Tidy Titch by Pat Hutchins

Titch's siblings must clean up/out their rooms.  Titch's room is tidy but not for long!
What is one man's trash is another man's treasure!

Red Hat by Lita Judge

In this "almost" wordless book, an elf-like boy hangs out his red hat to dry.  A cub bear spies it and locks his claws into it.  The red hat is a magnet to other forest creatures.  They return the hat to the line but it has take on a slightly different form!
Sweet ending!
Strategies: sequencing, cause/effect, inferring

Ding Dong Gorilla! by Michelle Robinson illustrated by Leonie Lord

While his mom dresses for dinner, a boy waits for the pizza boy to deliver the much anticipated pizza.  But what is standing at the door?  A gorilla!  The boy relates the crazy evening to his  mom.  The repeated refrain is "but  that's not the bad news. . .".
Strategy: cause/effect

The Triceratops Tuff by Stephen Shaskan

The three Tuff dinosaur brothers wish to indulge in the tasty green grass on the other side of the valley.  Who is standing post in the valley?  The ferocious T-Rex, of course.
A fun fractured tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Dino-lovers will enjoy it.

Animal Snackers by Betsy Lewin

With rhyming verses and fun illustrations, readers can learn about animals and their favorite snacks.
Great to use when learning to read and focusing on word families.
The rhymes are either couplets or follow the ABAB pattern.
The author provides more facts about each animal in the back.
Guided Reading Level: H

Bats in the Band by Brian Lies

A great addition to his bat series.
Rhyming, rhythmic words make it fun to read.
Music teachers can use it in many ways:
1. music genre (blues, classical, rock, country etc)
2. different instruments
Check out Mr. Lies other Bat titles-
"at the Beach"
"at the Library"
at the Ballgame"

The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald illustrated by Mercer Mayer

John looks up to his older brother Tom who is highly intelligent and clever.  Tom can connive any situation to benefit himself.
Tom, the Great Brain, reveals that he is not as selfish as he first appears.
Setting-1896 Utah
Humorous.  Well written.
Points to discuss/warnings: prejudice vs. Jews and Mormons; in Chapter 5 the kids play a game called "Jackass Leapfrog" and jackass is used many times in the chapter; in Ch. 8 John almost assists a friend in committing suicide-they talk about different methods and try two methods

Guided Reading Level: T