Recommended Reading for
Ages 4 to 8
The Velveteen Rabbit
by William Nicholson, Margery Williams
Doubleday
ISBN: 0385077254
Ages 4-8
33 Pages
“Real” is a magical word to the Velveteen Rabbit — he doesn’t know quite what it means. But the Skin Horse, who is old and wise, knows, and he shares the secret: Being Real means being loved.
A Bedtime for Bear (Bear and Mouse)
by Bonnie Becker
Candlewick
ISBN: 9780763641016
Ages: 4-8
48 Pages
Bear and Mouse are back and charming as ever. Bear needs everything just so and perfectly quiet at night, so when his friend shows up for a sleepover, he is wary. All goes well until Mouse's noises disturb him. Then Mouse falls asleep, and Bear hears something. Awakened by his worried friend, Mouse goes along with his host's premise that it was he who was frightened and checks under the bed, etc., finally settling in for a bedtime story. Ultimately both fall asleep together. In a perfect marriage of illustrations and text, Becker and Denton portray Bear as skeptical, then irritated, and, finally, nervous. Unflappable Mouse, with his satisfied smile, is a perfect foil. With lines like, “‘I am here to spend the night!' exclaimed Mouse with a happy wiggle of his whiskers,” and “‘You'll want a bedtime story, I expect,' said Bear. ‘For your nerves,'” Becker's clever text imbues the characters with personality and the story with humor. Denton's watercolor, ink, and gouache artwork brings them to life. With just a few lines, illustrations take Bear from annoyed to frightened and Mouse from sleepy to awake.
Two Bobbies
By Kirby Larson, Mary Nethery, Jean Cassels
Walker Children’s
ISBN: 0802797547
Ages 4-8
32 Pages
Bobbi and Bob Cat are the best of friends. When their hometown of New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina, many lost everything. But not Bobbi and Bob Cat—they still had each other. Only by staying together could they survive. This is the story of their remarkable friendship.
Are You My Mother?
by P.D. Eastman
Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780394800189
Ages: 4-8
27 Pages
A baby bird is hatched while his mother is away. Fallen from his nest, he sets out to look for her and asks everyone he meets — including a dog, a cow, and a plane — “Are you my mother?”
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
Atheneum
ISBN: 1416985956
Ages 4-8
32 Pages
"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."
So begin the trials and tribulations of the irascible Alexander, who has been earning the sympathy of readers since 1972. People of all ages have terrible, horrible days, and Alexander offers us the cranky commiseration we crave as well as a reminder that things may not be all that bad. As Alexander's day progresses, he faces a barrage of bummers worthy of a country- western song: getting smushed in the middle seat of the car, a dessertless lunch sack, a cavity at the dentist's office, stripe less sneakers, witnessing kissing on television, and being forced to sleep in railroad-train pajamas. He resolves several times to move to Australia.
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
by Doreen Cronin
Little Simon
ISBN: 1442408898
Ages: 4-8
32 Pages
When he refuses to comply with their demands, the cows take action. Farmer Brown finds another note on the barn door: "Sorry. We're closed. No milk today." Soon the striking cows and Farmer Brown are forced to reach a mutually agreeable compromise, with the help of an impartial party--the duck. But this poor, beleaguered farmer's "atypical" troubles are not over yet!
This hilarious tale will give young rebels-in-the-making a taste of the power of peaceful protest and the satisfaction of cooperative give and take. Witty watercolors by award-winning illustrator Betsy Lewin (Snake Alley Band, Araminta's Paint Box) will make this a favorite for one and all, even if words such as "ultimatum" and "neutral" throw the younger set.