Suggested Summer Reading List for Students Entering First Grade
Fall 2008

Picture books and folktales are full of rich language, complex syntax, and important themes. They should be read aloud to your child and enjoyed as a daily routine. The following list represents some of our favorites.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema
Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman
Miss Nelson is Missing by Henry Allard
Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen
Taxi Dog by Debra Barracca
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
Abe Lincoln's Hat by Martha Brenner
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Hat by Jan Brett
Any Arthur books by Marc Brown
The World That Jack Built by Ruth Brown
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
The Library Dragon by Carmen Deedy
Any books by Tomie dePaola
Petunia and Veronica by Roger Duvoisin
Big Dog-Little Dog and Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman
The Happy Lion by Louise Fatio
The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Any Arthur books by Lillian Hoban
Any Frances books by Russell Hoban
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
The Leaf Man by William Joyce
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale by Steven Kellogg
Any Anansi books by Eric Kimmel
Little Blue and Little Yellow, Swimmy, Frederick, and Leo the Late Bloomer by Leo Lionni
Any book in the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel
Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?, Barn Dance, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
There's an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Any Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish
Eli by Bill Peet
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfiister
The Keeping Quilt, Rechenka's Eggs and Thundercake by Patricia Polacco
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Chicken Soup With Rice, One Was Johnny, and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Any books by Dr. Seuss
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Ira Sleeps Over and Ira Says Goodbye by Bernard Waber
Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells
Heckedy Peg, The Napping House, and King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Don and Audrey Wood
Company's Coming by Arthur Yorinks

Folktales and Fables: There are many versions of these classical folktales
Aesop's Fables, Cinderella, Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel,

Poetry:
Bing, Bang, Boing by Douglas Florian
Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky
Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Mother Goose Rhymes and Nursery Rhymes

Series Recommendations: For the Beginning Reader
An I Can Read Book
All Aboard Reading by Grosset and Dunlap
Hello Readers Level 1 by Scholastic
Step Into Reading by Random House
Bob Books by Scholastic

Math:
Anno's Magic Seeds by Mitsumasa Anno
Bats Around the Clock by Kathi Appelt
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
Monster Math by Polly Powell
Math Fables by Greg Tang
Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood

Science:
Any non-fiction books on plants, trees, bears, birds, insects, weather
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller
Any Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole