FICTION – all books are rated 1, 2, 3 or 4 as determined by The Horn Book Guide
This list is divided into sections: Picture Books, Easy Readers, Younger, Intermediate and Older.
PICTURE BOOKS
Misery Moo by Jeanne Willis
Holt © 2005
“What’s up with you, Misery Moo?” a lamb daily asks a morose cow, who sees the glass as half empty (e.g., winter means cold), unlike the lamb (winter means Christmas).
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-8050-7672-7
Moo Cow Kaboom! By Thacher Hurd
HarperCollins © 2003
In Hurd’s out-of-this-world comedy, Farmer George and the animals are asleep when a loud KABOOM wakes them. The farmer is befuddled to find Moo Cow gone. It turns out that the cow is truly over the moon, cownapped by an intergalactic cowboy named Zork. On Planet 246, Moo Cow gets roped into a rodeo, but her style is a bit rough for Zork.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-06-050501-X
My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza
Putnam © 2003
Kasza inverts the usual relationship between pig and fox to tell a child-pleasing tale full of humor, surprise, and wit (the pig’s). When a little piglet (mistakenly, we think) knocks on a fox’s door, the fox is all set for roast pig for dinner. However, the piglet has a few polite and helpful suggestions that result in the piglet receiving a hot bath, a home-cooked meal, and a massage.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-399-23874-3
No More Vegetables! By Nicole Rubel
Farrar © 2002
Ruthie’s lengthy rebellion against eating vegetables ends when her dog eats her picnic sandwich, forcing her to try the veggies she’s helped her mother grow: no surprise – she likes them.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-374-36362-5
No Place for a Pig by Suzanne Bloom
Boyds © 2003
After Ms. Taffy wins a piglet in a radio contest, she wonders how she can possibly keep it in the city, especially as it grows. Fortunately, the community works together to clean up an empty lot, build a home for the pig, and plant a lush garden for everyone to enjoy.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Books
ISBN: 1-59078-047-7
On My Way to Buy Eggs by Chih-Yuan Chen
Kane/Miller © 2003
Sent to the store to buy eggs, Shau-yu takes a circuitous walk through her neighborhood. Though the narrative in this Taiwanese import is in the third person, the perspective is completely that of a small child. Text and illustrations reflect both the richness of a child’s inner life and the way children experience the outside world.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Books
ISBN: 1-929132-49-2
One Pizza, One Penny by K.T. Hao
Cricket © 2003
Ben Bear makes divine pizzas; Chris Croc bakes heavenly cakes. They are best friends who happily share these treats, but when Chris Croc gets a taste of money, they both get the idea that selling is better than sharing. Hunger and the same gold coin that divided them bring the two together again.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-8126-2702-4
One Winter’s Night by John Herman
Philomel © 2003
Soft, full-page illustrations depict Martha, a lost, pregnant cow, searching for a warm place on a cold winter’s night. Smaller illustrations resembling woodcuts portray a parallel journey, made by a man and his pregnant wife. The two stories intersect when both cow and woman find shelter and give birth in the same small shed. Text and art tell a lyrical, unusual Nativity story.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-399-23418-7
Our Community Garden by Barbara Pollak
Beyond © 2004
Audrey and her friends invite readers to watch them tend their community garden in San Francisco. We’re introduced to gardening tools, insects, and some less familiar plants (tomatillos, asparagus beans). The book culminates in a multicultural neighborhood feast.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 1-58270-109-1
Piggies in a Polka by Kathi Appelt
Harcourt © 2003
“From all across the holler, / from every nook and cranny, / all the piggies are arriving for the yearly hootenanny.” In this rollicking rhyme, pigs of all shapes and sizes dance through the pages. The band keeps feet stomping to a polka beat until a “piggie most pit” is formed.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-15-216483-9
Pigs, Pigs, Pigs! By Leslea Newman
Simon © 2003
A rollicking rhyme tells of a town’s feast preparations for a bunch of visiting pigs (“ten thousand at least”). After gorging themselves on twice-baked spaghetti, apple brown Betty, etc., the pigs put on a show for the town.
Recommended Age Range: Picture Book
ISBN: 0-689-84979-6
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