Book Summaries 1Alphabet Books:

(P) K is for Keystone: A Pennsylvania Alphabet book by: Kristen Kane

K is for Keystone is a book that teaches the alphabet as well as facts and
historic places in Pennsylvania. The book starts with A which is for
Amish, the amish have a large population in Pennsylvania, and then goes on
for B is for Bill Cosby, who was born in Philadelphia. This book is great
to use and will be a great learning tool if teaching in a Pennsylvania
classroom because students can connect their prior knowledge with the
letters of the Alphabet.
Grade Level: 1.3
Interest Level: Ages 6-8
(P) Shiver Me Letters- a pirate ABC By: June Sobel
This is a story about a captain and his crew of other animal pirates. One day
the captain decides that R is not enough and sends his crew out to find
other letters that make up the alphabet. As the crew heads for land they start
to find letters in the ocean as well as all around the island; such as G
mixed with treasure in a chest! The story teaches letters as well as the order
of the alphabet.
Grade Level: 2.4
Interest Level: Pre-K-K
Counting/ Math:
(P) Feast for 10 by: Cathryn Falwell
This is a counting book that is about an African American family preparing
for a big meal. The book starts at 1 on the first page and goes up to 10. The
thing I like most about this book is it counts to 10 twice. The first time it is
the family at the grocery store getting all of the items that they need and then
the book starts at 1 again and this time it counts to ten while the family is
cooking and preparing the meal. The book ends with 10 people sitting around
the family table enjoying the feast! This book would be great to use in the
classroom with a math lesson during Black History Month.
Grade Level: 1.6
Interest Level: Grades K - 2
(P) A Very Improbable Story: A Math Adventure by: Edward Einhorn

This story is about a boy named Ethan, who one morning woke up with a talking cat on
his head! We quickly learn that the cats name is Odds and he loves probability.
He tells Ethan that he will not get off of his head until Ethan wins a game of
probability. One game the Odds has Ethan do is reach into his sock drawer and
pull out two matching socks without looking, Ethan fails but then learns that his
probability of pulling out a matching sock was 1 in 19! Odds and Ethan also
play probability games with marbles, Oatie-woofs and then decide that they
can also use his soccer game as a probability game. After finding out the
probability that Ethan is going to make goals they realize that he has probability
of his side and his chances of winning the game are very high. This book is a
great story to use when introducing probability to young children.
Grade Level:1.5
Interest Level:Grades K-2
(P) Each Orange Had 8 Slices by: Paul Giganti
This story is about counting and introduces the beginning stages of
addition. The book has exciting illustrations and pictures that make children
want to count; such as counting flowers, balloons, clowns, cows, tricycles
and of course oranges!
Grade Level: 2.5
Interest level: K-2
Multicultural:
(P) I hate English! by: Ellen Levine
This story is about a little girl name Mei Mei whose family moves from Hong Kong to
Chinatown in New York City. Mei Mei sees how everything in her new school
in New York is in English and not in Chinese, Mei Mei refuses to speak
english. Mei Meis cousin brings her to a Chinese learning center and she
loves it she helps the younger children with arithmetic and loves to help set
up as long as it is Chinese and not English. One day a teacher named Nancy
came to the learning center to help Mei Mei with english she reads her a
story in English and Mei Mei totally forgets that the book is not in Chinese
but then when she hears a word she doesnt recognize she begins to cry and
does not want to hear anymore. After speaking with Nancy and walking
around town she finally gets convinced that learning and speaking English in
America is a good thing!
Grade Level: 1.8
Interest Level: PreK-3

(P) Grandmothers Dreamcatcher By: Becky Ray McCain

This is a story about a family that is Chippewa Native American. The young girl,
Kimmy, is staying at her grandmothers cabin for a week while her parents go to
find a new home in Chicago. Kimmy has bad dreams very often that leave her
tossing and turning in bed. When her grandmother sees this she tells Kimmy a old
tale about the creation of dream catchers. Then they use a twig, feathers, leather
string and beads to make Kimmy a dreamcatcher of her own. Every night she
sleeps with the dream catcher above her bed and no longer has bad dreams!
Grade Level: K-3
Interest Level: 5-8 years
(P) The Composition by: Antonio Skarmeta
This story is about a little boy named Pedro who loves to play soccer. Pedros
only care in the world is soccer. Until one day when his friend Daniels father
gets arrested. We soon learn that they live in a country in Latin America that is
under a dictatorship. Pedros parents and neighbors spend a lot of time
listening to the radio and that is how they get information about their country.
Pedro learns that his parents are against the government and that is why
Daniels father got arrested. A few days later an officer comes into Pedros
classroom and tells the class that he wants them to write a composition on
what their families do at night. He lies in the composition to keep his parents
safe and says that he plays soccer and then after dinner the family plays chess.
This book can be used in an elementary history class to introduce the idea of a
dictatorship.
Grade Level: 3.5
Interest Level: Grades 3-5
(P) Tea With Milk by: Allen Say
This story is about a little girl named May. May and her family live in San
Francisco and are Japanese. May sees the differences between her family and
her friends but it was never a big deal. One day Mays family leaves America
and moves to Japan. This book shows the cultural differences between America
and Japan, such as language differences, cuisine and arranged marriages. This
book is great to use in the classroom to introduce different cultures!
Diversity/ Social Issues:
(P) and Tango Makes Three By: Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
This story starts by talking about families at the central park zoo and then introduces that
the animals that live at the zoo have families too. We then meet two penguins, Roy and

Silo. Roy and Silo do everything together that other penguin couples do and
soon the zoo keeper notices that the two penguins were in love. When all of the
other penguin couples started laying eggs the two penguins where confused
why they didnt have one also. This is when the zoo keeper finds them a egg
that needs to be cared for. When the egg hatches they name their baby penguin
Tango. Tango was the first penguin at the zoo to have two daddies! This book
introduces LGBT lifestyles.
Interest Level: K-2
Grade level: 3.9
(P) In Our Mothers House By: Patricia Polacco
This book tells the story of a child that has two mothers, Marmee and
Meema. She talks about every room in the house and why it is important to
the family. As the story progresses we notice that one of the neighbors, Mrs.
Lockner, does not like the family and the children never understand why. The
book ends with one of the mothers explaining to her children that some
people are just afraid of what they cant understand. This book is good to
introduce LGBT thoughts and lifestyles to young children.
Age Range: 6 - 8 years
Grade Level: 1 - 3
(P) Bully By: Patricia Polacco
This story is about a sixth grader named Lyla and her younger brother Jack. Their
family had just moved to a new town and they are starting at brand new schools.
The first day of school Lyla meets a boy named Jamie. He becomes her best
friend. When Lyla starts to get the highest grades in her classes and becomes part
of the cheerleading team the popular girls start to befriend her and invite her to
sit with them at the celebrity table. The three popular girls do not accept Jamie
and make fun of him which has Lyla feeling uncomfortable around them and she
ends up being friends with Jamie anyway and the popular girls quickly turn
against her. This book shows the concept of bullying and how much it can hurt the
student that is being bullied.
Interest Level: 2-5
Grade level: 4.1
(C) Rules By: Cynthia Lord
This story is about a girl named Catherine whose little brother David has autism.
Catherine has a list of rules she has made for David throughout the years that show him
the correct ways to act and interact with others, such as No toys in the fish tank and
When someone is upset it is not a good time to bring up your own problems. Catherine

always goes with her mom to take her brother to OT at the clinic when she is
there she starts to develop a friendship with a boy named Jason, who is in a
wheelchair and cannot speak. Catherine sees how people make fun of or just stare
at her brother which is why when a new girl named Kristi moves in next door she
does whatever she can to not have Kristi around David. Kristi also becomes
friends with a boy named Ryan who Catherine does not like because he always is
making fun of or teasing David. As Jason and Catherine become better friends
Catherine tells Kristi about him but doesnt mention that he is in a wheelchair.
The book ends at the community center dance and when Kristi finds out that
Jason is in a wheelchair she gets mad that Catherine didnt tell her but Catherine
still has a great night dancing with Jason and realizes even though he is different
he is just like her.
Interest Level: 3-7
Grade level: 4
(P) Elmer by: David Mckee
This story is about a herd of elephants. They were all normal elephant color
except for Elmer, he was patchwork and all different colors. Elmer wanted to
be like all the other elephants and as he walked through the forest one day he
found a berry bush and painted himself gray with the berries nobody knew he
was Elmer and no one noticed him. Elmer did not like this, he played a big
joke on them and said boo. And then all of a sudden it started to rain, the
berry juice washed off of him and every one knew it was Elmer. The story
ends with the elephants having Elmer day where once a year all the other
elephants paint themselves multicolored and Elmer paints himself gray. This
story shows young children that it is okay to be different.
Interest Level: K-2
Grade level: 2.9
(P) Shoebox Sam by: Mary Barrett
This story is about two little girls named Delia and Jessie. The two girls spend
their Saturdays in the local shoe store. At this store old shoes can look new again.
Every saturday the girls rush to help Shoebox Sam. This is a great story about
helping others and the rewards that come with it!
Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool and up
(P) Fred Stays with Me By: Nancy Coffelt
This story is about a little girl whose parents are divorced. She talks about how
sometimes she lives with her mom and sometimes she lives with her dad but wherever

she goes Fred, her dog, stays with her. If she goes some where with her mom
Fred comes too, and when she goes somewhere else with her dad Fred will also
come with her. This book can show young children about the concept of
divorce.
Age Range: 1 - 6 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 1
(P) Buddy Unchained By: Daisy Bix
This story is about a dog named Buddy that was adopted. But, before he was
adopted he lived a horrible life. He sometimes was not fed, had dirty water,
and was not treated well. Until one day when he was left outside in the snow
and a man unchained him and took him to a shelter. They cleaned him up and
nursed him back to good health. He was then adopted and went to live with a
nice family that treated him very well he even had a friend.
Age Range: 5 and up
Grade Level: Kindergarten - 2
(P)Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen By: Dyanne Disolvo-Ryan
This story is about a little boy who lives in New York City. One day he
wonders what life is like for people that live on the streets. He talks to his
Uncle Willie and knows that he is a volunteer at a local soup kitchen. The
little boy spends the day with his Uncle and learns what it is like to help
people that are less fortunate than him. This is a great book to read in the
classroom to teach elementary children why it is so good to help others.
Interest Level: Grades K - 2
Grade Level: 3.1
Traditional Literature:
(P) Petite Rouge By: Mike Artell
This story is a version of the well known story Little Red Riding Hood,
but is not exactly the same. Petite Rouge Riding Hood is sent by her
mother to bring food to her sick gran -mere. On the way to her grandmeres house she comes face to face with an alligator named Claude.
Claude asks where shes going and she shares that she is on her way to
bring her sick grand-mere a basket of food. When Petite Rouge makes it
clear that she will not be giving Claude any of the food he leaves. Before
Petite Rouge get to her grand-meres house Claude gets there first scaring
grand-mere out of bed and into the closet. Claude then dresses up as
grand-mere and gets in her bed before Petite Rouge Riding hood arrives. When she

arrives she sees someone in bed, but it does not look like her grand-mere she begins to
ask questions and then finds out it is Claude. He tries to get the food but Petite Rouge
gives him a hot sauce covered piece of something to eat, his mouth feels like fire and he
runs as fast as he can back into the swamp.
Interest Level: Grades K - 2
Grade Level: 4.4
(P) Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By: Mo Willems
This story is a different version of Goldilocks and the three bears. In this version
there are three dinosaurs. The dinosaurs cook chocolate pudding and then leave
to go somewhere hoping that a little girl will find her way into their house so
they can eat her. As they hoped Goldilocks found her way into their house. She
ate all three bowls of pudding and then got very tired. She got down from the
counter then noticed that all of the chairs in the kitchen were too tall. Then she
walked into the bedrooms and noticed all of the beds were ginormous! She then
heard loud banging noises that sounded like something big was coming. She put
the loud noises and ginormous furniture together and realized dinosaurs must
live in the house. As fast as she could Goldilocks ran out the front door before
the dinosaurs got home and could eat her.
Interest Level: Grades K - 3
Grade Level: 4
(P) Grandma and the Great Gourd By: Chitra Divakaruni
This story is about a grandma who lives alone. She lives in a jungle and her
daughter lives on the opposite side of the jungle so they do not see each other
often. One day the grandma receives a letter from her daughter saying that she
sound come visit and that she misses her. So grandma leaves on a journey
through the jungle. On her way through the jungle she comes in contact with
a Fox, Bear and a Tiger. After, eating a lot of food, talking and enjoying time
with her daughter they come up with a plan to trick the Fox, Bear and Tiger
with a very big gourd.
Age Range: 5 - 8 years
Grade Level: 1 - 3
(P) The Gift By: Kristine Franklin
This book is about a little boy named Jimmy. He lives in a coastal town by the
sea. One day Jimmy is invited to out on a boat, and he really wants to catch a
salmon. Along the boat ride Jimmy sees whales the great wolves of the sea.
At the end of the book Jimmy ends up catching a salmon but gives it to the
whales instead of keeping it for himself.

Interest Level: Grades K - 2

Grade level: 2.5
(P) John Henry By: Julius Lester
This story is about a boy named John Henry. When he was born everyone was
excited to see the new baby but when his parents carried him outside he jumped
out of his mothers arms and started growing and growing. John Henry is very tall
and strong, but he also has a great heart. He uses his strength to help people. In
the book he gives assistance to many people that can use some help. This story
gives the message to children that you should always help others.
Interest Level: Grades 3 - 5
Grade Level: 3.3
(P) Rumpelstiltskin By: Paul O. Zelinksky
In this story a poor miller promised the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold.
The next night the king put the millers daughter in a room full of straw and told her that
if all of the straw is not turned in to gold she would have to die. The girl did not
know what to do as she did not know how to turn straw into gold, so she started
to cry and a little man appeared and asked what she would give him if he spun it
for her. She gave him her necklace and he spun the straw in to gold. The next
night she was put into an even bigger room and the same thing happened. And
then on the third night she was put into an even bigger room and told if she
turned all the straw to gold she would become the queen, but when the little man
appeared she had nothing left to give so he told her he would spin it for her if he
was given her first born and she agreed. A few years later the queen had he first
child and the little man came. The queen begged for him to let her keep her son
and the little man said she could keep the child if she could guess his name in
three days. The queen sent people off into the woods to help figure out the little mans
name and finally found that his name was Rumpelstiltskin! When she guessed correctly
the man couldnt believe it she was able to keep her son and the man was never seen
again.
Interest Level: Grades K - 2
Grade Level: 4.1
(P) Mufaros Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale By: John Steptoe
In this story a man named Mufaro lived in a small village in Africa. Mufaro
had two beautiful daughters, Manyara and Nyasha. Nyasha was very kind
while Manyara always seemed to have a bad temper. One day a messenger
came to the village with a message from the king saying that both Mufaros
daughters were invited to appear before the king and he will choose one to

become his wife. The night before Mufaro and his two daughters were going to leave to
go to the kingdom Manyara left to try to get to the kingdom to become queen before her
sister got the chance. Along Manyaras journey she was mean and rude to anyone
standing in her way. The next day when Nyasha came along with her father she did the
opposite of her sister, she gave food to a hungry boy and was pleasant to everyone that
she came in contact with. When Mufaro and Nyasha arrived to the kingdom they saw
Manyara come running out of a building telling her sister not to go in there that there was
a three- headed snake. Nyasha goes in anyway but sees a small garden snake instead, the
king reveals that it is him and that he was also the hungry boy and the woman she talked
to on her journey. The king then asked Nyasha to be his wife. This book will show young
children to always be nice and kind to everyone they come in contact with.
Grade level: 5.2
Interest Level: Grades 1-3
Holiday:
(P) The Polar Express By: Chris Van Allsburg
This story is about a little boy who one year is told that santa is not real and that is what
he started to believe, until one christmas eve. All of a sudden the boy heard the noise of
bells but not bells from santas sleigh but bells from a train. The boy ran outside his house
to see the train. He was invited aboard and was welcomed to the Polar Express and was
told that they were headed toward the North Pole. The train traveled past lit up
towns and over dark mountains. When the train arrived at the north pole they
wondered where everyone was, the conductor told them that everyone was in
the center of town and that Santa Claus would chose one of them to give the
first gift of Christmas to. When they got to the center of the town Santa
pointed to the boy and said I choose you. The little boy tells santa that all he
wants is a bell from santas sleigh and thats what he gets. The boy puts the
bell in the pocket of his robe and the children head back to the Polar Express.
When they get back on the train all of the children crowd around to see the
bell. When the boy reaches in his pocket he finds nothing but a hole, but it was too late
the train began to move. Christmas morning when the boy and his sister open gifts there
is a extra little box for him under the tree, he opens it to see the bell from santas sleigh
with a note from santa telling him to fix the hole in his pocket. The boy shakes the bell to
hear the most beautiful sound hes ever heard but his parents could not hear it and assume
the bell is broken this is when the little boy discovers that the bell can only be heard by
people that truly believe.
Interest Level: Grades K - 2
Grade Level: 4.9

(P) Light the Light! By: Margaret Moorman

This story is about a little girl name Emma. During the first half of the book you
see the family celebrating Hanukkah and doing things such as lighting the menorah
and playing dreidel. Then, the second half of the book you see the family preparing
for christmas and decorating a Christmas tree. This is a great book to read to a class
around the holiday season to show that people celebrate many holidays.
Interest Level: Grades PreK - 3
Grade Level: 4.5
(P) Groundhog Weather School By: Joan Holub
In this story a rabbit is watching the groundhogs day report and the groundhog does not
see his shadow which means spring is here. The rabbit rushes outside ready to enjoy the
warmer weather and is surrounded by snow. He decides to write the weather
groundhog a letter telling him that he should get more groundhogs to help him
because he is too far away to predict the weather. The groundhog then sets out
to find helpers once he finds them it is time for them to attend groundhog
weather school where he will teach all the new groundhogs everything they
need to know to predict the weather on groundhogs day. They learn everything
such as how to build a burrow, about shadows, about seasons and much more.
After taking a final test the groundhogs are sent out to hibernate in their part of
the country. On February 2nd they all come out to report weather or not they
saw their shadows. Once again the rabbit is watching a groundhogs day report
and is happy to see that the groundhog took his advice and hears that the
groundhog did see his shadow, so the rabbit bundles up in all his winter clothes and goes
outside to see flowers and sunny weather, the book ends with the rabbit realizing that it
must be really hard to predict the weather.
Interest Level: Grades K - 2
Grade Level: 2.5
(P) St. Patricks Day in the Morning By: Eve Bunting
This story is about a little boy named Jamie on St. Patricks day early in the morning.
Every year in the town there is a St. Patricks day parade to the top of Acorn hill.
Jamies father and two older brothers walk in the parade but everyone says that
he is still too small and cannot make the walk. So when he wakes up early that
morning he puts on his mothers rain jacket, his fathers black hat and his older
brothers green and gold sash. He then takes his brothers flute from the dresser
and leaves the house with his dog Neil. As he walks he gets looks and
comments from animals and people about his journey but just responds with
what do they know?. This especially happens when Jamie starts playing his
flute in front of old Mrs. Mulligans house she yells out her window saying that it

is a terrible noise he is making but what did she know?. Jamie and Neil finally make it
to the top of Acorn Hill and are the first ones there, and then it was time to go home.
When he got home he slid back in to a chair and fell asleep, when his brother woke up
and saw him with the sash on and their dads hat. His older brother made a comment to
himself about Jamie being sad that he is not big enough to walk in the parade but what
did he know?.
Interest Level: Grades K - 2
Grade Level: 3.4
(P) The Pennsylvania Dutch Night Before Christmas By: Chet Williamson
This story is very similar to the very well known story The night before
Christmas. The only difference is that it includes Pennsylvania Dutch
traditions and using Pennsylvania dutch dialect. This is a great book to share
with your class around the holidays to teach all of the different ways people can
celebrate christmas.
Interest Level: K-3
Grade Level 3.2