The Toughest Cowboy or How the Wild West Was Tamed

The Toughest Cowboy or How the Wild West Was Tamed by John Frank

This very clever book of how one very rough and tough cowboy yearned for a companion is great for all young children. With Grizz Brickbottom wanting a dog to help with the cattle driving, he goes to town to find the best dog for the job. It turns out that the dog he brings back is a miniature poodle named Foofy. She is not much help in herding the cattle or chasing away mountain lions but she does keep the cowpokes entertained. This book has some of the best descriptive language, similes, metaphors and many jokes kids will love. The illustrations really do depict a Wild West of the past and help to show us what it was really like.

The Invisible Moose

The Invisible Moose by Dennis Haseley

This heartwarming tale of love has an invisible moose saving his one true love from the bad guys. As you learn in the beginning, he has always loved her but because he could never bring himself to talk to her, she never noticed him until the day she was captured by Steel McSteal. He wanted only to save her and he didn’t care what it took. With the help of his friend Owl McFowl, he was given a potion to make himself invisible and save her with the other invisible potion. This timeless tale of true love is a great way for children to see that love and compassion does exist in a world that might not show it.

Bartholomew and the Bug

Bartholomew and the Bug by Neal Layton

Bartholomew is a great big bear that wonders what the bright lights off in the distance might be? He isn’t the only one however, a tiny little bug also wonders just what is past the horizon and so the two begin a journey. Once there they experience things they had never thought would happen and they don’t want it to end. In this book, the author does a great job of using many descriptive words that give the reader a perfect visual into what is really going on. Along with this he also uses the words to help tell the story by arranging them in swirly, twirly ways, that make the reader have to turn the book in all sorts of different directions. This fun story is great for children that always think the grass is greener on the other side, until they realize just what they really have.

Hungry Hyena

Hungry Hyena by Mwenye Hadithi

Hungry Hyena always seems to have a trick up his sleeve and Fish Eagle is determined to teach him a lesson. After he steals her fresh fish she intended on eating she decided that he must learn a lesson of his own. With the help of all the plains animals, she tricks hyena into thinking the best meal ever is up in the sky high, high up above. Hyena experiences an injury that forces him to no longer be fast and steal others food. This great book includes many animals that show just how bullying and tricking your friends is not very nice. Young children can learn a lot about how to treat others through great illustrations.

Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm

Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen

This imaginative story of a farmer named, Harvey Potter, growing balloons on his balloon farm is quite a jump for most but perfect for young children. What child and even adult hasn’t sat around thinking of fantastic things of this sort and wondered if they could ever come true. One little girl did just that, she had wondered for some time how he had grown a crop of balloons and so she made it her goal to find out how he did it. Through much work of getting to know her new friend and staking out in her tree, she found her answers. The illustrations in this book a very bright and exquisite, which help to show you, just how great this balloon farm really is.

Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Monkey House

Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Monkey House by David A. Adler

This Cam Jansen mystery is great for beginning chapter book readers. With just under 60 pages it has great deal of appeal to young readers. With this particular book in the series, a few monkeys have gone missing from the zoo and Cam knows just how they might have gotten out of their cages. With the help of her best friend and amazing photographic memory, Cam must find a way to stop the monkey thieves. Along with a very easy font size to read this book includes many illustrations to help you further visualize what you may already know going on with Cam. With many new books added the this Cam Jansen series, I remember reading these books when I was younger over and over as many times as I could just because I loved them, it' hard not to.

Silly Billy

Silly Billy by Anthony Browne

This book is a great read for young children especially at a 2nd grade reading level. Billy starts out in the book by not being able to go to bed at night because he is worrying about anything he can. Like a lot of kids, Billy lets it get to him to much, even when his mom and dad try and help him understand that its okay to worry about things and that it doesn't need to keep him up at night. His grandma tries to help him sleep at night by giving him dolls called "worry dolls". Billy then just has to tell his worries to the dolls and stick them under his pillow. This helps him be able to sleep and wake up worry free. This book had large type and was easy to read because of this. The author did a great job at using different fonts to emphasize certain words to help the reader understand their importance. Along with the great story the illustrations went along really well with detailing the story and the worry dolls, something most children may not know about.