- Willow Avenue Elementary School
- Summer Reading
Core Curriculum Summer Reading Suggestions
Kindergarten/1st Grade
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Literature Suggestions for K-1
- Little Bear (An I Can Read Book) A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog (Boy, Dog, Frog) Mercer Mayer
- Are You My Mother? D. Eastman
- Green Eggs and Ham Seuss
- Put me in the Zoo Robert Lopshire
- Frog and Toad Together (I Can Read Picture Book) Arnold Lobel
- Owl at Home (I Can Read Book 2) Arnold Lobel
- Pancakes for Breakfast Tomie dePaola
- Hi! Fly Guy (Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards)) Tedd Arnold
Poetry Suggestions for K-1
- “As I Was Going to Ives,” Anonymo us
- “Mix a Pancake,” Christina Rossetti
- “Singing-Time,” Rose Fyleman
- “Halfway Down” A. Milne
- “Drinking Fountain” Marchette Chute
- “Poem” Langston Hughes
- “Wouldn’t You?” John Ciardi
- “By Myself” Eloise Greenfield
- “Covers” Nikki Giovanni
- “It Fell in the City” Eve Merriam
- “Celebration” Alonzo Lopez
- “Two Tree Toads”
Informational Texts Suggestions for K-1
- A Tree Is a Plant (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science) Clyde Robert Bulla
- My Five Senses (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1) Aliki
- Starfish (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science) Edith Thacher Hurd
- A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver Aliki
- Truck Donald Crews
- I Read Signs (Reading Rainbow Books) Tama Hoban
- Let’s Find Out About Ice Cream Mary Ebeltoft Reid
- “Garden Helpers,” National Geographic Young Explorers
- “Wind Power,” National Geographic Young Explorers
Read-Aloud Stories for K-1 (Adult reading to child)
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Books of Wonder) Frank Baum
- Little House in the Big Woods Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Popper’s Penguins (Paperback) Richard and Florence Atwater
- Finn Family Moomintroll Tove Jansson
- A Story, a Story Gail Haley
- The Paper Crane (Reading Rainbow Book) Molly Bang
- Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China Ed Young
- Family Pictures, 15th Anniversary Edition / Cuadros de Familia, Edición Quinceañera Carmen Lomas Garza
- Tomas and the Library Lady Pat Mora
- Kitten’s First Full Moon Kevin Henkes
Read-Aloud Poetry for K-1 (Adult reading to child)
- “The Fox’s Foray,” Anonymous
- “Over in the Meadow,” John Langstaff
- “The Owl and the Pussycat,” Edward Lear
- “April Rain Song” Langston Hughes
- “Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin,” Lloyd Moss
Read-Aloud Informational Texts for K-1 (Adult reading to child)
- A Year at Maple Hill Farm Alice and Martin Provensen
- Fire! Fire! Gail Gibbons
- Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Arthur Dorros
- Water, Water Everywhere Cynthia Overbeck and Mark Rauzon
- Earthworms Claire Llewellyn
- What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? (Caldecott Honor Book) Robin Page and Steve Jenkins
- From Seed to Pumpkin (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1) (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1) Wendy Pfeffer
- Amazing Whales! (I Can Read Book 2) Sarah Thomson
- How People Learned to Fly (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) True Kelley and Fran Hodgkins
2nd/3rd Grade
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Second Grade and Third Grade Common Core Suggested Reading List
- My Father’s Dragon Ruth Stiles Gannett
- “The Fire Cat,” Esther Averill
- Amos and Boris William Steig
- The Treasure Uri Shulevitz
- The Stories Julian Tells Ann Cameron
- Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan
- Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their Adventures Cythia Rylant
- Tops and Bottoms Janet Stevens
- The Raft Jim LaMarche
- Poppleton in Winter Cynthia Rylant
- The Lighthouse Family: The Storm Cynthia Rylant
- The One-Eyed Giant Mary Pope Osborne
- Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa Erica Silverman
Poetry
- “Autumn,” Emily Dickinson
- “Who Has Seen the Wind?” Christina Rossetti
- “Afternoon on a Hill,” Edna Vincent Millay
- “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Robert Frost
- “Something Told the Wild Geese” Rachel Field
- “Grandpa’s Stories” Langston Hughes
- “A Bat is Born” Randall Jarrell
- “Knoxville, Tennessee” Nikki Giovanni
- “Weather” Eve Merriam
- “Eating While Reading” Gary Soto
Informational Texts
- A Medieval Feast Aliki
- From Seed to Plant Gail Gibbons
- Bats: Creatures of the Night Joyce Milton
- Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions Around the World Selby Beeler
- Art around the World Heather Leonard
- Martin Luther King and the March on Washington Frances Ruffin
- So You Want to Be President? Judith George
- Crittercam Andrew Einspruch
- Boy, We Were Wrong About Dinosaurs Kathleen Kudlinski
- Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 Brian Floca
- Where Do Polar Bears Live? Sarah Thomson
Read-Aloud Stories
- How the Camel Got His Hump Rudyard Kipling
- The Thirteen Clocks James Thurber
- Charlotte’s Web B. White
- The Cricket in Times Square George Selden
- The Search for Delicious, Natalie Babbitt
- Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis
- Sign Painter Allen Say
Read-Aloud Poetry
- “The Jumblies,” Edward Lear
- “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” Robert Browning
- “Your World,” Georgia Douglas Johnson
- “The Song of the Jellicles” S. Elliot
- “Fireflies,” Paul Fleischman
Read-Aloud Informational Texts
- Lincoln: A Photobiography Russell Freedman
- The Story of the Ruby Bridges Robert Coles
- A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder Walter Wick
- If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People David Smith
- Ah, Music Aliki
- The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections Jan Mark
- What the World Eats Faith D’Aluisio
- Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature’s Footprints
- 14 Cows for America Carmen Agra Deedy
3rd/4th Grade
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Second Grade and Third Grade Common Core Suggested Reading List
- My Father’s Dragon Ruth Stiles Gannett
- “The Fire Cat,” Esther Averill
- Amos and Boris William Steig
- The Treasure Uri Shulevitz
- The Stories Julian Tells Ann Cameron
- Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan
- Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their Adventures Cythia Rylant
- Tops and Bottoms Janet Stevens
- The Raft Jim LaMarche
- Poppleton in Winter Cynthia Rylant
- The Lighthouse Family: The Storm Cynthia Rylant
- The One-Eyed Giant Mary Pope Osborne
- Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa Erica Silverman
Poetry
- “Autumn,” Emily Dickinson
- “Who Has Seen the Wind?” Christina Rossetti
- “Afternoon on a Hill,” Edna Vincent Millay
- “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Robert Frost
- “Something Told the Wild Geese” Rachel Field
- “Grandpa’s Stories” Langston Hughes
- “A Bat is Born” Randall Jarrell
- “Knoxville, Tennessee” Nikki Giovanni
- “Weather” Eve Merriam
- “Eating While Reading” Gary Soto
Informational Texts
- A Medieval Feast Aliki
- From Seed to Plant Gail Gibbons
- Bats: Creatures of the Night Joyce Milton
- Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions Around the World Selby Beeler
- Art around the World Heather Leonard
- Martin Luther King and the March on Washington Frances Ruffin
- So You Want to Be President? Judith George
- Crittercam Andrew Einspruch
- Boy, We Were Wrong About Dinosaurs Kathleen Kudlinski
- Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 Brian Floca
- Where Do Polar Bears Live? Sarah Thomson
Read-Aloud Stories
- How the Camel Got His Hump Rudyard Kipling
- The Thirteen Clocks James Thurber
- Charlotte’s Web B. White
- The Cricket in Times Square George Selden
- The Search for Delicious, Natalie Babbitt
- Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis
- Sign Painter Allen Say
Read-Aloud Poetry
- “The Jumblies,” Edward Lear
- “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” Robert Browning
- “Your World,” Georgia Douglas Johnson
- “The Song of the Jellicles” S. Elliot
- “Fireflies,” Paul Fleischman
Read-Aloud Informational Texts
- Lincoln: A Photobiography Russell Freedman
- The Story of the Ruby Bridges Robert Coles
- A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder Walter Wick
- If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People David Smith
- Ah, Music Aliki
- The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections Jan Mark
- What the World Eats Faith D’Aluisio
- Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature’s Footprints
- 14 Cows for America Carmen Agra Deedy