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100 Best Books for Children and Young Adults
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The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein
A young boy grows to manhood and old age experiencing the love and generosity of a tree which gives to him without thought of return.
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Little women
by Louisa May Alcott
Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in nineteenth-century New England
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The wonderful wizard of Oz : The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by Eric Shanower
After being transported by a cyclone to the land of Oz, Dorothy and her dog are befriended by a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion, who accompany her to the Emerald City to look for a wizard who can help Dorothy return home to Kansas
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Heidi
by Johanna Spyri
A Swiss orphan is heartbroken when she must leave her beloved grandfather and their happy home in the mountains to go to school and to care for an invalid girl in the city
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The very hungry caterpillar
by Eric Carle
Follows the progress of a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep. Die-cut pages illustrate what the caterpillar ate on successive days
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Good Night Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
In a great green room, tucked away in bed, is a little bunny. "Goodnight room, goodnight moon." And to all the familiar things in the softly lit room—to the picture of the three little bears sitting on chairs, to the clocks and his socks, to the mittens and the kittens, to everything one by one—the little bunny says goodnight.Book Annotation
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The rainbow fish : opposites
by Marcus Pfister
Words and pictures show opposites such as light and dark, in and out, first and last, and others
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Corduroy
by Don Freeman
A toy bear who is anxious to have a home is befriended by a little girl who is willing to spend her own money to buy him.
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The snowy day
by Ezra Jack Keats
Vivid full-color illustrations capture a young boy's delight in the first snowfall of the year, in a board book edition of the Caldecott Medal-winning classic.
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The runaway bunny
by Margaret Wise Brown
When little bunny has his fears and doubts, his loving mother finds just the perfect way to calm his fears and reassure him.
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Guess how much I love you
by Sam McBratney
During a bedtime game, every time Little Nutbrown Hare demonstrates how much he loves his father, Big Nutbrown Hare gently shows him that the love is returned even more
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Books for Children 4 to 8
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The Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa Claus
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The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
Two children sitting at home on a rainy day are visited by the Cat in the Hat who shows them some tricks and games.
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Where the wild things are
by Maurice Sendak
A naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.
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Love you forever
by Robert N. Munsch
As her son grows up from little boy to adult man, a mother secretly rocks him each night as he sleeps
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The mitten : a Ukrainian folktale
by Jan Brett
When Nicki loses the mitten that his grandmother knitted for him, the woodland animals find it and crawl inside, each one larger than the last, but as the mitten stretches and grows, grandmother's knitting holds fast, until a tiny mouse proves to be too much.
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Stellaluna
by Janell Cannon
After Stellaluna accidently lands in a bird's nest, the birds raise the baby fruit bat as one of their own, and when she is finally reunited with her mother, she appreciates both her differences and her new friendships.
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Oh, the places you'll go!
by Seuss
Advice in rhyme for proceeding in life; weathering fear, loneliness, and confusion; and being in charge of your actions
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Strega Nona
by Tomie DePaola
When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works
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The velveteen rabbit
by Margery Williams Bianco
By the time the Velveteen Rabbit is dirty, worn out, and about to be burned, he has almost given up hope of ever finding the magic called Real.
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How the Grinch stole Christmas
by Seuss
The Grinch tries to stop Christmas from arriving by stealing all the presents and food from the village of Who-ville, but much to his surprise, it comes anyway.
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The true story of the 3 little pigs
by Jon Scieszka
An anniversary edition of the contemporary classic follows the claims of an imprisoned A. Wolf, who claims he was borrowing sugar from obnoxious porcine neighbors who just happened to succumb to his enormous sneezes. By the Caldecott Honor-winning creators of The Stinky Cheese Man.
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Chicka chicka boom boom
by Bill Martin
An alphabet rhyme/chant that relates what happens when the whole alphabet tries to climb a coconut tree
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The complete tales & poems of Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne
A large format, colorfully illustrated compilation celebrates the 75th anniversary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh through a collection of classic tales and poems, including "Rice Pudding" and "Disobedience."
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If you give a mouse a cookie
by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Relating the cycle of requests a mouse is likely to make after you give him a cookie takes the reader through a young child's day
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The Lorax
by Seuss
A greedy individual, the cantankerous Once-ler, thoughtlessly pollutes the air, land, and water of the Bar-ba-loots' paradise, Truffula Forest, in order to build his giant industry.
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Amazing Grace
by Mary Hoffman
Although a classmate says that she cannot play Peter Pan in the school play because she is black, Grace discovers that she can do anything she sets her mind to do.
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Jumanji
by Chris Van Allsburg
Left on their own for an afternoon, two bored and restless children find more excitement than they bargained for in a mysterious and mystical jungle adventure board game
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Math curse
by Jon Scieszka
When a girl comes down with a case of math mania, she finds that she tabulates her teeth, counts her morning corn flakes, and displays other disturbing symptoms of the dreaded math curse.
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Are you my mother?
by Philip D. Eastman
When a mother bird's egg starts to jump, she hurries off to make sure she has something for her little one to eat, but as soon as she's gone, out pops the baby bird, who immediately sets off to find his mother with hilarious results.
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The napping house
by Audrey Wood
A restless flea manages to wake up everyone in the house who was sleeping, including a mouse, cat, dog, boy, and his grandmother, in a lap-sized board book version of a classic tale.
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Sylvester and the magic pebble
by William Steig
In a moment of fright, Sylvester the donkey asks his magic pebble to turn him into a rock but then cannot hold the pebble to wish himself back to normal again
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The Tale of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter
Adventurous Peter Rabbit disobeys his mother and wanders into Mr. McGregor's garden.
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Horton hears a Who!
by Seuss
The small creatures who live on a speck of dust are threatened with destruction until the smallest Who of all helps convince Horton and his friends that Whos really exist.
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Curious George
by H. A. Rey
The curiosity of a newly-captured monkey gets him into considerable trouble
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Arthur's eyes
by Marc Tolon Brown
Tormented by his classmates' teasing over his new eyeglasses, Arthur the aardvark simply stops wearing them, a move that creates havoc when the nearsighted Arthur mistakes the girls' bathroom for the boys'.
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Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
by Kevin Henkes
A special anniversary edition of the best-selling picture book includes a foil-accented jacket and an author letter about Lilly. By the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of Kitten's First Full Moon. 150,000 first printing.
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Amelia Bedelia
by Herman Parish
A literal-minded housekeeper causes a ruckus in the household when she attempts to make sense of some instructions.
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The art lesson
by Tomie De Paola
Having learned to be creative in drawing pictures at home, young Tommy is dismayed when he goes to school and finds the art lesson there much more regimented.
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The Paper Bag Princess
by Robert N. Munsch
After her castle and clothes are destroyed by the dragon, Princess Elizabeth, dressed only in a paper bag, sets out to rescue Prince Ronald, who was taken captive.
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Books for Children Ages 9-12
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Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
Fern raises the little runt pig, Wilbur, only to have her father give him away.
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The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
by C. S. Lewis
Four English school children enter the magic land of Narnia through the back of a wardrobe and assist Aslan, the golden lion, in defeating the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter
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Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
Jess Aarons gains the strength to cope with unexpected tragedy by going to a secret kingdom in the woods invented by Leslie Burke, a newcomer to his rural Virginia community
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Charlie and the chocolate factory
by Roald Dahl
Follows the experiences of an impoverished, chocolate-loving little boy and four brats who each becomes the lucky recipient of a golden ticket that grants them all a tour of the world's most fantastical chocolate factory.
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A wrinkle in time
by Madeleine L'Engle
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government
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Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs
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The boxcar children
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Four orphans take shelter in an old, red boxcar during a storm, and, determined to make it on their own, they turn it into a safe, cozy home
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Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce
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Sarah, plain and tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay
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The Indian in the cupboard
by Lynne Reid Banks
A nine-year-old boy receives a plastic Indian, a cupboard, and a little key for his birthday and finds himself involved in adventure when the Indian comes to life in the cupboard and befriends him
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Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
After she is left alone on an isolated island off the coast of California, Karana, a young Indian girl, not only learns the art of survival over the next eighteen years, but also finds a measure of happiness in her solitary life
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Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli
by Eleanor Summers
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe and inspire everyone around him.
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The BFG
by Roald Dahl
The BFG--Big Friendly Giant--kidnaps Sophie from her bed in the orphanage and takes her back to Giantland where she becomes involved in a scheme to end the loathsome activities of nine evil giants
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James and the giant peach
by Roald Dahl
Follows the adventures of orphan James Trotter, whose life with two wicked aunts is transformed by a magical encounter.
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Roll of thunder, hear my cry
by Mildred D. Taylor
Young Cassie Logan endures humiliation and witnesses the racism of the KKK as they embark on a cross-burning rampage, before she fully understands the importance her family attributes to having land of their own
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Stone fox
by John Reynolds Gardiner
In spite of tremendous odds, a ten-year-old boy and his dog are determined to win a dogsled race and the five-hundred-dollar prize
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Number the stars
by Lois Lowry
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis
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Little house in the big woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the daily chores, enjoy their father's stories and singing, and share special occasions when they get together with relatives or neighbors
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Mrs. Frisby and the rats of Nimh
by Robert C. O'Brien
Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long lived.
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The best Christmas pageant ever
by Barbara Robinson
The Herdman children, who enjoy terrorizing their classmates, volunteer to play the main characters in the Sunday school Christmas pageant.
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Matilda
by Roald Dahl
Matilda, a brilliant, sensitive little girl, uses her talents and ingenuity to seek revenge on her crooked father, lazy mother, and the terrifying Miss Trunchbull, her wicked headmistress, and save her beloved teacher, Miss Honey
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Tales of a fourth grade nothing
by Judy Blume
Peter, who is tired of having to keep mischievous two-year-old Fudge out of trouble, discovers that his pet turtle is missing
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