List: Classroom Read Alouds for Grades K-2
Count the Monkeys
The reader is invited to count the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages.
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Z is For Moose
Moose, terribly eager to play his part in the alphabet book his friend Zebra is putting together, then awfully disappointed when his letter passes, behaves rather badly until Zebra finds a spot for him.
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A Bike Like Sergio's
Ruben feels like he is the only kid without a bike. His friend Sergio reminds him that his birthday is coming, but Ruben knows that the kinds of birthday gifts he and Sergio receive are not the same. After all, when Ruben's mom sends him to Sonny's corner store for groceries, sometimes she doesn't have enough money for everything on the list. So when Ruben sees a dollar bill fall out of someone's purse, he picks it up and puts it in his pocket. But when he gets home, he discovers it's not one dollar or even five or ten--it's a hundred-dollar bill, more than enough for a new bike just like Sergio's! But what about the crossed-off groceries? And what about the woman who lost her money?
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The Day the Crayons Quit
Also available in Overdrive. When Duncan arrives at school one morning, he finds a stack of letters, one from each of his crayons, complaining about how he uses them.
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The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
Also available in Hoopla. You've played the game. Now read the legend of how it all began...Long ago, in an ancient and distant realm called the Kingdom of Backyard, there lived a warrior named ROCK. Meanwhile in the Empire of Mom's Home Office, a second great warrior sought the glory of battle. And his name was PAPER. At the same time, in the Kitchen Realm, in the tiny village of Junk Drawer, lived a third warrior. They called her SCISSORS. These three were the strongest, smartest, and fastest in all the land. Time and again they beat the most fearsome opponents they could find: an apricot, a computer printer--even frozen, breaded, dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets! But when the warriors finally meet each other, the most epic round of battles begins...and never ends. That is why, to this day, children around the world honor these worthy adversaries by playing ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!--Provided by Publisher.
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The Princess and The Pig
When a new baby princess accidentally changes places with a piglet, both of their lives are forever changed.
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Ribbit!
When a pig visits a frog pond, sits on a rock, and says only "Ribbit!", news spreads fast but only the wise old beetle has an explanation.
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Chrysanthemum
Also available in Overdrive. Starting school can be a real test of one's mettle, especially for those with unusual names. Wee mouse Chrysanthemum has always loved the "absolutely perfect" name her parents gave her, but most of her kindergarten classmates have names like Joe and Sue and Bill, and they tease her for having the same name as a flower. Poor Chrysanthemum is terribly unhappy at school until the day the students meet their music teacher
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The Green Umbrella
When Elephant takes a quiet stroll with his green umbrella, he is hindered by Hedgehog, Cat, Bear, and Rabbit, each asserting that his umbrella is truly their boat, tent, flying machine, and cane.
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The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School
A gingerbread man searches all over the school for the group of children that made him and then left him behind.
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Open Very Carefully
A crocodile falls into a quiet storybook and wreaks havoc on the characters, in a tale that invites youngsters to slam the book shut or find the courage to take a peek inside.
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11 Experiments that Failed
Also available in Overdrive. A hyper-curious young girl tries a series of wacky experiments, such as seeing if a piece of bologna will fly like a frisbee and determining whether seedlings will grow if watered with expensive perfume, and then must suffer the consequences of experiments gone awry.
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Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude
Cooperatively writing a fairy tale for school, a girl imagines a beautiful princess whose beloved ponies are being stolen by a giant, and a boy conjures up the muscular biker who will guard the last pony in exchange for gold.
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I Wanna Iguana
Alex and his mother write notes back and forth in which Alex tries to persuade her to let him have a baby iguana for a pet.
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The Cheese
After they all agree to ignore the story of "The Farmer in the Dell," the rat, cat, dog, child, farmer, and his wife have a party featuring the tempting hunk of cheese.
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It's Okay to Be Different
Also available in Overdrive. Illustrations and brief text describe all kinds of differences that are "okay," such as "It's Okay to be a different color," "It's Okay to need some help," "It's Okay to be adopted," and "It's Okay to have a Different nose."
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Memoirs of a Goldfish
Also available in Overdrive and Hoopla. A goldfish gives a personal account of his experiences while swimming around his bowl as it slowly fills with fish and other accessories, only to realize when he is relocated for a cleaning how much he misses them.
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Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great
Also available in RB Digital. Envy turns to admiration and finally to friendship for Goat and Unicorn.
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Interrupting Chicken
Also available in RB Digital. Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale.
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Take Away the A: An Alphabeast of a Book!
What happens when you subtract just one letter from a word? Beginning with "without the A the beast is the best" a pack of silly creatures work their way through the alphabet, subtracting each letter from a different word to alter its meaning and tell a story.
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