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SJPL Picks: First Grade

A mix of Picture Books for sharing, Easy Readers for reading practice, and Educational Resources & Activity Books. Recommended reading for or to share with first graders, selected by SJPL Librarians

San José Public Library

25 items

  • Clarisse is a clever cat who loves books. She may not understand the dark, squiggly lines, but she can’t get enough of the pictures. One day, she stumbles upon a magical building where people walk in empty-handed and come out with an…
    BookNew York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2024] — J PICTURE BOOK Emmons
  • Lean in close, my darling bao bei, and I will whisper a most precious secret about a powerful magic that lives inside you. Brought to life with lavish and ornate illustrations, The Truth About Dragons follows a young child on a journey…
    BookNew York : Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2023. — J PICTURE BOOK Leung
  • Everybody has a body. Whether you're short, tall, fat, thin, hairy, bald, whether you use a wheelchair or have a limb difference, we all rely on our bodies to take us through the world. From hiking a mountain to playing baseball to…
    BookNew York : Feiwel and Friends, 2023. — J PICTURE BOOK Ehlert
  • In this wondrous book by award-winning fantasy author Jane Yolen and award-winning fantasy illustrator Doug Keith, two children and a dog explore the coves and caves of a tiny island. Under the watchful eye of Grandpa, the kids are…
    BookBrooklyn, NY : Flashlight Press, 2022. — J PICTURE BOOK Yolen
  • Filled with playful illustrations and fun facts that celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary, this nonfiction picture book explores an unexpectedly crucial resource for wildlife: puddles.
    BookBoston : Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2022] — J 577 Sanchez
  • After a tragedy a young boy discovers a connection between music and colors that helps guide him and gives him comfort in times of darkness.
    BookNew York, NY : Little, Brown and Company, 2022. — J PICTURE BOOK Collier
  • A child who enjoys Grandad's stories of his travels and adventures with Gramps persuades him to fix up their old camper and take another trip, in honor of Gramps.
    BookNew York, NY : Little Bee Books, [2021] — J PICTURE BOOK Woodgate
  • Ever wish friendship came with an instruction manual? A resourceful youngster follows step-by-step directions for constructing a robot to be her friend. The instructions make it sound so simple! But they also caution that sometimes a…
    BookBoston : Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2021] — J PICTURE BOOK Martin
  • Based on the kid-favorite, smash hit YouTube song "Raining Tacos," this super-fun ode to everyone's favorite treat features new, never-before-sung lyrics
    BookNew York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2021] — J PICTURE BOOK Gripp
  • This is no ordinary first journey. The rainy season has come to the Mekong Delta, and An, a young Vietnamese boy, sets out alone in a wooden boat wearing a little backpack and armed only with a single oar. On the way, he is confronted by…
    BookNew York : Make Me a World, [2021] — J PICTURE BOOK Phung
  • School is starting soon and Turkey can't wait. Each day, he and his barnyard friends practice their writing and math. But when the school bus rolls up, they are booted off. It turns out that animals aren't allowed to attend school. Pig…
    BookNew York : Two Lions, [2021] — J PICTURE BOOK Silvano
  • A little girl named Stone lives with her father during prehistoric times where mastodons and ferocious beasts abound. She longs to be as strong as her father. But when he becomes ill, she must journey deep into the wilderness to find a…
    BookNew York : Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2021. — J PICTURE BOOK Browne
  • Amy loves craft time at school, but when her teacher asks everyone to make their own dragon, Amy feels stuck. Her first dragon has a long, wingless body, stag-like horns, and eagle claws, but her friends don't think it's a real dragon.…
    BookNew York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2020] — J PICTURE BOOK Zhang
  • Pirate stew! Pirate stew! Pirate stew for me and you! Pirate stew! Pirate stew! Eat it and you won't be blue. You can be a pirate too!
    BookNew York : Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins 2020. — J PICTURE BOOK Gaiman
  • So begins the story of Rita and Ralph. Every day they meet to play beneath the apple tree. It's always fun and games -- until one roundly rotten day when a new game means someone ends up crying.
    BookNew York : Scholastic Press, 2020. — J PICTURE BOOK Deedy
  • Princess Pippa's latest experiment to create a better tasting pea goes awry and she must figure out a way to get the kingdom back to normal.
    BookChicago, Illinois : Albert Whitman & Company, 2020. — J PICTURE BOOK Fliess
  • Join Fiona and a few of her animal friends as they attend zoo school for the very first time and find out just how fun it is to learn new things
    BookGrand Rapids, Michigan : Zonderkidz, [2022] — J EASY READER Cowdrey
  • Steve is excited and happy to be starting "real school" until Hannah, who just moved from Alaska, captures everyone's attention and his response lands him in the principal's office.
    BookNew York : Random House, [2020] — J EASY READER Hapka
  • Ty wishes his family would play with him, but everyone is too busy before dinner-time. Luckily, Ty knows just what to do
    BookNew York, NY : Harper,, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2020] — J EASY READER Lyons
  • Fox does not like winter. None of his friends are around to play. He is bored and alone, until he discovers the magic of winter.
    BookNew York, NY : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2020] — J EASY READER Tabor