Favorite Read Alouds at the Elmhurst Public Library
Here are some of the books we've had success with at library storytimes,
and books we've enjoyed reading to our own children.
Picture Books
Ruth Law Thrills a Nation by Dan Brown
This short biography describes the record-breaking flight of a daring woman pilot, Ruth Law, from Chicago to New York in 1916.
Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle
By cutting and grinding the wheat for flour, Jack starts from scratch to help make his breakfast pancake.
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
A poignant tale of one woman’s attempt to make the world more beautiful.
Petunia by Roger Duvoisin
Petunia, the silly goose, learns that possessing knowledge doesn’t mean carrying a book around constantly.
The Shrinking of Treehorn by Florence Parry Heide
“When a young boy mentions to his social-climbing parents that he’s begun to shrink, he’s ignored.
Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban
When Albert and his buddies have a "no girls" baseball game, Frances and her sister organize a "Best Friends Outing -- No Boys."
The Day the Goose Got Loose by Reeve Lindbergh
The day the goose gets loose, havoc reigns at the farm as all the animals react.
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Five tales that are spiced with “generous helpings of humor and warm personal relationships.
Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern
Peter complains his house is too noisy, so the wise man advises him to obtain some rather unusual house guests.
Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
Problems arise when Martha, the family dog, learns to speak after eating alphabet soup.
Mortimer by Robert Munsch
Mortimer won’t be quiet at bedtime, and his family must take drastic action to get him to go to sleep.
Skippyjon Jones by Judith Byron Schachner
Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat with an overactive imagination who would rather be El Skippito, his Zorro-like alter ego.
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
When a lazy bird hatching an egg wants a vacation, she asks Horton, the elephant, to sit on her egg--which he does through all sorts of hazards until he is rewarded for doing what he said he would. A charming story about being dependable.
Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley
The sheriff of a dusty western town rescues Sweetness, an unusually resourceful orphan, from nasty old Mrs. Sump and her terrible orphanage.
Brave Irene by William Steig
Irene, whose dressmaker mother is too sick to go out, braves a fierce snowstorm to deliver a new gown to the duchess in time for the ball.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
In a moment of fright Sylvester asks his magic pebble to turn him into a rock but then can not hold the pebble to wish himself back to normal again. A sensitive book about loneliness and joy.
Somebody and the Three Blairs by Marilyn Tolhurst
In a reversal of the Goldilocks story, a bear explores the home of the three Blairs while they are out.
Possum Come a Knockin’ by Nancy Van Laan
A cumulative tale in verse about a mysterious stranger that interrupts a family’s daily routine.
Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan
A dingo intent on making wombat stew receives cooking suggestions from the other animals, unaware that they are protecting their fellow creature.
The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber
The first in a series of books about Lyle, “the most lovable and human of crocodiles.
Lassie Come-Home by Rosemary Wells
Sold in financial desperation to a wealthy duke, a collie undertakes a 1000-mile journey in order to be reunited with her former master in Yorkshire. A beautiful adaptation of the original novel.
Short Novels
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
An eight-year-old girl finds the courage to go alone with her father to build a new home in the Connecticut wilderness and to stay with the Indians when her father goes back to bring the rest of the family.
A Toad for Tuesday by Russell E. Erickson
On Thursday a toad is captured by an owl who saves him to eat on Tuesday, the owl's birthday, but the intervening five days change his mind.
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
The object of her classmates’ ridicule, a tight-lipped little Polish girl teaches her classmates a lesson.
The Half-A-Moon Inn by Paul Fleischman
A chilling adventure story about a mute boy kidnapped by the wicked proprietress of a village inn.
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth S. Gannett
An exciting adventure about a boy’s attempt to rescue a baby dragon.
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Little Willie hopes to pay the back taxes on his grandfather's farm with the purse from a dog sled race he enters. A tear-jerker.
The Iron Giant: A Story in Five Nights by Ted Hughes
The fearsome iron giant becomes a hero when he challenges a huge space monster.
The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
In this Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl and her two beautiful but heartless sisters compete for the affections of the Invisible Being.
Wolf Story by William McCleery
In a humorous and loving contest of wills, a father tries to tell a bedtime story while his five-year-old son insists on editing the tale.
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! by Stephen Manes
Milo, tired of problems with his sister, parents and classmates, finds a book in the library which promises to make him perfect in just three days.
The Monster in the Third Dresser Drawer by Janice Lee Smith
A young boy must cope with a move to a new town, a new baby sister, a new tooth, a baby-sitter and his Great-Aunt Emily.
Longer Books
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.
A Bear Called Paddinton by Michael Bond
A very small bear found by Mr. and Mrs. Brown at Paddington station becomes one of the family.
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
A Siamese cat, an old bull terrier, and a young Labrador retriever travel together 250 miles through the Canadian wilderness to find their family.
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
A boy acquires a magical gift that turns everything his lips touch into chocolate.
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Kidsnatched from her orphange by a BFG (Big Friendly Giant), who spends his life blowing happy dreams to children, Sophie concocts with him a plan to save the world from nine other man-gobbling cannybull giants.
Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
A young English boy describes his relationship with his father and the special adventure they share together.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The adventures of a group of animals who live in the English countryside--bashful Mole, boastful Toad, practical Badger and world-wise Rat. The beautiful language in this book just rolls off your tongue.
Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight
A collie undertakes a 1000-mile journey in order to once again meet her former master at the school gate.
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
The original adventures of Christopher Robin and his friends in which Pooh Bear uses a balloon to get honey, Piglet meets a Heffalump, and Eeyore has a birthday.
Rascal by Sterling North
The author recalls his carefree life in a small midwestern town at the close of World War I, and his adventures with his pet raccoon, Rascal.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
The adventurous story of a widowed mouse who, having no one to help her with her problems, visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long lived.
Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman
In the mountains of Switzerland the wicked Count Karlstein plots to abandon his two orphaned nieces in a hunting lodge as prey for the Demon Huntsman and his ghostly hounds.
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
After the death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune. A darkly humorous melodrama.
Abel’s Island by William Steig
Castaway on an uninhabited island, Abel, a very civilized mouse, finds his resourcefulness and endurance tested to the limit as he struggles to survive and return to his home.
Tripping Over the Lunch Lady: And Other School Stories
An anthology of ten humorous short stories about life in school, written by well-known authors of children's books.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
The classic story of Wilbur the pig and how, through his friendship with Charlotte the spider, he became famous and learned about life and death. |
