Recommended Read Aloud Booklist for April
Compiled by Jan Powell
Curriculum Coordinator
Literacy Programs
Screen Actors Guild Foundation
The month of April has several special events/themes for choosing books to
read to students. Here are some sample ideas for April read-alouds. In many
cases the authors chosen have written additional titles.
Special Events and Themes for April:
April Fools’ Day; Arbor Day; Earth
Day; Baseball; Butterflies
Classic April Fools’ Day Books
April 1 is not a national holiday but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day
when many people play all kinds of jokes. Some people say that the day originated
around the 1580s in France when the Gregorian Calendar was introduced and New
Year’s Day was moved.
April Foolishness by Teresa Bateman and Nadine Bernard Westcott (K-2nd)
Family pranks highlight the gentle, teasing relationships in this amusing tale. Grandpa thinks
he's wise to his grandchildren's April Fools' Day tricks and ignores their warnings of what’s
happening with the animals.
Arthur's April Fool by Marc Brown (K-2nd)
Arthur’s adventures are always a treat and speak to the hearts of children everywhere.
April Fool! Watch Out at School! by Diane De Groat (K-3rd)
Gilbert and his friends are ready to celebrate April Fools’ Day. The book is filled with tricks
children enjoy: warnings of untied shoelaces, plastic spiders, and gummy worms in apples.
April Fool, Phyllis! by Susanna Leonard Hill (K-2nd)
Phyllis knows there’s a blizzard coming but no one believes her. She uses a combination of
common sense and uncommon abilities to lead the April Fools' Day treasure hunters back to
safety.
April Fools’ Day by Melissa Schiller (K-2nd)
This is an enjoyable book to learn about April Fools’ Day and how it is celebrated.
Arbor Day Favorites:
Arbor Day is America’s National Tree holiday, founded by J. Sterling Morton in
Nebraska in 1872. On that first Arbor Day (April 10, 1872) an estimated one
million trees were planted. Arbor Day is the day we set aside to plant trees,
educate people about the importance of trees, and honor the role trees play in our
daily lives.
In 1970, President Richard Nixon proclaimed the last Friday in April as National
Arbor Day. All fifty states celebrate Arbor Day, but the dates vary due to the
differences in local climates.
Arbor Day Celebration Dates by State
State
Year First
Observed
Currently Celebrated
State Tree
Arizona
1890-91
Last Friday in April
Paloverde
California
1886
March 7-14
California Redwood
Florida
1886
Third Friday in January
Cabbage Palmetto
New York
1889
Last Friday in April
Sugar Maple
Champion of Arbor Day: J. Sterling Morton (The Great Heartlanders
Series) by Sandy Beaty (4th-6th)
Morton believed that "trees provide food for the table, wood for the stove, shade for the
body and beauty for the soul." Beaty chronicles the life of this early environmentalist who
promoted the idea of a day dedicated to trees and motivated Nebraskans to plant one
million on the first Arbor Day in 1872.
Arbor Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays) by Kelly Bennett (PreK-2nd)
This is a non-fiction book that shares information for young children.
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne
Cherry (K-4th)
Lynne Cherry journeyed deep into the rain forests of Brazil to write and illustrate this
beautiful picture book about how a man trying to chop down a giant kapok tree learns about
the importance of trees and how “all living things depend on one another.”
Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber (K-2nd)
Trees are a valuable natural resource. People depend on trees for food, and animals depend
on trees for food and shelter. But most important, we depend on trees because they provide
oxygen we need to breathe. While trees give us many important products, we must also
protect them because we can't live without them.
Arbor Day Square by Cyd Moore and Kathryn Osebold Galbraith (K-3rd)
Story of how a girl and her father help a new prairie town with no trees by collecting
enough money to order fifteen trees from back East for the town square.
Arbor Day (Holidays and Festivals) by Rebecca Rissman (PreK-2nd)
Plant a tree and help preserve the planet. Readers will learn about different activities they
can take part in to honor Arbor Day.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (K-6th)
This classic is an excellent book with an excellent message. It is the story of the
relationship between a tree and a boy.
Classic Earth Day Books:
Similar, but not to be confused with Arbor Day is Earth Day. This special day was
first suggested in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment. The United
Nations began an Earth Day celebration on the March Equinox and continued this
celebration every year since.
An environmental teach-in was held on April 22, 1970. This Earth Day involved over
two thousand colleges and universities and roughly ten thousand primary and
secondary schools. The main purpose of the day was to promote environment
awareness and reform.
Earth Day is still celebrated on two days: the March Equinox and April 22nd. The
April date usually involves more schools, allowing students, teachers, and parents to
have more time to learn about environmental awareness.
Earth Day--Hooray! by Stuart J. Murphy (1st-3rd)
In this latest addition to Murphy's MathStart series, the Maple Street School's Save the
Planet Club decides to clean up Gilroy Park and plant some flowers to celebrate Earth Day.
The Three R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle by Núria Roca (PreK-1st)
Factual information that younger children can understand about ways they can help the
environment.
Earth Day Birthday by Pattie L. Schnetzler (PreK-4th)
This book presents a song written to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and
celebrates Earth Day by featuring twelve different creatures that inhabit the planet.
Baseball
April marks the beginning of the year’s regular season for Major League Baseball.
Many children play baseball during the spring months.
A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson by David A. Adler and Robert Casilla
(1st-3rd)
This book is a good overview of the life of baseball great Jackie Robinson.
‘B’ Is for Baseball: A Fun Way to Learn Your Alphabet! by Harry Barker
(PreK-1st)
Have fun learning the game of baseball using the ABCs! Harry Barker's ABC baseball book is
a fun way to turn learning the alphabet into an enjoyable experience.
ABC’s of Baseball by Antoine Cameron and Michael Golez (PreK-1st)
This baseball rhyming book is great for learning about baseball. The author has close ties to
the game of baseball since he played for the Chicago Cubs.
The Bat Boy and His Violin by Gavin Curtis and E. B. Lewis (1st-4th)
Reginald loves to create beautiful music on his violin. But Papa, manager of the Dukes, the
worst team in the Negro National League, needs a bat boy, not a "fiddler," and traveling
with the Dukes doesn't leave Reginald much time for practicing. Soon the Dukes' dugout is
filled with Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach -- and the bleachers are filled with the sound of
the Dukes' bats. Has Reginald's violin changed the Dukes' luck -- and can his music pull off a
miracle victory against the powerful Monarchs?
H Is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet by Brad Herzog and Melanie
Rose (1st-4th)
Now anyone can be one of the “boys or girls of summer” and get a home plate view of
America's favorite pastime. Sports writer Brad Herzog pairs easy-to-read rhymes with
detailed expository so that readers are pitched baseball's facts, faces, history, and places
from A-Z.
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee (1st-4th)
During World War II, a young Japanese-American boy and his family are sent to an
internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Despondent in their desolate
surroundings, father and son pull the camp together to build a baseball diamond and form a
league.
Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss and Yuko Shimizu (1st-5th)
The true story of Kenichi “Zeni” Zenimura’s boyhood dream of playing professional baseball,
but everyone tells him he is too small. Yet he grows up to be a successful player, playing
with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, Zeni and
his family are sent to one of ten internment camps where more than 110,000 people of
Japanese ancestry are imprisoned. Zeni brings the game of baseball to the camp, along with
a sense of hope.
Curious George at the Baseball Game by H. A. Rey, Margret Rey and Anna
Grossnickle Hines (K-3rd)
Play ball! George is going to watch a baseball game. One curious little monkey in one big
stadium makes for one exciting day at the ballpark!
How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball by David Shannon (K-4th)
Chosen as a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book. The very first book awardwinner David Shannon wrote and illustrated himself tells an expressive, emotional tale of a
time when spring no longer existed, and it was always winter in America. Why? Because an
angry dictator declared baseball illegal, and once-happy citizens fell into a dull pace of
endless ice, snow, factories, and drudgery.
Baseball from A to Z by Michael P. Spradlin and Macky Pamintuan (1st-3rd)
Learning about baseball has never been so much fun! From a pitching Ace to a strike Zone,
this energetic alphabet book covers all the bases of America's favorite pastime.
Eddie: Harold’s Little Brother by Pat Koch Thaler, Edward I. Koch and
James Warhola (K-3rd)
No matter how much Eddie practices, he just can't play baseball like his big brother,
Harold. In fact, there's only one part of the game Eddie's any good at, and it has nothing to
do with double plays or home runs: Eddie's great at talking, and gives a fantastic game
wrap-up. Fortunately for Eddie, Harold helps him see just how talented he really is and
starts him on an amazing career!
Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball
Team by Audrey Vernick and Steven Salerno (K-3rd)
The Acerra family had sixteen children, including twelve ball-playing boys. It was the
1930s, and many families had lots of kids. But the Acerra family had enough to field a
baseball team . . . with three on the bench! They were the longest-playing all-brother
team in baseball history. They loved the game, but more important, they cared for
and supported one another and stayed together as a team.
Butterflies
Butterfly House by Eve Bunting and Greg Shed (K-3rd)
With the help of her grandfather, a little girl makes a house for a larva and watches it
develop before setting it free. And when the girl grows old, the butterflies come back to
return her kindness.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (PreK-1st)
In this classic Eric Carle book the very hungry caterpillar literally eats his way through the
pages of the book.
Hurry and the Monarch by Antoine O Flatharta and Meilo So (K-3rd)
When the beautiful orange Monarch on her fall migration route from Canada to Mexico
stops to rest at Wichita Falls, Texas, she makes friends with an old tortoise called Hurry.
In the spring she stops again at Hurry's garden just long enough to lay her eggs and head
north to Canada.
Butterfly Butterfly: A Book of Colors by Petr Horacek (PreK-1st)
Lucy sees a beautiful butterfly in the garden, along with a bright green beetle, a brilliant
blue dragonfly, some red ladybugs, and many more flying and crawling things. But when will
the radiant butterfly appear again?
I Wish I Were a Butterfly by James Howe and Ed Young (K-3rd)
This is a simple and touching story of a miserable little cricket that doesn’t make music
because the frog told him he was ugly. Children who have been bullied or criticized will
identify with the feelings in this book.
It’s a Butterfly’s Life by Irene Kelly (K-4th)
What is a butterfly s life? It’s full of twists and turns as butterfly glide on air currents.
There are more than 17,000 kinds of butterflies in the world. Some of them will only live
for a few days. Others will migrate thousands of miles to winter in a warmer climate. Still
others will hibernate through the cold months.
Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and Kevin
Hawkes (PreK-3rd)
This School Library Journal Best Book of the Year celebrates everything butterfly, from
migration to metamorphosis! It's hard to be Velma entering first grade. That's because
everyone has marvelous memories of her two older sisters, who were practically perfect
first graders, and no one even notices Velma. But all that changes on a class trip to the
butterfly conservatory, a place neither of her sisters has been. When a monarch roosts on
Velma's finger and won't budge for days—no one will ever forget it . . . or her!
Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly by Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss
Glasser (PreK-3rd)
Nancy thinks butterflies are simply exquisite. And that is why she can't wait for her friend
Bree's Butterfly Birthday. It's going to be the fanciest birthday party ever! But when
Nancy finds out she can't go because her grandparents' fiftieth anniversary party is the
same day, she is furious. Will Nancy be able to overcome her disappointment?
My, Oh My—A Butterfly! All About Butterflies (Cat in the Hat’s
Learning Library) by Tish Rabe, Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu (PreK-3rd)
With a little help from the Cat in the Hat, Sally and Dick observe a small miracle in their
own backyard: the metamorphosis of an egg into a caterpillar into a chrysalis into a bright
new butterfly!
Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder and Lynne Cherry (PreK-2nd)
In a field of lacy leaves a small caterpillar hatches, grows, and sheds its skin, becoming a
smooth, green creeper. It eats and changes some more, then in a sequence of remarkable
close-ups, spins a silken sling--until it finally bursts forth as a brilliant black swallowtail
butterfly.
Butterflies Under Our Hats by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and Joani Keller
Rothenberg (1st-4th)
Inspired by a Jewish folktale, this original story is about a mythical town where everything
that could goes wrong…leaky houses, cracked sidewalks, weedy gardens.
Gotta Go! Gotta Go! by Sam Swope and Sue Riddle (PreK-1st)
"I don't know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!"
The creepy-crawly bug doesn't know why she does what she does. She only knows she has to
do it. But making the journey seems impossible for the slow-moving critter who has no idea
what or where Mexico is.
An Invitation to the Butterfly Ball by Jane Yolen (PreK-2nd)
Foxes, turtles, raccoons, and owls are among the forest creatures trying to locate just the
right outfits to wear to the social event of the woodland season. This classic rhyming story
by Jane Yolen is an all-time favorite.
Chapter Books
The Lucky Baseball Bat by Matt Christopher and Robert Henneberger (2nd4th)
Martin is new to the neighborhood, and wants to make a good impression on his new
teammates. But when he loses his lucky baseball bat, Martin fears that he has also lost his
ability to play baseball. Will Martin be able to continue his winning streak without the bat?
Matt Christopher has written many sports chapter books that would be good read-aloud
books.
April Fools’ Day (easy Nancy Drew Series) by Carolyn Keene and Macky
Pamintuan (1st-3rd)
Nancy, George, and Bess have been invited to an April Fools’ Day party at their new
schoolmate's house. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun -- each guest is bringing a gag
to the party, and the best prank will win a special prize.
Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-up by David A. Kelly and Mark
Meyers (2nd-4th)
Thanks to Kate's mom, a sports reporter, cousins Mike Walsh and Kate Hopkins have tickets
to the Red Sox game and All Access passes to Fenway Park. But as they're watching batting
practice before the game, the lucky bat of Red Sox star slugger Big D is stolen . . . right in
front of dozens of people. Without the bat, Big D can't seem to hit a thing. Can Kate and
Mike figure out who pinched the bat before Big D and the Sox chalk up a loss?
This is book #1 in a new early chapter book mystery series where each book is set in a
different American ballpark!
April Fools' Day from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler (2nd-3rd)
It's the end of March, and Hubie is struggling to prepare his pranks for the big day. These
fun-filled chapter books mix school, monsters, and common kid problems with hilarious
results.