Reading Lists

Picture Books & Easy Readers

Franklin, Kristine L.             
When the Monkeys Came Back (JE FRA)
Always remembering how the monkeys in her Costa Rican valley disappeared when all the trees were cut down, Marta grows up, plants more trees, and sees the monkeys come back.

Lionni, Leo                            
Swimmy (JE LIO)
A little black fish in a school of red fish figures out a way of protecting them all from their natural enemies.

McGuire, Leslie                    
This Farm is a Mess (JE MCG)
Unable to stand the mess on Farmer Wood's farm any longer, the animals decide to do something about it.

Mitchell, Margaree King         
Granddaddy's Gift (JE MIT)
When her grandfather registers to vote while living in segregated Mississippi, an Afro-American girl begins to understand why he insists that she attend school.

Seuss, Dr.              
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (JE SEU)
At first, Bartholomew Cubbins had just one hat, but when the King ordered him to take it off, he found that he cound not--each time there was another on his head.

Juvenile Fiction

Alden, Raymond                   
Why the Chimes Rang (JUV FIC ALD)
The great church's wonderful Christmas chimes had not rung for years, because no one had brought an offering for the Christ Child that was great enough to deserve the music of the chimes.

Cohen, Barbara                     
Molly's Pilgrim (JUV FIC COHEN)
Told to make a doll like a Pilgrim for the Thanksgiving display at school, Molly's Jewish mother dresses the doll as she herself dressed before leaving Russia to seek religious freedom--much to Molly's embarrassment.

De Jong, Meindert              
The House of Sixty Fathers (JUV FIC DEJONG)
Alone in a sampan with his pig and three ducklings, a little Chinese boy is whirled down a raging river, back to the town from which he and his parents had escaped the invading Japanese, and spends long and frightening days regaining his family and new home.

 Fritz, Jean                              
The Cabin Faced West (JUV FIC FRITZ)
Ten-year-old Ann overcomes loneliness and learns how to appreciate the importance of her role in settling the wilderness in Pennsylvania.

George, Jean Craighead      
My Side of the Mountain (JUV FIC GEORGE)
A young boy relates his adventures during the year hespends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship.

Lewis, C.S.                                                    
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (JUV FIC LEWIS)
Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

Ruckman, Ivy                                                
What’s An Average Kid Like Me Doing Way Up Here? (JUV FIC RUC)
Norman, his fellow seventh graders, and their home economics teacher campaign to save Fortuna Middle School, which has been slated for closure by the school board.

White, E. B.                        
The Trumpet of the Swan (JUV FIC WHITE)
Knowing how to read and write is not enough for Louis, a voiceless Trumpeter Swan; his determination to learn to play a stolen trumpet takes him far from his wilderness home.

Young Adult Fiction

Chambers, Aidan                 
The Present Takers (YA FIC CHAMBERS)
Lucy is tormented by class bullies who demand that she bring them gifts.

O'Brien, Robert C.      
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH  (YA FIC OBR)
Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long lived.

Juvenile Non-Fiction

Kelly, Zachary A.                     
Laws (JUV 340 KELLY)
An overview of the American legal system, including why laws are necessary, how they are made, criminal and civil law, law enforcement, and the rights of victims and of the accused.

Lewis, Barbara A.     
The Kid's Guide to Service Projects (JUV 362.37 LEWIS)
Describes a variety of opportunities for youngsters to participate in successful community service.

Ryan, Pam Muñoz                
The Flag We Love (JUV 929.9 RYAN)
A poetical history of the U.S. flag.