“As a parent, I know that reading with your child is an important part of their mental and emotional development,” said Mrs. Blagojevich. “I started this program to encourage parents to read with their children, and I hope our recommended reading list helps parents find books that the whole family can enjoy.”

The Grouchy Ladybug
by Eric Carle

Book Description:

This beloved Eric Carle classic returns once again in a colorful new board book format. For generations, The Grouchy Ladybug has delighted readers of all ages with the story of a bad-tempered bug who won't say "please" or "thank you," won't share, and thinks she is bigger and better than anyone else. As children follow the Grouchy Ladybug on her journey, they will learn the important concepts of time, size, and shape, as well as the benefits of friendship and good manners.

Author Biography:

Eric Carle is the creator of more than seventy picture books for young readers. Eric Carle was born in New York, USA. However, when he was just six, he moved with his parents to Germany. In 1952, after graduating from the prestigious Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart, he fulfilled his dream of returning to New York. Eric Carle has received many distinguished awards and honours for his work, including, in 2003, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his lifetime contribution to children's literature and illustration. In 2002, fifty years after Carle's return to the United States, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art was opened in Amherst, Massachusetts. Here visitors of all ages can enjoy, in addition to Eric Carle's work, original artwork by other distinguished children's book illustrators from around the world.

Awards:

Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from HarperCollins Publishers, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.

A Light in the Attic
by Shel Silverstein

Book Description:

Last night while I lay thinking here
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
And pranced and partied all night long
And sang their same old Whatif song:

Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?...

Here in the attic of Shel Silverstein you will find Backward Bill, Sour Face Ann, the Meehoo with an Exactlywatt, and the Polar Bear in the Frigidaire. You will talk with Broiled Face, and find out what happens when Somebody steals your knees, you get caught by the Quick-Digesting Gink, a Mountain snores, and They Put a Brassiere on the Camel.

From the creator of the beloved poetry collections Where the Sidewalk Ends and Falling Up, here is another wondrous book of poems and drawings.

Author Biography:

Shel Silverstein is the author-artist of many books of prose and poetry. He was a cartoonist, playwright, poet, performer, recording artist, and Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated songwriter. He wrote this yook especially for bou.

Awards:

ALA Notable Children’s Book
School Library Journal Best Book
Library of Congress Children’s Books
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Kansas)
Garden State Children's Book Award (New Jersey)
George C. Stone Center for Children's Books Recognition of Merit Award
Buckeye Children’s Book Award (Ohio)

Additional Information:

The audio version of the book is available from the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, so that all children can join in the fun. www.rfbd.org

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from HarperCollins Publishers, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019