Families - Fiction

Picture Books

Flournoy, Valerie. The Patchwork Quilt. (Ej Fl)
Using scraps cut from the family's old clothing, Tanya helps her grandmother and mother make a beautiful quilt that tells the story of her family's life.

Henkes, Kevin. Julius, the Baby of the World. (Ej He)
Lilly is convinced that the arrival of her new baby brother is the worst thing that has happened in their house, until Cousin Garland comes to visit.

Kasza, Keiko. Mother for Choco. (Ej Ka)
A lonely little bird goes in search of a mother.

Rylant, Cynthia. The Relatives Came. (Ej Ry)
The relatives come to visit from Virginia and everyone has a wonderful time.

Smith, Lane. The Happy Hocky Family! (Ej Sm)
A series of short silly stories takes a humorous look at the activities of various members of the Hocky family.

Steig, William. Pete's a Pizza. (Ej St)
What do you do when Pete's in a bad mood? When it is raining and he cannot go out and play? Turn him into a pizza, of course!

Williams, Vera B. A Chair for My Mother. (Ej Wi)
A child, and her mother and grandmother save dimes to buy an armchair after all their furniture is lost in a fire.

Easy Readers

Bernstein, Margery. My Brother, the Pest. (J-ER Be)
A girl has a terrible time getting along with her little brother, who is a pest, but she comes to appreciate him.

Byars, Betsy. Hooray for the Golly sisters! (J-ER By)
In continued adventures, May-May and Rose take their traveling road show to more audiences.

Byars, Betsy. My Brother, Ant. (J-ER By)
In four separate stories, Ant's older brother gets rid of the monster under Ant's bed, forgives Ant for drawing on his homework, tries to read a story, and helps Ant writes a letter to Santa.

Cosby, Bill. The Treasure Hunt. (J-ER Co)
One rainy day while his father listens to his old records, his mother polishes a silver platter, and his brother enjoys his baseball card collection, Little Bill discovers his own treasure, a talent for storytelling.

Eastman, P. D. Are You My Mother? (J-ER Ea)
Where will the little bird find its mother?

Leonard, Marcia. Dan and Dan. (J-ER Le)
Dan describes the things he does with his grandfather who is also named Dan.

Lobel, Arnold. Uncle Elephant. (J-ER Lo)
Uncle Elephant comes to the rescue when his nephew's parents are lost at sea and cares for him until they are found again.

Minarik, Else Holmelund. Little Bear's Visit. (J-ER Mi)
Little Bear enjoys a visit with his grandparents.

Parish, Peggy. Amelia Bedelia's Family Album. (J-ER Pa)
Amelia Bedelia entertains Mr. and Mrs. Rogers by showing them her family album and describing her relatives.

Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge in the Family Trees. (J-ER Ry)
Henry and his big dog Mudge attend a family reunion.

Van Leeuwen, Jean. Oliver, Amanda, and Grandmother Pig. (J-ER Va)
Oliver and Amanda have fun when Grandmother comes for a visit.

First Chapter Books

Byars, Betsy. Beans on the Roof. (J By)
As each of the five members of the Bean family tries to write a "roof" ` poem, they come to realize just how nice it is to be a Bean.

Castaneda, Omar. Abuela's Weave. (J Ca)
A young Guatemalan girl and her grandmother create weavings and make a trip to the market in hopes of selling them.

Galbraith, Kathryn O. Roommates Again. (J Ga)
During their stay at Camp Sleep-Away, sisters Beth and Mimi learn some new things about each other.

Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business. (J Pa)
Through a misunderstanding, Junie B. thinks that her new baby brother is really a baby monkey, and her report of this news creates excitement in her kindergarten class.

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. The Riddle Streak. (J Pf)
Since her older brother always wins at ping pong, checkers, and everything else, Amy decides to learn riddles in hope of finding some way she can beat him.

Porte, Barbara Ann. Taxicab Tales. (J Po)
Daddy regales his loving family with stories about the colorful passengers he picks up in his taxicab.

Sachar, Louis. Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth? (J Sa)
Red-haired Marvin is convinced that the reason he looks different from the rest of his family is that he is really the lost prince of Shampoon.

Juvenile Fiction

Blume, Judy. Fudge-a-mania. (J Bl)
Pete describes the family vacation in Maine with the Tubmans, highlighted by the antics of his younger brother Fudge.

Byars, Betsy. The Not-Just-Anybody Family. (J By)
How will Maggie and Vern settle the problems of their unusual family?

Cleary, Beverly. Ramona's World. (J Cl)
Follows the adventures of nine-year-old Ramona at home with big sister Beezus and baby sister Roberta and at school.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963. (J Cu)
The lives of an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.

Conrad, Pam. My Daniel. (J Co)
A grandmother tells stories of her brother's historical quest for dinosaur bones on their Nebraska farm.

Danziger, Paula. Forever Amber Brown. (J Da)
Amber's life has changed dramatically: her parents are divorced, her father lives in France, her best friend has moved to another state, and now her mother must decide whether to remarry.

Lowry, Lois. All About Sam. (J Lo)
The adventures of Anastasia Krupnik's younger brother, from his first day as a newborn through his mischievous times as a toddler.

Martin, Ann M. Eleven Kids, One Summer. (J Ma)
Adventures of a family with eleven children as they summer on the beach at Fire Island.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. The Boys Start the War. (J Na)
When a family with three girls moves into the house across the river, Wally and his three brothers declare a practical joke war on the girls.

Paterson, Katherine. Flip-Flop Girl. (J Pa)
Following the death of their father, Vinnie and Mason cope in different ways, but both with the help of Lupe, the flip-flop girl.

Soto, Gary. The Pool Party. (J So)
While helping his father and grandfather work as gardeners, Rudy sees some differences between his Mexican-American family and the wealthy families that live nearby.

Waugh, Sylvia. The Mennyms. (J Wa)
A family of life-size rag dolls living in a house in England and pretending to be human, see their peaceful existence threatened when the house's owner announces he is coming from Australia for a visit.

Compiled by MCPL Children's Services Librarian Mary D'Eliso Summer 2000