Books for Independent Reading
VERY EASY
- World's Weirdest Sea Creatures
- by M. L. Roberts
(Science/Health)
Troll 1994 (32p)
Some of the sea's strangest creatures,
including wolf fish, arrow crabs, and
white-tip reef sharks, are pictured here.
(See others in series.)
- Flat Stanley
- by Jeff Brown
Harper 1964 (64p); also paper
Stanley's life changes dramatically
when a board falls on him and flattens
him. Available in Spanish as
Stanley, el plano.
- Record Breakers of the Air
- by Rupert Matthews
Troll 1990 (32p)
Learn about the fastest insect, the
largest bat, the windiest place on
Earth, and other record-breaking facts.
(See others in series.)
- The Headless Horseman
- by Emma Harding
Holt 1994 (32p)
A simple retelling of Washington
Irving's “The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow.”
- The Scarebird
- by Sid Fleischman
Greenwillow 1988 (32p)
A farmer begins a friendship with a
scarecrow and gains a new hired hand.
- Animals Do the Strangest Things
- by Leonora and Arthur Hornblow
(Science/Health)
Random 1990 (64p); also paper
Explains unusual animal behavior, such
as what camels store in their humps
and why polar bears never slip on the
ice.
- Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm
- by Jerdine Nolen
Lothrop 1994 (32p)
A tall tale about a most unusual
farmer.
- Koko's Kitten
- by Dr. Francine Patterson
(Science/Health)
Scholastic 1985 (50p); also paper
The true story of the friendship
between a sign-language-speaking
gorilla and a kitten.
EASY
- World's Strangest Baseball Stories
- by Bart Rockwell
Troll 1993 (96p); also paper
A fielder who played all nine positions
in a single game is just one of
baseball's unbelievable stories.
- Grand Canyon
- by Patrick Cone
(Science/Health)
Carolrhoda 1994 (48p)
Colorful presentation of the geological
wonder, which is over two hundred miles long,
four to eighteen miles wide, and one
mile deep.
- The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
- by Cheryl Harness
(Science/Health)
Macmillan 1995 (32p)
Despite the skepticism of many, this
seemingly impossible canal was built
in only seven years.
- Pippi Longstocking
- by Astrid Lindgren
Viking 1950 (158p); Puffin 1988 paper
The classic story of a Swedish girl who
wants to live alone with her horse and
monkey.
- Strange Creatures
- by David Peters
(Science/Health)
Greenwillow 1992 (48p)
The strange creatures featured include
fish that look like plants and elephants
no larger than puppies.
- McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre
Farm
- by Sid Fleischman
Greenwillow 1992 (64p)
Tall tales about Josh McBroom and his
family's farm. Available in Spanish
asLa maravillosa granja de
McBroom.
- Here Comes McBroom!
- by Sid Fleischman
Greenwillow 1992 (80p)
Three more tall tales about the
McBrooms. Available in Spanish as
El regreso de McBroom.
AVERAGE
- Mount Rushmore
- by Craig A. Doherty
and Katherine M. Doherty
(Social Studies)
Blackbirch 1995 (48p)
In the Black Hills of South Dakota,
half a million tons of granite were
blasted and chiseled to create this
famous monument.
- Wanted … Mud Blossom
- by Betsy Byars
Delacorte 1991 (160p); Dell 1993 paper
When a pet hamster disappears, Mud
the dog finds himself on trial.
- Hoover Dam
- by Craig A. Doherty
and Katherine M. Doherty
(Social Studies)
Blackbirch 1995 (48p)
Built in the 1930s, Hoover Dam is
still considered one of the modern
engineering wonders of the United States.
- All the Money in the World
- by Bill Brittain
Harper 1979 (160p); also paper
Quentin catches a leprechaun who
grants him three wishes.
- Beetles, Lightly Toasted
- by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Macmillan 1987 (144p);
Dell 1989 paper
In an essay contest, Andy suggests
eating insects as substitutes for other
foods.
- Surtsey: The Newest Place on Earth
- by Kathryn Lasky
(Science/Health)
Hyperion 1992 (64p)
Explains the formation of a new
volcanic island off the coast of Iceland.
- The Magnificent Mummy Maker
- by Elvira Woodruff
Scholastic 1994 (160p)
Andy, playing second fiddle to his
gifted stepbrother, finds his life
changing after an encounter with a
museum mummy.
- Ordinary Jack: Being the First Part of
the Bagthorpe Saga
- by Helen Cresswell
Macmillan 1977 (192p); also paper
The first book of the hilarious
adventures of the talented, eccentric
Bagthorpe family.
- The Great Fire
- by Jim Murphy
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1995 (144p)
A small fire that started in the
O'Learys' barn in 1871 soon destroyed
the city of Chicago.
- The Curse of King Tut's Tomb
- by Jay Montavon
(Social Studies)
Avon 1992 (96p)
Tragedy and death followed the people
who explored King Tut's tomb.
- Henry Reed's Baby-Sitting Service
- by Keith Robertson
Viking 1966 (208p);
Puffin 1989 paper
Nothing ever goes quite the way Henry
plans it, even baby-sitting.
- Death Trap: The Story of the La Brea
Tar Pits
- by Sharon Elaine Thompson
(Science/Health)
Lerner 1994 (72p)
The bones of many Ice Age animals
have been found in the La Brea tar pits
in downtown Los Angeles.
- Shadows in the Water: A Starbuck
Family Adventure
- by Kathryn Lasky
(Science/Health)
Harcourt (224p); also paper
Thinking they share a telepathic link
with dolphins, the Starbuck children
set out to discover who is poisoning
these creatures.
- The Disappearance of the Anasazi
- by Janet Hubbard-Brown
(Multicultural)
Camelot 1993 (96p) paper
Around A.D. 1300, the Anasazi
Indians, known for their pottery and
pueblos, simply disappeared.
- The Mystery of the Roswell UFO
- by Ken McMurtry
(Science/Health)
Avon 1992 (96p)
Did aliens really land in New Mexico
in 1947?
CHALLENGING
- Extraordinary Stories Behind the
Invention of Ordinary Things
- by Don L. Wulffson
(Science/Health)
Avon 1991 (128p)
Explains how such common items as a
rubber band, a shopping cart, and a
traffic light came to be.
- When Blue Meant Yellow: How
Colors Got Their Names
- by Jeanne Heifetz
(Science/Health)
Holt 1994 (171p)
In twenty-six informative essays, the
author explains the origin of color
names.
- Quake!
- by Joe Cottonwood
(Social Studies)
Scholastic 1995 (112p)
An ordinary baby-sitting assignment
turns into an unbelievable experience when the Loma
Prieta/San Francisco earthquake
strikes.
- Killer Bugs
- by Melvin Berger
(Science/Health)
Avon 1990 (96p) paper
Features some of the fiercest and most
frightening creatures in nature.
- The Secret of Roanoke Island
- by Janet Hubbard-Brown
(Social Studies)
Avon 1992 (96p)
Three years after settlers arrived on
Roanoke Island off North Carolina,
they had all mysteriously disappeared.
- The Case of the Mummified Pigs and
Other Mysteries in Nature
- by Susan E. Quinlan
(Science/Health)
Boyds Mills 1995 (128p)
The author, a naturalist and wildlife
biologist, explores fourteen ecological
mysteries.
Books for Teachers to Read Aloud
- The Princess in the Pigpen
- by Jane Resh Thomas
Clarion 1989 (128p); Avon 1993 paper
Elizabeth is transported from her
sickbed in seventeenth-century England
to a twentieth-century Iowa farm.
- The Boggart
- by Susan Cooper
Macmillan 1993 (208p)
In an old desk Emily finds the
Boggart, a centuries-old sprite who
causes all kinds of mischief.
- The Twenty-One Balloons
- by William Pène du Bois
Viking 1947 (192p); Puffin 1986 paper
In this classic, Professor Sherman
relates his experiences of trying to fly
across the Pacific and landing on
Krakatoa instead.