I would recommend Little Cliff and the Porch People, by Clifton L. Taulbert and illustrated by E.B. Lewis. I think that first and second graders would enjoy reading this book. This is a story about Little Cliff, his grandparents, and their friends. Usually on Saturdays, Little Cliff and Poppa Joe would go into Greenville where on the way they would stop and talk to all their friends on their porches. This Saturday Poppa Joe went to visit his sick cousin, so Little Cliff stayed home with Mama Pearl. She planned on making candied sweet potatoes for Poppa, but she need special butter from Miz Callie. Mama asked Cliff to go quick and get it. As he was trying to get there, friends and family kept stopping them and inviting to him to talk. Each give him something for his Mama to use in her potatoes. Finally after reaching Miz Callie's house and getting the special butter, Little Cliff went home and the two started cooking. They used all the ingredients to make the perfect sweet potatoes. When poppa got home and they were ready to eat, there was a knock at the door. It was the family and friends Cliff saw on the way to Miz Callie's house. They invited them in and all ate together. After reading, everyone could discuss a favorite dish of their grandparent and why.

El Chino

El Chino by the author of Grandfather's Journey, Allen Say, is a great picture book. It would be great for students in first through third grade. Billy Wong is the son of immigrants from China. His father told him as a young boy, "In America, you can be anything you want to be." He enjoyed playing basketball until college where he found out he was too short. A few more inches and he could have been famous. On a trip to Spain, he become fasinated with bullfighting and Spanish matadors. Although many had said the real, true matadors are Spanish, Billy remembered what his father said. He learned how to bullfight, and it was not long before he was just as good as the Spanish matadors. This book allows children to see someone pursuit their dreams. Like Billy's father said, you can be anything you want to be.

A Chair for my Mother

A Chair For My Mother, by Vera B. Williams is a Caldott Honor book. It is a great story about a girl, her waitress mother, and grandmother. They save all their tips from work and extra change in a jar, so they can eventually buy a new chair. One day on their way home, they find their house has caught on fire. They lose everything. The first day they moved into their new house friends, family, and neighbors bring them items for their house, but they didn't get a sofa or comfortable chair. For the next year, they saved their extra change in a huge jar to buy a big comfortable chair for the house. Once they filled it; they exchanged the coins for bills at the bank. They went out and got their chair. They were so happy to have it.
This book is great for 4 to 7 year olds. They get to see how good it is to share with others. It shows that you can save up money to buy something you really want.

Spark the Firefighter

Spark the Firefighter, by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Amanda Haley, is a great book for children four to seven years old. Children can learn some fire safety tips and see that you can overcome fears. It is about a dragon who wants to become a volunteer firefighter in the town of Hardscrabble. Only he is afraid of fire, and gets made fun of by the other dragons. The chief decides to give him a chance. He learns about fire safety from the others. Slowly but surely, he gets over his fear of fire and ends up saving animals in a burning barn.

Iggie's House by Judy Blume

I would recommend Iggie's House by Judy Blume. I enjoyed reading this book. As I was reading, I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. This book would be great for middle school students and young adults. The book is about, the Garbers, a black family with three children that move into Winnie's all white neighborhood. Winnie is excited to have new kids arrive in the neighborhood, especially since her best friend just moved away, but not everyone in the neighborhood feels the same.