Land Shark by Beth Ferry

Bobby's birthday is approaching and he wants a pet.  But the pet Bobby has in mind is not exactly what his parents have in mind.  He drops all kinds of hints but when his special day arrives, his parent's gift is not exactly what he received.  The new family member is not very cooperative, chewing up things, and generally making a mess of the house.  Bobby can not, will not, ever like a dog...unless the dog is helping his cause.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Hector's Shell by Thomas Radcliffe

Hector, a turtle, has done it again.  He has managed to misplace his shell.  He asks around but no one has seen his shell.  He decides to try to make a shell but it does not turn out as he hoped.  Will Hector ever find his shell?  Where could he had put it?

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

That's (Not) Mine by Anna Kang

Two fuzzy creatures + One Chair = Trouble
Two friends both want the same chair.  How will they get the other to give up the chair?  Both prove to have some tricks up their "sleeves" but will it be enough to finally win the chair?  Great choice for pair reading.  Kids will surely find this one amusing and it will put a smile on their face.  Great fun!

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

I Will Never Get a Star on Mrs. Benson's Blackboard by Jennifer Mann

Rose wants to get a star from Mrs. Benson.  Rose does not think she will EVER get a start from Mrs. Benson.  She is not organized, her mind wanders, and when she reads out loud she is too quiet. Rose tries as hard as she can but she will NEVER get a star.  Rose learns that not everyone is good at everything and that there is more than one way to earn a star.  Great book for leading a discussion about differences and strengths/weaknesses.

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  3 Buckeye leaves

There's a Lion in My Cornflakes by Michelle Robrinson

A free lion?  In a cereal box?  See that?  JUST IGNORE IT!!!  Dan and his brother decide that they simply MUST have a lion and began collecting coupons from the boxes of cereal.  It takes A LOT of boxes of cereal to collect enough coupons for a lion.  Once the boys have sent the coupons in to the cereal, the anxiously await the arrival of their lion.  However when the delivery truck arrives, it is not a lion at all but rather a grizzly bear.  When the boys contact the company their problem only grows.  Will they EVER get the lion they were promised?


Text:  5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

Max the Brave by Ed Vere

Max is a kitten that chases mice.  Max's problem is he does not know what mouse looks like.   Max heads out looking for Mouse.  He sees others, Fly, Fish, birds, Elephant, etc., but not Mouse.  Finally Max finds mouse, or so he thinks.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Polar Bear's Underwear by Tupera Tupera

You only need to utter the word "underwear" and you will have the attention of any kid between 4 and 12 years old.  Polar bear has lost his underwear.  Polar bear and mouse begin searching for polar bear's missing underwear.  Using a series of cut out pictures, polar bear and mouse find lots of other underwear but not polar bear's.  But why can't they find polar bear's underwear?

Text:  4 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

When a Dragon Moves In Again by Jodi Moore

From the author/illustrator team of When  A Dragon Moves In, comes the newest dragon adventure.  The young boy is waiting for his new sibling to arrive when the dragon arrives, again.  This is an ornery dragon that is responsible for playing in the baby's crib, bowling with the baby's bottles, spilling juice, and on and on.  Maybe if the baby went away things would be better.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves (Endpages are awesome!)

Monty's Magnificent Mane by Gemma O'Neil

Monty is very impressed with his beautiful mane.  Monty's friends the meerkats like to play in it.  Monty is furious when he finds out his mane is matted together from all the fun.  Monty decides to go to the nearby water hole to pout.  Upon arriving at the watering hole Monty meets a new friend.  Monty quickly realizes his new friend is not exactly the best choice for him.  Great message about friendship and compromise.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leave

I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

I do NOT love spiders but I do LOVE this book!  Beginning with the awesomely informative endpages about different types of spiders to the "smashing" hands trying to catch that "spider" on the loose to the amusing illustrations with helpful information, this book is a great way to introduce nonfiction books to kids.  I suspect this will be a big hit with elementary kids as well as teach them some facts about these amazing arachnids.


Text:  5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

Clothesline Clues to Sports People Play by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrok

Companion book to Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do, this book is set up using rhymes and picture clues so the reader can guess which job is being described.

"High-tops, orange ball.  Score two points - hooray!..."

Great to use for teaching drawing conclusion/inference skills to preschoolers/kindergarteners.  Older students could also enjoy it by not showing pictures to start.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

If an Elephant went to school by Ellen Fischer

What would an elephant learn if she went to school?  What about an owl, zebra, or frog?  Would they learn the same as a human kid?  What is important for some animals to learn is not the same as another animal.  Very cute, simply told introduction to what is most important to each animal.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves

Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

You're a Crab! A Moody Day Book by Jenny Whitehead

"Some days you can be a friendly dolphin with a squeeeaky laugh.  Some days you can be a funny clownfish that flips and does somersault."

Everyone, even ocean animals, have good days and bad days.  A fun and colorful introduction to moods that reminds readers that everyone has these moods some days but the next day is a new day and can be totally different.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Shark Detective by Jessica Olien

Shark is very lonely but dreams of being a detective.  One day he sees a poster and his dream of becoming a detective is within reach.  He begins his detective life searching for a missing cat.  Shark decides he needs to prepare in order to find the missing cat.  Will he find the missing cat?  And if he does find the missing cat, what will happen with Shark?  Is this the beginning of his dream career?

Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves
Text:  3 Buckeye leaves

Duncan the Story Dragon by Amanda Driscoll

Duncan loves books.  Unfortunately Duncan gets so excited about his books that his fire breathing took over and he has never finished a book.  Duncan decides he needs a friend but a fire breathing dragon finding a friend is not an easy task.  Duncan searches and searches to find that special friend to help him finally enjoy an entire book.Will he find that special friend so he can finally read those words, "THE END."

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrator:  4 Buckeye leaves

First Grade Dropout by Audrey Vernick

The boy has come to an important decision:  he is dropping out of first grade.  He did not take this decision lightly.  He had no choice.  They laughed.  They pointed.  His life is over.  He can't believe what he said.  He said it and everyone heard it.  He said.............

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves