Favorite Books for Pre-Readers

In this practically wordless bedtime story, a weary zoo keeper bids good night to his charges and then goes home to bed. He doesn't notice, however, that clever Gorilla has pickpocketed his keys and is letting the animals out of their cages, one by one.

Franklin is a very lucky turtle. He has the best friends, the best little sister, the best goldfish and, of course, the best mother. But when he discovers that his mother's birthday is coming up, he can't find the best present.

Don Freeman's classic character, Corduroy, continues to stir the hearts and imagination of children and adults around the world.

Elephants are gray. Pigs are pink. Tigers have black and orange stripes. It seems that every animal has its own distinctive color — except the chameleon. And that makes the little chameleon hero of this picture book very sad. Every time he moves, he changes color!

Acclaimed author/illustrator Vera Williams tells of a young girl, who along with her waitress mother, saves coins in a big jar in hopes that they can someday buy a big, new, comfortable chair for their apartment — the kind of chair her mother deserves after being on her feet all day in the Blue Tile Diner.