Must Have Back to School Picture Books for your Library

Must Have 

Back to School Picture Books 

for your Library

Even with all the uncertainty of what school will look like when we return in the fall, we need to have the best books at our disposal.  If we are in person or doing distance learning, we need the best, uplifting, most inclusive picture books available.  Here are my top picks:

• All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold. This is an amazing book for your first day of school. It's a diverse read that celebrates inclusivity! 
  
• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodsen.  Have you read this amazing book celebrating diversity and encouraging kids to be brave? The text is lyrical and the illustrations just beautiful!
  
• Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodsen.  Read aloud this beautiful book on the importance of kindness.
  
• Happy Dreamer by Peter Reynolds. What kind of Dreamer are you? Read this book and discover the dreamer in you!  
  
• If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff.  Are you anxious about the first day of school? Read about the mouse and his adventures on the first day of school!  
  

If you're looking for fantastic books for that first day of school when you go back, these are the books I suggest.  I also have Interactive Read Aloud lesson plans available for you, if you need them.  Enjoy!

      

The Book With No Pictures

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

     

     Such a fun read!  I can see kids of all ages appreciating it but little ones will really get a kick out of this!
     So the premise is that whoever is reading this book aloud has to follow the rules and read everything.  It doesn't matter what it says, the rule is the adult must say everything.  Even if it says "My only friend in the whole wide world is a hippo named Boo Boo Butt" !!!
     Really cute book written by B.J.Novak from The Office.  You can see him read it aloud on YouTube here.  I also wrote a read aloud lesson plan using the gradual release and the reading strategy of asking questions.  You can find it in my TPT store here.  Super fun read.  Your kids will love it!



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Graphic Organizers For The Classroom

Graphic Organizers For The Classroom - This set of graphic organizer will be a great tool for the reading classroom.  This "No-Prep" set of graphic organizers will be a wonderful lifelong teaching resource!

Click on the links below to view a better description of this wonderful literacy tool for your toolkit!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Graphic-Organizers-1650919

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Educating-Everyone-4-Life

Read Aloud Lesson Plan: Each Kindness

Each Kindness

    This read aloud lesson focuses on the reading comprehension strategy of inferring for the book Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodsen. This great book teaches us to explore the idea of kindness and lost opportunities. This lesson uses the gradual release model and offers stopping points throughout the story. There is also an anchor chart for inferring. This book discusses kindness, bullying and lost opportunities.
     I love the message "Each kindness makes the world a little better."  This book is about a young girl named Maya who is new to the school.  Maya is obviously poor.  She smiles at Chloe, the narrator, who turns away.  Throughout the book, Maya makes overtures to no avail.  One day, the teacher gives a lesson on kindness and Chloe realizes what's she's done.  However, she can't 

make it up to Maya as she's moved away.

     

     My students did not like this ending.  However, I think it's great. Sometimes, you can't just make it up.  There are lost opportunities and regrets in life.

   

     It's $1 on TeachersPayTeachers.

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Read Aloud Lesson Plan: The Wretched Stone

The Wretched Stone

This is a great book for the reading comprehension strategy of inferring. It's another amazing book by Chris Van Allsburg. If you haven't read it, it's about a ship and it's crew.  The crew is a happy one, reading and playing instruments. Then it is out sailing and stops at an island.  It is s strange place with no animals or insects.  While there, they find a stone and bring it on the ship. This tone is bad news and changes the crew.  Stop reading now if you don't want the book spoiled.  OK so the men are now gathered around this stone and won't work or read or do anything.  The captain tries to talk to them to no avail.  After a time, the men turn into monkeys!  There is a storm and the stone goes dark.  The men return to normal.  

This book is a warning against the perils of too much television.  It never states that directly and there is a lot of inferring needed for this book.  If you're looking for an anchor chart for inferring and an easy lesson plan, here you go.  I created a read aloud lesson plan on my TPT store.  This great book teaches us to explore the evils of television with masterful storytelling. This lesson uses the gradual release model and offers stopping points throughout the story. There is also an anchor chart for inferring. My read aloud lesson plan is $1.

There's great vocabulary in this book, too.  Appropriate for 2nd-5th grades. Enjoy!




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