To the Beach by Thomas Docherty

PreK-2. A simple travel story told in a beautiful illustrated sequence of pictures. This is a book that can almost be told through its pictures as there are very few words and most of them are nouns naming the object depicted on the page. A small boy lists everything he will need for a trip to and from the beach. This book would work well with very young children as it is predominately visually interesting and short on words, meaning it can be shared many times in one sitting.

This book would work well in storytime, possibly as a flannel story. I highly recommend this book that allows readers to make a great journey by simply turning a page!

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice sets off for an adventure when she follows the White Rabbit down his rabbit hole and finds herself in Wonderland, a land of pure nonsense, in this classic novel. Throughout her adventure Alice finds herself shrinking and growing resulting from eating and drinking any number of items. Sometimes her height or lack thereof works to her advantage, sometimes it does not. She meets starnge made up characters like the Jabberwocky and unexplainable characters like the Cheshire Cat who appears and disappears at whim. All creatures in Wonderland fear the Queens of Hearts and her horrible temper and as the novel ends Alice soon discovers why. The Queen of Hearts orders Alice's beheading after she expresses disagreement with the King's interpretation of the Knave of Hearts' poem which is judged to mean he is guilty of the crime of stelaing the Queen of Hearts' tarts. Alice awakens suddenly to find herself back at the riverbank where she must have doed off and visited the zany and unforgettable Wonderland.

Genre: Fantasy/Classic

Carroll, L. (1999). Alice in wonderland. New York: North--South Books.

Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

The narrator describes his grandfather's love affair with two countries: Japan and America. He describes the beauty found in both countries and how his grandfather's life and family changed over time. One of the closing lines of text best sums up this story. The narrator remarks, "The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other." A beautiful story about a boy discovering his grandfather's life highlighted with pleasing illustrations. A Caldecott Medal Winner.

Genre: Picture Book-Historical/Realistic Fiction
Say, A. (1993). Grandfather's journey. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.