These Books Are Great
from 2008

Grades K-2

Abe Lincoln Crosses the Creek by Deborah Hopkinson.
Illustrated by John Hendrix.
Schwartz & Wade (9780375937682)
A tall tale focuses on Lincoln's childhood and his friend, Austin Gollaher.

Goose and Duck by Jean Craighead George.
Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont.
HarperCollins (9780061170775)
The two birds mimic each other and the boy who found them.

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson.
Houghton (9780618862447)
A girl is given a key to a house and a special adventure.

Old Bear by Kevin Henkes.
Greenwillow (9780061152052)
A hibernating bear dreams of the seasons while he is sleeping.

One Boy by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.
Roaring Brook Press (9781596432741)
A counting book with die-cuts and words within words - one - alone, etc.

1 2 Buckle My Shoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines.
Harcourt (9780152063054)
Count the buttons in this counting rhyme illustrated with handmade quilts.

There's A Wolf at the Door by Zoe B. Alley.
Roaring Brook Press (9781596432758)
Five classic tales in graphic novel format feature the wolf's frustrations.

Turtle's Penguin Day byValeri Gorbachev.
Knopf (9780375945649)
Turtle "becomes" a penguin and learns about its behaviors . . . for a day.

Grades 3-4

Gully's Travels by Tor Seidler.
Illustrated by Brock Cole.
Scholastic (9780545125065)
Gully's master is in love, and life as the dog knew it, is turned upside-down.

Lady Liberty by Doreen Rappaport.
Illustrated by Matt Tavares.
Candlewick (9780763625306)
A chronicle of events involved in the construction of the Statue of Liberty.

Masterpiece by Elise Broach.
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy.
Holt (9780805082708)
Marvin, an artistic beetle, helps James stop an art thief.

Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks.
Scholastic (9780439927919)
Oggie is happily unaware of his moniker as class weirdo.

Wangari's Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter.
Harcourt (9780152065454)
How Wangari Maathai's passion for the environment inspired great change.

We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson.
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion (9780786808328)
The story of Negro League baseball.

Grades 5-8

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Simon & Schuster (9781416905851)
Isabel, a slave in New York City in 1776, spied for the rebels during the
Revolutionary War .

Into the Volcano by Don Wood.
Blue Sky/Scholastic (9780439726719)
Two boys are taken to the beautiful and dangerous island of Kocalaha.

The Lincolns by Candace Fleming.
Schwartz & Wade (9780375836183)
A scrapbook-style portrait of Abraham and Mary Lincoln.

The London Eye Mystery by Slobhan Dowd.
Random House (9780375959763)
Their cousin disappeared while on the ride, and they must find him.

My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath.
Schwartz & Wade (9780375955822)
Jane's wants adventures, but these are more than she anticipated.

Our White House - 108 renowned authors and illustrators and the
National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.
Candlewick (9780763620677)
A dynamic view of American history as seen through the White House
windows.

Savvy by Ingrid Law.
Dial (9780803733060)
Mibs is turning 13 and will learn about her supernatural ability or "savvy."

ABC 3D by Marion Bataille.
Roaring Brook Press (9781596434257)
Letters pop-up and reveal themselves in this creatively designed book.

The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin.
Illustrated by Rosana Faria.
Groundwood Books (9780888998736)
Raised black line drawings on black pages encourage the use of senses
other than sight to experience art.

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat
edited by Nikki Giovanni.
Illustrated by Kristen Balouch and others.
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (9781402210488)
A collection of fifty-one children's poems filled with rhythm and song