The Beautiful Butterfly: A Folktale from Spain
 | rating:  asin: 0395900158 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.00 USD amazon price: $10.20 USD |
A beautiful butterfly is courted by many suitors. She finally finds a husband who has a singing voice soft and sweet enough to please her, but no sooner does the honeymoon begin than he is swallowed by a giant fish! All of nature joins her in mourning, setting off a comical chain of events that results in a second chance for the beautiful butterfly and her devoted husband. Enchantingly original depictions of the beautiful butterfly and her friends and an inventive happy ending reveal the sweetness and humor of this enduring Spanish folktale. FOLKLORE NOTE.
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street
This sequel to The Penderwicks is even more hilarious and tear jerking than the original. We all loved hearing this audio book, which is about how Mr. Penderwick is now dating and the eldest daughter is very worried about having a step mother.
 | author: Jeanne Birdsall rating: asin: 0375840907 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.99 USD amazon price: $10.87 USD |
THE PENDERWICK SISTERS are home on Gardam Street and ready for an adventure! But the adventure they get isn’t quite what they had in mind. Mr. Penderwick’s sister has decided it’s time for him to start dating—and the girls know that can only mean one thing: disaster. Enter the Save-Daddy Plan—a plot so brilliant, so bold, so funny, that only the Penderwick girls could have come up with it. It’s high jinks, big laughs, and loads of family warmth as the Penderwicks triumphantly return.
Jorinda and Jorindel
 | rating:  asin: 0735819874 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.95 USD amazon price: $15.95 USD |
Once upon a time, deep in the middle of a forest, stood an old castle. An ancient witch lived in the castle, and she had powerful magic. She cast a spell on any young man who came within one hundred steps of the castle—freezing him to the spot so he could not move or speak until the witch set him free. If a young girl wandered too near the castle walls, the witch turned her into a bird, and locked her in a cage inside the castle. But true love triumphs over evil enchantment in this story of one young couple, the beautiful Jorinda and Jorindel, the shepherd boy who loves her. Adapted and illustrated by Bernadette Watts, this tale by the Brothers Grimm will enchant youngsters with its sweetness and charm and not-too-frightening magic.
Raisel's Riddle (Sunburst Book)
This is a charming Jewish retelling of Cinderella. When the 'prince' - the Rabbi's son - notices and compliments lovely Raisel, who is dressed beautifully thanks to magic, she replies, "It is only a costume, As it is written, 'Look not at the flask but at what it contains,'" and then she proceeds to to tell him a riddle that shows her rare intelligence.
 | author: Erica Silverman rating:  asin: 0374461996 binding: Paperback list price: $5.95 USD amazon price: $5.95 USD |
A Jewish CinderellaWhat's more precious than rubies, more lasting than gold?
Tony's Bread (Paperstar)
 | author: Tomie dePaola rating:  asin: 0698113713 binding: Paperback list price: $5.99 USD amazon price: $5.99 USD |
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
As part of our recomended history reading from Story of the world , we read The Witch of Black Bird Pond. This is an outstanding book that we all really love. To us, these are the kind of books that really make history come alive. Kit Tyler is a fictious person, but the year she spends incolonial Conneticut (1687/8) is historically correct and truly gives a sense of the Puritian community she finds herself in. The Witch is simply a Quaker, an outcast, but Kit finds her to be a truly kind hearted elder, who encourages her to listen to her heart. Kit is 16 and there is some romance and in the end, marriage. In these times, a young man courting a girl looks likeboth of them sitting in the company room a few evenings a week. I found it amusing that during these courtings, Kit would often sit and knit, while her suiter simply looked at her. There is a scary part, where Kit is accused of whichcraft, and held overnight in the jail, where she finds out she could be branded on her forehead or lose an ear. Just keep reading, and within a fewpages all is set right, and there is justice for an innocent girl.
 | author: Elizabeth George Speare rating: asin: B000RW1NGQ binding: Paperback |
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Caldecott Medal Book)
 | author: Simms Taback rating: asin: 0670878553 binding: Hardcover list price: $16.99 USD amazon price: $11.55 USD |
When Joseph's favorite overcoat gets old and worn, he makes a jacket out of it. When the jacket is more patches than jacket, Joseph turns it into a vest. When the vest's number is up, Joseph makes a scarf. This thrifty industry continues until there's nothing left of the original garment. But clever Joseph manages to make something out of nothing!
Rapunzel
This is a beautifully illustrated fairy tale that our (then) 6 year old loves to hear.
 | author: Barbara Rogasky rating: asin: B001H8S4V6 binding: Paperback |
Bernal and Florinda: A Spanish Tale
 | author: Eric A. Kimmel rating: asin: 0823410897 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.95 USD amazon price: $15.95 |
Ramona Forever
 | author: Beverly Cleary rating: asin: 0807210285 binding: Audio Cassette list price: $18.00 USD amazon price: $18.00 |
From the moment Howie Kemp's mysterious "rich" Uncle Hobart arrives from Saudi Arabia, everything around Ramona Quimby seems to be changing. Howie and his sister, Willa Jean, talk only about Uncle Hobart. Ramona's mother and Aunt Bea seem to be keeping secrets. Life for Ramona, now a grown-up third-grader is full of beginnings and discoveries and surprises–one very big surprise and one very small, but just as special!
