Houston Family Booklist - April 2009

Toddlers (Ages 1-3)

Oodles of Animals by Lois Ehlert

Kids will have a great time poring over the pictures in this book and reading the short, humorous poems. A variety of animals, from insects to birds to giant mammals, are represented in the author’s trademark cut-paper collage style.

We’re Going on a Lion Hunt by Margery Cuyler

A class of kindergarteners sets out bravely in search of a lion, going through mud, long grass, and other obstacles before the inevitableencounter with the lion forces a headlong retreat.

Kitchen Dance by Maurie Manning

Two sleepy children sneak out of their beds to watch as their parents, who love each other very much, break into a dance while washing the dishes.

Picture Books (Pre K-K)

Ten Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh

This is a beautifully simple book for small children where transforming pages reveal ten things that everyone can do to help conserve their world.

If You Give a T-Rex a Bone by Tim Myers

Dinosaurs and other ancient reptiles appear in their ancient habitats as if witnessed by a modern day child.  Includes information about the animals and resources for additional learning.

Peter Spit a Seed at Sue by Jackie French Koller

One hot summer day, four bored children start a watermelon seed-spitting battle that soon spreads throughout their town.

Early Readers (Grades 1-3)

Uh-Oh, Max by Jon Scieszka

Popular humorous picture book author Jon Scieszka begins the Trucktown series with this book. When Max gets in trouble after speeding up a ramp, all of his Trucktown friends try to help out.

Amanda Pig, First Grader by Jean Van Leeuwen

Amanda is very excited about starting first grade, and although everything is not exactly as she expected, she soon begins learning to read and finding her way.

Dear Dragon Goes to the Library by Margaret Hillert

In this title from the popular series, a boy and his pet dragon take a trip to the library, where they attend storytime and check out books.

Children's Fiction (Grades 4-6)

Best Friends by Jacqueline Wilson

Rambunctious and irrepressible Gemma has been best friends with Alice ever since they were born on the same day, so when Alice moves miles away to Scotland, Gemma is distraught over the idea that Alice might find a new best friend.

Cyberia by Chris Lynch

In a future where electronic surveillance has taken the place of love, a veterinarian is putting computer chips in animals to control them, and those creatures choose young Zane, who understands their speech, to release captives and bring them to a technology-free safety zone.

Chicken Foot Farm by Anne Estevis

Alejandro grows from ten years old to the age of seventeen, learning about life from his extended Mexican American family on a small ranch in 1940s South Texas.

Teen Fiction (Ages 12 & Up)

3 Willows: the sisterhood grows by Ann Brashares 

Incoming freshmen at the same high school that the original sisterhood attended, Ama, Jo, and Polly are learning that falling out of friendship is an unfortunate part of growing up. They spend the summer before ninth grade learning about themselves, their families and the changing nature of their friendship.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

Sixteen-year-old Eon hopes to become an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune and learn to be its main interpreter, but to do so will require much, including keeping secret that she is a girl.

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo

Matt Stevens, an average middle schooler with a glib tongue and a knack for solving crimes, uncovers a mystery while working with "the organization," a mafia-like syndicate run by seventh-grader Vincent "Mr. Biggs" Biggio, specializing in forged hall passes, test-copying rings, black market candy selling, and taking out hits with water guns.