Great Reads: Kindergarten thru 1st grade | SWAN Consortium

Aspen Test

1) The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Author

Description

The book you are holding is called The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The story was first written down in Norway almost 200 years ago. It has been told, over and over again. Here is my version. -- Adapted from inside cover. Once there was a bridge and a terrible and VERY hungry troll lived underneath it. When the three Billy Goats Gruff decide to clip-clop across the bridge to get to the grassy ridge, the troll is already imagining all the way to prepare...

Author

Description

"When little Daisy finds herself blooming in a garden she is happy to stretch her petals to the sky. How lovely it feels to be a flower in bloom! Until, Rose tells her that she doesn't belong in the garden. Daisy is a weed, and just gets in the way. Other flowering plants and herbs in the garden agree with Rose, but some of the other garden inhabitants don't. They suggest that Daisy is actually a wildflower, that can grow within or outside of gardens...

3) Lobstah gahden: speak out against pollution with a wicked awesome Boston accent!

Author

Description

Walter and his neighbor, Milton, two lobsters living in the ocean near Boston, Massachusetts, blame each other when heaps of garbage appear in both of their yards as they prepare for the annual garden contest. Includes facts about lobsters, water pollution, and the Boston accent, a glossary, and ways to care for the ocean, as well as a list of organizations that do the same.

4) Lou

Author

Carzoo, Breanna

Description

"Meet Lou. Lou has an important job . . . as the neighborhood toilet for dogs on their walks. Useful as he may be, he gets the feeling that deep down inside, there might be more to him than that. He just doesn't seem to know exactly what yet. When disaster strikes, will Lou find out what he's made of and save the day?"--

5) The boy in the orange cape

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Description

Every day Corey wears an orange cape. Even at bedtime. Even at school. The other children tease him, but Corey doesn't mind. After all, he wears his cape for a reason . . . Billy would rip the cape off every day. And every day, Corey would show up with a new cape. Then, one of the boys found the very noble reason why Corey was wearing a cape.

6) Survivor tree

Author

Colleen, Marcie

Description

The Callery pear tree standing at the base of the World Trade Center is almost destroyed on September 11, but it is pulled from the rubble, coaxed back to life, and replanted as part of the 9/11 memorial.

7) Jabari jumps

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Series

Notes

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Formats:

Description

"Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He's finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he's a great jumper, so he's not scared at all. "Looks easy," says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back. He needs to figure out what kind of special jump to do anyway, and he should probably do some stretches before climbing up onto the diving board. In a sweetly...

Author

Denise, Christopher

Series

Description

After achieving his dream of becoming a knight, a small owl protects the castle from a hungry dragon.

9) Oona

Author

DiPucchio, Kelly

Series

Oona the Mermaid

Notes

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Description

This comical and heartfelt picture book is a winning celebration of invention, creativity, and friendship. With gorgeous underwater scenes and a crowd-pleasing tale, this is one little mermaid who is here to make a splash!

Author

Goade, Michaela

Description

As a young Tlingit girl collects wild berries over the seasons, she sings with her Grandmother as she learns to speak to the land and listen when the land speaks back.

11) I'm not missing

Author

Gourley, Kashelle

Description

"Sick of the pressures of pet life, one dog escapes to fulfill his true Lone Wolf destiny, but then he sees his owner with a new dog and feels unexpectedly jealous."--

12) Itty-bitty kitty-corn

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Series

Notes

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Description

Kitty, who looks like a kitten yet feels she is actually a unicorn, begins to doubt herself as others ridicule her, until she meets a unicorn that helps her discover and embrace who she is.

13) I cannot draw a horse

Author

Harper, Charise Mericle

Description

The narrator turns a "nothing shape" into a cat, beaver, bunny, dog, turtle, and bear, but what the cat really wants is a horse.

14) Watch out for the lion!

Author

Hartman, Brooke

Description

Warning readers who dare to open the book that there is a lion hiding inside, this surprising story helps them discover what is really lurking in the pages of this interactive adventure.

Author

Description

A history of smoke and its ability to help in areas such as cooking and medicine and its ability to harm such as in a fire.

16) Eighteen vats of water

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Description

"As long as he can remember, Xian has wanted to be a great calligrapher, like his father. When he turns six, he's finally old enough to start studying. Calligraphy is more than writing-it's painting-and Xian learns how much work and creativity go into what look like effortless strokes. Based on stories still told about Xian and his father, famous calligraphers of the 4th century, Eighteen Vats of Water is about determination, creativity, and learning...

17) The bad seed

Author

Series

Notes

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Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, Vox Book

Description

The bad seed changes his mind about being bad and decides that he wants to be happy.

18) Brave enough

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Description

"Little Brother sees monsters everywhere, so he'd rather stay safely inside and read all about them in his books. Big Sister believes monsters are nothing but phony baloney make-believe and drags Little Brother on a hair-raising adventure to prove it. In a hilarious echo of common sibling squabbles that both older and younger siblings will appreciate, Little Brother has soon had ENOUGH of Big Sister trying to make him just like her. When Big Sister...

19) Skater Cielo

Author

Katstaller, Rachel

Series

Description

Cielo loves to skateboard, but loses her confidence after a fall, until the intervention of some new friends helps her regains her confidence.

20) Eat your rocks, Croc!: Dr. Glider's advice for troubled animals

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Description

Dr. Sugar Glider, a small Australian possum, travels around the world (even underwater) dispensing good advice to animals with problems, including a crocodile with a stomach ache, a stressed out meerkat mom, and a male praying mantis looking for a date--while avoiding being eaten.