Books with author John Hassett

I Like to Read® Books for Beginning Readers• More than 70 fun-to-read books for new readers• Guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards• Award-winning easy reader series, created by acclaimed author-illustrators including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors• Levels A though D for kindergarten readers; levels D through G for early first grade readers A house has a face, hills change their shapes, a rainbow reverses its colors, and a balloon takes a boy to the moon. The day is full of surprises! "Bye, Ben," says his sister as Ben's red balloon takes him up, up, up . . . past bees in a tree, a kite on the big hill, and a rainbow in the clouds. When Ben finally reaches the moon, he puts moon rocks in his pockets and comes down again. Now the rainbow, the hill, the kite, the tree, and the bees all wear happy faces. And it's his sister's turn! Colorful cut-paper-and-ink artwork holds humorous surprises for the observant reader. All objects have life and are subject to change, underscoring Ben's sense of joy and wonder.

In this frosty spoof of the tale of the gingerbread boy, a mother makes her thirsty boy an ice cube for his lemonade. The ice cube escapes from the freezer and runs out the kitchen door. He has big plans—he wants to grow as big as an iceberg so he can bump into boats. “Can’t catch me—I’m off to the sea,” the ice cube says to the boy, an ant, a mouse, a cat, a goose, a man, and a dog as he leads his pursuers on a merry chase to the sea. In the end, the ice cube finds that just desserts are not always sweet. And a thirsty boy discovers that mothers really do know best.

At Number 9 Belknap Street lives a small moody dog named Charles. The lady who owns him is afraid he will catch cold, and Charles is not allowed outdoors, even in his handsome lamb's-wool sweater. But Charles can't be contained forever. One night when he sniffs the smells of the wild and hears the far-off calling of wolves through an open window, he escapes from the apartment. With charmingly detailed pictures and comical text, John and Ann Hassett tell of Charles's liberation into the wild. Follow Charles as he roams along cobblestone streets, howls at streetlamps he mistakes for the moon, and discovers the joys of jelly doughnuts. A story of friendship, Charles of the Wild will capture the hearts of all readers who dream of the wild but still can find adventure in a park full of squirrels on a sunny afternoon.

Nana Quimby has a problem. She wants to bake a cake, but it seems her cellar is filled with water! Too much water! Nana puts a call in to the plumber, who makes a house call. After the plumber leaves and the water is gone, with just one thump, Nana Quimby has an even bigger problem: TOO MANY FROGS! First one frog comes from the basement. Then ten frogs. Then twenty, thirty, then more! Nana Quimby goes about her cake-making business. But the thumping, bumping, banging, bonking frogs become too much to ignore! With the help of some clever neighborhood kids, will Nana Quimby be able to solve her problem and enjoy her cake in peace and quiet? CROAK!

In a superstitious village where all things are painted white, the arrival of a stranger clad in bright, multicolored clothing brings a tide of bad luck. A black cloud appears, bringing with it a bolt of lightning that turns the school gray. The odd stranger offers to paint the school. But, to the villagers’ dismay, she merely sits atop the building and plays her flute as the sun rises and sets. The children, though, delight in her music and colorful stories. Then one night, when the moon is full and high, the stranger begins to paint. When at last the rooster crows, the villagers awake to a most unusual surprise.

“Eeek! A mouse! I cannot have a mouse in the house!” cries Nana Quimby, sending the family on a frantic adventure as they try to rid themselves of first the mouse, then its troublesome successors. From an owl to an elephant, the Quimby family pets devour shoes, steal lunch, quarrel with skunks, uproot trees, and soon convince Nana that there are worse things to have than a mouse in the house.

In this frosty spoof of the tale of the gingerbread boy, a mother makes her thirsty boy an ice cube for his lemonade. The ice cube escapes from the freezer and runs out the kitchen door. He has big plans—he wants to grow as big as an iceberg so he can bump into boats. “Can’t catch me—I’m off to the sea,” the ice cube says to the boy, an ant, a mouse, a cat, a goose, a man, and a dog as he leads his pursuers on a merry chase to the sea. In the end, the ice cube finds that just desserts are not always sweet. And a thirsty boy discovers that mothers really do know best.

Every year Farmer Tuttle loads his truck with Christmas trees fresh from his farm and drives down to the city to sell them. Then he picks out a special Christmas hat to bring home to Mrs. Tuttle. But one year, people stopped buying real Christmas trees. Fake ones were more convenient, they said. So Farmer Tuttle had to return home without a hat to give his wife. The Tuttles worried; if they couldn’t sell their trees anymore, what would they do? Just when they’re about to sell all their trees to a man from the sawmill, a mysterious letter arrives requesting Farmer Tuttle’s finest tree . . .

Born in Massachusetts, Laura came to Upper Canada at the age of 18 and married James Secord. Their happy life in Queenston was disrupted by the outbreak of the War of 1812. At first the war went well for the British, but after General Brock was killed at Queenston, American forces advanced, and some offices were billeted with the Secords. When Laura overheard American soldiers planning a surprise attack she unhesitatingly set out on a dangerous 32 km trek across enemy lines in order to warn the British general, Fitzgibbon. Her brave action made the battle of Beaver Dams a British victory. Secord's role was not immediately acknowledged. In fact, she and her family suffered a great deal more at the hands of American troops, and they were strained by the economic turmoil war brings for many years after the peace. Recognition did come to her in later years, however. Her biography gives a rich impression of life in Upper Canada in the early nineteenth century.