Picture Books You Should Read

Picture books can be used with students of all ages. Students can experience complex storytelling, character change, and beautiful artwork while reading picture books. Here are just a few of the amazing picture books out there.

Another by Christian Robinson- This wordless picture book takes readers to another dimension. A young girl and her cat wake in the middle of the night to find a portal opened to another dimension.  Readers will have to look closely at the illustrations and infer the plot since this is a wordless book. This author also illustrated the award winning, Last Stop on Market Street.

• The Rough Patch by Brian Lies- This Caldecott Honor book takes readers through the journey of Farmer Evan and the loss of his beloved dog. Evan is so devastated by the loss that he destroys his prized garden and lets weeds grow everywhere. This book gives readers a glimpse of how deeply we can fall into grief, and how a glimmer of hope can shine through in the end. I read this book aloud to a class of third graders, and they were touched by the story. Great conversations will follow the reading of The Rough Patch.

• Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell won the 2018 Caldecott Award. This wordless book tells the story of a girl who gets lost in a snowstorm, and a young wolf pup who also gets lost in the snow. The two find each other. Will they make it to safety with their families? The illustrations are beautiful and filled with details that even the youngest reader can find to drive the the plot along. I read this book with a group of kindergarten students, and they loved discovering this story.

• The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros is a picture book that
  
  addresses memory loss in a beautiful and tender way. Each member of James's family holds balloons that represent memories of the past. Grandpa has the best balloons because he has lived the longest and experienced the most. Grandpa even has a balloon of a special memory of a fishing trip shared by James and Grandpa. James starts to become concerned when he notices that Grandpa starts losing some of his balloons. Grandpa even lets go of their special fishing trip balloon. This book maintains the dignity of the person suffering from memory loss while helping those left behind to keep and share the memories. I have shared this book with groups of adults and children alike. 

Which picture books have you been reading? Share your thoughts in a comment below, and we can learn from each other.