Summer Fun Reading List

1999

Entering Kindergarten / First Grade

Entering Second / Third Grade | Entering Fourth / Fifth Grade

You can get any of these books free! Take this list to a public library and they will either find the books or order them from another library for you. You might ask for other titles by the same author. (*Starred books are new on the list this year.)

Divisions: Poetry, Picture Books, Folktale Classics, Other Folktales, Fiction, Factual Books & Biography.

Most preschoolers, ages 3 and 4, would like these books too.

K-1 Poetry

Mother Goose Rhymes and Nursery Rhymes (many versions)

Nonsense rhymes to chant, illustrate, and laugh at.

Little Dog Poems, George*

A day in the life of Little Dog, a day full of baths, beetles, vacuums and balls!

The Owl and the Pussy Cat, Lear

Cat and Owl marry after sailing a year and a day. Illustrated by Brett.

Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young*, Prelutsky

Over 200 poems to suit every mood, with illustrations by Marc Brown.

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K-1 Picture Books

A Bad Case of Stripes, Shannon*

Camilla wants to fit in with everyone, til she changes colors too often at people's demands.

Big Al, Clements

Ugly fish Al scares the other fish until he rescues them.

Bunny Money, Wells*

Max and Ruby spend so much on emergencies there's not much left for grandma's gift!

The Cat in the Hat, Seuss

A cat plays tricks for two kids on a rainy day.

Chato's Kitchen, Soto*

Chato, a cool Hispanic cat, is fooled by the mice when he invites them "for dinner."

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Martin

Letters topple a coconut tree in this alphabet rap.

Chicken Soup with Rice, Sendak

Funny poems about the months of the year and chicken soup.

Corduroy, Freeman

A toy bear on sale, seeks a button and a good home.

Eating the Alphabet, Ehlert

An alphabetical feast of fruits and vegetables from apricots to zucchinis.

Frog and Toad Are Friends, Lobel

Two friends plant a garden, share cookies, and try to be brave together.

Funnybones, Ahlberg

The skeleton family can't find any humans to scare.

The Hat, Brett*

When Lisa hangs her clothes to dry, a hedgehog gains a stocking cap!

Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night: the Seventeenth Book of Their Adventures, Rylant*

Henry, Mudge and Henry's parents go camping on Big Bear Lake.

I Went Walking, Williams

A boy spies many different farm animals on his walk.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Numeroff

A boy finds that the mouse is not satisfied with just a cookie, he wants more, more.

Just a Mess, Mayer*

A boy cleans up his room while trying to find his baseball mitt.

Mailing May, Tunnell*

Stamping her coat, pa sends May to her grandma -- by the train's mail car!

Make Way for Ducklings, McCloskey

A duck family sets up housekeeping on Boston common.

Martha Speaks, Meddaugh

The family dog talks non-stop after eating alphabet soup.

Mirette on the High Wire, McCully

Mirette dares to be a tightrope walker.

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, Slate*

Reassuring ABC rhymes show animal children & their teacher getting ready for school's first day.

Mouse Count, Walsh

Ten mice outsmart a hungry snake.

One Was Johnny, Sendak

Johnny's room gets crowded until he starts counting backwards.

Rainbow Fish, Pfister

A fish learns that he needs friends more than shiny scales.

Six-Dinner Sid, Moore

Sid cat gets 6 dinners from 6 owners til he goes to the vet 6 times.

The Story of Ping, Flack

A naughty duck runs away from his houseboat home on the Yangtzi River.

The Storytellers, Lewin*

Abdul and his grandfather wander through Fez (Morocco), spread their storyteller's rug, and spin their tales.

Strega Nona, De Paola

Disaster strikes when Big Anthony secretly uses the magic pasta pot.

Tale of Peter Rabbit, Potter

A naughty bunny gets into trouble in Mr. McGregor's garden.

Taxi Dog, Barracca

Max & his master have adventures as they drive around the city.

Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose, Seuss*

When Thidwick gives a Bingle Bug a ride on his antlers, too many more greedy guests climb aboard.

Thundercake, Polacco

Trish's Grandma helps her overcome her fear of thunder.

Very Busy Spider, Carle

Spider won't let the animals distract her as she spins a fine web.

Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak

Max imagines a wild adventure when he's in disgrace in his room.

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K-1 Folktales--Classics No One Should Miss

Cinderella (many versions)

Magically whisked to the ball, Cinderella wins the prince's heart.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears (many versions)

When the 3 bears come home they find Goldilocks asleep in bed.

The Little Red Hen (many versions)

A hen won't share her cake with lazy friends who wouldn't share the work.

Little Red Riding Hood (many versions)

A wolf wickedly pretends to be Riding Hood's grandmother.

Three Little Pigs (many versions)

The third little pig outsmarts the Big Bad Wolf.

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K-1 Other Folktales

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, Kimmel

Anansi the Spider tries to trick all the animals. (from Jamaica)

The Egyptian Cinderella, Climo

A greek slave girl's foot fits the golden sandal and she becomes Pharaoh's wife. (from Egypt)

Jack and the Beanstalk, Ladybird Editors

A brief version of Jack climbing to the clouds to steal the wicked giant's gold. (from England)

John Henry, Lester

Tale of the super strong railroad builder who outdid the steam drill. (from African America)

Rumpelstiltskin, Zelinsky*

The queen bests an elf when he takes her baby as pay for spinning straw into gold. (from Germany)

Snow White, Santore*

Snow White's beauty angers her stepmother queen. Good pictures. Original version. (from Germany)

Three Billy Goats Gruff, Stevens

Three goats outwit a troll. Might be too scary for the youngest in the family. (from Scandinavia)

Tops and Bottoms, Stevens

Rabbit tricks lazy old Bear into working his own garden. (from Southern U.S.)

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K-1 Fiction to Read Aloud

Sometimes kids aren't used to stories without many pictures. Before you read these fiction books to a new listener, try reading aloud some very easy chapter books, such as the Henry and Mudge series by Rylant. Follow these by slightly longer fiction, for instance, the Cam Jansen series by Adler. Then, look below and start with Rip-Roaring Russell or Sunny-Side Up.

Cam Jansen and the Scary Snake Mystery, Adler*

Cam and Eric investigate when a thief steals her mother's camera & video of a big scary snake. Very short novel.

Cricket in Times Square (and sequels), Selden

Unusual animal friends help a city newsstand owner in crisis.

Hugh Pine, Van de Wetering*

Hugh, a genius, gets humans to help him save his fellow porcupines.

Indian in the Cupboard, Banks

A magic cupboard turns toys into live people and animals.

Mary Poppins, Travers

It's fun to read the original version in which Mary is much more mysterious than she is in the movie.

Mouse and the Motorcycle, Cleary

A boy shares his toy motorcycle with a mouse named Ralph.

My Father's Dragon, Gannett*

A boy rescues a baby dragon who is being forced to ferry some lazy animals across a river.

Rip-Roaring Russell, Hurwitz (a good series)

Six-year old Russell has adventures in his apartment and at school.

Stuart Little, White

Stuart, an inventive and debonair mouse, has great adventures.

Sunny-Side Up, Giff

Richard "Beast" Best swims to make up for work at summer school.

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K-1 Factual Books

This list is only a tiny taste of all the wonderful choices there are. Find out your own child's interests and pursue those at your nearby library.

The Airplane Alphabet Book, Pallotta*

A few surprising facts about different kinds of airplanes (more in this series).

All Eyes on the Pond, Rosen

See the animals above and under the water as they see themselves.

Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds, Arnosky

Introduction to birds one might see in the woods (more in series).

I Love Guinea Pigs, King-Smith

Dick King-Smith's book tells all about these furry pets.

Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? Wells

Even young kids love to imagine the solar system and the universe!

It Could Still Be a Mammal, Fowler

Mammals come in all sizes and don't always have fur and four legs!

The Moon Book, Gibbons*

Describes the moon's phases and movements and the people who study the moon.

Shell (Eyewitness Books series), Arthur*

Great photos and information about seashells, eggshells, fossil shells, and how to collect them.

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K-1 Biography

Abe Lincoln's Hat, Brenner

Easy biography of Lincoln who kept important papers in his top hat.

Flight: the Journey of Charles Lindbergh, Burleigh

The famous solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927.

Great Alexander the Great, Lasker

The warrior king who tamed a wild horse & rode to conquest.

Johnny Appleseed, Demuth

A brief account of John Chapman's effort to plant apple trees everywhere he went.

The King's Day: Louis XIV of France, Aliki

The sumptuous life an an 18th century absolute monarch.

My Great-Aunt Arizona, Houston

An Appalachian girl grows up to become a beloved teacher.

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman, Krull*

Wilma overcame crippling polio as a child to win three Olympic gold medals in track!

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This summer reading list was compiled by Joan Kimball, elementary school librarian, and formatted for the Web by Dale Copps, founder and webmaster of All Together Now. The list represents many children's authors, incorporates many types of books, and appeals to many interests. We hope it will provide fun summer reading for the whole family.

Copyright 1999 by Joan Kimball. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright forbids any commercial use of this list, but teachers and librarians may copy it as a whole for their own students at no charge, as long as they include all the above notes of authorship and copyright.

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Document Notes

Title: Summer Reading List 1999 (K-1)
Compiler: Joan Kimball
Design: Dale Copps
Date Created: May 9, 1997
Last Updated: April 27, 1999