Miss Betsy's Library

I can’t believe I’m writing for the net. I have said I hated computers at least a million times because of library automation glitches throughout the years. Computers should be left to those kinds of guys who in high school had schematic diagrams drawn on the covers of their notebooks. But these days computers are fundamental tools of the trade, so here I am in front of one. These lists were a cinch to compile. This month’s list is “Classics Too Good To Miss”. Read through the list, then print it to make a copy to take to your library.

Next month: Miss Betsy recommends “New Classics” (1980 to present) Too Good to Miss!

Meet the Librarian - Carolyn (Carol) Rieben

 My career began in 1972 as a university student teaching in a three-room country schoolhouse with two teachers, fifty children, and eight grades in the remote hill country of eastern Tennessee. After earning a BS degree in elementary education at the University of Tennessee and while teaching in Alabama, I earned a MA in educational media at the University of South Alabama in 1977. I am currently at Bay Minette Elementary School Library Media Center juggling the responsibilities of integrating books and technology into people’s lives. I am the most proud of the response of our students’ and teachers’ to the KIDS KITS program. The participation has been so positive that we were selected as a national demonstration site in 1993. Our Accelerated Reader program is accelerating with each passing year.

My home life is another juggling act of family, horses, dogs, cats, fish, a pig, chicken, and a weasel. I will begin a legitimate hobby when I retire!

For questions and comments about this page, send an e-mail to missbetsysays@helpingteachers.com.

Quick Links

Read Alouds

Beginning Readers

Intermediate Readers

Independent Readers

Read Alouds

  • Caps for Sale
    by Esphyr Slobodkina

  • Curious George
    by H. A. Ray

  • The Snowy Day
    by Ezra Jack Keats

  • The Story of Babar
    by Jean de Brunhoff

  • The Poky Little Puppy
    by Adelaide Hall

  • The Little Red Hen
    by Paul Galdone

  • Pelle’s New Suit
    by Elsa Beskow

  • Goodnight Moon
    by Margaret Wise Brown

  • Swimmy
    by Leo Lionni

  • The Giving Tree
    by Shel Silverstein

  • The House that Jack Built
    by David Cutts

  • The Circus Baby
    by Maud Petersham

  • The Three Little Pigs
    by Paul Galdone

  • Peter and the Wolf
    by Sergei Prokofiev

  • Madeline by
    Ludwig Bemelmans

  • Couduroy by
    Dan Freeman

  • Over in the Meadow
    by John Langstaff

  • Strega Nona
    by Tomie de Paola

  • The Runaway Bunny
    by Margaret Wise Brown

  • Millions of Cats
    by Wanda Gag

  • Blueberries for Sal
    by Robert McCloskey

  • Katy No-Pocket
    by Emmy Payne

  • Andy and the Lion
    by James Daugherty

  • Be Nice to Spiders
    by Margaret Blay Graham

  • The Fisherman and His Wife
    by Jacob Grimm

  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears
    by Jan Brett

  • The Ugly Duckling
    by Hans Christian Andersen

  • The Five Chinese Brothers
    by Claire Huchet Bishop

  • Frog Went A-Courting
    by John Langstaff

  • Paul Bunyan and His Big Blue Ox
    by Adele DeLeeuw

  • The Biggest Bear
    by Lynd Ward

  • Arthur’s Eyes
    by Marc Brown

  • Stone Soup
    by Marcia Brown

  • John Henry
    by Ezra Jack Keats

  • Little Red Riding Hood
    by Jacob Grimm

  • Make Way for Ducklings
    by Robert McCloskey

  • April’s Kittens
    by Clare Turlay Newberry

  • Burt Dow, Deep Water Man
    by Robert McCloskey

  • Rapunzel
    by Jacob Grimm

  • The Little Engine that Could
    by Watty Piper

  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit
    by Beatrix Potter

  • Harold and the Purple Crayon
    by Crockett Johnson

  • The Emporer’s New Clothes
    by Hans Christian Andersen

  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar
    by Eric Carle

  • Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

  • The Hare and the Tortoise
    by Aesop

  • Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
    by William Steig

  • The Story of Ferdinand
    by Monro Leaf

  • Where the Wild Things Are
    by Maurice Sendak

  • Georgie
    by Robert Bright

Beginning Readers

  • Flip
    by Dennis Wesley

  • Cat in the Hat
    by Dr. Seuss

  • Green Eggs and Ham
    by Dr. Seuss

  • Old Hat New Hat
    by Stan and Jan Berenstain

  • Fox in Socks
    by Dr. Seuss

  • The Big Honey Hunt
    by Stan and Jan Berenstain

  • The Bike Lesson
    by Stan and Jan Berenstain

  • The Bears’ Vacation
    by Stan and Jan Berenstain

  • The Bear’s Picnic
    by Stan and Jan Berenstain

  • Ten Apples on Top
    by Theo LeSieg

  • Wacky Wednesday
    by Theo LeSieg

  • Little Bear
    by Else Minarik

  • The Hair Book
    by Graham Tether
  • Frog and Toad Are Friends
    by Arnold Lobel

  • Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia
    by Peggy Parish

  • Little Black, a Pony
    by Walter Farley

  • Robert, the Rose Horse
    by Jan Heilbroner

  • The Best Nest
    by P. D. Eastmann

  • I’ll Teach My Dog 100 Words
    by Michael Frith

  • Maybe You Should Fly a Jet
    by Theo LeSieg

  • The Digging-est Dog
    by Al Perkins

  • The King, the Mice and the Cheese
    by Nancy Gurney

  • I Wish that I Had Duck Feet
    by Theo LeSieg

  • Arthur’s Loose Tooth
    by Lillian Hoban

  • A Bargain for Frances
    by Russell Hoban

  • Hop on Pop
    by Dr. Seuss
  • Billy and Blaze
    by C. W. Anderson

  • Mouse Tales
    by Arnold Lobel

  • Nate the Great
    by Marjorie Sharmat

  • The Carrot Seed
    by Ruth Krauss

  • Daniel’s Duck
    by Robert Clyde Bulla

  • Are You My Mother?
    by P. D. Eastmann

  • Sam the Minuteman
    by Nathaniel Benchley

  • Put Me in the Zoo
    by Robert Lopshire

    Small Wolf
    by Nathaniel Benchley

  • Stop That Ball!
    by Mike McClintock

  • Wagon Wheels
    by Barbara Brenner

  • Greg’s Microscope
    by Milliscent E. Selsan
  • Sammy the Seal
    by Syd Hoff

  • Three Little Kittens
    by Paul Galdone

  • Terry and the Caterpillars
    by Milliscent E. Selsan

  • Plenty of Fish
    by Milliscent E. Selsan

  • Let’s Get Turtles
    by Milliscent E. Selsan

  • Tony’s Birds
    by Milliscent E. Selsan

  • Tyrannosaurus Rex
    by Milliscent E. Selsan

  • Benny’s Animals
    by Milliscent E. Selsan

  • When an Animal Grows
    by Milliscent E. Selsan

  • Hill of Fire
    by Thomas Lewis

  • Little Runner of the Longhouse
    by Betty Baker

  • Would You Rather be a Bullfrog?
    by Theo LeSieg

Intermediate Readers

  • A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal
    by Joan Bliss

  • Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley?
    by Rebecca Caudill

  • Ramona Quimby, Age 8
    by Beverly Cleary

  • “B” is for Betsy
    by Carolyn Haywood

  • Strawberry Girl
    by Lois Lenski

  • Barry: The Bravest Saint Bernard
    by Lynn Hall

  • The Mouse and the Motorcycle
    by Beverly Cleary

  • My Father’s Dragon
    by Ruth Gannett

  • The Littles
    by John Peterson
  • A Bear Called Paddington
    by Michael Bond

  • Freckle Juice
    by Judy Blume

  • The Chocolate Touch
    by Patrick Catling

  • Stone Fox
    by John Gardiner

  • The Boxcar Children
    by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  • Mr. Popper’s Penguins
    by Richard Atwater

  • The Velveteen Rabbit
    by Margery Williams Bianco

  • Winnie the Pooh
    by A. A. Milne

  • Half Magic
    by Edward Eager

  • Columbus
    by Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire

  • Abraham Lincoln
    by Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire

  • George Washington
    by Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire

  • Leif the Lucky
    by Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire

  • Pocahontas
    by Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire

  • Buffalo Bill
    by Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire

  • Benjamin Franklin
    by Ingri & Edgar D’Aulaire

  • And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
    by Jean Fritz

  • Rabbit Hill
    by Robert Lawson
  • Tree in the Trail
    by Holling C. Holling

  • Shoeshine Girl
    by Robert Clyde Bulla

  • Pyramid
    by David Macaulay

  • Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?
    by Jean Fritz

  • Paddle to the Sea
    by Holling C. Holling

  • McBroom Tells a Lie
    by Sid Fleischman

  • The Hundred Dresses
    by Eleanor Estes

  • Flat Stanley
    by Jeff Brown

  • The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
    by Matt Christopher

Independent Readers

  • The Cricket in Times Square
    by George Selden

  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    by C. S. Lewis

  • The Wind in the Willows
    by Kenneth Grahame

  • Heidi
    by Johanna Spyri

  • Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
    by Rachel Field

  • Peter Pan
    by J. M. Barrie

  • Where the Sidewalk Ends
    by Shel Silverstein

  • Charlotte’s Web
    by E. B. White

  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
    by Roald Dahl

  • Indian in the Cupboard
    by Lynne Reid Banks

  • Litttle House on the Prarie
    by Laura Ingalls Wilder

  • Abel’s Island
    by William Steig

  • Mary Poppins
    by P. L. Travers

  • Lassie Come Home
    by Eric Knight

  • The Borrowers
    by Mary Norton

  • Caddie Woodlawn
    by Carol Ryrie Brink

  • How to Eat Fried Worms
    by Thomas Rockwell

  • Pippi Longstocking
    by Astrid Lindgren

  • Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing
    by Judy Blume

  • Black Beauty
    by Walter Farley

  • Brighty of Grand Canyon
    by Marguerite Henry

  • From the Mixed-up File of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
    by E. L. Konlgsburg

  • Little Women
    by Louisa May Alcott

  • The Swiss Family Robinson
    by Johann David Wyss

  • The Time Machine
    by H. G. Wells

  • Treasure Island
    by Robert Louis Stevenson

  • Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
    by Jules Verne

  • The Yearling
    by Majorie Kinnan Rawlings

  • Zlateh the Goat
    by Isaac Bashevis Singer

  • Homer Price
    by Robert McCloskey

  • Sideways Stories from Wayside School
    by Louis Sachar

  • Uncle Remus
    by Joel Chandler Harris

  • The Wizard of Oz
    by L. Frank Brown

  • The Cay
    by Theodore Taylor

  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
    by Mildred Taylor

  • Island of the Blue Dolphins
    by Scott O’Dell

  • Johnny Tremain
    by Esther Forbes

  • Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
    by Robert C. O’Brien

  • Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
    by Betty Bard MacDonald

  • Old Yeller
    by Fred Gipson

  • Rabbit Hill
    by Robert Lawson

  • Rascal
    by Sterling North

  • The Secret Garden
    by Frances Hodgson Burnett

  • Sounder
    by William Armstrong

  • Where the Red Fern Grows
    by Wilson Rawls

  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond
    by Elizabeth Speare

  • Blue Willow
    by Doris Gates

  • The Cat Who Went to Heaven
    by Elizabeth Coatsworth

  • Matchlock Gun
    by Walter Edmonds

  • Banner in the Sky
    by James Ramsey Ullman