For those looking for some inspiration in their book buying please feel free to consult the list below. This list is not exhaustive, but instead should be seen as a starting point. More resources can be found at: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/58/
PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN
Eric Carle
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- The Grouchy Ladybug
Donald Crews
- Freight Train
- Truck
Lois Ehlert
- Color Zoo
- Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On
Eric Hill
- Where’s Spot
- Spot Goes to the Farm
Bill Martin Jr
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (w John Archambault)
Helen Oxenbury
- All Fall Down
- Say Goodnight
GRADES 1 – 3
Jan Brett
- The Hat
- Annie and the Wild Animals
Marc Brown
- Arthur in a Pickle
- Visiting the Art Museum
Anthony Brown
- The Piggybank
- Little Beauty
Eloise Greenfield
- Honey, I Love
- Under the Sunday Tree
Steven Kellogg
- Pinkerton, Behave
- Paul Bunyan
Jerry Pinkney
- The Talking Eggs
- Mirandy and Brother Wind
James E. Ransome
- Uncle Jed’s Barbershop
- How Many Stars in the Sky?
Vera B Williams
- A Chair for my Mother
- “More, More, More,” said the Baby
Ed Young
- Lon Pop Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China
- Seven Blind Mice
Charlotte Zolotow
- William’s Doll
- Big Sister and Little Sister
GRADES 3-6
Arnold Adoff
- Touch the Poem
- Black is Brown is Tan
Mitsumasa Anno
- Anno’s Counting Book
- Anno’s Journey
Natalie Babbitt
- Tuck Everlasting
- The Eyes of the Amaryllis
Judy Blume
- Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
- Fudge-A-Mania
Betsy Byars
- Trouble River
- The Cybil War
Beverly Cleary
- Henry Huggins
- Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Pam Conrad
- Pedro’s Journal
- My Daniel
David Macaulay
- The Way Things Work
- Black And White
Patricia Mckissack
- Flossie And The Fox
GRADES 6-8
Lloyd Alexander
- Time Cat
- The Black Cauldron
Avi
- Nothing But The Truth
- The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Susan Cooper
- The Dark Is Rising
- The Grey King
Cynthia Voigt
- Homecoming
- Dicey’s Song
Robert Cormier
- The Chocolate War
- I Am The Cheese
Paula Fox
- The Slave Dancer
- One-Eyed Cat
Virginia Hamilton
- M.C. Higgins, The Great
- Her Stories
Walter Dean Myers
- Fallen Angels
- Jazz
Richard Peck
- Father Figure
- Are You In The House Alone?
Gary Soto
- A Fire In My Hands
- Living Up The Street
Mildred Taylor
- The Land
- Let The Circle Be Unbroken
OTHER SUGGESTIONS FROM PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
- Classic children’s literature
- Newbery/Caldecott winners and honorable mention books appropriate for K-8
- Biographies related to the Civil Rights movement, suffragettes, the Civil War, and WWII
- Series fiction
- Atlas and other reference books
- Guinness Book of World Records
- Picture dictionaries
- Elementary level books about the environment
- Greek mythology
- Maryland Black Eyed Susan Award winners
- Books about Native Americans
- Coretta Scott King Award winners