Books for Independent Reading
VERY EASY
- Alicia Has a Bad Day
- by Lisa Jahn-Clough
Houghton 1994 (32p)
Alicia thinks she's having the worst
day of her life and goes back to bed.
- Days with Frog and Toad
- by Arnold Lobel
Harper 1979 (64p); also paper
Five stories detail the special days that
friends Frog and Toad spend together.
Available in Spanish asDías con
sapo y sepo.
- A Day with Wilbur Robinson
- by William Joyce
Harper 1990 (32p); also paper
A visitor discovers that nothing
ordinary ever happens at Wilbur
Robinson's house.
- A Child's Day
- by Bobbie Kalman and Tammy Everts
(Social Studies)
Crabtree 1994 (32p)
Readers learn about nineteenth-century
settler children's active days of work
and play.
- Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures
with the Family Lazardo
- by William Joyce
Harper 1995 (48p)
The Lazardo family returns home from
Africa with a dinosaur named Bob who
becomes a baseball hero.
EASY
- Today Was a Terrible Day
- by Patricia Reilly Giff
Viking 1980 (32p); also paper
Ronald Morgan's day goes from bad to
worse.
- Tuesday
- by David Weisner
Clarion 1991 (32p)
On a Tuesday evening, frogs on lily
pads start soaring through the air.
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day
- by Judith Viorst
Macmillan 1972 (32p); also paper
When he wakes up and finds chewing
gum in his hair, Alexander knows it's
going to be a terrible day. Available
in Spanish asAlexander y el día
terrible, horrible, espantoso,
horroroso.
- Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last
Sunday
- by Judith Viorst
(Math)
Atheneum 1978 (32p); also paper
Alexander's spendthrift habits teach
him to be more careful with money.
Available in Spanish asAlexander,
que era rico el domingo pasado.
- Fiesta!
- by June Behrens
(Multicultural)
Childrens 1978 (32p)
Explains the origin and celebration of
Cinco de Mayo.
- The Train to Lulu's
- by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
(Multicultural)
Bradbury 1988 (32p)
Two sisters travel by train to visit
their great aunt.
- Amelia's Fantastic Flight
- by Rose Bursik
Holt 1992 (32p)
Amelia builds a plane, flies around the
world, and returns home for dinner.
- The Sign on Rosie's Door
- by Maurice Sendak
Harper 1960 (48p)
Rosie invites her friends to a play and
proves that anything can happen with
some imagination. Available in
Spanish asEl letrero secreto de
Rosie.
- Addie's Bad Day
- by Joan Robins
Harper 1993 (32p)
Addie doesn't want to go to Max's
party because she fears everyone will
laugh at her haircut.
AVERAGE
- Author's Day
- by Daniel Pinkwater
Macmillan 1993 (32p)
A visiting children's book author
discovers the students think he's
someone else.
- A Day's Work
- by Eve Bunting
(Multicultural)
Clarion 1994 (32p)
When Francisco helps his grandfather
find work as a gardener he learns the
importance of honesty.
- Saturday at the New You
- by Barbara E. Barber
(Multicultural)
Lee & Low 1994 (32p)
On Saturdays, Shauna gets to help out
at her mother's beauty parlor.
- Sara Morton's Day: A Day in the Life
of a Pilgrim Girl
- by Kate Waters
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1989 (32p)
Sarah is shown at work and play in a
New England settlement in 1627.
- Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the
Life of a Pilgrim Boy
- by Kate Waters
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1994 (40p)
A day in the life of a six-year-old
Pilgrim boy.
- Amigo
- by Byrd Baylor
(Multicultural)
Macmillan 1963 (41p)
Francisco tries to tame a wild prairie
dog for a pet. Available in Spanish
as Amigo.
- Emily
- by Michael Bedard
Doubleday 1992 (40p)
A young girl accompanies her mother
next door and meets the poet Emily
Dickinson.
- The Very Last First Time
- by Jan Andrews
(Multicultural)
Macmillan 1986 (32p)
In winter, an Inuit girl gathers mussels
from the floor of the ocean.
- The Screaming Mean Machine
- by Jay Cowley
Scholastic 1993 (32p)
A girl finally rides the roller coaster
she's always been afraid of.
- Three Wishes
- by Lucille Clifton
(Multicultural)
Doubleday 1992 (32p)
When a girl finds a penny with her
birth date, she's sure it means good
luck.
- The Day of Ahmed's Secret
- by Florence Parry Heide
(Multicultural)
Lothrop 1990 (32p)
A young boy in Cairo rushes home to
tell his family he has learned to write
his name.
- Meteor!
- by Patricia Polacco
Putnam 1987 (32p); also paper
A meteor causes excitement when it
falls in the front yard of the Gaw
family.
- Doctor De Soto
- by William Steig
Farrar 1982 (32p)
The mouse dentist Doctor De Soto
outwits a wily fox who's interested in
more than having his teeth fixed.
- The Adventures of Isabel
- by Ogden Nash
Little 1991 (32p)
Feisty Isabel gets rid of bears and
giants with ease in this poem.
- Lyle at the Office
- by Bernard Waber
Houghton 1994 (48p)
Lyle spends an interesting day in Mr.
Pimm's office.
- Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan's Chinese
New Year
- by Kate Waters
(Multicultural)
Scholastic 1990 (32p)
Ernie performs his first Lion Dance in
New York's Chinatown.
CHALLENGING
- A Day in the Life of a Circus Clown
- by Carol Gaskin
(Social Studies)
Troll 1988 (32p)
A photo essay follows a circus clown
from practicing, to applying make-up,
to performing.
- Nights of the Pufflings
- by Bruce McMillan
(Science)
Houghton 1995 (32p)
In Iceland when pufflings take their
first nighttime flight, Halla helps to
rescue stranded birds and set them
safely on the beach the next day.
- Deadline! From News to Newspaper
- by Gail Gibbons
(Social Studies)
Harper 1987 (32p)
An inside look at the workings of a
small daily newspaper.
- The King's Day: Louis XIV of France
- by Aliki
(Social Studies)
Harper 1989 (32p); also paper
A portrait of the seventeenth century
monarch and his elaborate daily rituals.
- Celebrating Kwanza
- by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith
(Multicultural)
Holiday 1993 (32p)
Andiey Barnes tells how her family
celebrated Kwanza.
Books for Teachers to Read Aloud
- A Coconut Kind of Day: Island Poems
- by Lynn Joseph
(Multicultural)
Lothrop 1990 (32p); Puffin 1992 paper
A girl's day is detailed in verse that
captures the Caribbean's sights and
sounds.
- Aunt Skilly and the Stranger
- by Kathleen Stevens
Ticknor 1994 (32p)
When a stranger that Aunt Skilly
welcomes into her home tries to steal
her quilts, she outsmarts him.
- The Honey Hunters
- by Francesca Martin
(Multicultural)
Candlewick 1992 (32p)
In this folktale, a young boy leads an
animal procession in search of honey.
- Tonight Is Carnaval
- by Arthur Dorros
(Multicultural)
Dutton 1991 (32p)
A Peruvian boy and his family prepare
for the festivities of Carnaval.
Available in Spanish asPor fin es
Carnaval.