children's books Archives

There are many benefits to reading picture books and chapter books multiple (even hundreds) of times, but if you are the parent doing the reading, this can be a labor of love. A dear friend told me that if she reads Pinkalicious one more time, she may have to “set the book on fire” (original comment has been censored).

As repetitive as it can be for parents, it is a good thing to read a picture book so many times your kid can recite the words from memory. Children are absorbing the words into their “sight” word bank without realizing it. They are picking up word and sentence structure patterns like capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and punctuation at the end of a sentence. They are learning to follow the story from left to right and top to bottom. I am not recommending you force yourself to suffer through the same book beyond your breaking point, but I am recommending you read aloud often with your children (and that may include a re-run or two… or ten).

Reading aloud to your child models good reading techniques and helps with fluency. It gives you time to stop and talk about what is happening, so you can informally check listening skills and improve your child’s comprehension. Picture books are short, so it is easy to complete a whole story in one sitting. Picture books for older readers have a lot of depth and require some critical thought, so you can keep reading these books all the way through elementary school; there are many I use for lessons with my 4th grade students. Lastly, it is enjoyable and relaxing and how often do you get that kind of time with your child?

The picture books on the list below pass my can-be-read-10-days-in-a-row test. Help me out with additional read aloud suggestions that won’t get stale too quickly. The books below may be new to you, but they have been in high rotation at my house for awhile now.

Amazing Illustrations

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood (or others by this author)
The Brambly Hedge series by Jill Barklem
Flotsam by David Wiesner (or others by this author)
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (or others by this author)

Puzzle-y/Interactive

Who’s Hiding? by Satoru Onishi
Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Who is Driving? by Leo Timmers
I Spy: An Alphabet in Art by Lucy Micklethwait
Press Here by Herve Tullet

Non-Fiction/Based on a True Story

Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell
My Apron by Eric Carle (be sure to read the author note at the end)
One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh
Two Bobbies by Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery
Emily by Michael Bedard

For a Laugh

Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones by Gene Barretta
Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin (or others by this author)
A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann

Other Picture Book Authors I Like

Mem Fox
Patricia Polacco
David Shannon
Mo Willems
Chris Van Allsburg

This is a fun keepsake to help students and teachers remember their class from a specific school year. It could also be used as a back to school activity to generate a reading list of recommended books for the start of the school year. Teachers survey the students for their favorite book title and author from the year. This is also a project your class room parent can handle by sending a Group Email to all of the parents asking them to send one of their child’s favorite book names from the year.

Once all of the book titles are collected, create a list of the student names with their book selections in a Word document (landscape orientation, 3 column set-up). You can also insert a class picture if you have any spare white space. Your list should not exceed two columns in the Word document. After printing, cut the lists into two strips and paste them onto 9×4 inch construction paper strips (front and back). Then, run the assembled bookmark through the laminating machine.