Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award Reading List

The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. That’s because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking while their breakfast cools off. Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots, and finally crawls into the smallest bed for a nap. Meanwhile, Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear see her dogs adrift, swim out to rescue them and return home to find Aloo-ki fast asleep in Baby Bear’s bed. Jan traveled to the far North to meet the Inuit people and see the amazing land where they live. Dramatic illustrations capture the shimmering ice, snow and deep blue seas of the Arctic, and when Jan adds a raven-haired Inuit girl and her appealing huskies, an endearing family of polar bears, and playful Arctic animals in the borders, the result is one of her most beautiful picture books.

Diary of a Fly By Doreen Cronin This is the diary...of a fly. A fly who, when she's not landing on your head or swimming in your soup, is trying to escape her 327 brothers and sisters who are driving her crazy! Even though she's little -- just like her best friends Worm and Spider -- Fly wants to be a superhero. And why not? She walks on walls, sees in all directions at once, and can already fly! Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss reach hilarious heights with their story of a little fly who's not afraid to dream big. Really big.

The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan Try to do as little as possible." This was Dodsworth's motto. One morning, on his daily trip to the junkyard, he discovers a pink refrigerator. There's not much to say about a pink refrigerator, except this one had a note on it. The note said, "Paint pictures." And so Dodsworth did. The next day, a new note appeared on the pink refrigerator. And the day after that, and the day after that. Dodsworth liked doing as little as possible. But the pink refrigerator had big plans for him...

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington Meet one smart chicken chaser. She can catch any chicken on her grandmother's farm except one - the elusive Miss Hen. In a hilarious battle of wits, the spirited narrator regales readers with her campaign to catch Miss Hen, but this chicken is "fast as a mosquito buzzing and quick as a fleabite." Our chicken chaser has her mind set on winning, until she discovers that sometimes it's just as satisfying not to catch chickens as it is to catch them. A fresh voice full of sass and inventive, bold collage illustrations full of surprises create a childlike escapade brimming with funny high jinks that leads the reader on a merry, memorable chase.smart

Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. When Henry grows up and marries, he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara "HOW MANY SEEDs in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess. Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them.job

The Orange Shoes by Trinka Hakes Noble Delly Porter has a happy life. She needs new shoes, but doesn't really mind because she loves the soft, silky feel of the dirt road beneath her bare feet. She's a good artist, too, even if she has to make her own art supplies. And she loves her schoolteacher, Miss Violet, who lets her help in the classroom. Life only looks brighter when Miss Violet announces the school will have a Shoebox Social to help raise funds for new art materials. But when what should be a festive occasion is threatened by prejudice and cruelty, Delly finds out that one must stay true to oneself to successfully navigate life's joys and sorrows.

Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin Ruthie "loves" little things-- the smaller, the better. When she finds a teeny tiny toy on the school playground, she can hardly believe her luck. There's just one problem: it belongs to somebody else! Ruthie insists the toy is hers, but deep down, she knows better. How could one little toy turn into such a great big problem?

Where in the Wild? by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy Ten creatures await, camouflaged in artful, full-page photographs, while playful poems offer clues about each animal's identity and whereabouts. Think you’ve spotted one? Lift one of ten gatefolds to find out. A full page of fascinating information accompanies each animal so readers can learn how nature's camouflage serves hunter and hunted alike. Why do fawns have spots during their first year of life? How did killdeer birds get their name? What makes a crab spider so good at ambushing its prey

Hair for Mama by Kelly A. Tinkham Its family picture time for the Carters, but Mama does not want to be in the photo this year. All of her beautiful hair is gone because of chemotherapy treatments for her cancer, and she doesn’t want to be remembered without hair. Eight-year-old Marcus knows that the picture wont be the same without Mama, so he comes up with a plan to find her some hair and make her better. Even though the plan doesn’t work in quite the way Marcus expects, he comes to understand that hair is nice to have, but not as nice as me having Mama and Mama having me. This is a story for every family dealing with a serious illness.chemotherapy

Papa and the Pioneer Quilt by Jean Van Leeuwen Rebecca’s papa has wandering feet. He is following his dream and taking the family west on the Oregon Trail, across prairies, rivers, and mountains. Along the way, Rebecca begins collecting pieces of cloth. In their new home, Mama will help her use these scraps to sew a quilt that will become a keepsake of their amazing, courageous journey. Quilts have a wonderful way of holding history, and Jean Van Leeuwen’s warmly engaging story was inspired by the “Wandering foot” quilt pattern that was popular during pioneer days.

Book cover images and summaries courtesy of BooksinPrint.com Slides created by Cathy Howser Arkansas State Library