Recommended Reading Books for Elementary PK-5

Kindergarten:

1. Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems
2. Oh No, the Aunts Are Here by Adam Rex
3. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
4. Leave Me Alone! By Vera Brosgol
5. Seaside Stroll by Charles Trevino
6. Nugget & Fang by Tammi Sauer
7. Hey, Water! By Antoinette Portis
8. Perfect Square by Michael Hall
9. Mel Fell by Corey Tabor
10. I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty
11. The Princess In Black by Shannon Hale
12. The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
13. The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer
14. Ten on a Twig by Lo Cole
15. Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
16. Blackout by John Rocco
17. What Color is Night? By Grant Snider
18. Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton
19. The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires
20. One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
21. One Is a Piñata by Roseanne Thong
22. The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat
23. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
24. The Way Home in the Night by Akiko Miyakoshi
25. Inside Cat by Brendan Wenzel
26. Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler
27. Ish by Peter H. Reynolds
28. Steam Train, Dream Train by Sherri Duskey Rinker
29. Goodnight Already! By Jory John
30. How do Dinosaurs… series by Jane Yolen
31. Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
32. Over the Hills and Far Away: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Elizabeth Hammill
33. The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli
34. Another by Christian Robinson
35. The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham
36. Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French
37. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
38. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
39. Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld
40. Catside Up, Catside Down by Anna Hrachovec
41. I Was Born a Baby by Meg Fleming
42. Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme by Avery Monsen
43. Counting to Bananas by Carrie Tillotson
44. Big Truck Little Island by Chris Van Dusen
45. Solitary Animals: Introverts of the Wild by Joshua Stein
46. Have You Seen Gordon? By Adam Jay Epstein
47. Dandy by Ame Dyckman
48. First Day Critter Jitters by Jory John
49. Hike by Pete Oswald
50. A Polar Bear In the Snow by Mac Barnett
51. The Three Billy Goats Buenos by Susan Middleton Elya
52. Speak Up by Miranda Paul
53. The Yawns Are Coming! By Christopher Eliopoulos
54. You Matter by Christian Robinson
55. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
56. Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper

First Grade:

1. The Pigeon series by Mo Willems
2. Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus
3. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
4. There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
5. Locomotive by Brian Floca
6. Digger Dozer Dumper by Hope Vestergaard
7. Tuesday by David Wiesner
8. 365 Penguins by Jean Luc Fromental
9. Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
10. My Blue Is Happy by Jessica Young
11. The Dot by Peter H Reynolds
12. The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
13. Chez Bob by Bob Shea
14. The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds
15. The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath by Julia Finley Mosca
16. Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies
17. Hat Trilogy by Jon Klassen
18. Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet
19. How to Clean a Hippopotamus by Robin Page
20. Press Here by Herve Tullet
21. If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen
22. Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne
23. 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli by David LaRochelle
24. Mr. S. by Monica Arnaldo
25. Pizza!  A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli
26. Butterflies Are Pretty…Gross by Rosemary Mosco
27. That’s Not My Name!  By Anoosha Syed
28. Burt the Beetle Doesn’t Bite by Ashley Spires
29. Brains!  Not Just a Zombie Snack by Stacy McAnulty
30. Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
31. Boxitects by Kim Smith
32. Every Night Is Pizza Night by J. Kenji Lopez- Alt
33. I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes
34. Lemonade In Winter by Emily Jenkins
35. Packs: Strength in Numbers by Hannah Salyer
36. What Do You Do If You Work at the Zoo? By Steve Jenkins
37. Perfect by Max Amato
38. Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
39. Can I Be Your Dog? By Troy Cummings
40. A Place for Pluto by Stef Wade
41. The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier
42. Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman
43. What Do They Do With All That Poo? By Jane Kurtz
44. Frank the Seven-Legged Spider by Michaele Razi
45. Niko Draws a Feeling by Bob Raczka
46. My Journey to the Stars by Scott Kelly
47. Triangle by Mac Barnett
48. Narwhal and Jelly series by Ben Clanton
49. School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex
50. Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith
51. Duck, Duck, Porcupine! By Salina Yoon
52. The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton
53. P. Zonka Lays An Egg by Julie Paschkis
54. It’s Only Stanley by Jon Agee
55. Little Red Hot by Eric Kimmel

2nd grade:

1. The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson
2. Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan
3. When Sheep Cannot Sleep by Satoshi Kitamura
4. The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter
5. You Are Home by Evan Turk
6. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick
7. A Boy Named Isamu by James Yang
8. Ocean Meets Sky by The Fan Brothers
9. Double Bass Blues by Andrea J. Loney
10. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
11. Friends Beyond Measure by Lalena Fisher
12. The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
13. Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri
14. I Am Enough by Grace Byers
15. Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
16. Roger the Jolly Pirate by Brett Helquist
17. Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
18. Big by Vashti Harrison
19. Butt or Face? By Kari Lavelle
20. How to Save Your Tail by Mary Hansen
21. Science Verse by Jon Scieszka
22. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
23. Bartholemew and the Oobleck by Dr Seuss
24. Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
25. No Fair!  By Jacob Grant
26. Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
27. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
28. The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
29. Amber Brown series by Paula Danzinger
30. Mr Pants series by Scott McCormick
31. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
32. Galaxy Zack by Ray O’Ryan
33. Cam Jansen series by David A Adler
34. Stink series by Megan McDonald
35. A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban
36. Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us by Lauren Castillo
37. Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya Angelou
38. If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen
39. Mina by Matthew Forsythe
40. Berry Song by Michaela Goade
41. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
42. Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder
43. My First Day by Phung Nguyen Quang
44. Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots by Michael Rex
45. Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca Gomez
46. The Food Group series by Jory John
47. My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero
48. Give Me Back My Bones! By Kim Norman
49. Help Me, Mr. Mutt! By Janet Stevens

3rd Grade:

1. Legendarios series by Karla Arenas Valenti
2. Emily’s Blue Period by Cathleen Daly
3. The Vanishing Coin by Kate Egan
4. Billy Miller series by Kevin Henkes
5. Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla
6. Leave It to Plum! By 
7. Shermy and Shake series by Kirby Larson
8. The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson
9. Little Cat’s Luck by Marion Dane Bauer
10. Lola Levine series by Monica Brown
11. Scare School Diaries by Jarrett Lerner
12. The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Hubbard
13. Caves by Nell Cross BeckermanFreckle Juice by Judy Blume
14. 13 Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths
15. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman
16. Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau
17. Babe by Dick King-Smith
18. Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
19. What Presidents are Made Of by Hanoch Piven
20. The Adventures of Paddington by Michael Bond
21. Ellray Jakes series by Sally Warner
22. The Notebook of Doom by Troy Cummings
23. Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O’Malley
24. The Mystery of the Monarchs by Barb Rosenstock
25. Humphrey series by Betty Birney
26. Bad to the Bone by Lucy Nolan
27. Dear Max by Sally Grindley
28. Frindle by Andrew Clements
29. Sergeant Reckless by Patricia McCormick
30. Zita the Spacegirl series by Ben Hatke
31. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
32. Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson 
33. Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce
34. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
35. J.D and the Great Barber Battle by J. Dillard
36. Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
37. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
38. Coral Reefs by Jason Chin
39. Barnum’s Bones by Tracey Fern
40. Canned by Alex Shearer
41. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
42. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
43. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
44. The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling
45. Frankie Sparks series by Megan Blakemore
46. Legends of Lotus Island series by Christina Soontornvat
47. Memoirs of a Tortoise by Devin Scillian
48. The Unlucky Lottery Winners of Classroom 13 by Honest Lee
49. Wedgie and Gizmo by Suzanne Selfors
50. Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera
51. Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Go to School by Julie Falatko
52. The Boo-Boos That Changed the World by Barry Wittenstein
53. Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech
54. Step Right Up by Donna Bowman
55. The Chicken Squad series by Doreen Cronin
56. Down, Down, Down by Steve Jenkins

4th grade:

1. Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko
2. The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines by Mo Netz
3. From An Idea to Disney by Lowey Sichol
4. Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan
5. Funny Girl by Betsy Bird
6. The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett
7. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
8. Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
9. Charlotte’s Web by E B White
10. Stella by McCall Hoyle
11. Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
12. Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis
13. The Wild Robot series by Peter Brown
14. Six Dots by Jen Bryant
15. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
16. Alvin Ho series by Lenore Look
17. The Hungry Place by Jessie Haas
18. The Magnificent Mya Tibbs series by Crystal Allen
19. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
20. Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio
21. New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi
22. Odder by Katherine Applegate
23. The Bicycle Spy by Yona McDonough
24. Someplace to Call Home by Sandra Dallas
25. A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson
26. Sharuko: Peruvian Archaeologist by Monica Brown
27. The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein
28. The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann
29. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
30. Real Friends by Shannon Hale
31. Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
32. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
33. Who Is/Was…series
34. Extraordinary by Miriam Spitzer Franklin
35. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
36. Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee
37. Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
38. The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
39. The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo
40. Blue by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
41. Haven: A Small Cat’s Big Adventure by Megan Lloyd
42. The Polter-Ghost Problem by M.L. Forman
43. Thirst by Varsha Bajaj
44. Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt
45. The One Thing You’d Save by Linda Sue Park
46. Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs
47. Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott
48. No Place for Monsters by Kory Merritt
49. The Best of Iggy series by Annie Barrow
50. The Elephant’s Girl by Celesta Remington
51. Follow Those Zebras: Solving a Migration Mystery by Sandra Markle
52. Words On Fire by Jennifer Nielsen
53. Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn
54. Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows by Ryan Calejo
55. Nightbooks by J.A. White
56. Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
57. Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
58. Pickle by Kimberly Baker
59. Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff

5th grade:

1. Nic Blake and the Remarkables by Angie Thomas
2. The Last Beekeeper by 
3. We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
4. Stuntboy books by Jason Reynolds
5. Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros
6. Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
7. Woof by Spencer Quinn
8. Nightmares! By Jason Segel
9. Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick
10. The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
11. The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown
12. Playing the Cards You’re Dealt by Varian Johnson
13. The Cursed Moon by Angela Cervantes
14. The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
15. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
16. Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White
17. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
18. Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen by Niki Lenz
19. Stamped (for Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
20. I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day
21. Willodeen by Katherine Applegate
22. Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt
23. Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales by Nathan Hale
24. Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes
25. Soar by Joan Bauer
26. Becoming Muhammad Ali: A Novel by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
27. Into the Wild by Erin Hunter
28. Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres
29. Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
30. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
31. Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland
32. History Smashers series
33. Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
34. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
35. Doña Quixote: Rise of the Knight by Rey Terciero
36. The Borrowers by Mary Norton
37. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
38. Nightingale by Deva Fagan
39. A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
40. Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango
41. Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
42. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
43. The Tapper Twins by Geoff Rodkey
44. The Water and the Wild by K.E. Ormsbee
45. Just My Luck by Cammie McGovern
46. Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
47. The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
48. The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter
49. Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian Heidicker
50. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
51. Half Upon a Time by James Riley
52. The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner
53. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla
54. Almost Home by Joan Bauer
55. You Are Here: Connecting Flights edited by Ellen Oh 
56. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
57. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
58. The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo
59. The Last Beekeeper by Pablo Cartaya
60. Long Lost by Jacqueline West
61. Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm
62. Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper