Great books for kids in grades 1 & 2
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
j- juvenile fiction / j Er– easy readers / j Ea- picture books
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FRIENDS & FAMILY
My Brother, Ant / Betsy Byars (j Er BYARS )
Four short stories about Ant and his brother.
Cork & Fuzz : the collectors / Dori Chaconas
When best friends Cork and Fuzz go to the pond, Fuzz is mistaken for a baby duck. (j Er CHACONAS )
Hide-and-Seek All Week / Tomie de Paola
The Twin Barker dogs play hide and seek, but can’t agree on the rules. (j Er DEPAOLA )
Bink & Gollie / Kate DiCamillo (j DICAMILLO)
Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures.
Uh-oh, Cleo / Jessica Harper (j HARPER)
An ordinary day turns into Stitches Saturday when Cleo gets a cut on the head after her twin brother accidentally pulls down their "Toy House."
Benny and Penny in just pretend : a toon book / Geoffrey Hayes (GRAPHIC j HAYES)
Benny the mouse finds it's hard to pretend when his pesky little sister, Penny, is always tagging along.
Houndsley and Catina / James Howe (j Er HOWE )
A cat and dog give each other encouragement & support.
Ling & Ting : not exactly the same! / Grace Lin
Ling and Ting are identical twins that people think are exactly the same, but they are not. (j Er LIN)
Frog and Toad are Friends / Arnold Lobel
The adventures of two special friends. (j Er LOBEL)
Henry and Mudge and the great grandpas / Cynthia Rylant (j Er RYLANT )
Henry and Mudge bring new adventures to Great Grandpa Bill and his friends at the retirement home.
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa / Erica Silverman
Special times are shared by Cowgirl Kate and her horse Cocoa. (j Er SILVERMAN )
The Gardener /Sarah Stewart (j Ea STEWART)
Lydia Grace takes her love of gardening with her when she goes to live with her uncle in the city.
Art & Max / David Wiesner (j Ea WIESNER)
Two lizard friends discover different forms of artistic media, with unexpected consequences.
Mouse and Mole, a winter wonderland / Wong Herbert Yee (j Er YEE)
Best friends Mouse and Mole make two snow friends.
FUNNY STORIES
Hi! Fly Guy / Tedd Arnold (j Er ARNOLD)
Buzz enters a fly in The Amazing Pet Show.
Children Make Terrible Pets / Peter Brown
When a young bear discovers a boy lost in the woods, she asks her mother if she can have him as a pet. (j Ea BROWN)
Stinky /Eleanor Davis (GRAPHIC j DAVIS)
Stinky, a swamp monster, gets upset when a boy named Nick starts hanging around his swamp.
Mercy Watson : something wonky this way comes / Kate DiCamillo (j DICAMILLO)
Mercy Watson goes to the movies and she's on a mission-for true buttered popcorn.
Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day / Kate McMullan (j Er MCMULLAN)
Best friends play tricks on April Fool’s Day.
Amelia Bedelia / Peggy Parish (j Er PARISH )
Amelia Bedelia always does exactly what she’s told.
Wolf pie / Brenda Seabrooke (j SEABROOKE)
Suspicious pigs don’t trust a house-demolishing wolf ’s claims to be reformed.
Clever Kate / Elizabeth Shub (j Er SHUB )
Funny things happen when a wife takes everything literally.
Pigs Make Me Sneeze / Mo Willems
Gerald the elephant, believes he is allergic to his best friend! (j Er WILLEMS )
ANIMAL STORIES
Little Rat sets sail / Monika Bang-Campbell
Little Rat overcomes her fear of sailing. (j BANG-CAMPBELL)
Agapanthus Hum and Major Bark / Joy Cowley
When Agapanthus gets a puppy for a pet, she enters him in a champion dog show. (j Er COWLEY )
Diary of a Worm / Doreen Cronin (j Ea CRONIN)
A young worm discovers that there are some very good and some not so good things about being a worm.
Goose and Duck / Jean Craighead George
A young boy becomes the "mother" to a goose, who becomes "mother" to a duck. (j Er GEORGE)
How to heal a broken wing / Bob Graham
When Will finds a bird with a broken wing, he takes it home and cares for it. (j Ea GRAHAM)
A Fly Went By / Mike McClintock
Find out what’s chasing the fly. (j Er MCCLINTOCK )
Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog / Sara Swan Miller (j Er MILLER)
Stories written from a dog’s point of view.
Little Mouse gets ready/ Jeff Smith (j Er SMITH)
Little Mouse gets dressed to go to the barn.
TRUE STORIES
Stars beneath your bed : the surprising story of dust / April Pulley Sayre ( j 551.5113 Say)
The surprising things that make up ordinary dust.
Construction Zone / Cheryl Hudson (j 690 Hud)
A behind-the-scenes look at a construction project.
Hello, bumblebee bat /Darrin Lunde (j 599.4 Lun)
Find out about Thailand’s bumblebee bat.
Chameleon, chameleon /Joy Cowley
Simple text and great photos introduce tropical rain forests chameleons. (j 597.956 Cow)
Planting the trees of Kenya : the story of Wangari Maathai / Claire A. Nivola
(92M MAATHAI Niv)
A Nobel Peace Prize winner changes her country by teaching people to care for the land.
Why do elephants need the sun? / Robert Wells
The needs of an elephant teach about the importance of the sun to all of us. (j 523.7 Wel)
Here comes the garbage barge! / Jonah Winter
A story based on the factual journey of 3,168 tons of garbage, which no one wanted. (j Ea WINTER)
MYSTERIES & ADVENTURES
Bones and the Dinosaur Mystery / David Adler
Jeffrey Bones investigates the disappearance of a plastic dinosaur. (j Er ADLER )
The Case of the Hungry Stranger / Crosby Bonsall (j Er BONSALL )
Four friends solve the mystery of the missing pie.
Zelda and Ivy : the big picture / Laura Mcgee Kvasnosky (j Er KVASNOSKY)
Zelda and Ivy and their best friend Eugene are inspired by a movie to do some detective work.
The High-Rise Private Eyes : the case of the puzzling possum / Cynthia Rylant (j Er RYLANT)
Bunny and Jack investigate the disappearance of a trombone from Mr. Riley's music store.
Nate the Great and the Fishy Prize /Marjorie Sharmat (j Er SHARMAT )
Nate and his dog solve a mystery .
SCHOOL STORIES
Miss Nelson is Missing / Harry Allard
When Miss Nelson disappears, mean Viola Swamp begins teaching her class. (j Ea ALLARD)
Don't swap your sweater for a dog / Katherine Applegate (j APPLEGATE)
First-grader Roscoe is determined to win a trophy.
First graders from Mars episode I : Horus' horrible day / Shana Corey (j Er COREY)
A new school year begins on Mars for first grader Horus.
Number one kid / Patricia Reilly Giff (j GIFF)
When Mitchell's family moves, he and his sister go to a new school where they make new friends.
Babymouse. 10, The musical / Jennifer L. Holm
Babymouse imagines she is starring in a Broadway production. (GRAPHIC j BABYMOUSE)
Pinky and Rex and the school play / James Howe
Pinky is jealous when Rex gets the lead in the school play. (j HOWE)
The best chef in second grade / Katharine Kenah
A famous chef is coming to Ollie’s second grade class. (j Er KENAH)
Keena Ford and the second-grade mix-up / Melissa Thomson (j THOMSON)
Keena has a few mishaps when she begins 2nd grade.
Doris's dinosaur / Rosemary Wells (j Er WELLS)
Doris's unusual artistic talent is finally recognized when her class visits a modern art museum.
OUR FAVORITES
Clever Jack takes the cake / Candace Fleming
A poor boy struggles to deliver a birthday gift to the princess. (j Ea FLEMING)
You read to me, I'll read to you : very short scary tales to read together / Mary Ann Hoberman (j Er HOBERMAN)
The Beetle Bush / Beverly Keller (j Er KELLER)
Arabelle Mott grows more than vegetables in her garden.
Ruby Lu, brave and true / Lenore Look (j LOOK)
"Almost-eight-year-old" Ruby Lu goes to Chinese school, learns to drive, and has adventures with her friends.
Lentil / Robert McCloskey ( j Ea MCCLOSKEY)
Great things happen when Lentil plays the harmonica.
Good Night, Good Knight / Shelley Moore Thomas
A knight helps three dragons get to sleep. (j Er THOMAS)
POETRY
Lots of spots / Lois Ehlert (j Ea EHLERT)
Poems introduce the different types of camouflage animals use to blend in with their surroundings.
Days like this : a collection of small poems /Simon James (j 811.08)
Birds on a wire : a Renga 'round town /
J. Patrick Lewis & Paul B. Janeczko (j Ea LEWIS)
Little Dog and Duncan / Kristine O'Connell George
(j 811 Geo)
Look for these and other great books in
The Children's Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15228
412.531.1912 2011
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
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