Good Books for Little Friends

My Sisters Love My Clothes by Brendan Hanrahan Louie has the coolest clothes—three-green-stripe tube socks, Hawaiian surfing jams, shark-bit T-shirt, fluorescent orange windsurfing jacket, duckbilled fishing cap. And his sisters love them! They’re such nice sisters, and they ask so nicely to borrow his things. … Louie ends up a winner by letting them.

Walter’s Tail by Lisa Campbell Ernst When Walter was a puppy, his ever-wagging tail was cute. But when he grew into a big dog, it was a disaster. Mrs. Tully still loved him, and his tail eventually came to her rescue!

The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen This classic story about the death of a little girl due to the uncaring of those around her is beautifully retold by Christine San José and illustrated by Anastassija Archipowa.

The Terrible Eek by Patricia A. Compton In this Japanese folktale, both a human thief and a wolf are about to sneak into the house, when they hear the father tell his son that the thing he feared most was a “terrible leak.” The wolf doesn’t know what a leak is, and the thief mistakes “leak” as “eek” and doesn’t know what that is. Then the fun for the reader begins.