Appendix A: Classroom Library
Here are optional texts that we recommend for a rich grade-appropriate Classroom Library.
Kindergarten Classroom Library
| Title | Author | Lexile |
|---|---|---|
| A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog | Mercer Mayer | NP |
| A Letter to Amy | Ezra Jack Keets | 430L |
| A Pet for Fly Guy | Tedd Arnold | 370L |
| A Stick Is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play | Marilyn Singer | NP |
| All the Colors of the Rainbow | Allan Fowler | NC590L |
| Alligators All Around: An Alphabet | Maurice Sendak | NP |
| And Tango Makes Three | Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell | AD520L |
| Antarctica | Rebecca Hirsch | 500L |
| Apples and Pumpkins | Anne Rockwell | AD440L |
| Australia | Rebecca Hirsch | 480L |
| Baby’s First Words | Stella Blackstone and Sunny Scribens | |
| Boats | Anne Rockwell | 270L |
| Branching Out: How Trees Are Part of Our World | Joan Marie Galat | NC1200L |
| Bugs in My Hair! | David Shannon | 540L |
| Butterflies | Marfé Ferguson Delano | NC580L |
| Call Me Tree / Llámame árbol | Maya Christina Gonzalez | NP |
| Cars | Anne Rockwell | 270L |
| Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type | Doreen Cronin | AD470L |
| Click, Clack, Peep! | Doreen Cronin | AD290L |
| Close Your Eyes | Kate Banks | AD440L |
| Cornelius | Leo Lionni | 480L |
| Creature Features: Twenty-Five Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do | Steve Jenkins and Robin Page | AD650L |
| Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters | Jane Yolen | AD330L |
| Curious You: On Your Way! | Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld | AD540L |
| Danny and the Dinosaur | Syd Hoff | 400L |
| Dear Baobab | Cheryl Foggo | AD820L |
| Dinosaurs | Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld | 520L |
| Diving Dolphin | Karen Wallace | 440L |
| Don’t Forget the Bacon! | Pat Hutchins | NP |
| Duck for President | Doreen Cronin | AD680L |
| Elizabeti’s Doll | Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen | AD560L |
| Fire Engines | Anne Rockwell | 440L |
| Five Little Monkeys Shopping for School | Eileen Christelow | AD410L |
| Frogs and Toads and Tadpoles, Too | Allan Fowler | 550L |
| Gator or Croc? | Allan Fowler | NC630L |
| Gilberto and the Wind | Marie Hall Ets | 520L |
| Grasshoppers | Robin Nelson | 480L |
| How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? | Jane Yolen | AD350L |
| I Spy Animals | Jean Marzollo | NP |
| Inch by Inch | Leo Lionni | AD210L |
| Insects | Robin Bernard | 530L |
| Inside an Ant Colony | Allan Fowler | 550L |
| Journey of a Humpback Whale | Caryn Jenner | IG590L |
| Julius | Syd Hoff | 460L |
| Just Like Me, Climbing a Tree: Exploring Trees Around the World | Durga Yael Bernhard | AD640L |
| Just a Little Bit | Ann Tompert | AD480L |
| Karate Hour | Carol Nevius | NP |
| Kit and Kat | Tomie dePaola | 260L |
| Little Blue and Little Yellow | Leo Lionni | 440L |
| Miss Bindergarten Has a Wild Day in Kindergarten | Joseph Slate | |
| Mouse Was Mad | Linda Urban | AD530L |
| Move! | Steve Jenkins and Robin Page | AD450L |
| My Brother, Ant | Betsy Byars | 360L |
| My Forest Is Green | Darren Lebeuf | AD320L |
| Nat the Gnat: Diary of a Worm | Doreen Cronin | 500L |
| One Morning in Maine | Robert McCloskey | AD610L |
| Our Earth | Anne Rockwell | 580L |
| Our Stars | Anne Rockwell | AD460L |
| Pablo’s Tree | Pat Mora | 480L |
| Penny and Her Marble | Kevin Henkes | 470L |
| Planes | Anne Rockwell | 340L |
| Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai | Claire A. Nivola | AD870L |
| Plants That Eat Animals | Allan Fowler | 550L |
| Rainbow Weaver / Tejedora del arcoíris | Linda Elovitz Marshall | AD580L |
| Recess at 20 Below | Cindy Lou Aillaud | AD690L |
| Shhhh | Kevin Henkes | 160L |
| Show and Tell | Kristine Lalley | 80L |
| Simple Machines | Allan Fowler | 540L |
| So That’s How the Moon Changes Shape! | Allan Fowler | AD550L |
| Soccer Hour | Carol Nevius | AD560L |
| Some Snow Is… | Ellen Yeomans | 420L |
| Somewhere in the Ocean | Jennifer Ward and T.J. Marsh | AD630L |
| South America | Rebecca Hirsch | 450L |
| Sparkle Boy | Lesléa Newman | AD490L |
| Spiders Are Not Insects | Allan Fowler | 550L |
| Survivors: The Night the Titanic Sank | Caryn Jenner | 560L |
| Tap Tap Boom Boom | Elizabeth Bluemle | |
| Ten Red Apples | Pat Hutchins | AD360L |
| The Dandelion Seed | Joseph Anthony | AD560L |
| The Dot | Peter H. Reynolds | AD500L |
| The Falling Flowers | Jennifer B. Reed | |
| The First Snowfall | Anne Rockwell | AD470L |
| The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of Amazon Rain Forest | Lynne Cherry | 590L |
| The Rain Stomper | Addie Boswell | AD440L |
| The Surprise Party | Pat Hutchins | 420L |
| The Wind Blew | Pat Hutchins | AD520L |
| Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure | Doreen Cronin | AD590L |
| Tracks in the Snow | Wong Herbert Yee | AD440L |
| Two for One | Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee | 450L |
| Waiting | Kevin Henkes | 440L |
| Waiting for Wings | Lois Ehlert | AD450L |
| Way Out in the Desert | T. J. Marsh and Jennifer Ward | 590L |
| What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? | Steve Jenkins | AD760L |
| Whatever the Weather | Karen Wallace | 380L |
| What’s Alive? | Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld | AD520L |
| What’s the Weather Today? | Allan Fowler | 490L |
| When This World Was New | D. H. Figueredo | AD600L |
| Z Was Zapped: A Play in Twenty-Six Acts | Chris Van Allsburg | 320L |
First Grade Classroom Library
| Title | Author | Lexile |
|---|---|---|
| A Big Mooncake for Little Star | Grace Lin | AD430L |
| A Pet for Pete | James Dean | AD420L |
| A River Dream | Allen Say | 490L |
| A Windy Day in Spring | Charles Ghigna | 400L |
| Adeline Porcupine | Charles Ghigna | 520L |
| Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse | Leo Lionni | 560L |
| Amelia Bedelia | Peggy Parish | 450L |
| Amelia Bedelia Bakes Off | Herman Parish | 530L |
| Amelia Bedelia’s Masterpiece | Herman Parish | 500L |
| An Extraordinary Egg | Leo Lionni | 620L |
| Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti | Gerald McDermott | AD430L |
| And Tango Makes Three | Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell | AD520L |
| Antonio’s Card / La tarjeta de Antonio | Rigoberto Gonzalez | |
| Arthur’s Birthday Party | Lillian Hoban | 530L |
| Babushka’s Doll | Patricia Polacco | 470L |
| Ben’s Dream | Chris Van Allsburg | 540L |
| Big Anthony: His Story | Tomie dePaola | AD590L |
| Biscuit Plays Ball | Alyssa Satin Capucilli | AD180L |
| Brush of the Gods | Lenore Look | 580L |
| Butterflies | Marfé Ferguson Delano | NC580L |
| Call Me Tree / Llámame árbol | Maya Christina Gonzalez | NP |
| Captain Cat | Syd Hoff | 530L |
| Cat and Dog | Else Holmelund Minarik | 240L |
| Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac | Ed Young | AD590L |
| Cheyenne Again | Eve Bunting | AD560L |
| City Moon | Rachael Cole | AD450L |
| Commander Toad and the Voyage Home | Jane Yolen | 620L |
| Coyote in Love With a Star | Marty Kriepe de Montaño | 830L |
| Creepy Carrots | Aaron Reynolds | AD490L |
| Creepy Crawly Crime | Aaron Reynolds | GN450L |
| Crying Wolf and Other Tales | Aesop | 440L |
| Cuddle Bunny | Charles Ghigna | 460L |
| Curses! Foiled Again | Jane Yolen | GN380L |
| David and the Giant | Emily Little | 370L |
| Days with Frog and Toad | Arnold Lobel | 490L |
| Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones | Gene Barretta | AD530L |
| Dinosaur Days | Joyce Milton | 490L |
| Dinosaurs Before Dark | Mary Pope Osborne | 510L |
| Dreaming Up | Christy Hale | AD550L |
| Drip, Drop | Sarah Weeks | 280L |
| Dugout Hero | Ryan Howard and Krystle Howard | 540L |
| Elisapee and Her Baby Seagull | Nancy Mike | |
| Elmer and the Dragon | Ruth Stiles Gannett | 800L |
| Emma’s Yucky Brother | Jean Little | 480L |
| Even Monsters Need Haircuts | Matthew McElligott | AD500L |
| Flat Stanley: His Original Adventure! | Jeff Brown | AD550L |
| Flat Stanley and the Very Big Cookie | Jeff Brown | AD510L |
| Foiled | Jane Yolen | GN460L |
| Follow That Map! | Sheri Tan | |
| Freda Stops a Bully | Stuart J. Murphy | 490L |
| Frog and Friends: Party at the Pond | Eve Bunting | 330L |
| Going to the Firehouse | Mercer Mayer | 310L |
| Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia | Herman Parish | 450L |
| Good-Night, Owl | Pat Hutchins | AD340L |
| Grasshoppers | Robin Nelson | 480L |
| Harold and the Purple Crayon | Crockett Johnson | AD530L |
| Henry and Mudge and the Big Sleepover | Cynthia Rylant | 480L |
| Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend | Cynthia Rylant | 500L |
| Henry and Mudge in the Green Time | Cynthia Rylant | 480L |
| Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator! | Mo Willems | AD490L |
| How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad? | Jane Yolen | 450L |
| How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend | Jerrie Oughton | AD780L |
| I See, You Saw | Nurit Karlin | 120L |
| If You Were the Moon | Laurie Purdie Salas | AD790L |
| Imani’s Moon | JaNay Brown-Wood | 550L |
| I’ll Save You Bobo! | Eileen Rosenthal & Marc Rosenthal | |
| Jumanji | Chris Van Allsburg | AD620L |
| King of the Playground | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | 500L |
| Lotus and Feather | Ji-li Jiang | |
| Monster Trucks | Kristin L. Nelson | 500L |
| Moon Rope / Un lazo a la luna | Lois Ehlert | |
| My Dog Jack Is Fat | Eve Bunting | AD510L |
| My New Team | Ryan Howard and Krystle Howard | 480L |
| Old Black Fly | Jim Aylesworth | AD400L |
| One of a Kind, Like Me / Único como yo | Laurin Mayeno | |
| Pete at the Beach | James Dean | 280L |
| Pinky and Rex Go to Camp | James Howe | 590L |
| Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee | James Howe | 580L |
| Poppleton | Cynthia Rylant | 460L |
| Poppleton and Friends | Cynthia Rylant | 420L |
| Raven Brings the Light | Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd | |
| Sparrow Girl | Sara Pennypacker | AD590L |
| The Alamo | Kristin L. Nelson | 610L |
| The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet: Native American Poems of the Land | Joseph Bruchac | |
| The Favorite Daughter | Allen Say | 510L |
| The Lincoln Memorial | Kristin L. Nelson | 630L |
| The Lost Lake | Allen Say | 540L |
| The Lunch Box Surprise | Grace Maccarone | 310L |
| The Night Worker | Kate Banks | AD530L |
| The Patchwork Bike | Maxine Beneba Clarke | |
| The Pot That Juan Built | Nancy Andrews-Goebel | 1150L |
| The Shadow in the Moon | Christina Matula | 640L |
| The Star People: A Lakota Story | S. D. Nelson | |
| The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark | Ken Geist | AD640L |
| The Wreck of the Zephyr | Chris Van Allsburg | 590L |
| Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back: A Native American Year of Moons | Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London | 840L |
| Waiting for Wings | Lois Ehlert | AD450L |
| Whales: The Gentle Giants | Joyce Milton | 540L |
| What Can You Do with Money?: Earning, Spending, and Saving | Jennifer S. Larson | 550L |