Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

The brown bear sees a red bird looking at him. The red bird sees a yellow duck looking at him. The yellow duck sees a blue horse looking at him. The blue horse sees a green frog looking at him. The green frog sees a purple car looking at him. The purple cat sees a white dog looking at him. The white dog sees a black sheep looking at him. The black sheep sees a goldfish looking at him. The goldfish sees a teacher looking at him. The teacher sees students. The students see: a brown bear, a red bird, a yellow duck, a blue horse, a green frog, a purple car, a white dog, a black sheep, a goldfish and their teacher!

The Pout Pout Fish By: Deborah L. Diesen

The pout pout fish is a sad fish with pouty lips. All of his ocean friends come up to him and try to get him to cheer up. (Squid, octopus, a clam and more) He refuses. He believes he only knows how to frown. He can't go and play because he has to frown. His job is to spread his dreary wearies all over the place and blub. One day a beautiful sparkling fish swam up to him and kissed him! He realized he is not a pout pout fish, he is a kiss kiss fish! So he goes around to all of his friends and gives them kisses.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar By: Eric Carle

On a leaf one night lay a little egg. The egg hatched on Sunday and he was so hungry! On Monday he ate through one red apple. On Tuesday he ate through two green pears. On Wednesday he ate through three purple plums. On Thursday he ate through four red strawberries. On Friday he ate through five oranges. On Saturday he ate through: chocolate cake, ice cream, a pickle, swiss cheese, a cherry, a lolipop, a sausage, a cupcake, and a watermelon. He had a tummy ache! On Sunday he ate through a leaf, and that made him feel better. He forms a coccon and sometime later comes out as a beautiful butterfly.

Colin Powell By: Laura Hamilton Waxman

This book is a short biography about Colin Powell. It covers his life from when he was born on April 5th 1937 to his parents Luther and Maud. It explains how his family left Jamacia and moved to America for a better life. They lived in New York City where the neighbors were very close and helped each other through hard times. He wasnt very good in school but he had no problem making friends. He grew up in the civil rights period where blacks were not treated equally. He was intrested in WWII and he went into ROTC. He went on to become an officer in the US army and served in the Vietnam war. He had a son and three daughters before he graduated from college. He became a National Security Advisor for the White House and he was the first black man to do so. He retired from the Army in 1993 and published his autobiography a few years later. In 2001 he became the secretary of state in 2001. This book is very informative and elaborates on Colin Powell's life stuggles and accomplishments.

Are you My Mother? P.D. Eastman

A mama bird sat on her egg. The egg jumped! Mama left to the get baby bird food before he hatched! The bird hatched. Where is his mom? He went looking! He looked up. He looked down. He found a kitten. That was not his mother. He found a hen. That was not his mother. He found a dog. That was not his mother. He found a cow. That was not his mother. He started to wonder if he had a mother. Of course he did! He will find her! He found an old car. That was not his mother. He found a boat. That was not his mother. He found an air plane. That was not his mother. He found a Snort! (Crane). The snort came up to him and caught him! All he wanted was his mommy! The snort put him back in his nest. His mama came! His mother said, "Do you know who I am?" He said you are not a kitten, you are not a hen, you are not a dog, you are not a cow, you are not a car, you are not a boat, you are not an airplane, you are not a snort. You are my mama!

Goodnight Moon By: Margret Wise Brown

There was a great green room there is a phone, a red balloon, and a picture of a cow jumping over the moon. Three little bears sitting on chairs. Two kittens, a pair of mittens, a toy house, a young mouse, a comb brush, a bowl of mush, and a quiet old lady whispering hush. Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon. Goodnight light. Goodnight red balloon. Goodnight bears. Goodnight chairs. Goodnight kittens. Goodnight mittens. Goodnight clocks. Goodnight socks. Goodnight little house. Goodnight mouse. Goodnight comb. Goodnight brush. Goodnight nobody. Goodnight mush. Goodnight old lady whispering hush. Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight noises. Goodnight everywhere.

If you Give a Pig a Party By: Laura Numeroff

If you give a pig a party she wants ballons. Then she wants to decorate the house. Then she wants to wear her favorite dress. Then she wants to call all her friends. All her friends are not home so she wants to go and find them. She sees a fair on the way and wants to do bumper carts. All her friends are there. She wants to go on all the rides. She wants to play all the games. She wants ice cream. She wants to change her clothes from the ice cream. She wants to bring all her friends with her. She wants to play hide and seek on the way home. She wants to make dinner when she gets home. Then she wants to have a sleepover. She has to find pj's and pillows and blankets. She wants to have a pillow fight. She wants to build a fortress of blankets. She wants to deocrate the fortress with balloons. If she has balloons, she wants to throw a party.

The Sissy Duckling By: Harvey Fierstein

Elmer was a happy duckling. He loved to build things and make believe. Elmer liked doing girl things like baking and pupper shows and painting pictures. Sometimes he played with the girls but mostly he played alone. Papa duck tried to teach him baseball. He wasnt very good and the other ducks made fun of him but he was just happy for the game to be over. They called him sissy and mama said he was special and would amaze them all one day. Drake the bill duck was making fun of him and they had to stay after school. They all blamed Elemer and drake chased him and wanted to beat him up. Elmer ran home and hid under his bed. He heard his dad talking to his mom and not saying nice things. Elmer ran away and made his own home in a tree. When it was time to fly south for the winter mama was so upset to leave without her baby. They made her leave anyway. As they flew away his dad was shot by a hunter and Elmer found him and brought him home and took care of him all winter. When the ducks returned Elmer was a hero and everyone loved him.

The Icky Bug Alphabet Book By: Jerry Pallotta

A-Ant. Ants are hard workers and carry things, and build things.
B- Bumblebee. Bumblebees are furry and collect nectar to make flowers.
C- Cricket. Crickets hide under things and rub their wings together to make noise.
D- Dragonfly. Dragonfly's have four wings that they cant fold.
E- Earwig. Earwigs do not crawl in peoples ears but they do have a pincher tail.
F- Firefly. Firefly's fly slow and light up.
G- Grasshopper. Grasshoppers jump well and are hard to catch.
H- Horsefly. Horesfly's have a green head and have a bad bite.
I- IO Moth. IO moths have two spots on their wings that look like eyes and are used to scare away birds.
J-Japanese Beetle. These beetles eat flowers and cause damage to plants.
K- Katydid. Katydids are like crickets with noise but they sound like "ka-ty-did"
L- Ladybug. Ladybug is actually a beetle that is small and round and they fly.
M- Monarch. Monarch migrate from the US to mexico. They tast bad so birds dont eat them.
N- No-seeums. No-seeums bite hard but they are so tiny you cant see them.
O- Orb Weaver. Orb weaver is a spider that has round webs but they wont hurt you.
P- Praying Mantis. Praying Mantis looks like its praying, they eat bugs and plants.
Q- Queenbee. The Queenbee lays thousands of eggs per day and the other bees take good care of her.

Goldie adn the 3 Hares By: Margie Palatini

Papa, mama, and baby were enjoying a quiet peaceful day in their rabbit hole. A girl fell down the rabbit hole and landed splat on their doorstep. The hares went to see who it was, it was Goldilocks! She is not happy or nice, but her foot is so big and swollen she cant get out. The hares wanted her to leave but her foot kepy getting bigger and bigger! They brought her into the house but she didnt want to sit in papa's chair because it was to hard, mama's was too soft, she wanted the couch. She needed her pillow to be just right,not to hard, not to soft. The blanket couldnt be to scratchy, to itchy, to big, to little, to skimpy. She wanted cashmire but they didnt have a cashmire blanket so she wanted the heat turned up. She wanted to watch TV so baby had to be the antena. They thought she hated veggies but she loved them. The neighbors came over so she would feel crowded, but she loves parties! She wanted to lay in bed but they didnt want her to, so they told her they were going to call the bears and she left. As soon as she left another girl fell in named Alice, she was looking for a white rabbit.

Hansel and Gretel By: James Marshall

In a cottage near a forest lived a woodcutter and his wife and his two children. The children were Hansel and Gretel. Their dad was afraid of their mother who was so mean and didnt like the children. There was a famine and she was hungry. One night the children overheard their mother and father talking. Their mom wanted to leave them in the woods! The father said no but the mother insisted. Hansel told his sister he would take care of them. Hansel went outside and started to collect white pebbles. Their parents dropped them off in the woods the next day and the children fell asleep. When they woke up it was night time. Hansel had left a trail of white pebbles and they followed it back home. The day broke as they arrived home. Their mom pretended to be excited to see the children. The mother attempted to leave the children in the woods again. Hansel did the same trick again but only with bread crumbs. When they woke up this time they were gone! The birds ate them! They were away for three days and they followed a little white bird. They found a house made out of candy and began to eat it!

Johnny Appleseed By: Steven Kellog

John Chapman was born on September 26th 1771 in Massachusetts. He was one of ten kids! They all picked apples and stored them for the winter. He was a very gentle man and loved nature. When he was old enough to leave home he ventured out west. He cleared a plot of land everywhere he went and planted a small apple orchid. Whenever he ran out of apple seeds he visited his old orchids and got more. He sold his apple seeds to pioneers and settled down in Ohio for a while. When Ohio became too crowded he moved to Indiana. He told his stories to children about how he lived with indians, and how he could cut trees down faster then an axman! He died in March of 1845 when he got sick for the first time. His stories still live on and people still see him today.

My Daddy Snores By: Nancy H. Rothstein

On Monday daddy's snore boomed like a dinosaur and made the walls shake so mommy played musical beds. Tuesday daddy's snore was like an earthquake and shook her out of bed. She tried to sleep in the bathtub but there was a leak. On Wednesday his snore was like a train so she slept in the hampsters cage, but it smelled funny. On Thursday he snored like a bumblebee so she slept in the doghouse but Rover would'nt stop howling. On Friday his snore was like a teapot so mommy made daddy sleep in the fishbowl, but splishy didnt sleep. On Saturday his snore was like a honking truck so she made daddy sleep in the tent, but he woke up all the birds. On Sunday morning mommy looked like a zombie. They went to the doctor, and daddy didnt snore that night, but he did talk in his sleep!

When Lightning comes in a Jar By: Patrica Pollaco

Trisha is very excited because today is her family reunion! All of her family member are coming over. She is so excited and so is Grandma. Trisha cant wait to see her cousins, and to play croquet with them. Theres always so much food but all the diffrent Jello molds are her favorite. But by far her most favorite part of the day is when she gets to listen to all the stories her great aunts and uncles tell. This year grandma taught them how to catch lightning in a jar. They all get jars and catch fireflies! Trisha loves these family reunions but now it is her telling the stories and teaching the little ones how to catch lightning in a jar.

Doll Baby By: Eve Bunting

Ellie is a fifteen year old girl. When she was little she had a doll named Daisy. Now she has her own baby named Angelica. It is very hard for her to do her homework and take care of a baby. She loves Angelica, but the dad doesnt want anything to do with his daughter. This makes Ellie sad and sometimes she cries herself to sleep. She loves Angelica, but she wishes she was older when she became a mother.

When I was Young in the Mountains By: Cynthia Rylant

When she was young in the mountains: Her grandfather would come home in the evenings covered with black dust from a coal mine-only his lips were clean and he would kiss the top of her head. Her grandmother would spread the table with delicious food Later in the middle of the night her grandmother would walk outside with her to the johnny-house and she promised to never eat more than one serving again She walked across the cow pasture carrying towels and would swim in the swimming hole which was dark and muddy and sometimes had snakes On the way home they would stop at Mr. Crawford’s for a mound of white butter. She pumped pails of water from the well at the bottom of the hill and would hit the water to fill the tubs for their baths. After the baths they stood in front of the black stove shivering and their grandmother would make hot cocoa. She went to church in the school house on Sundays and sometimes walked with the congregation through the cow pasture to the swimming hole for baptisms Her cousin Peter was laid back down into the water, and his white shirt stuck to him, her grandmother cried. She listened to the frogs sing at dusk and awoke to cowbells outside her window-sometimes a black snake would come into the yard and her grandmother would threaten it with a hoe. If the snake did not leaver, Grandmother would kill it and the four children would drape the dead snake across them for a picture.  They sat on the porch swing in the evenings, grandfather sharpened her pencils. Grandmother sometimes shelled beans and sometimes braided her hair. The dogs would lay around them. And a bobwhite would whistle in the forest.  When she was young in the mountains, she never wanted to visit the ocean, or the desert. The mountains were always good enough for her.

Watch the Stars Come out By: Riki Levinson

Grandmother told child that her mother had red hair just like her and would love to watch the stars come out just like her-and every Friday night after the dishes were put away her grandma’s mother would tell her a special story.Grandma telling the little girl a story: When she was a little girl she went on a boat and sailed to America with her older brother. Her mother and father and sister were waiting for them there. Her Aunt took them to the boat but her two little brothers were too small-their aunt gave them a barrel of dried fruit and asked an elder woman to watch over them-she did and also ate their fruit The old lady got very sick and died-the older brother was ten said he would take care of her. She could not see the stars at night-she was sad Her brother marked his stick for each day-23 They finally arrived to an island with a statue on it(statue of liberty) They went with other children who were not with their parents and were examined all over-the girl didn’t know why The next day they went on a ferry that took them closer to land Their mama and papa and sister was there to greet them They took a trolley to their new home The mother prepared a bath in the sink for the girl She then went to bed and watched the stars come out. The girl decided that she would go to bed early Friday night and she hopes that her grandma will come into her room and tell her another special story.

The Three Pigs By: David Weinser

Three pigs thought it was time to move on and build their own houses, straw sticks and bricks.They were living very happily until one day a wolf came to the first pig and knocked on the door asking to come inside-pig wouldn’t let him in (“Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin”)-so he blew the house away and the pig ran to his brother’s house made of sticks. The wolf tried to get into the next house made of sticks-pigs wouldn’t allow it so he blew the house away and both the pigs ran to their brother’s house made of bricks. The wolf tried to get in but the pigs refused-he tried to blow the house away but could not for it was made of bricks. The three pigs lived together safely and happily and the wolf never returned.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit By:Beatrix Potter

There were 4 rabbits-lived with their mother in a sand-bank under the root of a big fir-tree. Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. Mrs. Rabbit said they could go into the fields or down the lane but they were not allowed to go into Mr. McGregor’s garden-their father was baked into a pie. Mrs. Rabbit went out to the bakers-bought bread and buns. The bunnies went down the lane to gather blackberries. Peter, who was naughty, went into the garden. He met with Mr. McGregor-he jumped up and ran after Peter. Peter forgot how to get out-he lost his shoes-ran into a gooseberry net and his jacket was caught. He gave up and cried-sparrows heard and helped him get the jacket off-Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve which he was going to pop on top of Peter but he ran free towards the toolshed. He jumped into a water can-with water in it. Mr. McGregor was sure he was in the shed-he turned over flower pots. Peter sneezed and Mr. McGregor was after him-Peter jumped through the window and got away. He was wet, cold and lost. He found a door in a wall but no room for Peter-Peter asked the mouse which way to the gate but could not understand her-she had a pea in her mouth. He came to a pond and saw a white cat watching the goldfish-He went away without speaking to her. He went back to the toolshed and heard a hose-he ran under the bushes. He climbed on a wheel barrel and saw Mr. McGregor hoeing onions and also saw the gate. He ran with Mr. chasing after him-he wiggled under the gate and ran home. He was so tired when he finally made it back home-her mother was cooking and wondered where his clothes were. Peter was ill in the evening-mother gave him tea. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail had bread milk and blackberries for dinner

The Starving Time-Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary (Book 2) By: Patricia Hermes

Jamestown, Virginia 1609

October 9, 1609: Elizabeth is waving good bye to her friends Jessie and Captain Smith who are returning to England on a ship. She is sad October 12, 1609: This is Elizabeth’s second journal. She sent the first one filled with her experiences in Jamestown with Jessie and her father Captain Smith to give to her twin brother Caleb who is in England. As the ship was leaving Captain Smith sent a sailor ashore on a small boat with a book of blank pages from the ship’s log (her new journal)October 20, 1609: Elizabeth tells of how she is immensely sad and lonely. But she states that her new October 22: Elizabeth came from England on nine ships-hopes for land, riches. It was a tough ship and some ships were lost in a hurricane. But her ship the Blessing arrived safely in August. Caleb her twin brother had to stay behind because of weak lungs-he will come in the spring. She lived in a fort with tall wooden walls surrounding them-gates that lead to the outside. There are Indians who are sometimes friendly. She has one Indian friend named Pocahontas-Powhatan girl who is eleven or twelve. Elizabeth is nine. Sometimes the men are cruel and the Indians attack. There is much sickness and hunger-although there is still some happiness. Her baby sister Abigail was born. Elizabeth is determined to make a new friend. October 23: Elizabeth’s first secret: She is making a list of potential friends. One is named Francis Collier. But she does not like him in that way. (The way Mary Dobson likes John Bridger-who is mean and lazy and one time stole Elizabeth’s diary) October 25: Elizabeth was hiding in the reeds by the well crying because she misses her friend Jessie. Mary Dobson who is about thirteen went up to Elizabeth touched her shoulder and told her about how she had to leave her best friend behind in England. October 26: Amelia Quick is eight years old and her mother died on the ocean crossing. Her father is slowly losing it and she must take care or her six year old twin brothers and a little baby. The twins are rambunctious and almost set the entire fort on fire when they were playing Indians they built a teepee made with a blanket and they set a fire inside which lit the whole thing up. October 27: The Jamestown Colony has a few new leaders since Captain Smith left. Gabriel Archer, George Percy and John Ratcliffe who do not get along together. October 28:  Elizabeth has become friends with Mary Dobson, who surprisingly is not as conceited has she thought. October 29-31:         Mary tells Elizabeth she feels love for a boy named John Bridger. Elizabeth tells that her baby sister, Abigail is almost one month old and how she is strong. She misses her twin dearly and tries to send him thoughts.

November 1609: Elizabeth lives in a large one room house that her and her father had built. She confesses a secret; she despises the Bridger family and is speechless when Mary tell her she wants to marry John Bridger. Mary soon is heartbroken by John when he does not meet her at night and has given her blue ribbon to his mother. Food is becoming extremely scarce. Men have gone out into the woods to search for food but the Indians have attacked and some men did not even make it back. Starvation is spreading over the development. Elizabeth’s papa has decided to venture out of the fort and search for food. Elizabeth has decided to come along. They bring back fish, crabs, clams, oysters, corn, and acorns. They have a feast but realize in the morning that someone has stolen their food in the middle of the night. Elizabeth suspects the Bridger family. Others in the fort want to have them thrown out because they are lazy and worthless. Master Collier goes out on his own and brings back a leg of a bear and more men venture out to find the rest of the carcass. Before that starvation was so bad that Elizabeth noticed her mother eating worms and the fort dog was missing.  

December 1609: Days are getting colder and shorter. Elizabeth is thinking about the Christmas holidays and her and Mary have devised a plan to search around the fort for presents for their families. They find canvas from an old tent and Elizabeth decides to make bags for her mother and father and a little doll for Abigail. Elizabeth becomes sick and soon almost the entire fort is sick. Many have died. A search party goes out to find food and the Bridger and Ratcliffe parties but there is a rumor that they have been slaughtered. Amelia Quick’s baby sister, Sarah, has died. She has refused to let anyone else touch or burry her. Elizabeth’s father cradles them both and soon Amelia lets the fort people burry her. Abigail has been getting extremely weak but Elizabeth is recovering from her sickness and Mary as well. Elizabeth has thoughts of going into the woods and finding her Indian friend Pocahontas. Christmas Eve and the church bell rings but no one is well enough to attend service. Christmas day and some gifts are exchanged. Elizabeth’s father gives her a whistle he made from a reed and her mother gave her a red ribbon she had been saving all this time.

January and February 1610: Many people have either died or left the fort in search for new food and land. No one cares anymore and more people are ill. Elizabeth has decided to set off to find Pocahontas and her tribe in hopes of seeking help. She tells Mary of her plan who is still sickly and has informed her to tell her parents by nightfall where she is. Elizabeth ventures out and sleeps in a cave and awakens to a loaf of bread. She doesn’t know if she is dreaming or not. She carries on and needs to rest in a hallow log. When she wakes up she sees two Indians peering over her and recognizes one of them, Rawhunt. He said “Come”. They guided her all the way back to her fort. Elizabeth was angry. She is home and safe and can hear Abigail crying which is better than seeing her just stare blankly with glassy eyes.

Date unknown-March 1610: Upon Elizabeth’s return she fainted from her fever and Rawhunt the Indian did an extremely brave thing. He carried her into the middle of the fort laid her down gently and brought with him food. There was enough for maybe a couple of weeks but many people were dying. Elizabeth had not seen her mother in days upon her return and her father just kept telling her she could not leave the sick shed. Francis and Amelia were there too. Mary’s mother had passed away all of the Bridger boys as well. Mistress Whislter was nursing Abigail for Elizabeth’s mother. Elizabeth needed to see her mother so she went into the sick shed and saw that her mother wasn’t tending to the ill people but she was extremely sick herself. Elizabeth tended to her every day and was by Francis’s side when he died. Amelia’s entire family was dead and soon Elizabeth’s mother had passed away.

March-summer-June-July 1610:                The gates to the fort are always open now because there is literally nothing to fear. Death is all over the fort. Elizabeth struggles to keep hope with her but it is extremely difficult with her mother gone. Mary and Elizabeth wait by the river in the hopes of the supply ship coming. They cannot tell whether they are dreaming or not but they see ships but the mist is too thick. But it really was the ship. Food, supplies, women, men, and children are brought to America and Caleb, Elizabeth’s twin arrives as well with her old Journal. The fort has a new leader. Abigail is much stronger and Mistress Whistler’s husband died and Elizabeth believes she likes her father.

August 11, 1610: It is exactly one year since coming to America and the fort is in much better shape. Children are always laughing and the church bells ring every day. Elizabeth has her family and everyone is strong and healthy again.

The Mitten By: Jan Brett

There was a boy named Nicki who wanted his new mittens made from wool as white as snow. At first his grandma, Baba, did not want to knit white mittens-if he were to drop one he would never find it. She finally gave in-she made them, and then off Nicki went. It wasn’t long until one of his new mittens was dropped in the snow and then left behind. A mole burrowed inside the mitten-it was just the right size. A snowshoe rabbit hopped by saw the mitten and squeezed himself inside the mitten with the mole. A hedgehog came along and he squeezed himself in as well. The rabbit and the mole made room. An owl attracted by the commotion decided to move in as well. The mole, rabbit, and hedgehog were annoyed but once they saw the owls talons they made room. A badger appeared saw the mitten and began climbing in. no one was pleased, there was no room left. But when they saw his diggers they let him in. It started snowing, the animals were snug. A fox soon came, when they all saw his teeth they made room. A bear saw this sight and he began to nose his way in. They could not argue with a bear. Baba’s knitting held well. Along came a mouse no bigger than an acorn. She wriggled into the one space left right on top of the bears nose.The bear being tickled by the mouse let out an enormous sneeze. The force of the sneeze shot the mitten into the sky and the animals scattered in all different directions. On his way home, Nicki saw a white shape. It was his lost mitten. Baba saw that Nicki was safe and sound and he had both of his mittens.

The Memory Coat By: Elvira Woodruff

Rachel and her cousin, Grisha lived with their family in a small town called Shtetl in Russia. Many Jewish people lived there. They worked as cobblers, blacksmiths, tailors, and shopkeepers. They had little wooden houses and shops that ran along the cobblestone streets. The houses were often filled with large families. Rachel and Grisha had a large family. It was usually loud and people were always busily doing something. Rachel loved to tell stories and Grisha loved to draw pictures along with them. It had barely been a year since Grisha had come to live with Rachel. His parents were lost in an epidemic. There were times when he would run to the alley behind the synagogue where he could be alone to grieve. Rachel’s mother and grandmother worried about Grisha being outdoors in the cold with only his threadbare coat to keep him warm. But whenever they offered him a new one Grisha would always refuse. Rachel and Grisha would play in the alley. Rachel would tell a story and Grisha would draw it in the snow. Life was simple and bittersweet. One day new spread that the Cossacks were coming to kill anyone who was Jewish. Rachel’s family decided it wasn’t safe in Russia anymore so they decided to flee to America. The family made plans to leave and sold most of what they owned to buy tickets. Fear struck the family as they thought about the long ocean voyage and the dangers they faced. The immigrant tales of Ellis Island the inspection station in New York’s harbor frightened them the most. They agreed that no mistakes would be made when going through Elis Island. Bubba, Rachel’s grandmother, decided that if there were going to be no mistakes made and they needed to show that their family was in pristine condition, then Grisha needed a new coat. But he still refused. Rachel explained how the coat was made by his mother in her last winter. Early the next morning they started their journey and said good-bye to their only home. They left first by wagon, then train, and finally a ship across the ocean. The ocean voyage took fourteen days and to comfort themselves, Rachel and Grisha played their story game. When they all arrived at Ellis Island with Grisha still wearing his tattered coat there were crowds of thousands. To keep themselves comforted Rachel and Grisha continued to play the story game. Rachel began telling a story but she lost her balance and fell over bringing down Grisha with her. He fell on the side of their Bubba’s basket and scratched his eye.  When it was time for inspection the doctors examined Grisha’s eye and marked the letter “E” in chalk on the back of his coat. Rachel’s father tried to plead with the doctor but he could not understand a word of English. So the children were sent to sit on a bench and wait. Rachel had an idea. She turned Grisha’s coat inside out exposing the beautiful wool. The family took him to another line with another doctor, who was more kind and patient and understood Yiddish, where he was inspected. The doctor kept the chalk in his pocket and Grisha passed through with the rest of the family. Rachel had saved the family. Grisha’s coat was passed down through the generations.

The Matzah That Papa Brought Home By: Fran Munishkin

Papa brings home matzah: bread of affliction-unleavened bread. Mama makes a feast with the matzah that papa brought home. The family shares Passover Seder to eat the feast mama made with the matzah papa brought home.Little girl standing and asking the four questions during the Passover seder the family shared to eat the feast mama made with the matzah papa brought home. The four questions: asked by the youngest child at seder first in Hebrew then English:

1: Why on this night do we eat only matzah?

2: Why on this night must we eat bitter herbs?

3: Why on this night do we dip twice?

4: Why on this night do we recline at the table?

They counted all ten plagues by dipping their pinkies again and again then she stood up asked the four questions…etc. The “Dayenu” is the long song that is sand with their stomachs growling after they counted the plagues…etc. There are the bitter herbs that they dip after “Dayenu” that they sang…etc. There is the matzah ball soup that they sipped after they dipped the bitter herbs…etc. There is the Afikoman she found by searching the house and running around after the matzah ball soup they sipped…etc. Afikoman: Piece of matzah that is hidden at the start of the Seder. There is the door they opened wide inviting Elijah to step inside, after the afikoman was found…etc. Finally, “next year in Jerusalem” they said then everyone hugged and went to bed after the door was opened inviting Elijah in, after the afikoman was found, after the matzah ball soup was sipped, after the herbs were dipped, and the “Dayenu” song was sang, after the plagues were counted by dipping their pinkies, after she asked the four questions, during the Passover Seder, to eat the feast mama made, with the matzah that papa brought home.

The Lemonade Club By: Patricia Pollaco

Traci and Marilyn are in fifth grade and are best friends. They are in Miss Wichelman’s class who makes it comfortable and seem like home. There is a class guinea pig named Pinky. Miss Wichelman made the class believe that they could be anything they wanted to be. Marilyn wanted to be a pianist-she took lessons every week-Traci loved to listen-Traci did not know what she wanted to be-all she knew that helping others made her feel warm inside. Miss Wichelman kept a basket of lemons on her desk and almost everyday just as the last bell was about to ring she would say “And if life hands you a lemon or two today-and you all know how sour lemons are-just add water and sugar and what do you have?” Everyone would make a face and reply back “Lemonade!”  Traci and Marilyn stayed after school one day to help Miss Wichelman put up career day posters-She pinned up a picture of a doctor and stated that she once wished to become a doctor-she even took pre-med courses-but she discovered she being a teacher was important to her. Walking home from school older girls were teasing Traci and Marilyn. They made fun of Marilyn’s weight and she cried out that she would do anything to be thin. As weeks passed and school went on, Marilyn began dropping weight and she looked great. The other kids even stopped teasing her. One afternoon when the girls were planting flowers Marilyn collapsed. She said she was extremely tired. Traci new something was wrong so she went to get her mother.  Marilyn did not come to school from that day on. Traci knew why. Marilyn’s mother came over one night crying and broke the news to Traci’s mom. The next day in class Miss Wichelman made the announcement to the class. Marilyn has Leukemia. Marilyn must undergo cancer treatments, chemotherapy.  As days passed Miss Wichelman and Traci were regular visitors at Marilyn’s house. She began to loose all of her hair. She had some days that were good and others that were not-so-good. On a not-so-good day Miss Wichelman stopped by for a visit with a Mozart CD. Marilyn was extremely sad and stated that she could never play the piano again because of how weak she was and how her arms were all bruised and poked from the hospital.  Miss Wichelman told the girls she was getting married and she wanted the both of them at her wedding wearing bight lemon yellow dresses. This was a secret though.  It was Monday morning and Marilyn’s first day back to class. Everyone had a surprise for her. When she entered the classroom everyone was wearing a funny hat and there was a cake on Miss Wichelman’s desk. Traci pulled off her funny hat and then everyone else followed.  Everyone was bald! Each child had shaved their heads. Even Miss Wichelman. But she seemed somewhat sad. School went back to its normal routine and Marilyn completed her last round of chemo. Everyones hair was starting to grow back even Marilyn’s. Traci, Marilyn, and Miss Wichelman had become very close and they called themselves “The Lemonade Club”. Every week they would meet and talk and read poetry. One day a student asked Miss Wichelman why she still wore her scarf. She sadly looked out the window and Traci knew something was wrong. She called for an emergency meeting. Marilyn was the first to speak under the old elm tree where they met. She asked if Miss Wichelman had cancer too. And she admitted to having breast cancer and she was almost done with chemotherapy but she will eventually need to have surgery.  Miss Wichelman admitted that she wanted to help children like Marilyn so she applied to Stanford Medical School. But she discouraged herself. The girls repeated the words that Miss Wichelman had always told them “If you can dream it, you can BE it”. Five years later, Miss Wichelman’s class attended her wedding. Marilyn and Traci were in her wedding wearing the bright yellow dresses they had talked about one time. Dr. Cynthia Wichelman became the wife of Dr. Warren Gish.  When I continued reading on to the last few pages I saw that this is indeed a true story.

The Junkyard Wonders By: Patricia Pollaco

Trisha wanted to stay in Michigan for the year with her grandma and father rather than go back to California with her mother. She was in special classes and got teased a lot. Her mother allowed her to stay for only one year. She met a new friend, Kay. She asked a few girls where her class was and they gave her a funny look. Trisha found her class and a boy named Thom told her to sit by him. He had thick rimmed glasses. Mrs. Peterson walked into the room and slammed a dictionary onto the podium and started talking about the definition of “genius”. She said “Welcome to the junkyard” Trisha asked Thom why the class was called the Junkyard. He said it was because they were all extremely different. One child has Tourette’s and another has diabetes and another has a disease that makes him grow too fast. That night Trisha tried to be brave but when her father was tucking her in she finally burst into tears and let it out. She realized she was in a special class and her new friend Kay wouldn’t let her sit with her and the other girls at lunch. Mrs. Peterson came into class that day with little glass bottles each filled with a different liquid scent. Each child was to find their group with the same scent and “tribes” were made. Trisha was Vanilla and was with Gibbie’s (had tics and would shout out randomly), Jody (Tall boy), Thom, and Ravanne (who hasn’t spoken in a long time) The five of them became best friends and each had a unique gift. The Junkyard wonders received pins in class. A bully by the name of Barton Poole ripped Trisha’s right off of her shirt and Thom and Gibbie ran after him. Out of nowhere big Jody came and scared them off.  The children were pretty shaken. Mrs. Peterson explained how there were possibilities in junkyards and things waiting to be made into something new. She decided to actually take them to the junkyard to show them what is was really like. Mrs. Peterson had the children split up into their tribes and go off into the junkyard and find things that they can make into something new. Gibbie found an old model airplane and was excited to get started. The Vanilla tribe took apart their plane and each contributed something to it to make it wonderful. Each tribe presented their new inventions. They had flew the plane off of a hill but actually needed a motor to make it fly on its own. The whole class, and even Mrs., Peterson, pitched in for the fund.  By spring, with enough bake sales and funding they had enough for the motor. So they set the date for the school science fair and Jody suggested the name “Junkyard Wonder” for the plane. He was becoming more and more sick lately. Just a week after that, Mrs. Peterson came was late to class and came bearing terrible news. Jody had passed away in his sleep because of his disease. His heart could not keep up with him. The class was devastated so they went behind the school to pick flowers for Jody and that’s when Ravanne spoke. She said that the plane would definitely have to be called “The Junkyard Wonder”. They had planned to launch their plane from the roof. The bully, Barton had overheard their plans over lunch one day and had told the principal. The principal informed Mrs. Peterson and the class that it was too dangerous and the plane would be kept in the janitorial closet until the end of the year. Mrs. Peterson told the class they would still fly the plane the next day as planned. The principal would allow the flight if Gibbie’s father assisted. So they prepared the plane on the roof. The plane propellers started spinning but they had to wait for just the right second to let it take off. It took off the roof and started going up into the sky.

The Jolly Postman By: Janet Allan Ahlberg

Jolly postman came one day by bicycle-had letter for the three bears. Dear Mr. and Mrs. and baby bear-Goldie locks apologizing for eating baby bear’s portage-Inviting baby bear to her birthday party. Bears read it except baby bear-postman drank his tea. Off he went to a gingerbread cottage. Had letter for the wicked witch. Letter that advertised things for witches-brooms, boots, newts-Postman read the paper-left his tea (it was green). Postman stopped at a door with a large bell. Letter to the giant (Mr. V Bigg) It was a postcard from Jack-giant read it with a baby on his knee and gave the postman tea Postman rode bicycle to a beautiful palace-had letter for Cinderella-From Peter Piper (a letter for her approval of a book about her story)Postman had champagne and wobbled off. Postman came to Grandma-who had very big teeth (The Wolf). Letter was from Harold Meaenie saying he must get out of Red Riding hoods house or the lumber jack will come and get him. Postman drank his tea from “Grandma” nervously. Postman had a letter for Goldie Locks-Happy Birthday Letter from Mrs. Bunting and Baby. Goldie invited the postman to her birthday party. He then went home in the end to have some tea.

The Frog Prince Continued By: Jon Scieszka

The princess kissed the frog and he turned into a prince-lived happily ever after.They were not very happy at all-driving each other crazy. Prince would stick his tongue out-jump on furniture-never got out much (act frog-like)-he felt like running away. Princess threw a fit one night. -Prince kept her awake with her croaking snore. She found a lily pad in his pocket. She wished he was still a frog. Frog prince ran off into the woods in search for a witch. He found a witch and tried to convince her he was the frog prince-she said he wasn’t a frog. Witch said she would cast a nasty spell on him-she didn’t want him finding sleeping beauty-he ran off into the woods more to find another witch. Found another witch-she didn’t want him finding snow white-tried to give him an apple-he knew his fairy tales so he ran off deeper into the forest. Came to a strange looking house with a plump witch outside-she said she could help him and invited him in-he took a bite of the house and it was gingerbread-he asked if she knew Hansel and Gretel-She said she was expecting them for dinner. Prince ran off and found a god mother-she turned him into a carriage and had to leave.The sun went down and he got very lonely and sad-he regretted his trip. He heard the clock from town and at the last stroke of midnight he turned back into himself-He ran by the light of the moon all the way back to his own castle. Princess was worried sick. his clothes were a mess his dinner was cold. Prince looked at his princess-the one who had believed him-one who kissed his slimy frog lips-the one he loved. Prince kissed his princess and they both became frog-lived happily ever after!

The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story By:Joseph Burbac

World was new-creator made a man and a woman-they married. Man came home from hunting-woman did not prepare meal-she was picking flowers. Man was angry-wife became angry too and she left him walking toward the sun. The husband could not catch her. The sun saw how sorry the man was and took pity on him. Sun said he would help the man. The sun showed light upon raspberries-woman paid no attention to them. Sun tried again and blue berries showed-woman still did not pay attention. Sun tried again-blackberries grew-woman was still angry and kept walking west. Sun tried again-strawberries appeared in front of the woman-she finally stopped. She knelt down and took a bite of one-she never had one before-it was sweet and good-the happiness reminded her of how her husband and her were once happy-she picked the berries for her husband. The man caught up to her-asked for forgiveness-she shared the strawberries. Strawberries came into the world-when the Cherokee eat strawberries they remember to always be kind to each other and be kind and respectful of one another.

The Butterfly By: Patricia Polloco

Monique lives in Choisy-le Roi, Paris. Her village and most of Paris was taken over by Nazi troops. She awakens in the middle of the night to see a ghostly figure. It is a girl about her age. She runs off. Next morning: Monique tells her mother about the ghost child and her mother seems angry saying it was only a dream. At school Monique tells her best friend Densie about the ghost. Monique and Densie walked into Monsieur Mark’s candy shop. They noticed how the jars used to be filled with beautifully wrapped candy but there was nothing left. Monsieur Mark pulled out two pieces of candy from his apron and gave them to the little girls. When they left they saw the tall boots of the Nazi’s coming toward them. The girls heard the sound of glass shattering. They turned around and saw Monsieur Marks getting dragged from his store. He was kicked hard in the ribs and thrown into a car.  The girls were sobbing by the time they reached Monique’s mothers, Marcelle’s, house. She made them tea. Pere Voulliard, their priest from St. Germain des Pres, came into the house and had a private conversation with Marcelle. Many nights had passed since Monique saw the ghost child. Late one night she appeared again and was sitting on the window sill holding Monique’s cat, Pinouff. Monique stopped the girl from running out and she told Monique her name was Servine. Monique asked where she lived and Servine confessed to living in Monique’s house. Servine showed Monique the secret door in the day room which led to a secret part to a cellar where Servine and her family were staying. Monique could not believe her mother had been helping people all this time without telling her. Servine said her mother never told her to protect her. The next morning Monique’s mother sent her out to her garden to cut some flowers for the table. Pinouff, her cat trailing behind her she sat and snipped at flowers. She noticed a beautiful papillon butterfly fluttering by. Her and Pinouff enjoyed this sight. Just then three Nazi soldiers were glaring at her. One reached over the wall and took the butterfly in his leather-covered fist. He grinned and then clenched his fist. The other soldiers laughed.  Monique ran inside shrieking. She asked her mother if the Nazi’s did to Monsieur Mark’s as they did to the butterfly. Her mother did not answer. Monique knew she had to keep the secret and protect her new friend. Servine would visit Monique as much as she could. They would play games at night and Monique would bring her things from the outside world. One night she brought her soil, a flower, and a Papillon butterfly. Servine is very sad and wants to return home. Her father is sick from breathing damp air. The girls release the butterfly so it is free. The girls looked up and saw Monsieur Lendormy, man next dorr, look right back at them. They ducked in cover and awoke Monique’s mother and told her everything. Marcelle decided that Servine and her family must leave that night. Leave and travel out of the country. They buried everything in the cellar so it wouldn’t look like anyone had lived there and disguised themselves. Servine’s parents would travel with Pere Voulliard and Servine with Monique and Marcelle. The traveled all night and reached the countryside at dawn. The three hid in a ditch when a patrolling Nazi car was driving by. A car slowly stopped near them and flickered its lights three times. Marcelle announced that it was time and Monique pulled Pinouff from her sweater and given her to Servine. Servine gave Monique her gold chain with the star of David on it. When they arrived at the train which would take them back to Choisy-le Roi it was unnaturally crowded and there were Nazi soldiers everywhere. The crowd got so violent that Monique had lost her mother in it and had lost her footing as well. When she did fall, Servine’s necklace slid out of her hand onto the platform floor.  Monique boarded the train by herself and searched for her mother who was nowhere to be seen. Monique finally made it home and was so exhausted she collapsed in her bed. Her mother had arrived and they held onto each other. A couple of weeks passed and Monique tried to think good thoughts for Servine. In the garden one day, an amazing thing happened, butterflies appeared everywhere. There were over 30 of them and Monique knew it was a sign from Servine. She knew she was okay.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing By: Judy Blume

Chapter 1: The Big Winner

                Peter Hatcher won Dribble, his new turtle, at Jimmy Fargo’s birthday party. Peter is nine years old and in the fourth grade. Peter shows Henry Bevelheimer the elevator operator in his apartment building. Farley Hatcher is Peter’s 2 and ½ year old brother whom everyone calls Fudge. His Father is an advertiser.

Chapter 2: Mr. and Mrs. Juicy-O

                Peter’s father did advertising for a drink called Juicy-O (oranges, grapefruits, pineapples, pears and bananas) Mr. and Mrs. Yarby (creator of Juicy-O) were coming into NY from Chicago to meet with Peter’s father and instead of staying in a hotel he suggests they stay at their own apartment. Mother isn’t too thrilled. The Yarby’s thought the boys were rude and ill-mannered. Dinner was a disaster (Fudge scared Mrs. Yarby with Dribble and a gorilla mask) and the Yarby’s were packed and ready to go home by morning. Fudge had placed stamps all over their suitcase and it took their mother a half an hour to clean it off. There was no more deal with Juicy-O.

Chapter 3: The Family Dog

                  Fudge stopped eating one night and the only way his mother could get him to eat was if Peter stood on his head and then his mother could shove some food into his mouth. She became worried and began taking him to doctors but they all told her the same thing, he will eat when he is hungry which is exactly what Peter had told her before the doctors. He was under the kitchen table one night pretending to be a dog when his mother had an idea to give him his food down there. This went on for a week and Peter thought of how nice it would be if he could really trade his brother for a dog. Peter seems to feel extremely neglected by his parents and envious of the attention they give to his younger brother. One day his father took fudge into the bathroom and dumped his cereal onto his head “If you don’t eat it you’ll wear it!” Peter was thrilled with his punishment and Fudge began eating regularly again a day after this incident.

Chapter 4: My Brother the Bird

                Peter lives close to Central Park. His friend had been mugged three times and his father once so his mother had warned him not to wonder alone. Him and Jimmy went together to play on the rocks and realized that Sheila was sitting on “Their” rocks. Peter’s mom went by chasing after Fudge who was on his bike racing after birds. She had to run home for ten minutes and left the three of them in charge. They went over to the playground and the two boys were being chased by Sheila. Peter realized Fudge had climbed to the top of the jungle gym and was calling out that he was a bird and going to fly. He feel to the ground and started to bleed. They realized that his two front teeth had been knocked out from the fall. His mother came and they went home and she cleaned him up. Peter’s mother blamed him for the accident and they fought. Peter did not feel loved or even liked in his house. The next morning his mother came in and apologized for blaming Peter, it was nobody’s fault, just an accident.

Chapter 5: The Birthday Bash

                The dentist told them that Fudge’s teeth would not grow in until he was six or seven. Peter could not help but call him fang. Fudge was turning three and his mother wanted to throw him a little birthday party. She invited over his three friends, Sam, Ralph, and Jennie. Same was afraid of everything, Ralph was on the heavy side and ate a lot, and Jennie was a biter. Peter’s father couldn’t make it so his grandma came over to help. From 1-2:30 four three year olds were running around the house. Jennie bit Peter’s grandma and peed on the floor, Ralph passed out in Fudge’s room, and Sam screamed at everything. Peter had warned his mother that three was too young to have a party. When his father came home from work he asked how it was and Peter again said three was too young for a party and his mother could not agree more.

Chapter 6: Fang Hits Town

                 Peter’s mother decided that the boys and her would spend the Saturday out and about. They first had a dentist appointment for Fudge. Peter had to help Dr. Brown (also an old family friend) get Fudge to open his mouth. Next they went to Bloomingdales and got new shoes. Fudge wanted ones like Peter so they had to trick him and Peter had to pretend to get saddle shoes instead of loafers. Then they went out to lunch where Fudge was acting up and smearing his food on the walls. He dumped his peas on his head and said “Eat is or wear it” Peter laughed and nearly choked. His mom asked him on the way back home in the taxi if the day was really that bad. Peter did not answer.

Chapter 7: The Flying Train Committee

                In Peter’s fourth grade class they were all assigned to committees and assigned a project on a particular part of the city. Peter, Jimmy, and Sheila were partnered together and were assigned to make a poster board and a booklet and an oral report on NYC transportation. Sheila agreed to do the booklet and ten pages if Jimmy and Peter both did 5 and the poster board. The met every Tuesday and Thursday at Peter’s and eventually were making progress. He did not understand why NYC didn’t just use a monorail. Peter stored everything under his bed and discovered one day that Fudge had destroyed his poster board him and Jimmy worked hard on. He was very upset and his mother actually spanked Fudge. Peter wanted a lock on his door. His mother refused but bought him a new poster board. It looked better than the first one. Peter came home one day to Fudge in his room cutting his hair over Dribble’s bowl and markers all over his face. Peter’s father installed a latch on his door. The project turned out great. The truck on the poster look like a “flying train”.

Chapter 8:   The TV Star

                Peter’s mother’s sister had her first baby and she was flying out to Baltimore to help her for the weekend. Peter did not have school that day so his father took him and Fudge to his office. He had the secretary watch over them and give them a tour. A commercial for a toddle-bike was being filmed and many kids with their mothers were lined up to try-out. Mr. Vincent saw Fudge and wanted him for the commercial. He wouldn’t move on the bike until Peter finally got him too.

Chapter 9: Just Another Rainy Day

                 It was raining and Peter’s father decided to take him and Fudge to the movies. They saw a G movie about bears. Fudge was throwing popcorn at people and talking a lot. Once the movie started he was intrigued. Soon Peter realized that Fudge was gone. Peter’s dad found an usher and they stopped the movie. Peter found Fudge in the front he said he wanted to touch the bears. That night for dinner Peter’s father tried to make a mushroom omelet but it was awful even though Fudge loved it. They picked up their mom at the airport and Peter’s dad suggested that they should keep the things they did that weekend a secret. Peter’s mother did not know about the commercial until she saw it.

Chapter 10: Dribble!

                May tenth Peter came home from school and noticed Dribble was not in his bowl. He and his mother searched the house. Fudge confessed to swallowing him. She took him to the hospital and it took a couple of days but it finally came out. Upon returning from the hospital Peter’s parents agreed that Peter was a good sport about the whole situation. The gave him a dog.

Take Me out of the Bathrub and other Silly Dilly Songs By:Alan Katz

Take me out of the bathtub: (Tune to “Take me out to the ballgame”) Child wants to come out of the bathtub- The Yogurt flies straight from my brother: (tune to “My Bonnie lies over the ocean”)Food fight. I’ve Been Cleaning up my bedroom: (Tune to “I’ve been working on a railroad”). Cleaning a bedroom. Stinky, Stinky Diaper Change: (Tune to “Twinkle, twinkle little star”)Changing a brother’s diaper. Brother Mitch: (Tune to “London bridge”)“Brother Mitch” keeps falling down-because of his laces Go Go Go to Bed: (Tune to “Row, Row, Row your Boat”)Mother is trying to put child to sleep. Bobby, Put the TV On: (Tune to “Polly put the Kettle On”).Suzie wants Bobby to change the station on the TV.  Cranky Poodle: (Tune to “Yankee Doodle”)Cranky poodle gives child problems. Ripped My Favorite T-Shirt (“Tune to I’m a Little Teapot”).Child causes trouble-broke some things-ripped his shirt-lost his sweater.Sock in the Gravy (Tune to: “Roackabye Baby”).Miscellaneous items in random places. Give Me a Break: (Tune to “Home on the Range”).Library book is overdue. I Have a Baby-sitter Here with Me (Tune to “I have a little baby bumble-bee).Baby-sitter is not doing her job-on the tv, on the phone, eating, not playing with child. I’m Filthy, I’m Dirty (Tune to “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring”). A child is filthy. I’m So Carsick (Tune to “Oh, Susanna”).Child is carsick on a road trip to visit grandma.

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself By: Judy Blume

Prologue: August 1945-Bradley Beach, New Jersey Sally (5^th grader), her brother Douglas, their parents and their grandmother whom they call Ma Fanny stay in a boarding house and rent two rooms. An announcement has just been made over the radio, he war is over. May 1947-Elizabeth, New Jersey

Chapter 1:

Aunt Bette (Sally’s mother’s younger sister-4^th grade teacher)Sally’s family waits for her brother Douglass to return from the hospital with her father-He went into Union Woods and fell into the brook and dislocated his elbow. Principal had notified teachers to tell students not to go into the woods because of a strange man who lives there. When Douglas comes home he is still soaked

Chapter 2:

Douglas got nephritis- kidney infection, no one worried about him missing school because he was extremely smart but that did not make Sally jealous because Douglass did not receive good grade and all of his teachers said the same thing (he did not work to his full potential)-Sally had a beautiful play house that her, Douglass and he father built. She had he best friends come play in it all the time. Christine, Sally’s best friend, wanted to see Douglass but no one could, not even Sally. He got better, but then started getting worse. Sally’s parents were going to rent a house at Bradley Beach for the summer but Douglass was too ill. Sally went to Y camp. Her parents went to Florida (secretly to look at apartments for the winter)-Sally loved to tell and think up stories.

Chapter 3:  Sally. Douglass, Ma Fanny and her mother decide to move to Florida for the winter. They plan to leave mid- October. Their father has to stay behind for work so Sally’s Aunt Bette and uncle Jack are moving in to keep him company. Sally does not really want to go-she will miss everything, especially her father. She wished her mother could be more silly but she know that she loves Sally

Chapter 4: Sally and her family took the train all the way to Miami, Florida. It was nearly a two day trip. On the train ride Sally met the Williamson family who were Negro’s. Kenneth, Kevin, Loreen, and Mrs. Williamson were also on their way to Miami. The next morning on the train the Williamson family was gone. Sally’s mother explained they were gone because in different parts of the country they did not have certain rights. Sally did not understand why and it bothered her how her mother did not seem to care that much.

Chapter 5: The apartment was nothing like Sally had expected. It was very ugly and small. Sally’s mother had to share a bed with Ma Fanny that popped out of the wall and Douglass and Sally had to sleep in the day room. Sally was starting school but before she could start classes she had to get examined. Her physical went fine but she had lice. The nurse gave them treatment and told them to come back in a few days. Sally’s mother was outraged but the nurse tried to explain to her it was most likely from traveling and she could have picked them up anywhere. She wrote a letter to her father.

Chapter 6: Sally’s first day of school: Her teacher was very pretty and very nice. Sally realized that everything was extremely different in her school in New Jersey where it was small and she new everyone. Here it was crowded and the bathroom stalls did not have doors. They style was very different and a girl named Harriet told Sally she hated her. Sally met a friend named Barbara. They went to lunch together and sally found out there was only one option and her table monitor was a very strict woman. She was forced to finish her entire lunch (spaghetti which she hated) and take a sip of her warm milk after every bite. Sally raced home because she refused to use the bathrooms at school but she didn’t make it to the bathroom. She cried into her Ma Fanny.

Chapter 7: There were two other apartments in their section. The Daniel’s lived next door and were intense orthodox Jews-have daughter Beulah (bubbles) who had rheumatic fever and has to have weekly tests like Douglass. The Rubins lived across the hall-have two kids and a grandmother like Sally and were from Brooklyn, NY-Linda (2yrs) and Andrea (6^th grade). They have an all white cat which Sally thinks is beautiful (mother tells her to stay away)-Sally’s mother is a germaphobe. Sally and Andrea go bike riding together and she shows her Flamingo park. Andrea talks down to Sally. A man stops them at a path and offers rock candy. Andrea takes it immediately. Sally stares at the man hard and memorizes a description of him. She screams no and rides away. Andrea explains that it was only Mr. Zavodsky who lives in the building. Sally thinks he looks like Adolf Hitler. Andrea and Sally play on the beach one afternoon with their families and Barbara comes over. Andrea doesn’t know how Sally stands her she thinks she is dumb. Sally’s father is coming for Thanksgiving. So is Andrea’s father whom she doesn’t care for much.

Chapter 8: (letters between Sally and her Father)Sally to her dad: Miami beach is full of bugs and salamanders-they found mice in their kitchen-mother is still concerned with many germs and infectious diseases-she met a new friend, Shelby-there are Man O’ Wars in the water. Sally then wrote a letter to her Mr. Zavodsky about her suspiciouns of him being Adolf Hitler-she kept it in her keepsake box until she wanted to mail it. Dad to Sally: sends a yellow balloon with red writing on it-didn’t pop-can’t wait till Thanksgiving-Sally calls her father “Doey bird” he saw her best friend Christine Sally to dad: Halloween is coming-Shelby will be a flamingo-Sally will be a peanut girl-the sun is helping Douglas-he loves cocoanuts-he is building a contraption to catch them-mom is worried he is not making any friends-Douglas likes to be alone

Chapter 9: Sunday mornings Douglas, Sally and their mother wait by the phone at 10am for their fathers call(they did not have a phone in the apartment)-each child talked to him-mother got emotional when speaking to him sent children outside-Sally sat by the goldfish pond. Mr. Zavodsky snuck up behind her and offered her candy again-Sally ran inside and told her mother-mother said to stay away from him. Thursday school was closed-Shelby came over for lunch liked her apartment-Sally admitted it looked so much better with her mother and Ma Fanny’s touch-mother took kids to movie and ice cream afterwards-Sally seemed to be getting more used to Miami Beach

Chapter 10:

Wednesday afternoon Miss Swetnick dictated a poem to the class-they were getting graded on penmanship and spelling. Barbara always got an E for excellent while Sally always got G for good. She watched Barbara but still got a G. Peter Hornstein was playing with Sally’s braid-he dipped it in ink-she got messy-Everyone knew Miss Swetnick was “going with” his older brother and would never send him to the office. She went to Barbara’s apartment after school. Barbara’s mother worked and her father died in the marines. This made Sally think a lot.

Chapter 11:

Sally’s father was turning 42-mom was emotional-both his brothers died at 42. Sally had a dream that Miss Kay had died-Ma Fanny told her it meant she was going to get married. Sally has thoughts about her father’s death. Sally gets a letter from Christine. Neighborhood kids are playing hide and seek one night. Andrea and Sally are hiding behind the bushes when Mr. Zavodsky sneaks up behind them and asks if they would like candy. Andrea shushes him and he goes away. Sally tries to hint to Andrea who Mr. Z reminds her of. Sally writes him another letter. Saturday Andrea and Sally go to the beach. Andrea tells Sally that Douglas was looking at her body-they talk about “Latin Lovers”. Mom was singing in the shower-parents spent night at a hotel near the airport.

Chapter 12: Sally’s father finally came-Thanksgiving dinner-Ma Fanny becomes sad because the turkey is too dry-she becomes happy when she realizes that they are just all together. Mom and dad went out to a club with his new friends whom he met on the plane, Ted and Vicki Wiskoff. Mom becomes drunk for the first time. Sally had a dream about Lila, Peter and Hitler. Next day spent the day at the beach with their father then had dinner that night with their new friends. Father had to convince mother to come out. Children had a wonderful time. Vicki was a dazzling woman-showed Sally how to clean her diamonds. Sally told her mother that night how she was grateful for her love and she wouldn’t want a mother like Vicki. Her mother needed to hear that.

Queen of the Falls By: Chris Van Allsburg

Annie Taylor was a sixty two year old widowed teacher at a Charm school in Bay City, Michigan. Annie had traveled all of her life when she finally settled in Bay City which was about two hundred miles west of Niagara Falls. Her Success with Charm school did not last and soon Annie had to come up with another way to support herself. A thought hit her one day. Seeking fame and fortune, Annie decided that she wanted to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Annie began designing a specially made barrel to withstand the force of the falls. She took her drawing to a workshop but the man refused to build it. Three days later Annie had convinced the barrel maker to build her special barrel and they began working.  When the barrel was completed it was four and a half feet high, with iron bands wrapped around it, and weighed more than one hundred and sixty pounds. Annie realized that: “You can put an egg inside a can and let it drop to the floor. The can may not be damaged, but it’s a different story for the egg”. That is why Annie made the barrel just big enough to hold herself and a large number of pillows. She also fastened handles to grab onto inside and a leather belt strap. Annie hired Frank Russell as her manager who had worked in carnivals and fairs. Frank new it would be tough to sell an old lady to the public so he embellished the news of Annie’s adventure. Frank wanted to gain fortune as well. They decided to let her barrel sit in the lobby of a huge hotel and let the word spread of Annie’s adventure to gain interest of the public. Most reporters did not believe Annie was the person in the story.  Annie hired Fred Truesdale to be the man to release the barrel into the falls. Ten days were to pass before Annie’s great fall. When the day finally arrived hundreds had gathered to witness the event. Fred and his assistant Billy Holleran loaded the barrel onto their boat and away they went, with Annie waving to the crowd. They rowed to a small island where Annie climbed and fastened into the barrel. The men rowed away from the island and came quickly to the “Point of No Return”-where the river rapids ran so quickly and forcefully. Annie was cut loose from the rope of the boat and away she went. She was tossed and turned so rapidly and violently. Annie was told that right before the enormous drop the water would be still for a moment. Some screamed, others cheered, most just watched with jaws dropped. Suddenly the barrel bobbed to the surface and men raced into the water to retrieve it.  It took a while but when Annie finally came out she was bruised, slightly cut, and dizzy. But she was for the most part perfectly fine. When she was well enough to travel, her and Frank were on their way to fairs, and lectures to seek fortune. But once people realized that the “Queen of the Falls” was merely just an old grandma they became more interested with the barrel. Frank tried to run off with the barrel in hopes of selling it. Annie put him to a stop and hired a new manager, Billy Banks. Billy booked Annie to tell of her adventure in between acts in carnivals and fairs. But the same thing had happened. People were not interested with her. Billy Banks tried to steal the barrel and ran off with his beautiful girlfriend who tried to pretend to be Annie. Annie put a stop to it but never got the barrel back. Annie went back to Niagara Falls where she had another barrel built in the hopes of traveling again come spring. But in time she had changed her mind and placed the Barrel in the park she’d visited as a child and began selling postcards. Annie told her story to anyone who would listen and she became a familiar figure to tourists. In the summer of the tenth anniversary a news reporter came to talk about her ride. Annie is content when she says she is the one who did it. 

Owl Moon By: Jane Yolen

It was late one winter night, Pa and this child went owling. There was no wind and the moon was bright. A train whistle blew, and the farm dog answered it. Another dog howled in for a while. It became quiet and Pa and the child walked toward the woods. Their feet crunched at the crisp snow sometimes the child would run to keep up with his/her father.The child never called out. You must be quiet to go owling. The child had been waiting a long time to go owling with Pa. They reached the line of pine trees and stopped. Pa looked up and called out the sound of a Great Horned Owl. Again, and again her called out. But there was no answer. They both shrugged. The child was not disappointed. They walked on. The child felt cold but did not say anything. You have to be quiet and make your own heat when owling. They went into the woods-child sees the shadows-does not ask about things that hide behind the trees-you have to be brave when owling. They came to a clearing in the dark woods. The moon was high. Pa did his owl call. The child listened and looked very hard. Pa raised his face to call again but before he opened his mouth an echo came through the trees. Pa called back. They both almost smiled. The owl’s call came closer from high in the trees. All of a sudden an owl shadow was seen which flew right over them. The shadow hooted again.  Pa turned on the flashlight and caught the owl just as it was landing on a branch. They were staring at one another. Then the owl pumped its wings and lifted off the branch like a shadow without a sound. It flew back into the forest and Pa said it was time to go home. When you go owling you do not need words or warm or anything but hope-Pa says-hope that flies on silent wings under a shining owl moon.

Owen By: Kevin Henkes

Owen had a fuzz yellow blanket-had since baby-loved.Fuzzy went wherever Owen went-and liked what Owen like. The blanket was very messy. Mrs. Tweezers asked if Owen was getting a little too old to be carrying around the blanket. Mrs. Tweezers told Owens parents about the “blanket fairy”. They told him to put the blanket under his bed and it would be gone in the morning and in replacement he would get a big boy toy. Owen put the blanket in his pants before bed and the blanket fairy did not come. His parents told him his blanket was filthy but he thought it was perfect. His blanket was is play toy as wellMrs. Tweezers told his parent about the vinegar trick. When Owen wasn’t looking his father dipped the corner of his fuzzy into vinegar so Owen picked a new corner to suck on. Fuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy anymore but Owen didn’t care-he did everything with it. His parents were concerned. Mrs. Tweezers asked his parents if they ever heard of saying no. He wanted to bring fuzz to school but his parents said no-he cried would not stop. Mother had an idea-she snipped and sewed and made the blanket into a handkerchief. Mrs. Tweezers did not say a word

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle By: Betty Mcdonald

Chapter 1

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in an upside house in town and lives alone aside from her dog, Wag and her cat, Lightfoot. She is sad and lonely and wishes for friends. On a rainy stormy day while Mrs. Piggle Wiggle was washing dishes she saw girl running through the rain with a suitcase. The girl was crying so Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle invited her inside for tea and cookies. The girl, Mary Lou ran away from home to avoid washing dishes. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle taught her a fun and unique way to wash the dishes at home. Mary Lou came back the next day after school with her friend Kitty. More and more children would come each day until pretty much almost every child in the neighborhood would go to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggles house. Most of them had issues with chores so Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle would teach them fun ways to accomplish chores. Even parents were calling her seeking advice.

Chapter 2: Hubert Prentiss is a sweet boy whom his grandfather sends him magnificent toys to every Christmas. His toys take up a majority of his room and his mother is always cleaning his room. She sought help through other mothers to find a way to get Hubert to pick up his toys himself. The other mothers were no help so she called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle suggested to Mrs. Prentiss to completely stop cleaning Hubert’s room. This would literally trap him in his room. Hubert’s room got so cluttered that Mrs. Prentiss had to feed him meals through his window attached to a rake. After about a week of completely staying out of Hubert’s room, he was literally trapped. Out in the neighborhood Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and the children were having a parade and were about to go to the circus. Hubert became very frustrated. He received a note from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle saying that they will wait for him if he puts his everything where it belongs. Hubert cleaned his room and joined everyone in the parade.

Chapter 3

Mary O’Toole came home from school one day and informed her mother that she made a very rude remark to her teacher thinking it was clever. Mary started to be impudent at home with her mother and would squint and blink her eyes and wear a frown on her face. A worried Mrs. O’Toole called a few mothers in the neighborhood with no luck in seeking advice. Someone recommended Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. She called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who suggested that Mrs. O’Toole take home her parrot Penelope. Penelope only talks to children and is not polite at all. When Mary came home from school one afternoon she was thrilled to see the parrot. Penelope was extremely rude to Mary. She talked backed constantly and would shout out rude remarks. After only a day of being around Penelope she realized how she looked and sounded when she has never been more sweeter and even apologized to her teacher.

Chapter 4

Dick Thompson is a selfish boy. He is polite and has matters and is obedient but he is extremely selfish. After his mother witnesses Dick not share the big box of peppermint candy she asked him to divide among the other children, and hit Mary’s hand with his baseball bat, she calls his father at the office. He recommends calling Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle instructs Mrs. Thompson to come to her house and pick up her selfishness kit. Inside a huge green box contained padlocks of numerous sizes, keys, paint, labels, and a pastry bag for frosting. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle instructed Mrs. Thompson to follow the rules strictly and precisely in order for this to work. She told Mrs. Thompson to label every single one of Dick’s clothes and put a padlock on every one of his items (toothbrush, his room, his closet, his toy chest). Dick saw her sewing labels onto his clothes and he was thrilled. He helped label his bike, bat, baseball, and mitt. When Dick went to school the next day the children laughed and made fun of him because even his entire lunch was labeled. “Dick’s sandwich”, “Dick’s apple”. After only two days of this, and losing a majority of his keys to the padlocks, Dick realized his actions and became selfless.

Chapter 5

Patsy refused to take a bath one morning. She would kick and scream and act like an animal. Her mother called a few mothers in the neighborhood seeking advice. She then called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle suggested the radish cure. She instructed Patsy’s mother to ignore Patsy’s hygiene and let her become filthy, and when she becomes so encrusted with mud and dirt to put little radish seeds on her body when she is sleeping. Weeks went by and Patsy became filthy. Finally when the time was right Patsy’s mother and father snuck into her bedroom at night and put the little radish seeds on her arms, hands, and forehead. A few days later the seeds grew a little and Patsy tried to wipe them off. Her mother had plucked most of them out when Patsy announced she wanted to take a bath. She showered all day long to become clean again.

Chapter 6

Bobby, Larry, and Susan Gray gave their mother a hard time each night around 8 o’clock pm when it was bed time. With all of the whining and arguing the children wouldn’t normally get into bed until 9:30pm. Mrs. Gray called a few mothers in the neighborhood but none had advice. Mrs. Gray called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who suggested to her to let the children stay up as late as they wanted and just to carry on with her normal sleeping schedule. The children were thrilled at first but soon became incredibly sleepy during the day which made them miss out on a trip to the beach, sleep through a movie, and not enjoy Patsy’s wonderful birthday party. When they soon became unbearably exhausted they begged their mother to let them go to bed at 8pm.

Chapter 7

Allen began taking an abnormally long time to finish his meals and he would cut everything into the tiniest of pieces. This started to worry his mother so she called a few fellow mothers in the neighborhood. She then called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle sent Allen home with her slow eater tiny bit taker cure kit. Inside the basket contained four sets of dishes, cups, and silverware-- large, medium, small, and tiny. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle instructed Allen’s mother to start with the large plates and cups and continually down size to the smaller ones and make Allen’s meals to the size of the plates. Allen lost weight and became incredibly tired and weak. He even had trouble walking. It was Allen’s turn to walk Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s pony Spotty, but Allen was so weak his mother had to wagon him to her house and he could barely sit up on the horse. He walked Spotty to his house where he collapsed on the grass. His mother brought him inside and began to feed him food. He regained energy and was back to normal.

Chapter 8

Anne and Joan Russell are twin sisters. They have a fighting and quarreling problem. It drives their mother crazy. She calls a fellow mother in the neighborhood then thinks of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle suggests the fighter-quarrelers cure. She instructs Mrs. Russell to take note of whatever the girls are fighting and quarreling about and write down what they say to each other. She then tells her that she and Mr. Russell should fight and quarrel over the same things the twins fight over and repeat exactly what they say. After Mr. and Mrs. Russell do this for a day and the pumpkin pie is dropped on the floor the children become very upset and confess that fighting and quarreling make them extremely miserable. So the family makes a truce and vows that there will be no more fighting. They all proceed to get ice cream.

Mr. Lincoln's Way By: Patrica Polloco

Mr. Lincoln was the coolest school principal-The children admired him and he did very thoughtful things and was involved with the school. Everyone had good thoughts about Mr. Lincoln except for Eugene Esterhause (Mean Gene)-he was a bully, tormenter to students AND teachers. One day Eugene was bullying a girl-she said she was going to tell on him to Mr. Lincoln-Eugene started to call him a very inappropriate name when Mr. Lincoln came up he stopped and ran off. One day Mr. Lincoln was helping the 5^th grade class plant a tree in the new atrium-He noticed Eugene staring at birds more than once. Mr. Lincoln called Eugene into his office with a bird question-he pulled out a beautiful bird book-Eugene told Mr. Lincoln about his grandfather’s farm when he used to live there and all the different types of birds-he then turned his back on Mr. Lincoln and left. Mr. Lincoln had a “problem”-he wanted to attract more birds to the atrium and asked Eugene about it-Mr. Lincoln gave Eugene the beautiful bird book. As days passed Eugene had the book with him every single day and was always reading it. His teacher was very pleased he was reading and he spent most of his other time in the new atrium. Eugene and Mr. Lincoln made a list of plants and shrubs and types of grain and seeds to buy for the birds. Massive amounts of birds started flocking in-Eugene practically ever teased the other children anymore. One day a teacher burst into Mr. Lincoln’s office and told him that there were two mallards nesting in the atrium and they had 5 eggs-Eugene new that the new ducklings would need water and would not be able to fly out of the atrium yet like their parents-Mr. Lincoln new Eugene would think of something. Eugene was rushed into Mr. Lincoln’s office-he had insulted two Mexican students with acts of racism-Mr. Lincoln said his skin was brown too-Eugene began to cry and told Mr. Lincoln that his father had gotten extremely mad when he found out he came home late one night while helping him. Mr. Lincoln took Eugene to the atrium and pointed out all of the different types and variety of birds-He explained how god made everyone different just like the birds-Mr. Lincoln called his students his little birds. Mr. Lincoln asked Eugene to promise not to name-call or tease any of the other children anymore-Eugene said his grandfather wasn’t like his dad-Mr. Lincoln explained how people can be trapped in their thinking like the ducklings will be trapped in the atrium. Eugene kept his word and became a model student-the duckling hatched one day and he got the whole school to come and watch. The mallard’s flew out of the atrium and as more time passed they were gone for longer periods-Eugene and Mr. Lincoln new the time was approaching when they needed to get the ducklings out. Mr. Lincoln and Eugene practiced the mallard call and led them through the school and out the door and to the pond. Parents were invited to watch the ducklings from afar and Eugene’s grandpa turned up and shook hands with Mr. Lincoln-Eugene asked to live with his grandpa again. Mr. Lincoln and Eugene walked down to the pond and Mr. Lincoln thanked Eugene for showing the ducklings the way out and Eugene thanked Mr. Lincoln for showing him the way out-Eugen promised to make Mr. Lincoln proud.

Milly and the Macy's Parade By: Shana Corey

It was 1924-Milly’s first year in America-People in NYC were getting ready for the holiday’s. Milly’s papa worked in Macy’s which she visited every day after school-Mr. Macy watched all the business and “hubbub” from his penthouse. Milly loved Macy’s. She would explore the store every day. Most people loved Macy’s but other did not. Those who did not were just homesick which Milly knew what that felt like. She and her family came from Poland. After many months, Milly and her family were finally getting used to America. Mill searched for her father and found him looking glum by the delivery dock. When she asked what was wrong her told her that he missed their holidays back in Poland.Milly looked around and noticed all of the sad faces of the workers and that’s when an idea struck her. Milly raced up to the thirteenth floor to Mr. Macy’s office. He was pacing and wondering why the workers weren’t festive and cheerful. Mr. Macy’s assistant, Mr. Snidely suggested firing them all and that’s when Milly cried out “NO!”Milly informed Mr. Macy that the workers were homesick and she proposed her plan of bringing a little bit of everyone’s home to America. Mr. Macy like the idea and the next day there was a sign posted at Macy’s saying there would be a parade. Word spread. On the morning of the parade Milly’s mother made costumes for her and her father and they took the train to uptown Harlem. The streets were filled with people. Milly rode an elephant borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. Milly suggested having the parade every year. And that’s exactly what happened.

Make Way for Ducklings By: Robert McCloskey

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard (ducks) were looking for a place to live. Mrs. Mallard did not want to raise a family where there would be foxes and turtles. So they flew on.They stopped in Boston to rest in a pond with a nice island. Mr. Mallard thought it was nice. The next morning they looked for food in the mud at the bottom of the pond but they didn’t find much. They saw an enormous bird pushing a boat full of people.  Mr. Mallard politely quaked “good morning” but the proud bird did not reply-people threw peanuts at them so they followed them around the pond. Mrs. Mallard like the pond and wanted to raise their ducklings there. Then Mrs. Mallard was almost run over by a bike and she changed her mind about raiding their ducklings there. They flew around and found nothing. They flew over the Charles River and found an island. They found a cozy place for their nest. They shed their feathers and could not fly anymore but could still swim. They met an officer, Michael who gave them peanuts. Mrs. Mallard laid eight eggs-Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Wack, Pack, and Quack. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were happy. Mr. Mallard wanted to take a trip to explore. He said he would meet Mrs. A week later in the park. Mrs. Mallard taught the ducklings to swim and walk and dive. When she was satisfied with her teaching she instructed them to follow her. She tried to cross the road but cars were honking and speeding by. All the ducks quaked. Michael came over running and stopped traffic for the ducklings. He called headquarters and told the officers the ducks were running around. They walked all through town. When the ducks came to the corner of Beacon Street, an officer was waiting to stop traffic to let the ducklings cross.They walked right into the public garden. When they reached the pond and swam to the island there was Mr. Mallard waiting for them. The ducklings loved the island and it was their new home.