Goodnight Moon

The classic picture book for your baby or young child. The little bunny sees all the things in the great big room, like the ballon and picture of the cow jumping over the moon, then says goodnight to them all.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Both a classic and an all time favorite. The tree loves a little boy who climbs her branches, eats her apples, and makes crowns from her leaves. As he grows, she sees less and less of him. Throughout his life, he occasionally comes back to the tree who gives hime everything she has (apples to sell for money, wood to build a house, etc.) until she has nothing left, or so she thinks. Very touching.
AR level 2.6
pts o.5

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Baby bat, "Stellaluna", is adopted by a mama bird after her bat mother is killed by an owl. Like the other baby birds, she must learn to eat insects instead of fruit, sleep at night, and not hang upside. Great illustrations and educational.
AR level 3.5
pts 0.5

Good Thing You're Not an Octopus!

Do you have a stubborn preschooler who doesn't want to get dressed, take a nap or bath, eat lunch or brush teeth? This book reminds them to look on the bright side, if you were an octopus, you would have to put pants on eight legs. If you were a shark, you would have to brush 200 teeth.
AR level 2.2
pts 0.5

Blackboard Bear

This is a cute one of a younger boy who wants to play with the big kids but is always getting left out. Then he creates Blackboard Bear and everyone wants to be his friend now. Luckily, Black board Bear is loyal and is not fooled by them.

Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long

A must for your baby. Mommy's not promising to buy mocking birds and diamond rings. Instead, she'll show you a humming bird and the evening sky. She'll read you stories and get you a warm blanket when it's cold. Very sweet.

Everyone Poops

I swear by this book in aiding potty training. It's very funny and explains to your child that everyone poops because everyone eats. Most people can get through teaching their child to pee in the toilet. The problem I had with my three oldest were that they were afraid to poop in the toilet. They'd often hide behind the curtain or somewhere in the house and did their business in their diaper- until I used this book. I would say, "An elephant has a BIG poop, a mouse has a tiny poop, and YOU have a big kid poop- in the potty..." They even like to read it after the potty training phase because there is a picture of poop on every page!

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Excellent illustrations in this one. Max was acting like a wild thing, so his mother sends him off to bed with no supper. His room magically takes him to Where the Wild Things Are for a great adventure.

AR level 3.4

pts 0.5

Dr. Seuss

There are so many to choose from, but some are better than others. I feel like some just rhyme for the sake of rhyming but overall aren't as entertaining.
My favorite is The Sneetches. In this story the Sneetches who have stars on their bellies are not very nice to the ones with no stars. They are never invited to beach parties and hot dog roasts. Clever Sylvester McMonkey McBean sees a great business opportunity in offering those poor, left out Sneetches a walk through his machine that will put stars on THEIR bellies.
AR level 3.4
pts 0.5

Cat in the Hat is probably the most well known of all of his books. Two siblings are home while mom runs errands. It's a rainy day and they're bored, until the Cat in the Hat visits!

AR level 3.0

pts 0.5

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is probably a close second to the Cat in the Hat's popularity. The Grinch can't stand all those Whos in Whoville and overwhelming Christmas spirit. But this year he has a plan to put an end to it all.

AR level 3.0

pts 0.5

Worth mentioning are There's a Wocket in my Pocket and The First of Octember. I thought they were cuter than some of the other more generic Dr. Seuss books. In There's a Wocket in My Pocket, a boy finds lots of strange little creatures that live all over his house.

Do any of your kids ask for toys, video games, and treats on a regular basis? We'll now you can tell them that everything will be theirs on the First of Octember!

AR level 2.1

pts 0.5

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

This is a series of picture boooks by Laura Numeroff starting with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Giving him a cookie will prompt him to ask for a glass of milk, then he'll need to look in the mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache... Each page is a new consequence for giving him the cookie. These books are great fun, we have many of the series.
AR 2.7
pts 0.5
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
AR 2.1
pts 0.5
If You Give a Pig a Party
AR 2.2
pts o.5
If Take a Mouse to the Movies (Christmas Story)
AR 2.1
pts 0.5
If You Take a Mouse to School
AR 2.4
pts 0.5

The Frances Collection

"Bedtime for Frances"- It's bedtime, so Frances needs one more kiss, one more hug, etc. But, oh no!, there are quite a few noises and shadows that are so scary Frances can't sleep.
AR level 2.7
pts 0.5
"Baby Sister for Frances"- Baby sister Gloria is born and Frances is feeling neglected- her mom didn't have time to iron Frances' favorite dress for school or buy raisins for the oatmeal. Things are not so good with the new baby taking up mom's time- Frances decides to run away!
AR level 3.4
pts 0.5
"A Birthday for Frances"- It's Gloria's birthday, and Frances feels a little jealous. Frances' birthday is ALWAYS the birthday that is not now. Should she get Gloria a present even though Gloria hid her pail and shovel last year?
AR level 3.6
pts 0.5

These books are great fun to read and to listen to on tape. We have the books but also rented the audios. The narrator for the tape is the mom in the Mary Poppins movie and she does a good job with all Frances' made up songs.