Read Aloud Suggestions
Prepared by the Children's Services Division of the Berkeley Public Library
The Berkeley Public Library's children's staff looks forward each year to D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) Day in the Berkeley Unified School District. Many of us visit a classroom to read aloud that day, and we also enjoy helping other volunteers find just the right book. Some favorite titles for elementary school read-alouds are listed below. Those marked with an asterisk (*) indicate other great titles by the same author. Many of them come from the folklore (398.2) section, where you'll find other stories passed on through generations because they tell aloud so well. Remember that you'll have the most fun with books that you yourself enjoy; look through a few books before making your final pick.
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Folktales for Kindergarten through Second Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| 398.2 *Bang, Molly | Wiley and the Hairy Man | |
| Wiley and his mother outwit the hairy swamp creature in this traditional African-American tale. | ||
| 398.2 *DePaola, Tomie | Fin M'Coul: the Giant of Knockmany Hill | |
| Fin M'Coul's wife helps him outwit his arch rival, the giant Cucullin. | ||
| 398.2 *Kimmel, Eric | Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock | |
| African trickster story that encourages participation and guffaws. | ||
| 398.2 M279s Mahy, Margaret | Seven Chinese Brothers | |
| Seven extraordinary Chinese brothers escape execution. | ||
| 398.2 Sa54h2 *San Souci, Robert D | The Hired Hand: an African-American Folktale | |
| The hired hand teaches Sam's lazy son a lesson about how to treat people. | ||
| 398.2 *Sloat, Teri | Sody Sallyratus | |
| In this traditional Appalachian tale, one family member after another disappears, until a pet squirrel tracks them down, and tackles a bear. Kids will join in with you on the refrain. | ||
| 398.2 *Stevens, Janet | Tops and Bottoms | |
| Hare turns his bad luck around by striking a clever deal with the rich and lazy bear down the road. | ||
Picture books for Kindergarten through Second Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| P *Ernst, Lisa | Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale | |
| Updated version of the familiar tale about a little girl and a not-so-clever wolf. | ||
| P Gloria, Debi | The Snow Lambs | |
| As a winter storm approaches, Bess the sheepdog fails to return. | ||
| P Hoffman, Mary | Amazing Grace | |
| A classmate says Grace can't play the role of Peter in Peter Pan because she is black, but Grace can do whatever she makes up her mind to do. | ||
| P Isaacs, Anne | Swamp Angel | |
| Angelica Longrider has always been a big girl, but what will happen when she goes up against a huge bear? | ||
| P *Meddaugh, Susan | Hog-Eye | |
| A wolf is outwitted by a young pig who can read. | ||
| P *Meddaugh, Susan | Martha Speaks | |
| The family dog eats alphabet soup - and is transformed. | ||
| P *Pilkey, Dav | Dogzilla | |
| A monstrous mutt terrorizes the residents of Mousopolis. | ||
| P *San Souci, Robert D | The Boy and the Ghost | |
| A poor boy can win a fortune by spending the night in a haunted house. | ||
| P *Schroeder, Alan | Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman | |
| As a girl, Harriet Tubman dreams of escaping slavery. | ||
| P Seeger, Pete | Abiyoyo; a Lullaby from South Africa | |
| Banished from town for making mischief, a little boy and his father find a way to make the dreaded giant, Abiyoyo, disappear. | ||
| P *Soto, Gary | Chato's Kitchen | |
| Chato tempts the new "raconcitos" (little mice) with fajitas, frijoles, salsa and enchiladas, all the while planning to make his meal of the guests. | ||
| *P Stanley, Diane | Saving Sweetness | |
| A resourceful orphan, a nasty orphanage director and an old West sheriff cross paths. Sequel, Raising Sweetness, is the perfect follow-up, what with downright peculiar housekeeping and pickle and banana pie for dessert! | ||
| P *Steig, William | Spinky Sulks | |
| When his family hurts his feelings, Spinky sulks and sulks, determined never to forgive them. | ||
| P Tunnell | Mailing May | |
| When May's family lacks the money for a railroad ticket, they find a way to mail her to Grandma. Based on a true story. | ||
| P*Wahl, Jan | Little Eight John | |
| Little Eight John won't obey his mother, in this traditional African-American tale with a startling conclusion. | ||
| P Willis | The Secret in the Matchbox | |
| Bobby Bell tells his teacher exactly what's in his matchbox, but she just won't believe it. | ||
Fiction for Kindergarten through Second Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| Fiction Marshall, James | Rats on the Roof | |
| Seven raucous stories. | ||
| Fiction *Scieszka, John | The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales | |
| Madcap revisions of the familiar fairy tales. | ||
Readers for Kindergarten through Second Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| Reader Bernier-Grand,Carmen T | Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico | |
| Tales of Puerto Rico's trickster. | ||
Folktales for Third through Fifth Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title |
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| 398.2 B834f Bruchac, Joseph | The first strawberries : a Cherokee story | |
| A quarrel between the first man and the first woman is reconciled when the Sun causes strawberries to grow out of the earth. | ||
| 398.2 B996f Byrd, Robert | Finn MacCoul and his fearless wife: a giant of a tale from Ireland | |
| Finn MacCoul bests the fearsome giant, Cucullin - with help. | ||
| 398.2 H17s Hamanaka, Sheila | Screen of Frogs | |
| A spoiled rich man in Japan discovers a respect for nature in time to turn his life around. | ||
| 398.2 L567J *Lester, Julius | John Henry | |
| Retells the life of the legendary African-American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain. | ||
| 398.2 *Ross, Gayle | Legend of the Windigo | |
| This native American legend of how mosquitoes came to be is as fearsome as the attack of these tiny creatures. | ||
| 398.2 Sa54c2 San Souci, Robert | Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella | |
| This Creole version of the familiar tale is set in the Caribbean. | ||
| 398.2 Si48b Simms, Laura | The Bone Man: a Native American Folktale | |
| Spine chilling tale of a Modoc boy who brings his tribe back to life. | ||
| 398.2 W762g Wisniewski, David | The Golem | |
| A saintly rabbi miraculously brings to life a clay giant who helps him watch over the Jews of 16th century Prague. | ||
Fiction for Third through Fifth Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| Fic *Alexander, Lloyd | The Fortune Tellers | |
| A carpenter finds that predictions about his future come true in a most unusual way. | ||
| Fiction Baillie | The Rebel | |
| When the General marches into Burma, a child defies him. | ||
| Fic Chess, Victoria | Tales for the Perfect Child | |
| You don't have to be perfect to enjoy these seven tales of children who are perfectly devious in getting their own way. | ||
| Fic Friedman, Ira | How My Parents Learned To Eat | |
| When an American sailor courts a Japanese girl, each tries, in secret, to learn the other's way of eating. | ||
| Fic*Hooks, William | Ballad of Belle Dorcas | |
| When she falls in love with Joshua, a slave, free-born Belle Dorcas agrees to a conjure woman's bargain. | ||
| Fic Kalman, Maira | Max Makes a Million | |
| When Max the dog finally sells his book of poetry, he is able to fulfill his lifelong dream of traveling to Paris. | ||
| Fic Lasky, Kathryn | Marven and the Great North Woods | |
| 10-year-old Marven is sent to a lumber camp during the 1918 flu epidemic; this true story is fascinating. | ||
| Fic Lester, Julius | What a Truly Cool World | |
| Creation story about how art and music came to be featuring God and an angel who minds Everybody's business. | ||
| Fic*Polacco, Patricia | Pink and Say | |
| Say Curtis describes his meeting with Pinkus Aylee. | ||
Picture books for Third through Fifth Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| P Jacobs, Lawrence | Harriet and the Promised Land | |
| Powerful biography in verse about Harriet Tubman and her dedicated efforts to lead her fellow slaves to freedom. | ||
| P Remkiewicz, Frank | Bone Stranger | |
| Boney Ranger and his faithful companion Wolfgang ride to the rescue when the Raccoon Brothers hold up the stage and steal the orphans' doggie bones. | ||
| P Small, David | The Gardener | |
| A series of letters relating what happens when Lydia Grace goes to live with her Uncle Jim in the city but takes her love for gardening with her. | ||
Other nonfiction titles for Third through Fifth Graders |
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| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| 133.3 K939t *Krull, Kathleen | They Saw the Future: Oracles, Psychics, Scientists, Great Thinkers, and Pretty Good Guessers | |
| This author has a light hand with biography, allowing listeners/readers to enjoy the foibles of earlier pioneers. See also her works on great musicians, artists, and more. | ||
| 294.5 Sh47s *Shepard, Aaron | Savitri, a Tale of Ancient India | |
| In this tale from the "Mahabharata", India's national epic, Princess Savitri outwits the god of death to save her husband. | ||
| 808.81 In1d Steptoe, John | In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall; African Americans Celebrating Fathers | |
| Poems celebrating African-American fathers. | ||
Story Collections for Third through Fifth Graders |
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| Pick one, and if you have time, you can keep on going. | ||
| Call Number and Author | Title | |
| 398.2 M691 * Aardema, Verna | Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales of Africa | |
| Twelve folktales from different parts of Africa. | ||
| 398.2 C386g Chase, Richard | Grandfather Tales: American-English Folktales | |
| Droll, robust, and often familiar tales in memorable new form. | ||
| 398.2 C386 Chase, Richard | Jack Tales From the Appalachian Areas | |
| Jack Tales From the Appalachian areas, where the character of Jack is part fool/part hero. | ||
| 398.2 H18p Hamilton, Virginia | The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales | |
| Trickster tales, tall tales, spine-chilling ghost and devil tales and moving stories of freedom. | ||
| 973.7 H18m Hamilton, Virginia | Many Thousand Gone:African Americans from Slavery to Freedom | |
| Recounts the journey of Black slaves to freedom via the underground railroad, an extended group of people who helped fugitive slaves in many ways. | ||
| Fic McKissack, Pat | The Dark Thirty Southern Tales of the Supernatural | |
| A collection of ghost stories with African American themes, designed to be told during the Dark Thirty--the half hour before sunset--when ghosts seem all too believable. | ||
| 398.2 M6606w Minard, Rosemary | Womenfolk and Fairy Tales | |
| One of many strong collections of women in all their strength and cleverness. | ||
| 398.2 Sh19s Shannon, George | Stories to Solve: Folktales From Around the World | |
| Brief folktales in which there is a mystery or problem that the reader is invited to solve before the resolution is presented; there are several more in this series. | ||
| Fic Soto, Gary | Baseball in April: And Other Stories | |
| Local author spins funny and sometimes sad stories of young people on the cusp of growing up. Also available in Spanish. | ||
| Fic Yee, Paul | Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World | |
| A collection of eight stories reflecting the gritty optimism of the Chinese who overcame prejudice and adversity to build a unique place for themselves in North America. | ||
Want to get your hands on one of these books? Check the Berkeley Public Library catalog to see where you can get a copy!