Finding great books to read in the classroom
I’m always on the lookout for great books to read in my class. Ideally, they have beautiful writing and interesting ideas. I want to be able to ask interesting questions when students can make inferences about what might happen and what the meaning could be. Beautiful illustrations are a big plus as well. There’s no shortage of children’s books out there but ones fitting all of these requirements are rare. Here are a few of my favourites.
The Dot – Peter H. Reynolds
The book begins with a girl, Vashti, in class who believes she can’t draw. In a winsome manner, her teacher encourages her to ‘make a mark’ and see where it takes her. She makes a dot on the page and her teacher encourages her to sign her work. The teacher hangs it on the wall in a frame. The girl realises she can do better! She goes on a dot-making exhibition and then shows off her art for all to see. Vashti passes on her newfound confidence to a young boy facing the same fears that she once had.
The thematic ideas here are great. They are not too clear as to be boring, but they are also not too difficult to unpack. Each student can make a mark, in their own way. It is normal to be nervous to get started because we worry about what people might think. It is best to just start and see where it takes you. There are so many more ideas that could be taken from the book, but that is a great place to start.
One Is a Snail Ten Is a Crab – April Pulley Sayre and Jeff Sayre
This book has a focus on the concepts of addition and subtraction. The book is based on the clever concept that each number is represented by an animal with a certain number of legs. Students love participating in the reading by using their understanding of numbers to guess what will happen next… Crabs have 10 legs, 3 crabs is…30!. It doesn’t follow a story structure at all but the illustrations are great and the book teaches an important idea for students to understand in a fun way.
What If Everybody Did That? – Ellen Javernick
This book conveys a concept that is easy to understand and yet is often non-obvious to children (and some adults). The book encourages the reader to consider the consequences of the actions of collectives. One person throws their rubbish on the ground and it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but if everyone does, it is a disaster. This encourages students to think of themselves as part of a larger whole and their actions as having a large effect (for ill or good) In my classroom, this book has been brought up many times, to discuss many issues that have arisen across the year and it has presented an excellent frame work for this.
Nothing Ever Happens – Heidi McKinnon
A very simple and fun book with a message that is easy enough to grasp. A little fish and a blowfish are discussing how nothing interesting ever happens. As they discuss, the background of each page shows a whale sneaking up to swallow them. The whale swallows them, and they are in the dark and wish everything might go back to normal. They get ejected out of the whale’s blow hole and they have a whole new appreciation for the things they took for granted.
It’s good to appreciate the everyday things. Often it’s not until hard times strike that we realise how good our lives were. We can have an appreciation for the moment we are in if we realise that now.
Back to Sleep – Zoe Foster Blake
This book is hilarious and features excellent illustrations by Mike Jacobson. The concept is that the kid acts like an adult and the adults act like kids. Finn, the son must look after his two parents as they bother his sleep with all kinds of requests. Your students will be laughing hard reading this (and so will you).
Circle –
A book so out there that the cover doesn’t even display the title… This book is characterised by some really bold choices and dry humour. Its strength is in the illustrations. I won’t recount the plot because it is a simple plot and the significance of it can’t be easily communicated in this format. This is a great book to get kids to think about the multiple possible interpretations of a story.
Can I build another me? – Shinsuke Yoshitake
Kevin wants to build another him, like a robot that will be him and do what he is supposed to do for him. To do this, the robot needs to know everything about him and this turns out to be quite complicated. What makes a person who they are? The conclusion is really that it would be too complicated because there are so many things that make us who were are. An interesting idea to discuss with the class!
Mine, a story of not sharing –
A great story about a girl who doesn’t want to share. I love stories like this that have a message that you can use to prompt a class discussion. In the book, the girl does not want to share anything and so hides everything in a cupboard. Once everything (yes, everything, even the fridge) is in there, she hears playing inside and feels left out. The general moral is it is more fun to play with things together and to share than hide them away. The story is a translation and it shows in the quality of the writing, for example, it uses the word ‘says’ a lot and nothing about the writing really stands out to me.
Just Because – Matthew McConaughey
This book is less of a story and more of a series of clever frames that are related somewhat. Each one is thought-provoking although some more than others. The book uses informal language so it is great exposure to some phrases you won’t find in other books. The illustrations are simple and beautiful
“Just because they let you down, doesn’t mean you gotta get low”
“Just because I did it again, doesn’t mean I don’t regret it”
I would think of this book as a series of modern proverbial statements. I would spend time with students thinking about each, whether we agree or disagree, whether we have experienced that or not, and whether it is helpful or not.
The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist – Juliette Maclver and Sarah Davis
This is an energetic book with a great rhyming structure. The children in the book think the grizzled grist exists and they see the clues everywhere. The teacher is in denial. It is fun to watch the teacher try and keep track of the kids as they run circles around her. I think students will enjoy this story a lot for its clever wordplay, funny characters and satisfying conclusion.
Sometimes kids know more than adults, especially because they are not jaded and are more willing to suspend disbelief. I think kids will appreciate this message!
In conclusion
This is not a comprehensive list by any means. I read a lot of books to my students and I love to do so. I think showing your kids great literature is one of the best things you can do as a teacher. If you know a great book that you think I might like, feel free to comment below or send me an email via the contact form.
