• Suggested Literature for First Grade:

    Great Authors and Illustrators- try all of their books!

    Mem Fox- my favorite book is Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge
    Bernard Most- my favorite book is If the Dinosaurs Came Back
    Mercer Mayer- my favorite book is What do you do with a kangaroo?
    Robert Munsch- my favorite book is Stephanie’s ponytail
    Kevin Henkes- my favorite book is Julius
    Russell Hoban- my favorite book is Bread and Jam for Frances
    Donald Crews- my favorite is Freight Train
    James Marshall- my favorite book is George and Martha
    Ed Emberley- my favorite book is Go Away Big Green Monster!
    Byron Barton- my favorite book is Machines at Work
    Wanda Gag- my favorite book is Millions of Cats
    William Steig- my favorite book is Pete’s a Pizza
    Paul Galdone- my favorite book is The Three Bears
    Bob Graham- my favorite is Benny: an Adventure Story
    Richard Scarry- my favorite book is Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
    David Catrow- my favorite book is The Boy Who Looked Like Lincoln
    Steven Kellogg- my favorite book is How much is a Million?
    Ezra Jack Keats- ,my favorite book is Dreams
    Steve Jenkins- my favorite book is Actual Size
    Audrey Wood- my favorite book is Piggies
    Picture Books

    Abuela by Arthur Dorros
    Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty
    Animals should definitely not wear clothing by Judi Barrett
    Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
    The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
    Benny’s Pennies by Pat Brisson
    Black and White by David Macaulay
    The Bossy Gallito by Lucia M. Gonzalez
    Bunny Cakes and other Bunny books by Rosemary Wells
    The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
    Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
    A chair for my mother by Vera B Williams
    Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
    Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
    Corduroy by Don Freeman
    Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
    Cowboy Baby by Sue Heap
    Curious George by H.A. Rey
    Custard the Dragon and the Wicked Knight by Ogden Nash
    Daisy and the Beastie and other Daisy books by Jane Simmons
    The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann
    Dinosaur Roar! By Paul and Henrietta Strickland
    Doctor Desoto by William Steig
    Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
    Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
    Dumpy La Rue by Elizabeth Winthrop, illus. by Betsy Lewin (Henry Holt)
    Elizabeti’s Doll and other Elizabeti books by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, illus.
    by Christy Hale (Lee & Low)
    Freight Train by Donald Crews
    Froggy Gets Dressed and other froggy titles by Jonathan London
    From Head to Toe by Eric Carle (HarperCollins)
    Harry the Dirty Dog and the Harry stories by Gene Zion
    The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
    Hello Ocean/ Hola Mar by Pam Munoz Ryan
    Hooway for Wodney Wat! by Helen Lester, illus. by Lynn Munsinger (HMCo.)
    A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
    The Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel
    George and Martha by James Marshall
    Go Away Big Green Monsters by Ed Emberley
    Good Morning, Sam and other Sam books by Marie-Louise Gay (Groundwood)
    Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
    Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
    Gossie & Gertie and other Gossie books by Olivier Dunrea (HMCo.)
    How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen, illus. by Mark Teague (Scholastic)
    In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming (Henry Holt)
    It looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G Shaw
    Julius Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Julius’s Candy Corn by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    The Line-up Book by Russo Marisabina
    Lilly’s Chocolate Heart by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber
    Machines at Work by Byron Barton
    Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
    Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming
    Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
    The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
    Mary Alice Operator Number 9 by Jeffrey Allen
    Max’s Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells (Putnam)
    Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy
    Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
    Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate, illus. by Ashley
    Wolff (Dutton)
    Miss Spider’s Wedding by David Kirk (Scholastic)
    Mr. Wolf’s Pancakes by Jan Fearnley (Tiger Tales)
    More, More, More said the Baby by Vera B Williams
    My Dad by Anthony Browne (FSG)
    Never Take A Shark to the Dentist by Judi Barrett
    No David! and other David books by David Shannon (Scholastic)
    Off to School, Baby Duck! and others in the series by Amy Hest, illus. by Jill Barton
    (Candlewick)
    Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam)
    Old Blue Buggy by Fran Swift, illus. by Carol Thompson (Dutton)
    Olivia and other Olivia books by Ian Falconer (Simon & Schuster)
    Owen by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Owen’s Marshmallow Chick by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Petunia by Roger Duvoisin
    Pete’s a Pizza by William Steig (HarperCollins)
    The Tale of Peter Rabbit and others by Beatrix Potter
    The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill
    The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
    Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky
    Sheila Rae’s Peppermint Stick by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Somebody and the Three Blairs by Marilyn Tolhurst, illus, by Simone Abel
    (Orchard)
    Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie by Norton Juster
    Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
    The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
    Suddenly! by Colin McNaughton (Harcourt)
    The Tale of a Black Cat adapted by Carl Withers
    Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
    The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
    The Three Bears by Paul Galdone
    Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco (Philomel)
    Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! by George Shannon, illus. by Laura Dronzek (HarperCollins)
    Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
    Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern
    Trashy Town by Andrea Griffing Zimmerman
    The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka
    The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Philomel)
    The Vanities by Terence Lawler
    Wake Up, Big Barn! by Suzanne Tanner Chitwood (Scholastic)
    Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Wemberly’s Ice-Cream Star by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
    Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins)
    Who Said Red by Mary Serfozo
    The Wing Shop by Stephen Gammell
    The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
    Zen Shorts by Jon J Muth
    Novels for Reading Aloud

    Babe the Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith (Crown)
    Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (HarperCollins)
    Clever Lollipop by Dick King-Smith (Candlewick)
    Hedgehogs in the Hall and other Animal Ark titles by Ben Baglio (Scholastic)
    Hugh Pine by Janwillen Vandewetering, illus. by Lynn Munsinger (HMCo.)
    Lady Lollipop by Dick King-Smith (Candlewick)
    Stuart Little by E. B. White (HarperCollins)
    Non-Fiction

    All About Sharks and other titles by Jim Arnosky (Scholastic)
    Animals Asleep by Sneed B. Collard III, illus. by Anik McGrory (HMCo.)
    Beaks! by Sneed B. Collard III, illus. by Robin Brickman (Charlesbridge)
    Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones and other titles by Ruth Heller (Grosset & Dunlap)
    From Wax to Crayon by Robin Nelson (Lerner)
    I Took A Walk by Henry Cole (Greenwillow)
    On the Way to the Beach by Henry Cole (HarperCollins)
    One Small Place by the Sea by Barbara Brenner, illus. by Tom Leonard
    (HarperCollins)
    Polar Bears and other titles by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House)
    Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme by Bruce McMillan (Harcourt)
    Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley, photos by Nic Bishop (Scholastic)
    The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer, illustrated by Steve Johnson (Knopf)
    Spinning Spiders by Melvin Berger, illus. by S.D. Schindler (HarperCollins)
     
    Pattern Books

    Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr., illus. by Eric Carle
    (Henry Holt)
    The House that Jack Built by Jeanette Winter (Dial)
    I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly by Simms Taback (Putnam)
    I Went Walking by Sue Williams, illus. by Julie Vivas (Gulliver/HBJ)
    Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino, illus. by Steven Kellogg (Scholastic)
    Miss Polly Has A Dolly retold by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by Elicia Castaldi
    (Putnam)
    Old MacDonald Had A Woodshop by Lisa M. Shulman, illus. by Ashley Wolff
    Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin, Jr., illus. by Eric Carle
    (Henry Holt)
    The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort, illus. by G. Brian Karas (Henry Holt)
    This is the House that Jack Built by Simms Taback (Putnam)
    To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda, illus. by Janet Stevens (Harcourt)
    Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass & Philomen Sturges,
    illus. by Ashley Wolff (Little, Brown)
    Cumulative Tales

    My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman, illus. by Kevin Hawkes (Crown)
    The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood (Harcourt)
    One Hungry Monster by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe, illus. by Lynn Munsinger (Little,
    Brown)
    One Monday Morning by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux)
    Over In the Meadow retold by Paul Galdone (Simon & Schuster)
    Over in the Meadow retold by Louise Voce (Candlewick)
    I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly by Simms Taback (Putnam)
    The House that Jack Built by Jeanette Winter (Dial)
    The Pot That Juan Built by Nancy Andrews-Goebel, illus. by David Diaz (Lee &
    Low)
    This is the House that Jack Built by Simms Taback (Putnam)
    Circle Stories

    If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, illus. by Felicia Bond
    (HarperCollins)
    The Great Gracie Chase by Cynthia Rylant, illus. by Mark Teague (Scholastic)
    A House for a Hermit Crab by Eric Carle (Simon & Schuster)
    Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (Viking)
    The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood (Harcourt)
    One Monday Morning by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux)
    Rooster’s Off to See the World by Eric Carle (Simon & Schuster)
    Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins (Simon & Schuster)
    Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins)
    ABC Books

    Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debora Pearson, illus. by Edward Miller
    (Holiday House)
    alphabeasties by Sharon Werner
    Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault (Simon and
    Schuster)
    Gone Wild an endangered animal alphabet by David McLimans
    Firefighters from A to Z by Chris Demarest (McElderry Books)
    The Handmade Alphabet by Laura Rankin (Scholastic)
    Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet by Deborah Lee Rose, illus. by Steve Jenkins
    K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo by Giles Andreae, illus. by Guy Parker-Rees
    (Orchard)
    Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth, illus. by Stephen Gammell (Henry Holt)
    The Racecar Alphabet by Brian Floca (Atheneum)
    Mother Goose Books

    Baby Goose by Kate McMullan, illus. by Pascal Lamaitre (Hyperion)
    Monster Goose by Judy Sierra, illus. by Jack E. Davis (Harcourt)
    My Very First Mother Goose collected by Iona Opie, illus. by Rosemary Wells
    (Candlewick)
    The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews (Greenwillow)
    Will Moses Mother Goose by Will Moses (Philomel)
    Phonemic Awareness Books

    Ook the Book: And Other Silly Rhymes by Lissa Rovetch, illus. by Shannon McNeill
    (Chronicle)
    Rhyme

    Dr. Seuss – everything!
    Little Bunny Foo Foo retold and sung by The Good Fairy, illus. by Paul Brett
    Johnson (Scholastic)
    The Eensy-Weensy Spider and others by Mary Ann Hoberman, illus. by
    Nadine Bernard Westcott (Little, Brown)
    I Knew Two Who Said Moo: A Counting and Rhyming Book by Judi Barrett,
    illus. by Daniel Moreton (Simon & Schuster)
    Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? and others in the series by Nancy White
    Carlstrom, illus. by Bruce Degen (Simon & Schuster)
    Little Bunny Foo Foo retold and sung by The Good Fairy, illus. by Paul Brett
    Johnson (Scholastic)
    The Monster Bed by Jeanne Willis, illus. by Susan Varley (HarperCollins)
    Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh and others in the series by Sarah Weeks, illus. by
    Nadine Bernard Westcott (HarperCollins)
    Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme by Bruce McMillan (Harcourt)
    Repetition

    Dr. Seuss – everything!
    Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed by Eileen Christelow (Houghton
    Mifflin)
    Is This A House for Hermit Crab? by Megan McDonald, illus. by S.D.
    Schindler (Orchard)
    The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams,
    Silly Sally by Audrey Wood (Harcourt)
    Alliteration

    Dr. Seuss – everything!
    Clara the Caterpillar by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by Henry Cole
    (HarperCollins)
    Dinorella by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by Henry Cole (Hyperion)
    Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by
    Henry Cole (HarperCollins)
    Rosie’s Roses by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by Henry Cole
    (HarperCollins)
    Some Smug Slug by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by Henry Cole
    (HarperCollins)
    Wacky Wedding: A Book of Alphabet Antics by Pamela Duncan Edwards,
    illus. by Henry Cole (Hyperion)
    Poetry

    A Family of Poems Caroline Kennedy my favorite poetry for children, Paintings by Jon J Muth

    The Bugs in Teacher’s Coffee and Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos, illus. by Mike
    Reed  (HarperTrophy)
    Good for You! Toddler Rhymes for Toddler Times by Stephanie Calmenson, illus. by
    Melissa Sweet (HarperCollins)
    A Pet for Me selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illus. by Jane Manning
    (HarperCollins)
    Take Me Out of the Bathtub and other silly dilly songs by Alan Katz, illus. by David
    Catrow (McElderry Books)
    Little Dog Poems by Kristine O’Connell George (Clarion)
    Little Dog and Duncan by Kristine O’Connell George (Clarion)
    Readers Theatre

    Readers Theatre for Beginning Readers by Suzanne I. Barchers (Teacher Ideas
    Press)
    Search and Find Books

    Where’s Waldo? And the Where’s Waldo Series by Martin Handford
    I Spy and the I Spy series by Walter Wick
Last Modified on October 7, 2011