Houston Family Booklist - July 2010

Toddlers (Ages 1-3)

[5] 

Lindsey Craig. Dancing Feet! [5]
Simple shapes and bright colors enhance this book that asks children to guess which animal is dancing by the sound of their feet and the clues in the artwork.

[6]

Mem Fox. Hello Baby! [6]
A baby encounters a variety of young animals, including a clever monkey, a hairy warthog, and a dusty lion cub, before discovering the most precious creature of all – itself.

[7]

Frances Watts. Kisses for Daddy [7]
At bedtime, baby bear is grumbly and refuses to give Daddy a big bear kiss until his father demonstrates many other types of animal kisses.

Picture Books (Pre K-K)

[8]

Jerry Spinelli. I Can Be Anything! [8]
A little boy ponders the many possible jobs in his future, from paper-plane folder and puppy dog holder to mixing-bowl licker and tin-can kicker.

[9]

Deborah Underwood. Granny Gomez and Jigsaw [9]
Granny Gomez isn’t lonely after her new pet pig moves in, but soon he becomes too big for the house and Granny has to build him his own barn.

[10]

Claire Alexander. Small Florence Piggy Pop Star! [10]
Florence, a young pig, is too shy to sing in front of her sisters but gathers her courage at a singing competition when they lose their nerve.

Early Readers (Grades 1-3)

  [11]

James Howe. Houndsley and Catina Plink and Plunk [11]
Houndsley likes canoeing and his friend, Catina, likes bicycling, but each has to help the other learn to enjoy these activities in order to do them together.

  [12]

Diane deGroat. Gilbert, the Surfer Dude [12]
Gilbert the opossum imagines himself as Surfer Dude on a fun-filled day at the beach.

[13]

Stephanie Spinner. Paddywack [13]
Paddywack is a spunky pony who jumps, trots, and walks beautifully, as long as his rider remembers his treats.

Children's Fiction (Grades 4-6)

  [14]

Catherine Bateson. Magenta McPhee [14]
Twelve-year-old Magenta spends her time with her best friend Polly, tries to sort out the lives of her divorced parents and attempts to write a medieval fantasy trilogy.

  [15]

John Crossingham. Learn to Speak Music [15]
This conversational book helps readers understand the international language of music and encourages them to be creative and make music themselves.

  [16]

Elise Broach. Masterpiece [16]
This mystery follows two families in the same Manhattan apartment, one human and one a family of beetles. The sons from the two families find friendship through a shared love of art and come together to stop the theft of a valuable masterpiece from the Metropolitan Museum.

Teen Fiction (Ages 12 & Up)

  [17]

David Klass. Stuck on Earth [17]
Ketchvar III travels to Earth to inhabit the body of an average teenager and carry out his secret mission to evaluate whether the human race should be annihilated.

  [18]

Aprilynne Pike. Wings [18]
When a plant blooms out of fifteen-year-old Laurel’s back, it leads her to discover the fact that she is a faerie and that she has a crucial role to play in keeping the world safe from the encroaching enemy trolls.

  [19]

Louis Sachar. The Cardturner: a Novel About Imperfect Partners and Infinite Possibilities [19]
Seventeen-year-old Alton Richards thinks that his summer is going to be boring when he gets a job as a cardturner for his ailing Uncle Lester, a competitive bridge player. Instead, he finds that his life is changed by new relationships and a newfound interest in the game.