Check It Out

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

Children love and respond to poetry, understanding intuitively that a poem gets right to the heart of the matter. All of these books beg to be read aloud; kids will return to them in their own time.

Babies and toddlers: “Big Fat Hen,” by Keith Baker.

A favorite old counting poem, with glorious oversized illustrations.

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Preschoolers: “Beast Feast,” by Douglas Florian, illustrated by the author.

Funny paintings and poems about lots of animals, from lobsters to kiwis.

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Kindergarten: “Some of the Days of Everett Anderson,” by Lucille Clifton, illustrated by Evaline Ness.

Experience the joy, wonder, sadness and fun of this small African American boy.

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First and second grades: “Splish Splash,” by Joan Bransfield Graham, illustrated by Steve Scott.

Short poems about water in all its different forms, from ice cubes to steam. The poems themselves, known as “concrete” poems, cleverly take the shape and form of their subjects.

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Third grade: “The Great Frog Race and Other Poems,” by Kristine O’Connell George.

Beautifully focused poems about nature from a child’s perspective, with handsome paintings by Kate Kiesler.

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Fourth and fifth grades: “Good Luck Gold and Other Poems,” by Janet S. Wong.

Poems about growing up in Los Angeles. Wong also explores her Asian American heritage (she is the child of a Chinese immigrant father and a Korean immigrant mother) in a companion book of poems, “A Suitcase of the Seaweed and Other Poems.”

Storytime

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

* “Froggy Gets Dressed,” by Jonathan London.

Froggy is eager to get dressed and play in the snow, but he keeps forgetting important pieces of clothing. (Themes: family, responsibility.)

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* “Borreguita and the Coyote,” translated and retold by Verna Aardema.

A little lamb is able to outsmart a wolf who wants to eat her. (Themes: fairy tale, resourcefulness.)

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* “Babuska’s Doll,” by Patricia Polacco.

A little girl learns to become more patient with the help of her grandmother’s doll. (Themes: fantasy, responsibility.)