1. Must-read books for Elementary School ESL students
Illustrated Books
1 Around the World in 80 Days
2 Black Beauty
3 The Call of the Wild
4 Little Women
5 Oliver Twist
6 Adventures of Tom Sawyer
7 Treasure Island
8 Wizard of Oz
9 Journey to the Center of the Earth
10 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
11 Swiss Family Robinson
12 Heidi
13 The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
14 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
15 The Three Musketeers
16 Moby Dick
17 The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
18 20,000 Leagues under the Sea
19 The Mutiny on the Bounty
20 Kidnapped
21 Great Expectations
22 The Prince and the Pauper
23 David Copperfield
24 The Last of the Mohicans
25 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
26 The Tale of Two Cities
27 The Red Badge of Courage
28 The Count of Monte Cristo
29 Captains Courageous
30 Frankenstein
31 King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
32 The Time Machine
33 Tales of Mystery and Terror
34 White Fang
35 Ivanhoe
36 The Hunchback of Notre Dame
37 The Jungle Book
38 The Secret Garden
39 The Wind in the Willows
40 Hans Brinker
41 Gulliver’s Travels
42 Anne of Green Gables
43 Pollyanna
44 The Invisible Man
45 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle
46 Peter Pan
47 The Picture of Dorian Gray
48 Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farm
49 Grimm’s Fairy Tales

2. 50 Alice in Wonderland
51 Dracula
52 Pride and Prejudice
53 The War of the Worlds
54 King Solomon’s Mines
55 Snow White and Other Stories
56 Beauty and the Beast and Other Stories
57 Cinderella and Other Stories
58 The Little Mermaid and Other Stories
59 Sleeping Beauty and Other Stories
60 Aesop’s Fables
61 Jane Eyre
62 The Phantom of the Opera
63 The House of the Seven Gables
64 The Man in the Iron Mask
65 Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Hound of the Baskervilles
66 The Little Princess
Suggested Reading by grade:
Summer Authors Grade Suggested Titles of Series (Example Listed)
Adler, David 3,4,5 Chapter (Cam Jansen)
Allard, Harry 2,3 Miss Nelson Series
Allsburg, Chris Van 3,4,5 Any Picture
Arnold, Tedd 1,2 Any Picture (Fly Guy)
Blume, Judy 3,4 Chapter (Double Fudge)
Brett, Jan 2,3,4,5 Any Picture (The Mitten, The Hat)
Brown, Jeff 2,3 Flat Stanley Series
Bunting, Eve 3,4,5 Advanced Picture
Capucilli, Alyssa 1,2 Biscuit Series
Carle, Eric 1,2,3,4,5 Any Picture (Very Hungry Caterpillar)
Cleary, Beverly 3,4 Chapter (Ramona and Beezus)
Christopher, Matt 3,4,5 Chapter (sports series)
Clements, Andrew 3,4,5 Chapter (Frindle)
Cronin, Doreen 2 Any Picture (Diary of a Worm)
Dahl, Roald 4,5 Chapter (James and the Giant Peach)
DiCamillo, Kate 2 Mercy Watson Series
DiCamillo, Kate 3,4,5 Chapter (Because of Winn-Dixie)
Dr. Seuss 1,2,3,4,5 Any Picture
Freeman, Don 1,2,3 Any Picture (Corduroy)
George, Jean 4,5 Chapter (Julie and the Wolves)
Gibbons, Gale 3,4,5 Any Picture (Pirates: Robbers of the High Sea)
Gutman, Dan 3,4,5 Chapter
Haddix, Margaret 5 Chapter (Just Ella, Among the Brave)
Henkes, Kevin 1,2,3 Any Picture (Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse)
Hobbs, Will 5 Chapter (Go Big or Go Home)
Hoffman, Mary 3,4,5 Any Picture(Boundless Grace)
Howe, James 3,4,5 Bunnicula Series
Hutchins, Pat 1,2,3 Any Picture (Rosie’s Walk)
Jenkins, Steve 3,4,5 Any picture (Actual Size)
Keates, Ezra 1,2 Any picture (John Henry)
Kirt, David 2,3 Little Miss Spider Series
Korman, Gordan 4,5 Chapter (Island Series/Swindle)

3. Lionni, Leo 3,4,5 Any Picture (Six Crows)
Lobel, Arnold 2 Any Picture (Frog and Toad)
London, Jonathan 2 Froggy
London, Jonathan 2 Any Picture (Fire Race)
MacLachlin, Patricia 3,4,5 Picture & Chapter (Sarah, Plain and Tall)
Marton, Bill 1,2,3 Any Picture (Brown Bear, Brown Bear)
Mayer, Mercer 1,2 Any Picture (Little Critters Series)
McCloskey, Robert 1,2,3 Make Way For Ducklings
Munoz-Ryan, Pam 3,4,5 Chapter (Esperanza Rising)
Munsch, Robert 2,3 Any Picture (Love You Forever)
Numeroff, Laura 1,2 Any Picture (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)
Osborne, Mary Pope 2,3,4 Magic Tree House Series
Osborne, Mary Pope 3,4,5 Any Picture/Chapter
Parish, Peggy 2,3 Amelia Bedelia Series
Pennypacker, Sara 2,3 Chapter (Clementine)
Pfister, Marcus 1,2,3 Rainbow Fish Series
Polacco, Patricia 3,4,5 Advanced Pictures (Mr. Lincoln’s Way)
Rey, H.A. 2,3 Curious George Series
Riodan, Rick 4,5 Percy Jackson Series
Rylant, Cynthia 2 Mister Putter & Tabby Series
Rylant, Cynthia 1,2 Henry & Mudge Series
Rylant, Cynthia 3,4,5 Any Picture/Chapter (The Relatives Came)
Sachar, Louis 3,4,5 Chapter (Wayside School Series)
Sendak, Maurice 1,2 Picture, Where the Wild Things Are
Shannon, David 1,2,3 Any Picture (No, David!)
Spinelli, Jerry 4,5 Chapter (Stargirl)
Wallace, Bill 4,5 Chapter (Upchuck and the Rotten Willy)
White, E.B 3,4,5 Chapter (Charlotte’s Web)
Wood, Audrey 2,3 Any Picture (Silly Sally)
Yep, Laurence 4,5 Chapter (Spring Pearl: The Last Flower)
Yolen, Jane 2 Dinosaur Series
Yolen, Jane 3,4,5 Advanced Picture & Chapters (The Simple Prince)
Books
for
Fun
1-­‐2yr
ESL
Students
-­‐
Picture
Books
• How
My
Parents
Learned
to
Eat
-­‐
Friedman,
Ina
R.
• I
Hate
English!-­‐
Levine,
Ellen
• In
English
Of
Course-­‐Nobisso
• Molly's
Pilgrim
-­‐
Cohen,
Barbara
• Painted
Words:
Marianthe's
Story
–
Aliki
• This
is
the
Way
We
Go
to
School:
a
book
about
Children
Around
the
World
-­‐
Baer,
Edith
2-­‐3yr
ESL
Students
-­‐
Series
• Amber
Brown
books
-­‐
Danziger
• Goosebumps
series
-­‐
Stine

4. • The
Junie
B.
Jones
books
-­‐
Park
• The
Joey
Pigza
books
-­‐
Gantos
• Wayside
School
series
–
Sachar
2-­‐4
yr
ESL
Students
-­‐
Chapter
Books
◦ Esperanza
Rising
–
Ryan
◦ Izzy,
Willy-­‐Nilly
–
Voigt
◦ Matilda
–
Dahl
◦ Nothing
but
the
Truth
–
Avi
◦ Tears
of
a
Tiger
–
Draper
◦ The
Crossing
–
Paulsen
◦ The
Outsiders
-­‐
S.E.
Hinton
◦ The
Substitute
Teacher
from
Mars
–
Moore
◦ Who
Let
Girls
in
the
Boys
Locker
Room
also
-­‐
Moore
Books on Multi-cultural subjects
• Baer, Edith, This is the Way We Eat Our Lunch, Scholastic, Inc. New
York:1995.
• Behrens, June, Guy Hay Fat Choy, Happy New Year, Children’s Press,
Chicago,1982.
• Bower, Carol, Houses and Homes, Usborne Publishing, London: 1978.
• Breckler, Rosemary, Hoang Breaks the Lucky Teapot, Houghton Mifflin
Company, Boston, 1992.
• Caines, Jeanette, Just Us Women, Harper Trophy, New York, 1982.
• Dooley, Norah, Everybody Cooks Rice, Scholastic, Inc. New York:1991.
• Dooley, Norah, Everybody Bakes Bread, First Avenue Editions,
Minneapolis, MN:1996
• Dorros, Arthur, This is My House, Scholastic, Inc. New York: 1992.
• Erlbach, Arlene, Sidewalk Games Around the World, Millbrook Press,
Brookfield, Ct: 1997
• Erlbach, Arlene, Happy Birthday Everywhere, Millbrook Press, Brookfield,
Ct:1997
• Feldman, Eve B., Birthdays!, Bridgewater Books: 1996.
• Friedman, Ina R., How My Parents Learned to Eat, Houghton Mifflin
Company, Boston, New York, 1985.
• Ginsburg, Mirra, The Chinese Mirror, Voyager/ HBJ, Hong Kong, 1988.
• Hoffman, Mary, Amazing Grace, Dial Books for Young Readers: 1991.
• Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane, Pueblo Storyteller, Holiday House, 1992.
• Ishii, Momoko, The Tongue-Cut Sparrow, Lodestar Books, E.P. Dutton,
New York, 1985.
• Jackson, Mike, Clothes from Many Lands, Steck-Vaughn, Austin, Texas,

5. 1995.
• Joosse, Barbara M., Mama, Do You Love Me? Scholastic, New York:
1992
• Klamath County YMCA Family Preschool, The Land of Many Colors,
Scholastic Inc., New York: 1993.
• Lankford, Mary D. Hopscotch Around the World, Morrow Junior Books,
New York:1992.
• Lankford, Mary D. Jacks Around the World, Morrow Junior Books, New
York:1996.
• Lankford, Mary D. Dominos Around the World, Morrow Junior Books, New
York:1998.
• Lee, Jeanne, Ba-Nam, Henry Holt & Company, New York
• Lee, Marie, If It Hadn’t Been for Yoon Jun, Houghton Mifflin, Boston: 1993
• Leigh, Nila, Learning to Swim in Swaziland, Scholastic Hardcover, New
York, 1993.
• Levine, Ellen, I Hate English, Scholastic, Inc. 1989.
• Mahy, Margaret, The Seven Chinese Brothers, Scholastic Hardcover, New
York, 1990
• McLerran, Alice, The Mountain that loved a Bird, Scholastic, Inc. New
York, 1993.
• Morimoto, Junko, The Inch Boy, Viking Penguin, New York, 1986.
• Morris, Ann, Bread, Bread, Bread, Scholastic, New York: 1991.
• Morris, Ann, Hats, Hats, Hats, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, New York: 1989.
• Morris, Ann, Houses and Homes, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, New York:
1992.
• Shute, Linda, Momotaro, The Peach Boy, Lothrup, Lee & Shepard, New
York,1986.
• Musgrove, Margaret, Ashanti to Zulu, Dial Books for Young Readers, New
York:1976.
• Polacco, P., Chicken Sunday, Philomel, New York: 1992.
• Sanders, Eve, What’s Your Name? From Ariel to Zoe, Holiday House,
New York:1995.
• Stepanchuk, Carol, Red Eggs & Dragon Boats, Pacific View Press,
Berkeley, Ca:1994.
• Surat, Michele, Angel Child, Dragon Child, Scholastic, Inc., New York,
1989.
• Tran, Kim-Lan, TET: The New Year, Modern Curriculum Press, Inc.,
Cleveland,
Read-Aloud Books
1-3yr ESL Students
◦ Arnold, Tedd.: No jumping on the bed!
◦ Arnold, Tedd.: No more water in the tub!

6. ◦ Aylesworth, Jim.: Old black fly
◦ Barton, Byron.: Airport
◦ Barton, Byron.: The three bears
◦ Burningham, John.: Cloudland
◦ Burningham, John.: Avocado baby
◦ Burningham, John.: Mr. Gumpy's outing
◦ Burningham, John.: Would you rather?
◦ Campbell, Rod: Dear zoo
◦ Conrad, Pam: The tub people
◦ Ehlert, Lois. Color Farm
◦ Ehlert, Lois. Color Zoo
◦ Ehlert, Lois. Nuts to You
◦ Ernst, Lisa.: The letters are lost!
◦ Feiffer, Jules.: Bark, George
◦ Fleming, Candace.: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
◦ Fleming, Denise. In the Tall Tall Grass
◦ Fleming, Denise. In the Small Small Pond
◦ Fleming, Denise. Lunch
◦ Fleming, Denise.: Pumpkin eye
◦ Fox, Mem.: Where is the green sheep?
◦ Gollub, Matthew. : The jazz fly
◦ Hall, Zoe. Fall Leaves Fall
◦ Hall, Zoe. The Apple Pie Tree
◦ Hoban, Tana.: many, including The Look Book
◦ Inkpen: The blue balloon
◦ Kerr, Judith.: The tiger who came to tea
◦ London, Jonathan.: Froggy series
◦ MacDonald, Margaret: Mabela the clever
◦ Martin, Bill. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom- Bill Martin
◦ Martin, Bill. Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
◦ Martin, Bill. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
◦ Martin, Bill.: A beasty story
◦ Martin, Bill.: Chicka-chicka boom boom
◦ Miranda, Anne. To Market, To Market
◦ Munsch, Robert.: David's Father

7. ◦ Munsch, Robert.: Mortimer
◦ Nicoll, Helen.: Meg and Mog
◦ Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Moose a Muffin
◦ Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
◦ Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Pig a Pancake
◦ Numeroff, Laura. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
◦ Palmer, Helen Marion: A fish out of water
◦ Peek, Merle.: Mary wore her red dress, and Henry wore his green
sneakers
◦ Rosen, Michael: Little Rabbit Foo Foo
◦ Seeger, Pete: Abiyoyo
◦ Seuss, Dr.: Green eggs and ham
◦ Shannon, David, 1959-: David goes to school
◦ Shannon, David, 1959-: No, David!
◦ Slobodkina, Esphyr, 1908-: Caps for sale
◦ Stickland, Paul.: Dinosaur roar!
◦ Stickland, Paul.: Ten terrible dinosaurs
◦ Sturges, Philemon.: The little red hen makes a pizza
◦ Ungerer, Tomi.: Crictor
◦ Walsh, Ellen Stoll. Mouse Count
◦ Walsh, Ellen Stoll. Mouse Paint
◦ Williams, Linda: The little old lady who was not afraid of anything
◦ Williams, Sue. I Went Walking
◦ Williams, Sue. Let's Go Visiting
◦ Wood, Audrey. King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
◦ Wood, Audrey. The Napping House
◦ Wood, Audrey.: Silly Sally
◦ Wood, Don: The little mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the big hungry
bear
◦ Zelinsky, Paul O.: The wheels on the bus