Compiled by teachers, administrators, curriculum planners, and librarians, this list is intended to help local level curriculum planners and teachers select books for their reading programs and evaluate their literature programs, and to encourage students to read by improving their reading attitudes. To accommodate a variety of tastes, abilities, and learning modalities, books from the following genres are included: picture books, folklore, modern fantasy and science fiction, poetry, contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, informational and biographical nonfiction, plays (grades K-6), and foreign language books. The introduction discusses the intent, development, and format of the list. Designed for ease of use and understanding, the list (1) contains three sections--"Core and Extended Materials,""Recreational and Motivational Materials," and "Materials for Students in Grades Seven and Eight"; (2) gives titles within these sections by traditional categories generally well known by elementary teachers; (3) lists each entry alphabetically by author (or by title if author is unknown or anonymous); (4) provides a matrix to give users information helpful in searching for and selecting books; and (5) includes an index of authors and titles. (JD)