Picture Books & Easy Readers

Agee, Jon. Terrific.
“Terrific,” says Eugene when he wins an all-expenses-paid cruise to Bermuda. “I’ll probably get a really nasty sunburn.” But Eugene’s luck is much worse than that. His ship sinks, and he ends up stranded on an island. E AGE

Allen, Pamela. Who Sank the Boat?
Readers guess who causes the boat to sink when five animal friends of varying sizes decide to go for a row. E ALL

Anderson, Sara. Octopus, Oyster, Hermit Crab, Snail: A Poem of the Sea.
Build vocabulary with lyrical, beautiful verses, such as, “Under indigo swells in cerulean seas” in this magical picture book. E AND

Arnosky, Jim. Otters Under Water.
Two young otters frolic and feed in a pond. E 599.769 ARN

Bania, Michael. Kumak’s Fish: A Tall Tale from the Far North.
On a beautiful Arctic morning when Kumak and his family go ice fishing, Kumak hooks what seems like an enormous fish, and the entire village gets involved. E BAN

Barrett, Judi. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers—until the weather takes a turn for the worse. E BAR

Bennett, Kelly. Not Norman, A Goldfish Story.
As a boy attempts to convince someone else to take his disappointing pet, he learns to love Norman the goldfish himself. E BEN

Bergman, Mara. Snip Snap! What’s That?
Three siblings are frightened by the wide mouth, long teeth, and strong jaws of the alligator that has crept up the stairs—until they decide they have had enough. E BER

Burningham, John. Mr. Gumpy’s Outing.
Mr. Gumpy accepts more and more riders on his boat until the inevitable occurs. E BUR

Carle, Eric. Mister Seahorse.
After Mrs. Seahorse lays her eggs on Mr. Seahorse’s belly, he drifts through the water, greeting other fish fathers who are taking care of their eggs. E CAR

Casanova, Mary. One-Dog Canoe.
A girl and her dog set out in their canoe one morning, only to be joined by a series of animals, large and small. E CAS

Clarke, Jane. Stuck in the Mud.
In this cumulative, rhyming story, a little chick needs help from all his farmyard friends to get out of the mud. E CLA

Cleary, Brian. Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book.
An alphabet book whose highly unique illustrations feature collage, hidden letters, and word pictures. E 372.4 CLE

Cobb, Vicki. I Get Wet.
Picture book format offers easy experiments with water to do with preschoolers. E 553.7 COB

Cousins, Lucy. Hooray for Fish!.
Little Fish has all sorts of fishy friends in his underwater home, but loves one of them most of all. E COU

Cousins, Lucy. Maisy Takes a Bath.
When Tallulah comes to visit twice at bath time she finally decides to join Maisy in the bath to play. E COU

Crimi, Carolyn. Get Busy, Beaver!
While the other beavers in his family furiously flip-flap their tails and chomp-chomp their teeth to make a new dam, young Thelonious takes a moment to smell the flowers. E CRI

Eagle, Kin. It’s Raining, It’s Pouring.
This expanded version of the traditional rhyme shows what happens to the old man in all kinds of weather. Includes music on the last page. E EAG

Falwell, Cathryn. Turtle Splash: Countdown at the Pond.
As they are startled by the activities of other nearby creatures, the number of turtles on a log in a pond decreases from ten to one. E FAL

Fleming, Denise. In the Small, Small Pond.
Illustrations and rhyming text describe the activities of animals living in and near a small pond as spring progresses to autumn. Caldecott Honor Book. E FLE

Frazee, Marla. A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever.
Friends James and Eamon enjoy a wonderful week at the home of Eamon’s grandparents during summer vacation. E FRA

Galloway, Ruth. Fidgety Fish.
Sent out for a swim in the deep sea, Tiddler, a young fish who just can’t keep still, sees many interesting creatures and one very dark cave. E FAL

George, William T., and Lindsay Barrett George. Box Turtle at Long Pond.
On a busy day at Long Pond, Box Turtle searches for food, basks in the sun, and escapes a raccoon. E GEO

Geist, Ken. The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark.
In this spoof of “The Three Little Pigs,” Mama tells her three little fish that it’s time to seek their fortunes. Jim builds a house of seaweed and Tim builds a house of sand, but it’s up to Kim to find the house that will stop the big bad shark’s munching and crunching. E GEI

Greenburg, Melanie Hope. Mermaids on Parade.
A young girl participates in Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade to celebrate the opening of the ocean during the summer. Includes directions for making a simple mermaid tail. E GRE

Jonas, Ann. Splash!
A little girl’s turtle, fish, frogs, dog, and cat jump in and out of a backyard pond; constantly changing the answer to the question, “How many are in my pond?” E JON

Kalan, Robert. Jump, Frog, Jump!.
A cumulative tale in which a frog tries to catch a fly without getting caught itself. E KAL

Kennedy, Kim. Pirate Pete’s Talk Like a Pirate.
In search of a crew, Pirate Pete and his parrot look for “stanky scallywags” who possess certain conversational skills. E KEN

Kimmel, Eric A. Anansi and the Magic Stick.
Everyone’s favorite trickster Anansi steals a magic stick to do his chores for him. But when he falls asleep while watering his garden, the stick keeps watering and creates a flood that threatens the neighborhood. E 398.2 KIM

Kraft, Jim. The No-Good, Do-Good Pirates.
When Captain Squint and his band of pirates are sentenced to do a good deed, they have problems figuring out just what that means. E KRA

Lester, Helen. Tacky in Trouble.
Tacky the exuberant penguin accidentally goes sailboarding and winds up on a tropical island, where he meets an elephant who demands proof of Tacky’s identity. E LES

Leuck, Laura. I Love My Pirate Papa.
A pirate’s son shares the things he loves about his father, including climbing the mast together to yell “Land ho” and sharing the booty when they find buried treasure. E LEU

Lies, Brian. Bats at the Beach.
On a night when the moon can grow no fatter, bats pack their moon-tan lotion and baskets of treats and fly off for some fun on the beach. E LIE

Lionni, Leo. Swimmy.
A little black fish in a school of red fish figures out a way of protecting them all from their natural enemies. E LIO

McCloskey, Robert. Time of Wonder.
Two children spending their summer on an island off the coast of Maine experience a hurricane. E MCC

McDonnell, Flora. I Love Boats.
A little girl lists all the boats she loves to play with in the bath. E MCD

McPhail, David. Edward and the Pirates.
Once Edward has learned to read, books and his vivid imagination lead him to adventures. E MCP

McPhail, David. The Puddle.
A boy sets out to sail his boat in a puddle and is joined by a frog, a turtle, an alligator, a pig, and an elephant. E MCP

Paye, Won-Ldy and Margaret H. Lippert. Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile.
When a crocodile captures Mrs. Chicken and takes her to an island to fatten her up, clever Mrs. Chicken claims that she can prove they are sisters and that, therefore, the crocodile shouldn’t eat her. E 398.2 PAY

Polacco, Patricia. Thunder Cake.
Grandma finds a way to dispel her grandchild’s fear of thunderstorms. E POL

Quigley, Mary. Granddad’s Fishing Buddy.
A young girl and her grandfather go fishing and always meet up with the heron that helps them find fish. E QUI

Rey, H. A. Curious George Rides a Bike.
George the monkey goes riding on his new bicycle and runs into unexpected adventure. E REY

Roth, Susan L. The Biggest Frog in Australia.
In this tall tale, when a thirsty frog drinks up all the water in Australia, the other animals must think of a way to make him give it up. E ROT

Root, Phyllis. One Duck Stuck.
One stuck duck must rely on the help of friends to free him in this muddy, mucky, and lively counting book. E ROO

Sayre, April Pulley. Trout, Trout, Trout!: A Fish Chant.
A jaunty, fun, rhyming chant and tribute to freshwater fish. E SAY

Schaefer, Lola M. An Island Grows.
Lava flows, waves pound, sands mound, and an island is born; and as it grows, life thrives. E SCH

Schubert, Ingrid. There’s Always Room for One More.
Beaver builds a raft so that his friends can go for a ride with him. E SCH

Sierra, Judy. Counting Crocodiles.
In this rhymed retelling of a traditional Asian tale, a clever monkey uses her ability to count to outwit the hungry crocodiles that stand between her and a banana tree on another island across the sea. E SIE

Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are.
Max is sent to bed without supper and imagines sailing away to the land of Wild Things, where he is made king. E SEN

Sherry, Kevin. I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean.
A squid creates a masterpiece full of ocean creatures . . . on the body of a whale. E SHE

Sloat, Teri. I’m a Duck!
A duck marvels at how wonderful it is to be a duck, with feathers, webbed feet, and wings that can fly, from the time he is hatched until he becomes a dad. E SLO

Sturges, Philemon. This Little Pirate.
Two bands of pirates fight over a box, but when they raise the white flag and open the box together, they find a treasure to share. E STU

Tafuri, Nancy. Have You Seen My Duckling?
A mother duck leads her brood around the pond as she searches for one missing duckling. E TAF

Tafuri, Nancy. Whose Chick Are You?
Goose, duck, hen, bird, and the little chick, itself, cannot tell to whom a new hatchling belongs, but mother swan knows. E TAF

Trapani, Iza. The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
A book version of the nursery rhyme. E 782.42 TRA

Tucker, Kathy. Do Pirates Take Baths?
Humorous rhyming answers to eleven questions about the life of pirates with illustrations by Nadine Bernard Westcott. E TUC

Watt, Melanie. Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach.
Scaredy Squirrel’s afraid to go to the beach so he makes his own “safe” beach under his tree. But can he resist the real thing? E WAT

Wood, Audrey. King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub.
Despite pleas from his court, a fun-loving king refuses to get out of his bathtub to rule his kingdom. Caldecott Honor book. E WOO

Wood, Audrey. Ten Little Fish.
Ten little fish swim along an ocean reef, each finding a different reason to leave until there is only one left. E WOO

Yaccarino, Dan. The Birthday Fish.
Cynthia has always wanted a pony for her birthday, but when she blows out the candles on her cake this year, she gets a surprise. E YAC

Yolen, Jane. Dimity Duck.
Dimity Duck and Frumity Frog have a fun day together in the pond, and then go home when it gets dark outside. E YOL

Zion, Gene. Harry by the Sea.
Harry, a friendly little dog on a visit to the seashore, is mistaken for a sea serpent when a big wave covers him with seaweed. E ZIO

Chapter Books for Grades 3 - 6

Anderson, M.T. The Serpent Came to Gloucester.
Rhyming text tells of a sea serpent that plays off the coast of Massachusetts during the summer of 1817 and is hunted upon its return the next year. GOLDSTAR AND

Arnosky, Jim. All about Manatees.
Arnosky shows how manatees grow and live, answering kids’ biggest questions about them. E 599.55 ARN

Arnosky, Jim. Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore.
Illustrations and text describe some of the many things that can be found on a walk along a beach, including coconuts, shark teeth, jellyfish, crabs, and different kinds of shells. J 578.769 ARN

Arnosky, Jim. Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-watching, Shore Walking.
An ordinary hike becomes an eye-opening adventure with Jim Arnosky as he shares a wealth of tips for watching wildlife and identifying plants and animals. J 508 ARN

Arnosky, Jim. Watching Water Birds.
Provides a personal look at various species of fresh- and saltwater birds, including loons, mergansers, mallards, Canada geese, gulls, and herons. J 598.07 ARN

Berne, Anne. Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau.
A biography of oceanographer and champion of the seas, Jacques Cousteau. E-B COSTEAU

Blade, Adam. Sepron the Sea Serpent.
Tom and Elenna must stop Sepron the Sea Serpent from destroying the people of Avantia’s coast. J-PBK BLA

Branley, Franklyn M. Down Comes the Rain.
Simple, effective explanations of scientific concepts for kids. This nicely illustrated, inviting book introduces the water cycle and hands-on activities to try. E 551.577 BRA

Fleischman, Sid. Here Comes McBroom.
Share the tall tale, “McBroom the Rainmaker.” J FLE

Graham, Joan Bransfield. Splish Splash.
Fun, brightly illustrated concrete poems about water in its various forms, from ice cubes to the ocean. J 811 GRA

Hatkoff, Isabella. Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship.
The story of an orphaned baby hippo named Owen and the 130- year-old giant turtle, Mzee, who became friends after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. E 599.635 HAT

Holm, Jennifer. Babymouse, Beach Babe.
After finishing her last day of school for the year, Babymouse and her family go on vacation at the beach. Graphic novel format. J-GRAPHIC HOL

Jaffe, Nina. The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico.
Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez, this pourquoi story explains how water came into our world and how Puerto Rico came to be. J 398.2 JAF

Katz, Alan. Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs.
Well-known songs, like “Oh Susannah” and “Row Row Row Your Boat,” are presented with new words and titles, such as “I’m So Carsick , “Go Go Go to Bed.” J 782.42 KAT

Kerley, Barbara. A Cool Drink of Water.
Stunning photographs and simple text show people around the world drinking water. Includes a map and a note on conservation. J 333.91 KER

Kurtz, Kevin. A Day in the Salt Marsh.
Rhyming verse introduces readers to hourly changes in the salt marsh as the tide comes and goes. E 577.69

LaMarche, Jim. The Raft.
Reluctant Nicky spends a wonderful summer with Grandma who introduces him to the joy of rafting down the river near her home and watching the animals along the banks. E LAM

Levine, Shar, and Leslie Johnstone. Bathtub Science.
Photos and cartoon drawings illustrate this collection of water experiments from simple to complicated. J 507.8 LEV

Markle, Sandra. Octopuses.
Detailed, energetic text and vivid photographs reveal the fascinating world of the octopus. J 594.56 MAR

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. Snowflake Bentley.
In this Caldecott Medal book, Martin and Azarian offer a dreamy and lyrical, yet informative, version of Bentley’s lifelong love affair with snow. E-B BENTLEY

Mitton, Tony. Down by the Cool of the Pool.
Frog and the other animals have a dancing good time both in and out of the water in the cool of the pool. E MIT

Murphy, Bryan. Experiment with Water.
Bits of history and brightly colored photos enhance this collection of water experiments. E 532 MUR

Osborne, Mary Pope. Summer of the Sea Serpent.
Jack and Annie travel in their magic tree house to the land of the mystical selkies to seek a magical sword for Merlin. J-FAN OSB

Prelutsky, Jack. A Pizza the Size of the Sun.
A classic collection of Prelutsky poetry, including “I’m Wrestling with an Octopus.” J 811.54 PRE

Serafini, Frank. Looking Closely along the Shore.
Stunning close-up photographs of things one might find along the shore challenge children to guess their identity. E 577.69 SER

Spohn, Kate. Turtle and Snake’s Day at the Beach.
Turtle and Snake go to the beach, where they and some other animals participate in a sandcastle-making contest. E 428 SPO

Wells, Robert E. Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water?
Picture book introduces the water cycle. E 553.7 WEL

Wick, Walter. A Drop of Water.
Great photos are the highlight of this oversized book that illustrates the properties of water. J 546 WIC