Definition--Books that discuss every day problems, problems life throws in, and how people react to them.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
Roy and Silo are two boy penguins who aren’t interested in finding a girl penguin. But this means that they don’t get to raise a real egg together. The zookeeper notices how hard they try with a rock, and gives them a second egg from a different penguin couple. When the egg hatches, the zookeeper names it Tango, “because it takes two to make a Tango.”
Interest Level: K
Grade Level: 3.9
The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco
Patricia decides that she wants to stay with her dad and grandma and go to school in Michigan, instead of in CA with her mom. She arrives and finds out she is in Mrs. Peterson’s class, and all of her classmates are in the “junkyard” as Mrs. Peterson calls it. One day, Mrs. Peterson takes all of the children to a real junkyard and tells the kids they need to work in groups to find something to repair and remake into something wonderful. Gibbie sees an old model airplane, and tells everyone he knows how to make it run for real. They name the finished product Junkyard Wonder, and dedicate it to a classmate who died from a disease. The entire school watches as they fly the plane off the roof of the school and all the way up to the moon (not literally.)
Interest Level: 2
Grade Level: 3.8
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Caitlyn is a fifth grade girl who has Aspergers Syndrome. Her brother Devon was just killed in a school shooting, and her dad and she, along with the rest of the community, are very sad. Caitlyn works every day with Mrs. Brook, the counselor at the school, on her behavior, making friends, and learning about empathy. Throughout the book, Caitlyn Works At It to find Closure, and eventually finds everything from a friend (Michael) to empathy.
Interest Level: 6
Grade Level: 3.5
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Melody is an 11 year old girl. She has a photographic memory, and she sees colors with music. She is in may ways just like any other girl, except she has cerebral palsy. She cant talk, move, or eat without help from a wheelchair or someone else. Melody goes through life knowing everything, but no one knows that she knows. After getting a talking computer, she is finally able to share herself, but some aren’t ready to see what she has to offer yet.
Interest Level: 3
Grade Level: 4
Elmer by David McKee
Elmer the elephant is different: he is a patchwork elephant with every color possible. He doesn’t like that everyone laughs at him, even though he does silly things on purpose to make them laugh. One day he covers himself if berry juice to look normal, and they scares all of the elephants. They laugh, and realize it is him after it rains. From then on, on the same day every year, the other elephants decorate themselves and Elmer turns gray to celebrate his best joke ever.
Interest Level: K
Grade Level: 2.9
A Shelter in Our Car by Monica Gunning
Zettie and her mother live in their car because Mama cant find a steady job, and she is still trying to finish school. They used to live in Jamaica, but Zettie’s dad died, and now they have nowhere to go. Kids tease Zettie about the car, but Mama tries really hard to make money, and she finally finds a job helping others like them at the Health Fair.
Interest Level: 1
Grade Level: 1
Ian’s Walk: A Story About Autism by Laurie Lears
Tara, Julie and Ian are all siblings. Ian has autism. Sometimes he does things that really make Tara and Julie mad; he would rather sniff brick walls than flowers, and he could watch a ceiling fan for hours. When Tara and Julie take Ian to the park to feed the ducks, Tara looks away for a second and Ian disappears! In order to find him again, Tara tries to think like Ian. They finally find him in his favorite spot in the park, and give him a big hug. On the walk home, Tara and Julie let Ian do all of the “strange” things he wants to do.
Interest Level: K
Grade Level: 3.4
I Don’t Want To Talk About It by Jeanie Franz Ranson
A young girl’s parents come into her room to give her some bad news she knew was coming. They are getting a divorce. The little girl keeps saying that she doesn’t want to talk about it, and thinks about all of the animal she would rather run into to get away from the bad news. Eventually, she realizes that not everything will change, and she will have two happy houses now, instead of one sad and angry house.
Interest Level: PreK
Grade Level: K
Before You Were Mine by Maribeth Boelts
A little boy asks questions about what his dog’s life was like and what he thought about before he became the boy’s pet. He asks if a family loved the dog and played with it, or if they forgot dogs sometimes chew things and pee on the carpet. They boy says that before the dog was his, it was a cold, lonely and hungry stray that was rescued and card for at a shelter. Now all that matters is that the dog is home.
Interest Level: PreK
Grade Level: K
The Lunch Thief by Anne C. Bromley
Rafael Muñez is having a problem in school. The new kid, Kevin, stole his lunch! Rafael doesn’t want to fight, or get in trouble, so he doesn’t say anything. He watches as Kevin steals lunch from two other people, and then he decides to use his words instead of his fists. Rafael learns that Kevin recently had to move because his house burned down in a forest fire. Rafael decides that he doesn’t really need to eat two burritos for lunch, so he shares.
Interest Level: 3
Grade Level: PreK
Roy and Silo are two boy penguins who aren’t interested in finding a girl penguin. But this means that they don’t get to raise a real egg together. The zookeeper notices how hard they try with a rock, and gives them a second egg from a different penguin couple. When the egg hatches, the zookeeper names it Tango, “because it takes two to make a Tango.”
Interest Level: K
Grade Level: 3.9
The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco
Patricia decides that she wants to stay with her dad and grandma and go to school in Michigan, instead of in CA with her mom. She arrives and finds out she is in Mrs. Peterson’s class, and all of her classmates are in the “junkyard” as Mrs. Peterson calls it. One day, Mrs. Peterson takes all of the children to a real junkyard and tells the kids they need to work in groups to find something to repair and remake into something wonderful. Gibbie sees an old model airplane, and tells everyone he knows how to make it run for real. They name the finished product Junkyard Wonder, and dedicate it to a classmate who died from a disease. The entire school watches as they fly the plane off the roof of the school and all the way up to the moon (not literally.)
Interest Level: 2
Grade Level: 3.8
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Caitlyn is a fifth grade girl who has Aspergers Syndrome. Her brother Devon was just killed in a school shooting, and her dad and she, along with the rest of the community, are very sad. Caitlyn works every day with Mrs. Brook, the counselor at the school, on her behavior, making friends, and learning about empathy. Throughout the book, Caitlyn Works At It to find Closure, and eventually finds everything from a friend (Michael) to empathy.
Interest Level: 6
Grade Level: 3.5
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Melody is an 11 year old girl. She has a photographic memory, and she sees colors with music. She is in may ways just like any other girl, except she has cerebral palsy. She cant talk, move, or eat without help from a wheelchair or someone else. Melody goes through life knowing everything, but no one knows that she knows. After getting a talking computer, she is finally able to share herself, but some aren’t ready to see what she has to offer yet.
Interest Level: 3
Grade Level: 4
Elmer by David McKee
Elmer the elephant is different: he is a patchwork elephant with every color possible. He doesn’t like that everyone laughs at him, even though he does silly things on purpose to make them laugh. One day he covers himself if berry juice to look normal, and they scares all of the elephants. They laugh, and realize it is him after it rains. From then on, on the same day every year, the other elephants decorate themselves and Elmer turns gray to celebrate his best joke ever.
Interest Level: K
Grade Level: 2.9
A Shelter in Our Car by Monica Gunning
Zettie and her mother live in their car because Mama cant find a steady job, and she is still trying to finish school. They used to live in Jamaica, but Zettie’s dad died, and now they have nowhere to go. Kids tease Zettie about the car, but Mama tries really hard to make money, and she finally finds a job helping others like them at the Health Fair.
Interest Level: 1
Grade Level: 1
Ian’s Walk: A Story About Autism by Laurie Lears
Tara, Julie and Ian are all siblings. Ian has autism. Sometimes he does things that really make Tara and Julie mad; he would rather sniff brick walls than flowers, and he could watch a ceiling fan for hours. When Tara and Julie take Ian to the park to feed the ducks, Tara looks away for a second and Ian disappears! In order to find him again, Tara tries to think like Ian. They finally find him in his favorite spot in the park, and give him a big hug. On the walk home, Tara and Julie let Ian do all of the “strange” things he wants to do.
Interest Level: K
Grade Level: 3.4
I Don’t Want To Talk About It by Jeanie Franz Ranson
A young girl’s parents come into her room to give her some bad news she knew was coming. They are getting a divorce. The little girl keeps saying that she doesn’t want to talk about it, and thinks about all of the animal she would rather run into to get away from the bad news. Eventually, she realizes that not everything will change, and she will have two happy houses now, instead of one sad and angry house.
Interest Level: PreK
Grade Level: K
Before You Were Mine by Maribeth Boelts
A little boy asks questions about what his dog’s life was like and what he thought about before he became the boy’s pet. He asks if a family loved the dog and played with it, or if they forgot dogs sometimes chew things and pee on the carpet. They boy says that before the dog was his, it was a cold, lonely and hungry stray that was rescued and card for at a shelter. Now all that matters is that the dog is home.
Interest Level: PreK
Grade Level: K
The Lunch Thief by Anne C. Bromley
Rafael Muñez is having a problem in school. The new kid, Kevin, stole his lunch! Rafael doesn’t want to fight, or get in trouble, so he doesn’t say anything. He watches as Kevin steals lunch from two other people, and then he decides to use his words instead of his fists. Rafael learns that Kevin recently had to move because his house burned down in a forest fire. Rafael decides that he doesn’t really need to eat two burritos for lunch, so he shares.
Interest Level: 3
Grade Level: PreK