CCBC Choices 2024 -- Primary School (ages 5-8)

The Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison compiles a yearly list of excellent books for young readers.

Showing 1 - 19 of 19  There are a total of 151 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for Ancient night.
Notes:
Picture Books;4-8
Description:
"Ancient Night is a twist on two Nahuatl traditions: the rabbit which the Feathered Serpent placed on the moon, and Yaushu, the Lord Opossum who ruled the earth before humans came, and who stole fire from the gods to create the sun. Award-winning author David Bowles has written a poetic text - and carefully researched backmatter - to accompany David's lush illustrations and story."--
Book cover for The babka sisters.
Notes:
Picture Books;4-7
Description:
"Dueling baker sisters Esther and Hester meet their new neighbor Sylvester, who gladly becomes their babka tester, determining which shvester's (sister's) babka is the best"--
Book cover for Chinese menu.
Author:
Notes:
Contemporary People, Places, and Issues;8-up
Description:
"From fried dumplings to fortune cookies, here are the tales behind your favorite foods . . . Separated into courses like a Chinese menu, these tales -- based in real history and folklore -- are filled with squabbling dragons, magical fruits, and hungry monks. This book will bring you to far-off times and marvelous places, all while making your mouth water. And, along the way, you might just discover a deeper understanding of the resilience and triumph...
Book cover for Elf dog & owl head.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;8-11
Description:
Quarantined with his family as a global plague ravages the world, Clay retreats to the woods where he meets a special little dog who leads him on surreal adventures where choosing the wrong path could cause them both to lose their way forever.
Book cover for The green piano.
Notes:
The Arts;5-8
Description:
"Growing up in a Blue Ridge mountain town, little Roberta didn't have fancy clothes or expensive toys . . . but she did have music. And she dreamed of having her own piano. When her daddy spies an old, beat-up upright piano in a junkyard, he knows he can make his daughter's dream come true. He brings it home, cleans and tunes it, and paints it a grassy green. And soon the little girl has an instrument to practice on, and a new dream to reach for--one...
Book cover for Just like Grandma.
Author:
Notes:
Picture Books;4-8
Description:
Becca loves spending time with Grandma. Every time Becca says, “Let me try,” Grandma shows her how to make something beautiful. Whether they are beading moccasins, dancing like the most beautiful butterflies, or practicing basketball together, Becca knows that, more than anything, she wants to be just like Grandma. And as the two share their favorite activities, Becca discovers something surprising about Grandma.
Book cover for The lost library.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;8-12
Description:
When a mysterious Little Free Library guarded by a large orange cat appears overnight, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.
Book cover for The many assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;8-11
Description:
This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young orphan Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called "Seller of Dreams." The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey's life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir--furious enough to hire assassins. These include a Viking berserker, a Rogue...
Book cover for Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion.
Author:
Notes:
Historical People, Places, and Events;4-8
Description:
It all started when John 'Minnie' Moore built a mine in Idaho and sold it to Englishman Henry Miller. Then Henry married a local lass named Annie and built her a mansion, hence the 'Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion.' After Henry died and Annie was hoodwinked—losing all but the mansion—she and her son took to raising pigs in the yard, as some are wont to do. But the town wanted those pigs out. Who could have guessed that Annie and her crew...
Book cover for My powerful hair.
Notes:
Picture Books;5-10
Description:
After generations of short hair in her family, a little girl celebrates growing her hair long to connect to her culture and honor the strength and resilience of those who came before her.
Book cover for The puppets of Spelhorst.
Series:
Norendy tales volume 1.
Notes:
Fiction for Children;7-10
Description:
"Five puppets confront circumstances beyond their control with patience, cunning, and high spirits ... Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friends--a king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owl--bicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by...
Book cover for Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear.
Notes:
Picture Books;3-6
Description:
"Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear are best friends. They do everything together and go everywhere together except for one place. They never go down the long and winding path together. But this winter, when Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear go skating on the frozen pond, Rabbit loses control and barrels straight down the path. What she finds there is one of the most beautiful places she has ever seen, but to her surprise, Big Bear and Duck both admit they sometimes...
Book cover for Rise to the sky.
Notes:
Science, Technology, and the Natural World;5-10
Description:
"What are the tallest living things on Earth? Trees! Discover what growing trees need so they can rise to the sky in this lyrical look at the tree life cycle"--
Book cover for The skull.
Author:
Notes:
Fiction for Children;6-9
Description:
"In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both?"--
Book cover for Snow day.
Notes:
Books for Newly Independent Readers;6-9
Description:
"Jo Jo Makoons has noticed that the family members she loves most—Mama, Kokum, and even her cat, Mimi—all have their own ways of being healthy. So when Teacher says that their class will be learning about healthy habits, Jo Jo is ready to be neighborly by helping everyone around her be healthy too. After a snowstorm shuts down her Ojibwe reservation, Jo Jo uses her big imagination and big personality to help both Elders and classmates alike. Because...
Book cover for There was a party for Langston.
Notes:
The Arts;5-9
Description:
A celebration of Langston Hughes and African American authors he inspired, told through the lens of the party held at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 1991.
Book cover for ¡Vamos! Let's go read.
Notes:
Picture Books;5-9
Description:
"Little Lobo and his friends are excited for the out-of-this-world book festival that the Guadalupian Library hosts every year! Everyone has a special book they're looking for, but there's so much to see and do first"--
Book cover for The walk.
Notes:
Contemporary People, Places, and Issues;5-9
Description:
As a little girl accompanies her grandma on a walk to the polling station, members of their community join and the grandmother explains the importance of their journey.
Book cover for You gotta meet Mr. Pierce!.
Notes:
The Arts;7-11
Description:
"A picture book biography about the barber shop of woodcarver Elijah Pierce, recipient of the highest folk art honor in the United States." --