Picture
Books for the Young (3--9) and Young at Heart |
|
I'm
In Charge of Celebrations |
 |
A
Lot of Otters |
| Baylor,
Byrd |
Berger,
Barbara |
| Celebrating
the cycles of nature and the joy and mystery of all life. |
Beautiful
and expansive. Kids love these pictures. |
 |
I
Believe in Me |
 |
Stellaluna |
| Bowen,
Connie |
Cannon,
Janell |
| A
lyrical book that affirms the best in each of us. |
The
little bat, Stellaluna, learns to appreciate differences. |
 |
A
Chick Called Saturday |
no
image |
Fairy
Went A-Marketing |
| Dunbar,
Joyce |
Fyleman,
Rose |
| Saturday
cannot swim like a duck or honk like a goose. But just wait until he finds
out what he can do! |
A
quiet story about a fairy who collects treasures of nature, then sets
them free. A classic. |
 |
In
Every Tiny Grain of Sand |
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On
Morning Wings |
| Lindbergh,
Reeve |
Lindbergh,
Reeve |
| Psalms,
blessings, praise, and prayers selected by Lindbergh from many traditions. |
A
lyrical adaptation of Psalm 139. |
 |
Frog
and Toad are Friends |
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image |
The
Tree in the Ancient Forest |
| Lobel,
Arnold |
Reed-Jones,
Carol |
| Endearing
episodes from the lives of two close friends. |
The
interdependence of plant and animal life in an old-growth forest is the
theme, beautifully illustrated. |
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One
Hundred is a Family |
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image |
The
Stone Lion |
| Ryan,
Pam Munoz |
Schoeder,
Alan |
| A
counting book with a message: We are all one human family. |
A
good and evil brother in the classic fairy tale mode. |
 |
Badger's
Parting Gifts |
|
|
| Varley,
Susan |
|
| Badger's
friends are sad at his death but realize he left them with beautiful memories
and love. |
|
Books
for Ages 7--10 |
 |
The
Tale of Despereaux |
 |
What's
the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? |
| DiCamillo,
Kate |
Fritz,
Jean |
| The
adventures of the endearing mouse, Despereaux. Surrounded by small-minded
mice, he dares to follow his heart. A sweet tale of triumph of love and
sincerity over meanness of the heart. |
A
very entertaining account of Franklin's life and accomplishments. |
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When
Marian Sang |
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Little
House in the Big Woods |
| Ryan,
Pam Munoz |
Wilder,
Laura Ingalls |
| The
life of Marian Anderson rendered in gorgeous illustrations with deeply
felt text. |
Wholesome
and based on fact. Although the characters are all sisters, the father
is a great role model for boys. |
Books
for Ages 8--12 |
 |
The
Lost Years of Merlin |
 |
The
Incredible Journey |
| Barron,
T.A. |
Burnford,
Sheila |
| First
of a series beloved by many. |
Three
pets travel hundreds of miles by themselves to find their family. |
 |
Frindle |
 |
Jeremy
Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher |
| Clements,
Andrew |
Coville,
Bruce |
| In
this unusual story, Nate's teacher teaches him not only to love words,
but also to use his willpower. |
A
matchless read-aloud, this story combines the ever-popular dragon theme
with a realistic contemporary story. Short chapters and lots of suspense.
Jeremy learns to expand his sympathies and to see his little dragon as
a real being, not merely his possession. |
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Babe,
the Gallant Pig |
 |
The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe |
| King-Smith,
Dick |
Lewis,
C.S. |
| The
movie is good, but the book is glorious. Sweet and touching. |
A
beloved classic and the first of the Chronicles of Narnia |
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Summer
of the Monkeys |
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The
Sign of the Beaver |
| Rawls,
Wilson |
Speare,
Elizabeth George |
| A
boy in the Ozarks attempts to catch monkeys that have escaped from a circus
train. A hilarious story, filled with strong values. |
A
young boy on the frontier of Colonial America makes friends with a Native
American child and takes care of the homestead while his parents are away. |
Books
for Ages 10--13 |
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That
Quail, Robert |
 |
Wise
Child |
| Stanger,
Margaret |
Furlong,
Monica |
| A
sweet and true account of Stanger's pet quail. Animal lovers and older
children usually love it. |
An
orphaned child who doesn't fit in, Wise Child finds her true calling apprenticing
with Juniper, the village healer. This books rates number one with girls
from ten years old to adults. |
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Anne
of Green Gables |
 |
Shiloh |
| Montgomery,
L.M. |
Naylor,
Phyllis Reynolds |
| Irrepressible
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a middle-aged
brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and embraces her new
life. Beloved by generations of girls. |
Newberry-winning story about a boy and the abused dog he saves. Compassion,
right and wrong, truth and falsehood--all are themes. Too harsh for the
younger set. |
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The
Indian in the Cupboard |
|
|
| Reid
Banks, Lynn |
|
| A
British boy learns empathy from an action figure! |
|
Books
for Ages 12--15 |
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The
Vision |
 |
Shadow
Spinner |
| Brown,
Tom, Jr. |
Fletcher,
Susan |
| The
Tracker describes the outward training; this book tells us about
the transcendental experiences that living in nature brought these two
boys. |
Marjan,
a thirteen-year-old crippled girl, joins the Sultan's harem in ancient
Persia and gathers stories for Shahrazad. |
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Dragonsong |
 |
Little
Britches |
| McCaffrey,
Anne |
Moody,
Ralph |
| Can
a girl be a dragonsinger? Menolly proves her talent both in music and
in empathy with dragonlike lizards. Dragonsinger and Dragondrums
follow in this Harper Hall trilogy. |
Growing
up on the prairie, Little Britches wants his own horse. Amusing, sad,
and outrageous incidents abound, just like in real life. The integrity
of his parents only gets stronger for the hardships they endure and will
endear them to every reader. A bit sexist in the roles of the brother
and sister, but the book reflects the time it portrays. |
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The
Bronze Bow |
 |
Shiva's
Fire |
| Speare,
Elizabeth George |
Staples,
Suzanne Fisher |
| Set
in the Holy Land at the time of Christ, with older teens as the main character.
|
The
story of a Hindu Indian girl who struggles with her widowed mother to
survive and to express her musical gifts. Staples excels in writing about
girls and young women in other cultures. |
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Shabanu |
 |
The
Sword in the Stone |
| Staples,
Suzanne Fisher |
White,
T.H. |
| The
life of a Muslim desert girl and her nomad family is close and loving,
but danger threatens to destroy their future. |
King
Arthur's childhood and the magical education Merlin gave him. |
Books
for Mid-Teens |
 |
The
Education of Little Tree |
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Ishi,
the Last of His Tribe |
| Carter,
Forrest |
Kroeber,
Theodora |
| Little
Tree's Cherokee grandparents adopt him and welcom him into their mountain
home and hearts. He learns about the human spirit beyond the body, but
social workers do not understand his grandparents' gifts. |
The
riveting story of Ishi, last Indian left of his tribe, who walked out
of the forest into Oroville, California, in 1915. Ishi eventually met
Kroeber's husband, an expert on California Indians who spoke a related
language. |
Resources
for Both Parents and Educators |
|
Sharing
Nature with Children |
 |
Education
for Life: Preparing Children to Meet the Challenges |
| Cornell,
Joseph |
Walters,
J. Donald |
| |
|
2007--2008