Recommendations for Read Alouds
13th Street #1: Battle of the Bad-Breath Bats by "Cousins Malia, Ivan, and Dante are visiting their aunt Lucy for the summer. But on their way to [the] water park, they get lost on 13th Street...a strange world filled with dangerous beasts! Will the cousins find their way back to Aunt Lucy's?" (publisher).
The Haunted House Next Door by “When supernatural things start happening in the house timid Andres and his parents just moved into, next-door-neighbor Desmond Cole, eight, comes to the rescue” (OPAC).
Ivy and Bean by “When seven-year-old Bean plays a mean trick on her sister, she finds unexpected support for her antics from Ivy, the new neighbor, who is less boring than Bean first suspected” (OPAC).
Juana and Lucas by "A spunky young girl from Colombia loves playing with her canine best friend and resists boring school activities, especially learning English, until her family tells her that a special trip is planned to an English-speaking place" (OCLC).
Princess Cora and the Crocodile by “Unhappy queen-in-training Cora receives a pet crocodile from her fairy godmother, who disrupts her mundane daily routine" (OPAC).
Too Small Tola by "Presents three tales of an endearing ... character, Tola, who lives in an apartment in the busy city of Lagos, Nigeria, with her sister, brother and grandmommy" (OCLC).
Toys Go Out by "Six stories relate the adventures of three best friends, who happen to be toys" (OPAC).
Upside-Down Magic by “Nory, Elliott, Andres, and Bax find their lives forever changed when they attend the Dunwiddle Magic School's Upside-Down Magic class” (OPAC).
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom by "Ten-year-old Zeus, irritated that he keeps getting struck by lightning, discovers a magical thunderbolt embedded in a stone and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime when he is attacked by the Titans" (OPAC).
Hot Off the Presses
Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends by "A worm and a caterpillar are best friends and when one of them is about to go through a big change, they both learn what is inside is what counts" (OPAC).
King and Kayla and the Case of the Downstairs Ghost by "King and Kayla go on a sleepover adventure at Thor and Jillian's house, where they investigate spooky occurrences in the basement" (OPAC).
Duck and Moose: Duck Moves In! by "When Duck lands a home on Moose's head, Moose does everything to send him away, but this persistent neighbor might just be the best thing spring could bring" (publisher).
Fox Versus Fox by "There's only one Fox--except when there are two! Will Fox outfox this new fox? Or will he make a new friend?" (publisher)
See the Ghost by "It's not easy to enjoy a picnic when you have unseeable interlopers to contend with!" (publisher).
Henry and the Something New by "Henry, a young boy with autism goes on a class field trip to the natural history museum, with instructions to find something new" (publisher).
Gigi and Ojiji: Perfect Paper Cranes by "Gigi loves the Japan Day Festival! When Ojiji volunteers at the origami booth, Gigi can’t wait to make a paper crane like Ojiji’s. But folding paper is harder than it looks, and Gigi is disheartened when she sees her paper crane next to Ojiji’s. Will Gigi give up or will she try her best?" (publisher)
Ty's Travels: Showtime! by "y loves playing the instruments, but something's missing--his friends! With the help of his vivid imagination, Ty and his friends are onstage in a band making great music together!" (publisher)
Nonfiction
Sakamoto's Swim Club by "When the children of workers on a 1930s Maui sugar plantation were chased away from playing in the nearby irrigation ditches, local science teacher Soichi Sakamoto... began training them how to swim...And then one day, the proud Sakamoto saw an impossible dream come true --- Olympic gold!" (OPAC)
Fry Bread by "Follows a Native American family as they make fry bread and celebrate their culture" (OPAC).
My Grandma and Me by "The author recounts special moments with her grandmother while growing up in Iran" (OPAC).
My Light by "The sun explains the different ways in which its light is transformed into energy which powers the bulbs that illuminate the night" (OPAC).
What Can a Citizen Do? by "Across the course of several seemingly unrelated but ultimately connected actions by different children, we watch how kids turn a lonely island into a community" (publisher).
Grand Canyon by "An exploration of the Grand Canyon" (publisher).
Not So Different by "A picture book answering the questions young children ask Shane Burcaw about his wheelchair and life with Spinal Muscular Atrophy with equal parts optimism, humor, and empathy" (OCLC).
Dazzle Ships by "When the British Royal Navy grew desperate to protect their ship from German U-Boat attacks, they created Dazzle ships in order to confuse the enemy of their location and destination" (OPAC).
The Universe in You by "A book exploring the world of the very small, delving deep into the microscopic spaces just beneath our skin" (OPAC).
Strong by "An inspirational picture book memoir that follows Rob Kearney's journey to becoming the first openly gay strongman competitor, proud to wear rainbow colors" (OPAC).
More Ideas for Summer Reading
Hi! Fly Guy by “When Buzz captures a fly to enter in The Amazing Pet Show, his parents and the judges tell him that a fly cannot be a pet, but Fly Guy proves them wrong” (OPAC).
Dixie and the School Trip by “Emma and her dog, Dixie, get into a mess when Dixie decides to join her on her class trip to the dinosaur museum” (OPAC).
If You Give a Pig a Party by "One thing leads to another when you give a pig a party."(OPAC).
Fox and His Friends by “In three separate episodes Fox wants to play with his friends, but duty in one form or another interferes” (OPAC).
Poppleton by “Poppleton the pig makes a friend, reads a library book about adventure, and helps a sick friend get better” (OPAC).
Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog by “When their neighbor Mrs. Teaberry hurts her foot, Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby agree to walk her dog for a week, not knowing what they are in for” (OPAC).
Young Cam Jansen and the Missing Cookie by “Fifth-grade sleuth Cam Jansen uses her photographic memory to discover what happened to a classmate's missing cookie” (OPAC).
A Friend for Dragon by “Dragon becomes such close friends with an apple that he deeply mourns its loss and is overjoyed when more grow to take its place” (OPAC).
Best Season Ever by “Katie and her friends Pedro and JoJo disagree over which season of the year is the best” (OPAC).
I'm Ogre It by "Izzie and her a new friend, an Ogre named Tim, plan an obstacle course to lure her brother Ollie away from his video game" (OPAC).
Reina Ramos Works It Out by "Reina Ramos is excited about dressing up as Frida Kahlo for the class wax museum. Frida was a strong person like her mami and abuela--plus Reina has the perfect headband for the costume! But when her best friend Nora picks Frida first, Reina doesn't know what to do. Who will she dress up as now?" (OPAC).
Owl and Penguin: Best Day Ever by "Two best friends, Owl and Penguin, are opposites but solve their conflicts with creative play, from conquering fears to flying a runaway kite" (OPAC).
Frog and Toad Are Friends by “Five tales recounting the adventures of two best friends--Frog and Toad” (OPAC).
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by "After Mercy the pig spends the night in the Watson's bed, all three awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the floor and it is up to Mercy to save them” (OPAC).
Andy Shane and the Pumpkin Trick by “Andy Shane, with help from Grandma Webb and some marbles, tricks the people who keep stealing his friend Dolores Starbuckle's Halloween pumpkin” (OPAC).
Ling and Ting by “Ling and Ting are identical twins that people think are exactly the same, but time and again they prove to be different” (OPAC).
Sir Ladybug and the Bookworms by "Ladies and gentlebugs, presenting the duke of the dandelion patch, champion of truth and justice, the one, the only--Sir Ladybug!... when a caterpillar needs rescuing from a "monster" (a hungry chickadee), Sir Ladybug and his trusty friends--his herald, a roly-poly named Pell, and his squire, a snail named Sterling--hatch the perfect (delicious) plan" (OPAC).
Song Lee and the Leech Man by "Harry plots revenge against Sidney, the class tattletale, when Miss Mackle's second graders go on a field trip to the pond."(OPAC).
Pinky and Rex by “Rex and her best friend Pinky, each the proud possessor of twenty-seven stuffed animals or dinosaurs, find their visit to the museum and its gift shop complicated by Pinky's little sister Amanda” (OPAC).
Amelia Bedelia by “An unusual young maid does many funny things on her first day of work” (OPAC).
Heidi Heckelbeck Has a Secret by “After being homeschooled her whole life, Heidi Heckelbeck enters a real school in second grade, where she encounters a mean girl named Melanie who makes her feel like an alien” (OPAC).- Ivy and Bean by “When seven-year-old Bean plays a mean trick on her sister, she finds unexpected support for her antics from Ivy, the new neighbor, who is less boring than Bean first suspected” (OPAC).
Stink by “The shortest kid in the second grade, James Moody, also known as Stink, learns all about the shortest president of the United States, James Madison, when they celebrate Presidents' Day at school” (OPAC).
The Chicken Squad by “Dirt, Sweetie, Poppy and Sugar, the chicks of the Chicken Squad, must figure out what Tail the squirrel is so afraid of” (OPAC).
Lola Levine Is Not Mean! by “Second-grader Lola has a wonderful family, a great teacher, and the best friend ever, Josh, and they all help her feel better after she is teased and forbidden to play team sports at recess for having accidentally hurt classmate Juan during a soccer game” (OPAC).
Judy Moody by “Third grader Judy Moody is in a first day of school bad mood until she gets an assignment to create a collage all about herself and begins creating her masterpiece, the Me collage” (OPAC).
Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy! by "When King Viking and his evil robot army attack Animal Town, and kidnap Singing Dog, it is up to Super Rabbit Boy, with some help from Sunny and his video game console, to save the day" (OCLC).
Let's Get Cracking! by “Gordon, Blue, and his brother Benny, unlikely superheroes, must save Fowladelphia from Granny Goosebumps, who has filled the city with cookies that cause innocent chickens' feathers to fall off” (OPAC).
My Life in Pictures by “When budding artist Bea Garcia's best friend moves to Australia and a loud, rambunctious boy moves into her old house, Bea must learn to make new friends” (OPAC).
Hello, Nebulon! by “Moving from Earth to the futuristic planet Nebulon in 2120, eight-year-old Zack is nervous about starting school and meeting people” (OPAC).
Nikki and Deja by “When an arrogant new girl comes to school, third-graders and best friends Nikki and Deja decide to form a club that would exclude her but find the results not what they expected” (OPAC).
Dog Days by "Gavin wants to make a good impression at Carver Elementary, where no one knows he excels at soccer and skateboarding, but an annoying big sister, a bully, and his great aunt's Pomeranian are not helping” (OPAC).
A to Z Mysteries: the Absent Author by “Dink Duncan and his two friends investigate the apparent kidnapping of famous mystery author Wallis Wallace” (OPAC).
