Special Collections
District List: NYC Reads 365 - First Grade
Description: NYC Reads 365 is a literacy initiative of the New York City Department of Education to create a new generation of readers. This list of high-interest titles is curated by NYC school librarians for students in Grade 1 and is updated each school year.
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Dance! Dance! Underpants!
by Bob SheaBallet Cat is getting her friend Butter Bear ready for her big ballet debut. "Leap, Butter Bear, leap!" Ballet Cat prompts. But Butter Bear would prefer to just point her toe. When Ballet Cat keeps pushing, Butter Bear gets hungry, then thirsty, then sleepy . . . The bottom line is that Butter Bear would rather do almost anything to avoid making a big leap. Why? Because her bottom is covered in silly underpants! This second entry in the Ballet Cat series will have beginning readers rolling on the floor with laughter.
When Otis Courted Mama
by Kathi Appelt and Cyndy Szekeres and Jill McElmurryWhile his life seems perfectly good as it is, Cardell, a young coyote, learns to tolerate--and even like--the coyote that is courting his mother.
The Lost House
by Brian CroninFall into this award-winning seek-and-find book with its richly timeless style and get swept up in a treasure hunt through Grandad’s wild house!
The children want to go to the park with Grandad, but they can’t leave until they find his lost socks…and his shoes…and even his teeth! Will they ever get out of Grandad’s busy house? With a trove of wonders to discover on every page, this seek and find book will enchant young and old alike as they search for Grandad’s lost objects. Oversized dimensions, a textured paper-over-board die-cut cover, eye-popping color, and elaborately complex spreads on every page make this book a collector's item and a must-have.
Imani's Moon
by Janay Brown-Wood and Hazell MitchellWanting to do something great, Imani, a young Maasai girl with a loving mother, decides she wants to touch the moon and works hard to reach her goal despite the teasing of detractors, in a story complemented by facts about Maasai folklore and culture.
Before Morning
by Joyce Sidman and Beth KrommesThere are planes to fly and buses to catch, but a child uses the power of words, in the form of an invocation, to persuade fate to bring her family a snow day — a day slow and unhurried enough to spend at home together. In a spare text that reads as pure song and illustrations of astonishingly beautiful scratchboard art, Sidman and Krommes remind us that sometimes, if spoken from the heart, wishes really can come true.
Snail and Worm
by Tina KüglerCombining deceptively simple art with clever wordplay, Snail and Worm—told in three comical, episodic shorts and ranging in topic from adventuring to having pets—will have both girls and boys delighting in the friends' silly antics, making it a perfect book for readers transitioning between picture books and chapter books.
Thunder Boy Jr.
by Yuyi Morales and Sherman AlexieThunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that's all his own. Just because people call his dad Big Thunder doesn't mean he wants to be Little Thunder. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he's done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder.But just when Thunder Boy Jr. thinks all hope is lost, he and his dad pick the perfect name...a name that is sure to light up the sky.National Book Award-winner Sherman Alexie's lyrical text and Caldecott Honor-winner Yuyi Morales's striking and beautiful illustrations celebrate the special relationship between father and son.
Leo
by Christian Robinson and Mac BarnettYou would like being friends with Leo. He likes to draw, he makes delicious snacks, and most people can't even see him. Because Leo is also a ghost. When a new family moves into his home and Leo's efforts to welcome them are misunderstood, Leo decides it is time to leave and see the world. That is how he meets Jane, a kid with a tremendous imagination and an open position for a worthy knight. That is how Leo and Jane become friends. And that is when their adventures begin. This charming tale of friendship--from two of the best young minds in picture books: the author of the Caldecott Honor-winning Extra Yarn and the illustrator of the Bologna Ragazzi Award-winning Josephine--is destined to become a modern classic that will delight readers for years to come.
City Shapes
by Diana Murray and Bryan CollierHunt for shapes of all kinds on this journey through a bustling city, illustrated by four-time Caldecott Honoree Bryan Collier!From shimmering skyscrapers to fluttering kites to twinkling stars high in the sky, everyday scenes become extraordinary as a young girl walks through her neighborhood noticing exciting new shapes at every turn. Far more than a simple concept book, City Shapes is an explosion of life. Diana Murray's richly crafted yet playful verse encourages readers to discover shapes in the most surprising places, and Bryan Collier's dynamic collages add even more layers to each scene in this ode to city living.
Water is Water
by Miranda Paul and Jason ChinThis spare, poetic picture book follows a group of kids as they move through all the different phases of the water cycle. From rain to fog to snow to mist, talented author Miranda Paul and the always remarkable Jason Chin (Redwoods, Coral Reefs, Island, Gravity) combine to create a beautiful and informative journey in this innovative nonfiction picture book that will leave you thirsty for more.
Tiny Creatures
by Nicola Davies and Emily SuttonAll around the world in sea, soil, air, and in your body there are living things so tiny that millions could fit on an ant’s antenna. They’re busy doing all sorts of things, from giving you a cold and making yogurt to eroding mountains and helping to make the air we breathe. If you see them with your eye, you’d find that they all look different, and that they’re really good at changing things into something else and at making many more microbes.
Their Great Gift
by John Coy and Wing Young HuieWith lyrical text and thought-provoking photography, Their Great Gift explores the experiences of immigrants in the twenty-first century, focusing on the lives of children. Images of families who came to the United States from many different parts of the world celebrate the diversity of our country and contain a vision of hope for the future.
Night Animals
by Gianna MarinoIn this book, Possum is hiding from the sounds in the night and his fear sets off a chain reaction in the other night animals.
The Airport Book
by Lisa BrownFollow a family and the youngest member's favorite sock monkey through all the inner and outer workings of an airport.
In a book that is as intriguing as it is useful and entertaining, we follow a family on its way through the complexities of a modern-day airport. From checking bags and watching them disappear on the mysterious conveyor belt, to security clearance and a seemingly endless wait at the gate to finally being airborne.
But wait! There's more! The youngest family member's sock monkey has gone missing. Follow it at the bottom of the page as it makes a journey as memorable as that of the humans above.
A Rock Can Be
by Laura Purdie Salas and Violeta DabijaRocks may seem like boring, static objects—until you discover that a rock can spark a fire, glow in the dark, and provide shelters of all shapes and sizes. Laura Purdie Salas's lyrical rhyming text and Violeta Dabija's glowing illustrations show how rocks decorate and strengthen the world around them.
Can I Eat That?
by Joshua David Stein and Julia Rothman and Meagan BennettA whimsical–yet factual–series of questions and answers about the things we eat... and don't eat!
Food critic Joshua David Stein whets the appetite of young readers with a wondrous and informative approach to talking about food. This humorous, stylized and entirely unexpected set of food facts will engage both good eaters and resisters alike. With questions both practical ("Can you eat a sea urchin?") and playful ("Do eggs grow on eggplants?"), this read-aloud text offers young children facts to share and the subtle encouragement to taste something new!
Food and textile illustrator Julia Rothman brings an authenticity to the text that Stein has written from the heart, for his own three year-old and for pre-schoolers everywhere.
Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! It's Shoe Time!
by Mo WillemsIf you choose to wear unmatched shoes, can they still be a pair?
What's Your Favorite Favorite
by Bob SheaBallet Cat and her cousin, Goat, try to outdo one another while putting on a show for their grandmother.
Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! The Cookie Fiasco
by Mo WillemsThere are only three cookies and four hungry friends to share them with. This is not good. This is not equal! How are they ever going to solve this fiasco?
What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig
by Emma J. VirjánWhat this story needs is a pig in a wig, on a boat in a moat with a frog, a dog, and a goat on a log...
As a panda in a blouse, a skunk on a trunk, and more hop on board, it becomes clear that what this story really needs is a bigger boat! Join Pig on an exciting boat ride as she discovers that life is more fun with friends in this fantastic, funny read-aloud about friendship.
The Totally Secret Secret
by Bob SheaBallet Cat and Sparkles the Pony are trying to decide what to play today. Nothing that Sparkles suggests--making crafts, playing checkers, and selling lemonade--goes well with the leaping, spinning, and twirling that Ballet Cat likes to do. When Sparkles's leaps, spins, and twirls seem halfhearted, Ballet Cat asks him what's wrong. Sparkles doesn't want to say. He has a secret that Ballet Cat won't want to hear. What Sparkles doesn't know is that Ballet Cat has a secret of her own, a totally secret secret. Once their secrets are shared, will their friendship end, or be stronger than ever?
What This Story Needs Is a Bang and a Clang
by Emma J. VirjanJoin Pig and her friends in their latest adventure as they get ready to put on the best show ever! From author-illustrator Emma J. Virján comes another funny read-aloud with catchy, rhythmic text and big, bold illustrations.