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A variety of dogs are cleverly constructed entirely from fruits and vegetables. A dachshundlike pup is fashioned from bananas, and poodlelike pooches with curly locks are created out of cauliflower or broccoli. Simple cuts have been made to form legs and ears, and small pieces of other fruits and vegetables have been attached for eyes and other small body parts. Each canine appears on a bright, solid-colored background and is labeled with a simple phrase. The idiomatic expressions and other descriptors show the many ways the words “dog” and “puppy” have been incorporated into the English language. “Dog tired,” “sick as a dog,” “top dog,” and “puppy love” are just a few examples. The endpapers show all of the creatures pictured in the book, and the back cover lists the ingredients used.

Dog Food

Saxton Freymann

Age Level:

0-3

What will the inhabitants of Mousopolis do when invaded by Dogzilla, the larger-than-life (but harmless looking) pooch? Can they reclaim their town before it’s chewed to bits? Collages using photographs and paintings illustrate this zany parody of old horror films. Those who enjoy Dogzilla may also appreciate Kat Kong. The titles tell it all!

Dogzilla

Dav Pilkey

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction

Dream Carver

Diana Cohn

Illustrator:

Amy Córdova

Age Level:

6-9

The Lee family, first introduced in Star Fisher (HarperCollins, 1997), is Chinese. Living in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1927, they stand out in the community. Joan Lee and her siblings want to fit in and celebrate a non-Chinese holiday, Christmas. The children’s parents agree, but only if the children behave according to the parents high standards. Understanding and friendship gradually emerge in this touching novel based on the experiences of the author’s mother.

Dream Soul

Laurence Yep

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Drylongso

Virginia Hamilton

Illustrator:

Jerry Pinkney

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra

Andrea Davis Pinkney

Illustrator:

Brian Pinkney

Age Level:

6-9

“Spring has sprung and left winter behind. How many Easter Bugs can you find?” Who’s in the dip-dyed rainbow egg? How about the egg with baby blue dots? The jeweled egg? The purple peekaboo egg? Inside each brightly decorated egg waits a new bug, unlike any you’ll ever see in nature (unless genetic engineering goes awry). There’s the fluffy yellow Chick-Chick Bug, with touchable fleecy soft fur. And some shiny silver Raindrop Bugs. There’s even a bucktoothed Bunny Bug with turquoise spots. For a spectacular finale, Carter constructs a basket full of every insect depicted. Kids will have a grand old time guessing what kind of creepy-crawly critter lies behind each egg. Here’s one delicious Easter treat that won’t cause cavities!

Easter Bugs: A Springtime Pop-Up

David Carter

Age Level:

3-6

Product Description: Elizabeti was excited and fidgety on her first day of school as she admired her school uniform and shoes and walked to school with her older sister. Once there, though, Elizabeti becomes shy, wishing she had not come. Elizabeti is not sure at all she wants to return, but once she finds that she can use her knowledge at home, she decides to return. While warm watercolors depict a child’s first day of school in Tanzania and the text is sprinkled with Swahili words, the emotions conveyed are universal.

Elizabeti’s School

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

Illustrator:

Christy Hale

Age Level:

3-6

Fables

Arnold Lobel

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction, Fairytales, Folk Tales, and Tall Tales, Myths and Legends

Fall (The Four Seasons)

Maria Rius

Age Level:

0-3

Feeling Thankful

Shelley Rotner

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Nonfiction

Field Trips

Jim Arnosky

Age Level:

6-9

Fire trucks fascinate Matt, so much so that he starts and ends his day thinking about them. When he imagines actually becoming one, he zooms around to put out fire and save his community actually in his house and is brought back to being a little boy by the cozy smell of pancakes. Crisp black lines with touches of red are used in this imaginative excursion, which also invites readers to count related objects from one to ten. The boy has another imaginative adventure in Trucks Trucks Trucks (1998) where trucks that haul, lift, and more grow in size in his room.

Fire Truck

Peter Sís

Age Level:

0-3

First Day in Grapes

L. Pérez

Illustrator:

Robert Casilla

Age Level:

6-9

It’s September, which means it’s time for school to start! The alarm rings, but Sarah Jane Hartwell just burrows deeper into her covers, announcing that shes not going, wailing “I dont know anybody, and it will be hard, and … I just hate it, thats all.” Finally, Mr. Hartwell firmly orders her down to breakfast, puts her in the car and drops her off to join the children flooding through the school doors. But is Sarah who you expect her to be?

First Day Jitters

Julie Danneberg

Age Level:

3-6

Even young monsters on Mars can have trouble adjusting to the first day of first grade. Not only does Horus miss the comforts of Martiangarten, but a know-it-all student harasses him. At his mother’s insistence, a very reluctant Horus returns the next day. Once there, he is able to forget his own problems when he helps a new and even more timid Martian. Characters are vividly colored and peculiarly shaped to create a comical but sympathetic school story of adjustment and emerging friendship.

First Graders from Mars: Horus’ Horrible Day

Shana Corey

Illustrator:

Mark Teague

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction, Science Fiction

When a strange egg appears in their nest, Mr. and Mrs. Bird kindly take it upon themselves to raise the “baby bird” inside. But when the egg hatches, the Birds are in for a big surprise “Junior” is the oddest-looking baby bird they’ve ever seen with big, long jaws full of teeth and an appetite to match. In fact, he looks more like a baby alligator than a baby bird! Nevertheless, the devoted Birds run themselves ragged feeding Junior until he gets so big, he must leave the nest or it will collapse underneath him. But how can Junior fly without wings? To the delight of the Birds and readers! the dilemma is solved when Junior takes off from a branch overlooking a pond.

Flap Your Wings

P.D. Eastman

Age Level:

3-6

Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus

Peter Sís

Age Level:

6-9

While their mother vacations in Florida, Fosdyke’s siblings forage for food like typical foxes. Since the fowl on the farm have been warned, the results are disastrous. Meantime back at home, Fosdyke prepares tasty vegetarian dishes, which everyone ultimately enjoys together. Animated illustrations are perfectly suited to the fast, funny, and alliterative text; the letter F is well represented!

Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke

Pamela Duncan Edwards

Illustrator:

Henry Cole

Age Level:

3-6

Genre:

Fiction

Franklin’s Valentines

Paulette Bourgeois

Illustrator:

Brenda Clark

Age Level:

0-3

Joe and John Henry are friends who have many interests in common, including swimming. But because John Henry has brown skin and Joe’s is the “color of pale moths,” they cannot swim together in the town’s pool. Told by Joe and eloquently illustrated, the emotions and power of friends trying to understand an unfriendly world are timeless.

Freedom Summer

Deborah Wiles

Illustrator:

Jerome Lagarrigue

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction, Historical Fiction

My Friend Rabbit

Eric Rohmann

Age Level:

3-6

Genre:

Fiction

Five short stories about best friends celebrate everyday activities. Each of them has a very distinctive personality; but Frog and Toad find that their differences are what make their friendship special. Gentle illustrations and an easy-to-read text create treasured tales. Be sure to read other stories about the amphibious friends in Frog and Toad Together (opens in a new window) and Frog and Toad All Year (opens in a new window).