Books for Independent Reading
VERY EASY
- Are You My Mother?
- by P.D. Eastman
Random 1960 (64p); 1986 paper
A newly hatched bird goes looking for
his mother. Available in Spanish
as¿Eres tu mi Mamá?
- Titch
- by Pat Hutchins
(Social Studies)
Macmillan 1971 (32p)
Everything about Titch is smaller than
his siblings until he grows a huge
plant. See others in series.
- Mama Zooms
- by Jane Cowen-Fletcher
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1993 (32p)
A young boy imagines his mother's
wheelchair is everything from a train to
a spaceship.
- Sisters
- by David McPhail
(Social Studies)
Harcourt 1984 (32p); Voyager 1990
paper
Two sisters are both alike and different.
Available in Spanish as
Hermanas.
EASY
- Loving
- by Ann Morris
(Multicultural)
Lothrop 1990 (32p); Mulberry paper
Photographs from around the world
emphasize the universality of loving
relationships.
- Lucy's Picture
- by Nicola Moon
Dial 1995 (32p)
Lucy makes a special gift for her blind
grandfather.
- Little Bear's Visit
- by Else Holmelund Minarik
Harper 1961 (64p); also paper
Little Bear visits his grandparents and
listens to them tell stories.
Available in Spanish asLa
visita de Osito.
- Families Are Different
- by Nina Pellegrini
(Social Studies)
Holiday 1991 (32p)
An adopted girl discovers that there are
many different kinds of families.
- Con Mi Hermano/With My Brother
- by Eileen Roe
(Multicultural)
Bradbury 1991 (32p)
A little boy tells why he admires his
brother. In English and Spanish.
AVERAGE
- Mama, Do You Love Me?
- by Barbara Joosse
(Multicultural)
Chronicle 1991 (32p)
An Inuit girl discovers her mother's
unconditional love for her.
- Bats About Baseball
- by Jean Little
(Social Studies)
Viking 1995 (32p)
Ryder has trouble getting his
grandmother's attention once the
baseball season begins.
- Hotter Than a Hot Dog
- by Stephanie Calmenson
(Social Studies)
Little 1994 (32p)
A girl and her grandmother go to the
beach to escape the city heat.
- Luka's Quilt
- by Georgia Guback
(Multicultural)
Greenwillow 1994 (32p)
Luka's grandmother makes her a
traditional Hawaiian quilt.
- My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother
- by Patricia Polacco
(Social Studies)
Simon 1994 (32p)
A girl wishes that she could do
something better than her obnoxious
brother.
- Bigmama's
- by Donald Crews
(Multicultural)
Greenwillow 1991 (32p)
Crews recounts idyllic summers at his
grandparents' farm.
- The Quilt Story
- by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola
(Social Studies)
Putnam 1985 (32p); 1992 paper
A home-made quilt comforts two
generations of little girls.
- The Palace of Stars
- by Patricia Lakin
(Multicultural)
Tambourine 1993 (32p)
Amanda and her great-uncle share many
happy Saturdays together.
- Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)
- by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
(Multicultural)
Clarion 1991 (32p)
Two girls enjoy their aunt's stories
about her hat collection.
- The Relatives Came
- by Cynthia Rylant
(Social Studies)
Bradbury 1985 (32p); 1993 paper
A family's relatives come from
Virginia for a long, loving visit.
- Visiting the Art Museum
- by Laurene K. Brown and Marc Brown
(Art)
Dutton 1986 (32p)
A family visits an art museum.
- Dear Annie
- by Judith Caseley
(Social Studies)
Greenwillow 1991 (32p)
Annie and her grandfather lovingly
exchange letters and postcards.
- Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend
- by Cynthia Rylant
(Social Studies)
Bradbury, 1992. (40p)
Henry, his dog Mudge, and Henry's
parents spend a happy weekend
building a castle together.
- Brothers and Sisters
- by Ellen B. Senisi
(Social Studies)
Scholastic, 1993 (32p)
In this photoessay, children share the
ups and downs of sibling relationships.
- Tom
- by Tomie dePaola
Putnam, 1993 (32p)
The author celebrates his warm and
lively relationship with his
grandfather.
- Un sillón para mi mamá (A Chair for My Mother)
- by Vera Williams
(32p) Text in Spanish.
- The Wednesday Surprise
- by Eve Bunting
Clarion 1989 (32p); 1990 paper
Anna and Grandma plan a special
surprise for Dad's birthday.
CHALLENGING
- Aunt Lilly's Laundromat
- by Melanie Hope Greenberg
(Multicultural)
Dutton 1994 (32p)
Aunt Lilly goes to work in her
Brooklyn laudromat, but her home in
Haiti is always in her memory.
- My Two Worlds
- by Ginger Gordon
(Multicultural)
Clarion, 1993 (32p)
Kirsy Rodriguez lives in New York
City, but often returns to the
Dominican Republic to visit her
grandparents.
- Taxi! Taxi!
- by Cari Best
(Social Studies)
Little 1994 (32p)
Tina looks forward to Sunday, the day
she spends with her father, a taxi cab
driver.
- Nessa's Story
- by Nancy Luenn
(Multicultural)
Atheneum 1994 (32p)
Inspired by her grandmother's stories, a
young Inuit girl looks for her own
story to tell. Available in Spanish
asEl cuento de Nessa.
- Mama Bear
- by Chyng Feng Sun
(Multicultural)
Houghton 1994 (32p)
Mei-Mei's mother helps her cope with
disappointment when she can't buy a
stuffed bear.
- Abuela
- by Arthur Dorros
(Multicultural)
Dutton 1991 (40p)
A girl spending the day with her
grandmother imagines that they can fly.
- Saturday Night at the New You
- by Barbara E. Barber
(Multicultural)
Lee and Low 1994 (32p)
Shauna loves Saturday because she gets
to help out at her mother's beauty
parlor.
- Pablo's Tree
- by Pat Mora
(Multicultural)
Macmillan 1994 (32p)
Every year on his birthday, Pablo's
grandfather decorates a tree he planted
to celebrate Pablo's adoption.
- Hairs/Pelitos
- by Sandra Cisneros
(Multicultural)
Knopf, 1994 (32p)
The narrator describes the different
kinds of hair in her family. In
English and Spanish.
Books for Teacher Read Aloud
- Full Worm Moon
- by Margo Lemieux
(Multicultural)
Tambourine 1994 (32p)
An Algonquian family spends the night
outside watching for the earth worms
that signify spring's arrival.
- Families: Poems Celebrating the African American Experience
- by Dorothy Strickland and Michael R.
Strickland
(Multicultural)
Boyds Mills 1994 (32p)
Poems celebrate African American
family life.
- How My Family Lives in America
- by Susan Kuklin
(Multicultural)
Bradbury 1992 (32p)
Children from Hispanic, African, and
Chinese American families talk about
their heritage.
Books for Shared Reading
- A Birthday Basket for Tia
- by Pat Mora
(Multicultural)
Macmillan 1992 (32p)
Cecilia searches for a special birthday
surprise for her great-aunt Tia.
- I Go With My Family to Grandma's
- by Riki Levinson
(Social Studies)
Dutton 1986 paper
Five cousins visit their grandmother
using various means of transportation.
- I Got a Family
- by Melrose Cooper
(Social Studies)
Holt 1993 (32 p)
A young girl describes the members of
her extended family.