Common Thread: Animals

Sub-Category 1: Farm Animals

Book Cover	Title	Author/ Illustrator	Age/ Grade	Copyright/ Publisher	Abstract
	Charlotte's Web	E.B. White	9-12 years 3rd-6th grade	1974 Harper Trophy	Wilber, a pig, lives on a farm and he finds out that he is not like the other animals. Wilber had no idea what he should do for survival. A spider, Charlotte, spins webs for Wilber spelling words. Wilber and Charlotte become best friends.
	Twist and Ernest	Laura T. Barnes Carol A. Camburn	4-8 years Pre-K-2nd grade	1999 Barnesyard Books	Ernest is a short, scruffy donkey who's one wish is to have a best friend. One day his wish comes true. Twist, a horse, arrived at the farm. Ernest was so excited. At first Twist was a little stand offish but in the end Ernest and Twist become best friends.
	Old MacDonald Had A Farm: A Pop-Up Book	Frances Cony Ian Smyth	2-5 years Pre-K	1999 Orchard Books	This is a good book to teach children the different animals that you can find on the farm. The animals make noises and the children can sing along to the famous song: Old MacDonald Had A Farm!
	Piggie Pie!	Margie Palatini Howard Fine	6-9 years 1st-3rd grade	1995 Clarion Books	One morning Gritch, the witch, was craving something for lunch and she didn't know what it eas. A little later she realized that she wanted piggie Pie. She read her recipe and the ingredients called for 8 piggies. She looked in the yellow pages for a farm. She found one, Old MacDonald's Farm. She flew over it and saw a field full of pigs. When she landed there were no pigs in site. She asked a duck, a cow, a chicken, and the farmer where the pigs were. They all told her they didn't know. On her way home, she runs into a wolf. He said that he had been looking for pigs too. She invited him over for lunch, if you know what I mean!!!
	Well, I Never	Susan Pearson James Warhola	4-7 years Pre-K- 1st grade	1990 Simon & Schuster Books	A farmer's family had quite a day. A few little mishaps happened on the farm. At the end of the day, the family and the farm were 3,000 feet above the ground. They had to find a way back down. So they did and everything went back to normal.

Sub-Category 2: Zoo Animals

Book Cover	Title	Author/ Illustrator	Age/ Grade	Copyright/ Publisher	Abstract
	How Leo Learned to Be King	Marcus Pfister	6-9 years 1st-3rd grade	1998 North-South Books	In the beginning, leo is a selfish, arrogant king. He is no longer wanted as king and all the animals tell him that. So he wonders off into the meadow, thinking of what he should do to be a better king. He ends up helping a mouse, a porcupine, and a rhinoceros. The animals hear about what Leo did and they were proud that he was their king.
	Edward in The Jungle	David McPhail	6-9 years 1st-3rd grade	2002 Little, Brown & Company	Edward is a boy who loves to read books about jungle and the animals in the jungle. One day he takes his toy animals and his book into his backyard to read. While reading, the story comes to life. Tarzan comes to rescue Edward from a crocodile. By the end of the story, Edward and the animals in the jungle, and even the crocodile become friends.
	Curious George Visits The Zoo	Alan J. Shalleck	4-8 years Pre-K-2nd grade	1985 Houghton Mifflin	Curious George visits the zoo. At first he was very helpful but by the end he was in big trouble. Curious George was caught stealing bananas.
	Why Do Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears	Verna Aardema Leo & Diane Dillon	6-9 years 1st-3rd grade	1975 Pied Piper Printing	The story begins with a mosquito telling an iguana a big fat lie. The iguana puts sticks in his ears so he coukdn't hear the mosquito. The python tried to tell the iguana good morning but iguana did not hear him. Python was upset so he crawled into the rabbits hole. The rabbit went running out. The crow thinks something is wrong so he alarms the others. Monkey got scared, jumped on a tree and accidentally killed one of owls babies. Owl would not call the sun up the next day, because she was sad. The animals were worried, so the lion called a meeting later to find that all of this was the mosquitos fault. When you hear a mosquito buzzing in your ear, its because it is still whining.
	The Right Number of Elephants	Jeff Sheppard Felicia Bond	4-6 years Pre-K-K	1990 Harper Collins Publisher	This book helps children to learn numbers. It also talks about what elephant can do to help others. It's really teaching about what friends can do for eachother.

Sub-Category 3: Marine Animals

Book Cover	Title	Author/ Illustrator	Age/ Grade	Copyright/ Publisher	Abstract
	Franklin and his Friends	Paulette Bourgeois Brenda Clark	4-6 years Pre-K-1st grade	2002 Scholastic	Franklin's friend Otter comes to visit. Franklin, a turtle, and Otter go to play with all of their friends. Otter teaches Franklin to swim and Franklin teaches Otter to play baseball.
	Lyle, Lyle Crocodile	Bernard Waber	4-8 years Pre-K-2nd grade	1987 Houghton Mifflin	In New York City there lives a crocodile named Lyle. He loves to help children with their homework. One day there happens to be an accident at the zoo and Lyle becomes known as the neighborhood hero.
	I, Crocodile	Fred Marcellino	4-6 years Pre-K-1st grade	1999 Harper Collins Publisheres	Crocodile lived in peaceful Egypy until one day, Napoleon came to Egypt. he demanded for mummies, sphinx, obelisk, and the crocodile. The crocodile was shipped to Paris. He was put in a cage for show and tale. He became famous. Eventually he was not important to the people. So Napoleon decided to eat him for supper. Crocodile escaped from his cage and hid in the sewer. he had nothing to eat so he ate a....person!
	From Tadpole to Frog	Wendy Pfeffer Holly Keller	4-6 years Pre-K-1st grade	1994 Harper Trophy	This is an excellent book for children to grasp the concept to life changes. It is easier for them to understand how a frog changes from a tiny egg to a frog. This is you can relate to how we change as we grow older.
	The Whale's Song	Dyan Sheldon Gary Blythe	6- 9 years 1st-3rd grade	1990 Dial Books	A grandmother tells her grand-daughter, Lilly, about sing whales. She told her that you have to give them a present and if they like you then they will sing for you. One day Lilly placed a yellow flower in the water. She waited and waited, nothing happened. Later that night, while lying in bed, she heard the beautiful singing of the whales. She ran outside to prove it wasn't a dream.

Sub-Category 4: Pet Animals

Book Cover	Title	Author/ Illustrator	Age/ Grade	Copyright/ Publisher	Abstract
	Clifford Grows Up	Norman Bridwell	4-8 years Pre-K-2nd grade	1999 Scholastic	Clifford was once a puppy. Emily used to bathe him in a bowl and he used to drink from a bottle. In the new year, Clifford begins to grow until he became the big red dog.
	Mess Pets	Jill McElmurry	5-7 years K-2nd grade	2002 Sea Star Books	Two sisters, Hilary and Hannah, share a room. Hilary is neat and Hannah is dirty. One day out of all Hannah's mess comes a puppy dog. Then Hilary wishes she had a pet. So she makes a mess on her side of the room and out comes a cat. Later the girls begin to fight and their pets disappear. The girls go to "In Mess World" and with their teamwork they get their pets back.
	Dog Magic	Carle Golembe	5-7 years K-2nd grade	1997 Houghton Mifflin Company	Molly, a young girl, was scared of dogs. When she saw a dog her hands would sweat and her knees trembled. For her 7th birthday she got a new pair of shoes. She called them her magic shoes because when she wore them she was not scared of dogs. She became friends with all the dogs in her neighborhood. For her 8th birthday she got a puppy.
	In The Rain With Baby Duck	Amy Hest Jill Barton	4-7 years Pre-K-1st grade	1995 Candlewick Press	It was a rainy day and baby duck didn't want to leave the house but it was Pancake Sunday, a family tradition. The entire way to grandma's house, baby duck pouted. When he got to grandma's house, she gave him rubber boots and an umbrella to keep him dry. When it was time to go, he was ready and not scared of the rain.
	Show and Tell Bunnies	Kathryn Lasky Marylin Hafner	7-9 years 1st-3rd grade	1998 Candlewick Press	Show and Tell is just 2 days away and Clyde has no idea what he will take. He seacched for days. The night before show and tell, he found a weird looking object in his basement. He took it to school and everyone tried to guess what it was. After lunch, the students saw spiders hatching from the weird object. 244 spiders to be exact.

Sub-Category 5: Insects

Book Cover	Title	Author/ Illustrator	Age/ Grade	Copyright/ Publisher	Abstract
	The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric Carle	4-8 years Pre-K-1st grade	1994 Philomel Books	This is a good book for teaching the days of the week. It tells the story of how a very hungry caterpillar grows from an egg to cocoon to a beautiful butterfly.
	The Very Grouchy Ladybug	Eric Carle	4-8 years Pre-K-1st grade	1996 Philomel Books	The lady bug starts out by being very grouchy and by the end of the story she is happy. Children can learn how to use good manners and a good attitude. Children will also learn time, shape, and size.
	The Very Quiet Cricket	Eric Carle	4-8 years Pre-K-1st  grade	1990 Philomel Books	The one thing this quiet cricket wants is to be able to rub  his wings together to make some noise. One day his wish comes true when he meets a quiet girl cricket.
	The Very Lonely Firefly	Eric Carle	4-8 years Pre-K-1st grade	1995 Philomel Books	This lonely firefly just wants to fit in with the others. One night he goes out searching for just one friends.
	Miss Spider's ABC	David Kirk	4 years Pre-K	1998 Scholastic	This book tells the alphabet by using names of insects, birds, and flowers.