Seasons come, seasons go. But a little brown bunny and a graceful blue bird discover that friendship, true friendship, last forever.
Kindness
Fiction
New or Not Yet Leveled
Category: Kindness
The Lion and the Bird
A lion finds a wounded bird in his garden and decides to care for it through the winter. When spring arrives, the bird’s flock returns and the bird goes off with them. Lion is sad, but autumn brings a wonderful surprise.
Kindness, Empathy
Fiction
AR Reading Level 1.1
AR Point .5
Word Count 142
One Bright Ring
A girl sees a man drop the ring he means to use to propose to his girlfriend. The little girl tries to give it back to him, but things keep getting in her way! Follow this brave girl and count the obstacles she overcomes in her adventure to return the ring to its owner. She catches up to him just as he realizes he doesn’t have the ring anymore . . . so she drops it in just the right place for him to find it.
Initiative, Kindness, Perseverance, Trustworthiness
Fiction
AR Reading Level 2.0
AR Point .5
Word Count 232
Boxes for Katje
After World War II there is little left in Katje’s town of Olst in Holland. Her family, like most Dutch families, must patch their old worn clothing and go without everyday things like soap and milk. Then one spring morning when the tulips bloom “thick and bright,” Postman Kleinhoonte pedals his bicycle down Katje’s street to deliver a mysterious box – a box from America! Full of soap, socks, and chocolate, the box has been sent by Rosie, an American girl from Mayfield, Indiana. Her package is part of a goodwill effort to help the people of Europe. What’s inside so delights Katje that she sends off a letter of thanks – beginning an exchange that swells with so many surprises that the girls, as well as their townspeople, will never be the same.
This inspiring story, with strikingly original art, is based on the author’s mother’s childhood and will show young readers that they, too, can make a difference.
Empathy, Kindness
Fiction
AR Reading Level 3.5
AR Point .5
Word Count 1585
Leah’s Pony
Leah’s pony was swift and strong. Together they would cross through cornfields and over pastures, chasing cattle as they galloped under summer skies. Then came the year the corn grew no taller than a man’s thumb. Locusts blackened the sky. The earth turned to dust. Gone were the cornfields and pastures where Leah and her pony once rode. It was the beginning of the great drought. Now Leah’s papa faced losing the family farm. Set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, this deeply felt story, vividly portrayed through stunning oil paintings, tells of one child and what she would sacrifice for love of her family.
Courage, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Empathy, and Kindness
Fiction
AR Reading Level 3.3
AR Point .5
Word Count 1333
Penguin and Pinecone: A Friendship Story
When Penguin finds a lost pinecone one day, an unlikely friendship blooms. But Grandpa reminds Penguin that pinecones can’t live in the snow they belong in the warm forest far away. Though he will miss his friend, Penguin returns Pinecone to his home, dreaming of the day they can reunite. And when he finally returns to the forest to check on his friend, Penguin discovers that love only grows over time.
Kindness
Fiction
AR Reading Level 1.2
AR Point .5
Word Count 212
Samson in the Snow
One sunny day Samson, a large and friendly woolly mammoth, encounters a little red bird who is looking for yellow flowers for her mouse friend (whose favorite color is yellow). As she flies off with the flowers, Samson wonders what it must be like to have a friend. He wonders this for so long, in fact, that he falls asleep and wakes up to a world covered in snow. In the midst of a blizzard, Samson finds and shelters the little red bird and flower-loving mouse in a tender tale of kindness and unexpected friendship.
Kindness, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving
Fiction
AR Reading Level 2.9
AR Point .5
Word Count 677
Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution
Squirrel knows that New Year’s Day is a great day for making resolutions! But what does it mean to make a resolution, anyway? As she makes visits around the forest she learns about New Year’s resoltuions and helps her friends get started on theirs. If only she can think of a resolution of her very own…
Kindness, Empathy, Optimism, Excellent Attitude, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving
Fiction
AR Reading Level 2.5
AR Point .5
Word Count 802
Pig on the Titanic: A True Story
Everyone knows the story of the night the great ship Titanic sank. But few know the story of Maxixe, one of the unsung heroes of that night, and how this small musical pig soothed the fears of a lifeboat full of children. Based on true events, this dramatic story is told through the charming and compassionate voice of Maxixe the musical pig.
Kindness
Fiction
AR Reading Level 2.5
AR Point .5
Word Count 564
George Washington and the General’s Dog
Boom! Bang! Guns fire! Cannons roar! George Washington is fighting in the American Revolution. He sees a dog lost on the battlefield. Whose dog is it? How will it find its master? Early readers will be surprised to find out what happens in this little-known true story about America’s first president.
Empathy, Fairness, Kindness, Leadership, Responsibility, Trustworthiness
Nonfiction
AR Reading Level 2.5
AR Point .5
Word Count 719
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