Check It Out

Books recommended for young readers by Susan Patron, senior librarian, Los Angeles Public Library:

Babies and toddlers: “Where’s Spot?” by Eric Hill.

Babies and toddlers can lift the flaps to help Spot’s mom find some pretty funny things.

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Preschoolers: “My Little Sister Ate One Hare,” by Bill Grossman.

She eats all kinds of slimy and funny things, but she hates peas! Wacky pictures by Kevin Hawkes.

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Kindergarten: “Now I Will Never Leave the Dinner Table,” by Jane Read Martin.

Both grown-ups and kids will love Roz Chast’s illustrations of what happens to Patty Jane when she vows never to finish her spinach.

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First and second grades: “Amelia Bedelia,” by Peggy Parish.

Amelia Bedelia does everything exactly right, and always gets it wrong. Wordplay, puns and literalness are carried to hilarious extremes.

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Third grade: “Math Curse,” by Jon Scieszka.

You’ll laugh out loud at the lunatic math problems posed in this book. Zany pictures by Lane Smith.

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Fourth and fifth grades: “Ace: The Very Important Pig,” by Dick King-Smith.

The unusual great-grandson of Babe the Gallant Pig.

Storytime

Some of the books to be read on KCET’s “Storytime,” Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

“In the Rain with Baby Duck,” by Amy Hest.

It’s a rainy day that makes Baby mad. Baby’s parents worry--who ever heard of a duck who doesn’t like rain? So Grandpa helps Baby find ways to love the rain. (Themes: nature, family.)

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“The Fiddler of the Northern Lights,” by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock.

Far in the north, the old folks tell stories about strange and wondrous things. Everyone says that they are just stories, until the night Grandpa and Henry go upriver in search of the fiddler. (Themes: nature, fantasy.)

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“The Old Woman Who Named Things,” by Cynthia Rylant.

An old woman who has outlived many of her friends learns to love again with the help of a persistent puppy. (Themes: love, trust.)