure awaits in the Five Kingdoms—come and claim it with the first three books in the “fanciful, action-packed” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series.Cole Randolph was just trying to have a fun time w...

One New York Times bestselling author, four bestselling series starters. This boxed set includes the first books of the Fablehaven, Beyonders, The Candy Shop Wars, and Five Kingdoms series!It’s four fantastical worlds in one! Meet magical creatures in Fablehaven, become a hero in Beyonders, taste ...

**Description from Amazon: Book 2 in the Dragonwatch series War has come to the dragon sanctuaries of the world, and nowhere is the danger more intense than at Wyrmroost. After a humiliating defeat at the hands of Kendra and Seth, Celebrant, King of Dragons, prepares to unleash his fury and take control of his native preserve...

FROM SARAH

The first book I ever read about homeschooling. This book, I think, has had the most profound impact on the way I’ve looked at education throughout homeschooling.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Shows parents and teachers how children's learning experiences can be extended to every aspect of life, giving them a new richness, stability, and joy for living.

**Description from Amazon: A love for reading is one of the most precious gifts that we can give children. It nurtures their imagination and creativity, lets them explore other worlds, and opens their minds to new truths and knowledge in appealing, inspiring ways. But how can we sort through thousands of children's books to d...

**Description from Amazon: The New York Times bestselling memoir of the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village adapted for young readers. Now available in paperback! When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving th...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

If you are going to buy only one book on grief, this is the one to get! It will validate your grief experience, and you can share it with your children. You can leave it on the coffee table so others will pick it up, read it, and then better appreciate your grieving time.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A steady best-seller and The Invisible String is reaching all over the World! OVER 250,000 copies sold! "That's impossible", said twins Jeremy & Liza after their Mom told them they're all connected by this thing called an Invisible String.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

In this useful book from the First Experience series, the affable star of Mister Rogers Neighborhood helps children share feelings of the loss of a pet while offering reassurance that grieving is a natural, healing thing to do.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

My cat Barney died this Friday. I was very sad. My mother said we could have a funeral for him, and I should think of ten good things about Barney so I could tell them...But the small boy who loved Barney can only think of nine. Later, while talking with his father, he discovers the tenth -- and begins to understand.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Tiger Rose's kitten days are long gone and she's grown too tired to stay, so she says her goodbyes to all the creatures and the joys of her natural world—from the scolding blue jay, to the dog and children she shares her home with, to a chipmunk, startled by her gentleness, to her favorite shady patch under a piney bush. In a final vision, Tiger Rose takes one last leap into the blue sky and becomes one with all—the earth, the air, the sun. . . . This is perhaps the most reassuring book on death available for children.

"The day she was born, her grandfather made her a ring of silver and a polished stone, because he loved her already." Through the years, the little girl and her grandfather share so many happy times -- playing by the sea, walking in the mountains, working in his store. And when he grows sick, she ta...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Buckley and his Mama live in a cozy cabin by the ocean. He loves to carve boats out of the driftwood he finds on the beach nearby. He makes:big boats long boats short boats and tall boats, each one more beautiful than the last, and sends them out to sea.

Everett Anderson's Goodbye is a touching portrait of a little boy who is trying to come to grips with his father's death. Lucille Clifton captures Everett's conflicting emotions as he confronts this painful reality. We see him struggle through many stages, from denial and anger to depression and, fi...

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Since Samantha Jane's dad died, she has been sad and quiet, keeping to herself. One day, her neighbor Mrs Cooper gently asks her about her missing smile, and Sammy Jane begins to open up about her grief, her worries, and her confusion.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When her Grandpa Jack dies, Hope remembers the time she went with him to pick blackberries, and she realizes that he will continue to live in her and in her memories.

A little boy and his family gather at the cemetery for the unveiling of his grandpa's gravestone, bringing stones to place on the grave, in the Jewish custom. They tell stories that help the boy deal with his loss, reminding him of the wonderful memories he has of his grandpa.

Set in Mexico amidst the monarch butterflies' annual migration and during the Days of the Dead, Ghost Wings, written by Barbara M. Joosse, author of the best-selling Mama, Do You Love Me?, and illustrated with the luminescent artwork of Giselle Potter, is the touching story of a little girl whose ve...

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

Anne Sibley O'Brien's dreamlike illustrations beautifully complement this fictional story based on real-life experiences. Back matter contains information about the admission of Cambodian refugees into the United States, specifically Maine, after soldiers forced them out of their homeland in the 1970s. An author's note and glossary are also included.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

It may be round like a pumpkin and even orange like a pumpkin, but this is NOT a pumpkin! If it's not a pumpkin, then what is it? Preschoolers and toddlers will love knowing the answer and enjoy the fun, "unexpected" ending!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

We can be sure of this: It's a circle without end. It's pumpkin seeds to pumpkins to pumpkin seeds again This treat of a picture book comes cloaked in the colors of fall.

FROM SARAH:

When it comes to Mercy Watson, I am a fan. I laugh every time I read them aloud!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

When the Watsons decide to zip their porcine wonder into a formfitting princess dress for Halloween – complete with tiara – they are certain that Mercy will be beautiful beyond compare.