Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

 

This book is a very simple counting book that counts down the four buttons he loses off of his favorite shirt. Pete keeps singing his groovy song and never gets disheartened about losing his buttons. 

Written by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 1, 2012)

Dumpling Soup

Dumpling Soup is the "New Voices, New World Award" winning book about a young girl named Marisa in the Hawaiian Islands who decides to make dumplings for a New Year's celebration. She is worried, however, that they are too different from what people know, and therefore will not be tried by anyone. This story is full of diversity and exemplifies the melting pot that is the American culture. 

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (April 1, 1998)

Reviews

Dear Deer

Dear Deer, by Gene Barretta, tells the story of Aunt Ant and her letters to Deer. She lives at the zoo, and she describes all of the animals she sees. She uses homophones, words that sound the same but have different spellings and different meanings. This book lends itself well to lessons on homophones and a way to incorporate children's literature into the classroom. 

The Day the Crayons Quit

This story is about a boy named Duncan's box of crayons. It seems that all of the crayons have some sort of complaint for him! So, each crayon writes him a letter describing what troubles it. Blue feels overused, pink underused, and beige feels second best to brown. After carefully reading these complaints and numerous others, Duncan decides to create a masterpiece that uses ALL of his crayons in ways that aren't quite conventional.

Mrs. Mack

This touching story about a girl and a horse is based on Patricia Polacco's own experience. Pat's father finally decides that this summer will be the one when she will learn to ride a horse. When Pat arrives at shabby stables, she can't believe this is where her summer will be spent. Soon, Pat learns to accept those around her as the summer progresses. She also falls in love with the most beautiful horse she has ever seen, the copper-colored Penny. Pat works hard towards her goal of finally being able to ride Penny before the end of the summer. Her dreams come true, but Penny falls ill. It takes all those invested in the stables to help her, even the most unlikely of characters.