List of Books

 

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“Our books have positive images of African-Americans — whether it’s astronauts, athletes or writers.”

 

The following list contains 15 carefully selected children’s books that capture the interest and imaginations of boys and girls ages 4-10. We have found that kids are most likely to engage with age appropriate, culturally relevant, and gender responsive books in a barbershop setting. Clicking on a book title will direct you to amazon.com, where many of the books are available new for less than $8 and used for as little as $0.01

 

 

Below you can find short descriptions of each of the titles on our Youth Reading Program list #1.

 

 

1.  Hi! Fly Guy: By Arnold, Tedd.  New York: Scholastic, 2005. (Fountas & Pinnell: Guided Reading Level I)

 

Publishers Summary: When Buzz captures a fly to enter in The Amazing Pet Show, his parents and the judges tell him that a fly cannot be a pet, but Fly Guy proves them wrong.

 

 

2.   Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs: By Barrett, Judi, and Ron Barrett.  New York: Atheneum, 1988. (F&P: Level M)

 

Publishers Summary: The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather, which came three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers. Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse.

 

 

3.   Not Norman: A Goldfish Story: By Bennett, Kelly, and Noah Jones. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2005. (F&P: Level I)

 

Publishers Summary: As a boy attempts to convince someone else to take his disappointing pet, he learns to love Norman the goldfish himself.

 

 

4.   Those Shoes: By Boelts, Maribeth, and Noah Jones.Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2007. (F&P: Level P)

 

Publishers Summary: Jeremy really wants black high top shoes like everyone else at school, but his grandmother can’t afford them. When he sees a pair for sale in a thrift shop, he decides to buy them even though they are the wrong size. It takes him a while (and a lot of blisters to learn that what he has is more important than what he wants.

 

 

5.   Truck: By Crews, Donald.  New York: Greenwillow, 1980. (F&P: Level D)

 

School Library Journal Summary: In this wordless picture book, a large, bright red trailer truck packed with tricycles moves through pages of fog, truck stops, and crowded highways.

 

 

6.   The Snowy Day: By Keats, Ezra Jack. New York: Viking, 1962. (F&P: Level J)

 

Publishers Summary: The adventures of a little boy in the city on a very snowy day.

 

 

7.   The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules: By Kinney, Jeff. . Camberwell, Vic.: Penguin, 2010. (F&P: Level T)

 

Publishers Summary: Greg Heffley tells about his summer vacation and his attempts to steer clear of trouble when he returns to middle school and tries to keep his older brother Rodrick from telling everyone about Greg’s most humiliating experience of the summer.

 

 

8.   Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: By Martin, Bill, John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert.  New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 1989. (F&P: Level L)

 

Publishers Summary: Chicka chick boom boom! Will there be enough room? There is always enough room for this fun alphabet chant that has been a children’s favorite for over 20 years!

 

 

9.   Calling All Cars! By Sander, Sonia.  New York: Scholastic, 2010. (F&P: Level J)

 

Publishers Summary: Explore the world of LEGO City! Sound the alarm! The bank is being robbed! Will the police solve the crime or will the bank robbers get away?

 

 

10.  The Gingerbread Man. By Schmidt, Karen.  New York: Scholastic, 1985. (F&P: Level I)

 

Publishers Summary: The gingerbread man outruns everybody, until he meets the quick-witted fox.

 

 

11.  David Goes to School. By Shannon, David.  New York: Blue Sky, 1999. (F&P: Level G)

 

Publishers Summary: David’s activities in school include chewing gum, talking out of turn, and engaging in a food fight, causing his teacher to say over and over, “No, David!”

 

 

12.  No, David! By Shannon, David.  New York: Blue Sky, 1998. (F&P: Level F)

 

Publishers Summary: A young boy is depicted doing a variety of naughty things for which he is repeatedly admonished, but finally he gets a hug.

 

 

13.  Interrupting Chicken. By Stein, David Ezra. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2010. (F&P: Level L)

 

Publishers Summary: An enthusiastic young chicken can’t keep from interrupting her father’s bedtime stories with suggestions for each character’s salvation.

 

 

14.  Way of the Ninja. By Greg Farshtey Tracey. LEGO Ninjago:  New York, NY: Scholastic, 2012. (F&P: Level H)

 

Publishers Summary: Based on the popular Cartoon Network series, these early readers adventures feature a team of ninjas out to save the world!

 

 

15.  How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? By Yolen, Jane, and Mark Teague.  New York: Blue Sky, 2007. (F&P: Level J)

 

Publishers Summary: Explains how young dinosaurs should behave during a typical school day.