Great Books for First Grade

First grade readers, just beginning to appreciate the joy of independent reading, will love these books for the zany characters, the life lessons and active minds imagining new worlds. Suggestions for early reader books help round off this list of beautifully crafted and vivid picture books.

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The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane & Herm Auch
Henrietta the chicken loves to read so much that she decides to write a book herself, but first no one will publish a book written by a chicken, and then, when she publishes it herself and it gets a terrible review in "The Corn Book," Henrietta is devastated.       

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Have You Seen My New Blue Socks   by Eve Bunting
The reader is invited to help Duck and his animal friends find a missing item.

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Our Library   by Eve Bunting
A raccoon and his friends go to great lengths to make sure they will always have a library from which to borrow books.

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Great Fairy Tale Disaster   by David Conway
When an old Big Bad Wolf, who no longer has enough huff and puff to blow down a house, tries to find a nice relaxing fairy tale for a change, he winds up making a big mess for Cinderella, Rapunzel, and other well-known characters.

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M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)  by Doreen Cronin
A guide to the care and maintenance of mothers, who are, according to the manual, "the most advanced human models on the planet.    

 

Thunder-Boomer  by Shutta Crum
A farm family scurries for shelter from a violent thunderstorm that brings welcome relief from the heat and also an unexpected surprise. 

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Bink & Gollie   by Kate DiCamillo
Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion.  

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Oh, No!   by Candace Fleming
A series of animals falls into a deep hole, only to be saved at last by a very large rescuer. 

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Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Hide!   by Candace Fleming
Having worked all summer at keeping bunnies out of his garden, Mr. McGreely looks forward to a peaceful winter--if only he can keep those naughty bunnies from invading his home. 

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Diary of a Baby Wombat   by Jackie French
Through a week of diary entries, a wombat describes his life of sleeping; playing and helping his mother look for a bigger hole in which to make their home. 

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Day by Day   by Susan Gal
"As the seasons change, the industrious pigs of Day by Day build a home, plant a garden, help their neighbors, and then gather in a harvest grown with hard work and kindness."  

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Egg Drop by Mini Grey
Tragedy strikes when an egg, eager to fly like birds, airplanes, and insects, steps off of a tall tower. 

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Three By the Sea by Mini Grey
Cat, Dog, and Mouse live together contentedly in a cottage by the sea, dividing the work between them, until A. Stranger, a fox from the “Winds of Change” company, arrives and stirs up trouble. 

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Mail Harry To the Moon by Robie Harris
Harry’s older brother, unhappy that the new baby seems to have taken over, dreams up imaginative ways to get rid of him.    

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Charley’s First Night by Amy Hest
A book about friendship, new beginnings and that indescribable measure of love that we call a dog.  

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Magritte’s Marvelous Hat by D. B. Johnson
When painter Magritte, depicted as a well-dressed, floppy-eared dog, buys a playful—and mysterious—hat, his painting enjoys a burst of creativity. Inspired by the art of French surrealist painter Rene Magritte. 

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Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann
Recycling magic turns a garbage-filled park into a "greentastic" garden.

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Flower Girl by Victoria Kann
"Pinkalicious is going to be the best flower girl ever - as soon as she figures out just what a flower girl is!"

Library Mouse: A Friend’s Tale by Daniel Kirk
Sam, the shy mouse that lives in the library and likes to write books, collaborates with a boy in the library's Authors and Illustrators Club.

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Ten things I Love About You by Daniel Kirk
Rabbit makes a list of the things he loves about Pig, but needs Pig's help deciding what to write.

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A Boy Had a Mother Who Bought Him a Hat by Karla Kuskin
After a boy's mother buys him a hat, she buys him a mouse, shoes, boots, skis, mask, cello, and an elephant--none of which he is ever without. 

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Giant John by Arnold Lobel
Hired to perform odd jobs at the royal castle, Giant John's work pleases everyone until the musical fairies arrive and the friendly giant cannot resist the urge to dance.  

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Pirates Don’t Change Diapers by Melinda Long
Braid Beard and his pirate crew return to retrieve the treasure they buried in Jeremy Jacob's backyard, but first they must help calm his baby sister, Bonney Anne, whom they awoke from her nap. 

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Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes by Jane O’Connor  (Easy Reader series)
Nancy’s failure to pay attention gets her into trouble when she bakes cupcakes for the school bake sale.

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The Blushful Hippopotamus by Chris Raschka
Though Roosevelt the hippopotamus's sister teases him because he blushes a lot, his best friend helps him feel better about himself. 

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Think Big! by Liz Scanlon
A classroom of exuberant youngsters explores art in its most varied forms, from painting, music and writing, to cooking and performing.  

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Green by Laura Seeger
Illustrations and simple, rhyming text explore the many shades of the color green. 

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Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
A child explores the ordinary life of his extraordinary great-grandfather, as expressed in his topiary garden.

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When No One Is Watching by Eileen Spinelli
When alone, a young girl enjoys dancing, singing, growling, and cheering but when anyone other than her best friend is watching, she is quiet and shy. 

  

Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip Stead
Bear, with the help of his animal friends, remembers the story he had hoped to tell before the onset of winter.

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Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens
When a tennis ball lands in a prairie dog town, the residents find that their newfound frenzy for fuzz creates a fiasco. 

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Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny! by Jan Thomas
Dust bunnies who enjoy rhyming games and a boisterous cat who likes to chase and grab learn how to play together. 

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
When three hungry dinosaurs lay a trap hoping to catch something to eat, Goldilocks who never listens to warnings walks into their house and springs the trap. 

    

Bear’s Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson
When Bear discovers he has a loose tooth, his friends try to help make it fall out. 

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Mortimer’s First Garden by Karma Wilson
Little Mortimer Mouse, longing to see something green at winter's end, follows the lead of the big people and plants, waters, and weeds his last sunflower seed until, finally, with God's help and a lot of patience, he harvests his crop. 

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NON-FICTION

Wet Pet (Flip-a-Word series) by Yukiko Kido

Humorous illustrations and die-cut pages introduce words of the same family, such as pet, wet, jet, and then combine them in often-improbable phrases, including jet gets wet.

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The Wing Wing Brothers Math Spectacular by Ethan Long
The Wing Wing brothers put on a show that illustrates how to compare numbers, add, and subtract.

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Planets by Linda Aspen-Baxter
Young readers learn about the planets in our solar system.  

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Time to Eat by Steve Jenkins
Provides an introduction to what animals eat and how they collect, store, and digest their food.

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Football Colors by Mark Weakland
Sports Illustrated Kids Rookie Book – All the colors seen at a football game.

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Easy Reader Series & Authors

David Adler  Young Cam Jansen and the Magic Bird Mystery  
Alyssa Capucilli   Biscuit in the Garden     
Syd Hoff   Danny and the Dinosaur Go to Camp   
Arnold Lobel:   Frog and Toad Together     
Cari Meister:   Tiny On the Farm      
Claudia Mills:   Gus and Grandpa and the Piano Lesson   
Else Minarek:   Little Bear and the Marco Polo    
Jane O’Connor:  Fancy Nancy and the Mean Girl    
Cynthia Rylant:  Henry and Mudge and the Tumbling Trip   
Majorie Sharmat:  Nate the Great and the Phony Clue   
Mo Willems:   Elephant and Piggie: Listen to My Trumpet!  
Various Authors:  We Both Read (Levels K – 3)