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2nd - 3rd Grade Read Alouds These are great picture books to read one-on-one or with an entire class.
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Anansi the spider
by Gerald McDermott
In trying to determine which of his six sons to reward for saving his life, Anansi the Spider is responsible for placing the moon in the sky.
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Be quiet!
by Ryan T Higgins
Wanting to star in a beautiful, wordless picture book more than anything, Rupert the mouse describes to his chattering friends the most visually stimulating, stylishly scenic spreads he can imagine. By the creator of Mother Bruce.
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A bad case of stripes
by David Shannon
Follows the plight of Camilla Cream, who dreams of being popular but who breaks out in "stripes" and is teased by the other kids, until an odd woman feeds her lima beans to cure her malady.
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Book or bell?
by Chris Barton
Engrossed in a book, Henry decides to ignore the school bell, which sets off a chain reaction.
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The boy who grew a forest : the true story of Jadav Payeng
by Sophia M. Gholz
A sumptuously illustrated picture book account of the inspiring achievements of Jadav Payeng describes how he worked to reverse the destructive forces of erosion and deforestation in India's Brahmaputra River region by starting what became a 1,300-acre forest filled with native plants and animals.
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Carnivores
by 1970- Reynolds, Aaron
A lion, a great white shark, and a timber wolf, all meat-eaters who have been hurt by the cruelty of plant-eaters, form a support group which has limited success until their newest member, a great horned owl, shares some advice.
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The cool bean
by Jory John
The creators of The Bad Seed and The Good Egg depict a less-than-cool bean struggling to fit in with the swaggering, sunglass-wearing cool beans at school before he discovers what being cool is really about.
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The day the crayons quit
by Drew Daywalt
When Duncan arrives at school one morning, he finds a stack of letters, one from each of his crayons, complaining about how he uses them.
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Dewey : There's a Cat in the Library!
by Vicki Myron
After being abandoned in the library's book return box and discovered by the librarian, Dewey the kitten is adopted, named, and given the library as a place to call his home, happily meeting and greeting all the visitors who come and go throughout the day.
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Du iz tak?
by 1975- Ellis, Carson
Readers are invited to imagine the dramatic possibilities to be found in the natural world, even the humblest back garden! With exquisitely-detailed illustration that will appeal to children and art-lovers alike, and a wonderfully playful invented language, we soon find ourselves speaking "Bug" ... Du iz tak? What is that?
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Facts vs. opinions vs. robots
by Michael Rex
A laugh-out-loud, timely conversation about the differences between facts and opinions explains how to tell them apart, the importance of listening and the role that seeking further information plays in establishing truth. By the best-selling creator of Goodnight Goon.
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The fantastic flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
by William Joyce
The story that inspired the Academy Award-winning short film follows the adventures of book-loving Morris Lessmore, who after losing the precious written objects in his life draws on the power of stories to save the day. By the best-selling author of The Man in the Moon.
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Finding Winnie
by Lindsay Mattick
A woman tells her young son the true story of how his great-great-grandfather, Captain Harry Colebourn, rescued and learned to love a bear cub in 1914 as he was on his way to take care of soldiers' horses during World War I, and the bear became the inspiration for A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh.
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The fort
by Laura Perdew
A prince planning a feast in his castle and a pirate preparing her ship for a treasure hunt clash after learning they share a fort, but soon imagine a new adventure for two.
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Giraffe problems
by Jory John
A follow-up to Penguin Problems finds an embarrassed giraffe trying to cover up the long neck he thinks is absurdly different from those of other animals before a turtle in a bow tie helps him realize how purposeful, and stylish, his long neck can be.
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Girl versus squirrel
by Hayley Barrett
A madcap tale of persistence and learning follows a territory war between a girl who would protect her teacup bird-feeder and a hungry squirrel who chases away the birds to claim all the peanuts for himself, a rivalry that escalates into an obstacle course and an unexpected compromise.
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A hundred billion trillion stars
by Seth Fishman
A STEM-based introduction to some of the universe's dynamic numbers reveals how the Earth is covered by billions of trees, how the collective weight of humans on the planet matches the weight of its ants and how the universe contains an estimated hundred billion trillion stars.
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If you come to Earth
by Sophie Blackall
In this picture book, a boy writes a letter to an imagined alien, explaining all the things he will need to know about Earth and the people who live here--and adding a postscript asking what the alien might look like.
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In a small kingdom
by Tomie DePaola
This folkloric picture book tells the story of a magical robe that goes missing, and the kingdom that hangs in the balance.
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Interrupting chicken and the elephant of surprise
by David Ezra Stein
A follow-up to the Caldecott Honor-winning Interrupting Chicken finds the plucky little red chicken concluding that an ""elephant of surprise"" is needed for any good story, until his Papa recommends classic tales that are surprising without elephants.
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Ish
by Peter H. Reynolds
After his brother makes a critical comment regarding his artwork, Ramon rethinks his talents and finds himself struggling with his art to make things look just right, but when his little sister reminds him what art is really about, Ramon remembers his gift and begins to paint the way he was destined to paint once again.
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Jack and the beanstalk and the french fries
by Mark Teague
A whimsical version of the classic fairy tale finds Jack trading the family cow for what turns out to be quite more than a handful of beans before a grumpy giant who is tired of the veggie-only foods in his garden agrees to a mutually satisfying arrangement.
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Kaia and the bees
by Maribeth Boelts
A young girl who is courageous about everything except bees decides to overcome her fear by learning about the species from her beekeeper father, who helps her take first steps while teaching her about the importance of bees to the world.
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The king who rained
by Fred Gwynne
Confused by the different meanings of words that sound alike, a little girl imagines such unusual sights as "a king who rained" and "the foot prince in the snow."
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The legend of Rock Paper Scissors
by Drew Daywalt
This laugh-out-loud hilarious picture book is a about the fictional warriors who invented a classic childhood game.
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Lon Po Po : a Red-Riding Hood story from China
by Ed. Young
A haunting Chinese rendition of the classic tale of "Little Red Riding Hood" follows the adventures of young Shang, Tao, and Paotze, who encounter a terrifying wolf. Caldecott Medal. Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
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Mango, Abuela, and me
by Meg Medina
When Mia's Abuela comes to live with Mia and her family, she helps her learn English while Mia learns Spanish, both with the help of a parrot named Mango.
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Meet the Dullards
by Sara Pennypacker
An irreverent tale in verse follows the comically boring Dullard family, whose children, Blanda, Borely and Little Dud, search for ways to break out of their parents' less-than-thrilling routines.
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Mr. Wuffles!
by 1956- Wiesner, David
Mr. Wuffles ignores all his cat toys but one, which turns out to be a spaceship piloted by small green aliens. When Mr. Wuffles plays rough with the little ship, the aliens must venture into the cat's territory to make emergency repairs.
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Mufaro's beautiful daughters
by 1950-1989 Steptoe, John
Mufaro's two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife.
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Mummy Cat
by Marcus Ewert
A whimsical story-within-a-story follows the explorations of a mummified cat from ancient Egypt, who prowls around his pyramid home in search of his beloved owner while reading hidden hieroglyphs about his life with a young Egyptian queen.
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My awesome summer, by P. Mantis
by Paul Meisel
Humorous, scientifically accurate text and bold artwork trace the life cycle of a praying mantis through a series of illustrated diary entries that record how she grows, her ability to camouflage herself and how she looks forward to being able to fly someday.
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Ninja Red Riding Hood
by Corey Rosen Schwartz
In this twist on "Little Red Riding Hood," a certain wolf trains to be a ninja in order to catch his prey, but he is not the only one mastering a martial art.
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Once upon a cool motorcycle dude
by 1961- O'Malley, Kevin
Cooperatively writing a fairy tale for school, a girl imagines a beautiful princess whose beloved ponies are being stolen by a giant, and a boy conjures up the muscular biker who will guard the last pony in exchange for gold.
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Piggie Pie!
by Margie Palatini
Gritch the witch flies to old MacDonald's farm for some pigs to make piggie pie, but when she arrives, she can't find a single pig.
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The plot chickens
by Mary Jane Auch
Henrietta the chicken loves to read so much that she decides to write a book herself, but first no one will publish a book written by a chicken, and then, when she publishes it herself and it gets a terrible review in "The Corn Book," Henrietta is devastated.
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The quiltmaker's gift
by Jeff Brumbeau
When a generous quiltmaker finally agrees to make a quilt for a greedy king but only under certain conditions, she causes him to undergo a change of heart.
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Read the book, lemmings!
by Ame Dyckman
A latest laugh-out-loud picture book by the best-selling creators of Wolfie the Bunny and Horrible Bear! features an exasperated Arctic fox who tries to get his lemming charges to stop leaping off cliffs long enough to realize that cliff diving may not be as natural to them as they believe.
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Runny Babbit
by Shel Silverstein
Runny Babbit's topsy-turvy world is brought to life through wordplay and drawings.
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The sandwich swap
by 1970- Rania, Queen, consort of Abdullah II, King of Jordan
Best friends Lily and Salma disagree over their preferred foods, but after trading sandwiches to see how they taste, the girls change their minds.
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Stellaluna
by 1957- Cannon, Janell
After she falls headfirst into a bird's nest, a baby bat is raised like a bird until she is reunited with her mother.
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Swashby and the sea
by Beth Ferry
No-nonsense Captain Swashby is used to the sea meeting all of his needs and when, after his retirement, new neighbors disturb his solitary life, the sea helps in just the right way.
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Take away the A
by 1970- Escoffier, Michael
Describes how taking away a letter of the alphabet can change one word into a different word, including taking away the letter "A" which changes beast into best and taking away the letter "M" which changes farm into far.
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That is not a good idea!
by Mo Willems
A surprising lesson about the importance of listening to one's inner gosling ensues when a very hungry fox issues a dinner invitation to a very plump goose.
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The adventures of Esther the Wonder Pig
by Steve Jenkins
Esther the Wonder Pig was adopted as a teacup pig, but her dads Steve and Derek quickly find that she's actually a full-size pig who is far too big for their little apartment, so the family expands to a full-size farm with Esther and all her animal friends.
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Those darn squirrels!
by 1983- Rubin, Adam
When grumpy Old Man Fookwire builds feeders to try to keep birds--the only creatures he likes--from leaving for the winter, he finds himself in a battle with clever, crafty squirrels who want a share of the abundant food.
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Two bad ants
by Chris Van Allsburg
When two bad ants desert from their colony, they experience a dangerous adventure in a kitchen that convinces them to return to their former safety.
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We found a hat
by Jon Klassen
Two turtles find a hat that looks good on both of them, but, with fairness in mind, they decide to leave it be, until night falls and one of the turtles changes its mind.
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The William Hoy story
by Nancy Churnin
A deaf baseball player leaves a lasting impression on the game when he introduces signs for "strike" and "ball".
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The whisper
by Pamela Zagarenski
Her magical book of stories is wordless until a whisper in the wind tells a little girl to imagine a story for each page.
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Who will bell the cat?
by Pat McKissack
After barn mice make a collar with a bell to warn them when Marmalade the cat is approaching, Smart Mouse must devise a way to safely put the collar on her in this retelling of a Aesop fable.
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The wolf, the duck & the mouse
by Mac Barnett
When a woeful mouse is swallowed whole by a wolf, he quickly discovers that a previously swallowed duck has already set up a cushy home for himself using the many comfortable things that the greedy wolf has eaten up. By the author of the Caldecott Honor-winning Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.
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Your name is a song
by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to to back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. Your Name is a Song is a celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names.
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Zog and the flying doctors
by Julia Donaldson
Zog the dragon, Princess Pearl, and Sir Gadabout form a team of flying doctors, treating the kingdoms subjects; but Pearl's uncle, the king, disapproves, and locks her in the castle--until he becomes ill and discovers that only Pearl and her companions can cure him.
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Zen ghosts
by Jon J. Muth
On Halloween night, Stillwater the giant panda tells Karl, Addy, and Michael a spooky and unusual story. Based on a Zen koan.
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