Tried and True Picture Books for Teaching
Every summer I clean out and purge all of my books. It's a difficult task because I love them all. Many books are like good friends. But, I have limited real estate on the shelves. Sometimes I need to make room for some new finds that fulfill a teaching purpose or need for students better than an older book. Sometimes I have an older book that does the best job for me, so I get rid of a newer one. Hard choices, but necessary.
Part of what I am doing is staying focused in my purpose in teaching and coaching. Having too much can be overwhelming and decision making becomes harder. Being thoughtful in my library makes me more efficient and directed.
How do you choose the books you teach with and what deserves shelf space in your teaching library?
There are so many wonderful picture books coming out every year. It can be a bit overwhelming. However, we need to remember there are older books that are just as wonderful. Perhaps it's time to walk away from the next shiny thing for a minute and inventory/repurpose what we currently have.
Here are some of my old favorites:
Letters and Mail
String Bean's Trip to the Shining Sea by Vera B. Williams
The Jolly Postman Or Other People's Letters by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Thank You Mr. Faulkner by Patricia Polocco
Dear Teacher by Amy Husband (excuse letters)
Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Dear Mrs. LaRue by Mark Teague
The Day the Crayons Quit by Brew Daywalt (letters of complaint)
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell (while this tale is not written in letter format, it is a true, and unusual, story about mail)
Xo, Ox: A Love Story by Adam Rex
Judgement, Empathy and Friends
Any Gerald and Piggie Story from Mo Willums
The Hundred Dresses by Elenor Estes
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Me First by Helen Lester (taking turns)
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman
Fairy Tales Revisited
The Mermaid by Jan Brett (and many other Jan Brett versions of fairy tales)
The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten by Trisha Speed Shaskan
Prince Cinders by Babette Cole
The Rough-Faced Girl by Rafe Martin
The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Cilmo
Cinderella's Other Shoe by Phillipa Rae (from the shoe's perspective)
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (a princess who rescues herself)
The Frog Prince Continued by Jon Scieszka
Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
School
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
My Teacher Sleeps in School by Lettie Weiss
The Art Lesson by Tomie de Paola (problem solving)
Ideas
All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan (ends and new beginnings)
Sidewalk Circus by Paul Fleischman (seeing the everyday differently)
The Gardner by Sarah Stewart (A book about figuring out how to find and bring joy where we are right now.)
I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff (persuasive writing)
When Dinosaurs Came With Everything by Elise Broach
Chester by Melanie Watts (author arguing with a character)
Conventions
Grammar Tales (There's a whole series.)
Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver
Word Choice
An A From Miss Keller by Patricia Polocco (giving our words wings)
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant (creating mood and painting a picture)
The Night I Followed the Dog (active verbs and specific nouns)
Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker (painting a picture with words; also great for teaching about clouds and weather)
Can I be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings (persuasive letters)
The Word Collector by Peter H. Renolds
Voice
Alphabet Adventure by Audrey Wood
Body Battles by Rita Golden Gelman (making non-fiction exciting)
Grody's Not So Golden Rules by Nicole Rubel (also great for talking about class expectations/creating your own rule books)
The Frog Principal by Stephanie Calmenson (being funny without going too far)
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds (changing voice- showing growth)
Cinderella's Other Shoe by Phillipa Rae (perspective)
The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups by David Winsewski (writing detective or mystery stories as well)
Sentence Fluency
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss (using quotes naturally)
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes (varied lengths)
Organization
Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin (bank and forth negotiation)
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey (chronological order)
The Mystery of Eatum Hall by John Kelly (giving clues to move the mystery along)
Stand Tall, Mary Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell (using a refrain)
Black and White by David Macaulay (non-linear story)
Point of View
Who is Melvin Bubble? by Nick Bruel
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Presentation
Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Flemming
Ben's Trumpet by Rachel Isadora (black and white vs. color)
The Three Little Pigs by David Wiesner (unusual design or layout)
Alphabet Adventure by Audrey Wood
Easy to Make Pop-ups by Joan Irvine
The Mitten by Jan Brett (using a boarder to tell part of the story or give clues)
Books About Books and Reading
We're in a Book! by Mo Willems
The Fantasic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by Kelli DiPuccio
Alfred Zector Book Collector by William Joyce
The Library by Sarah Stewart
Let Me Finish by Minh Le
Wolf! by Becky Bloom
A Book by Mordecai Gerstein (a book with different genres)
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? by Lauren Child
