Book Guides
With such a wealth of new resources and a growing need to make curriculum more relevant to today’s students, a new collection of go-to books is just what teachers need. Our Go-To Book Guides are designed to support teachers in refreshing their toolboxes with new go-to books to grab off the shelf and immediately use in classroom instruction.
Big by Vashti Harrison Book Guide
Big, written and illustrated by Vashti Harrison, is the story of a young girl who receives many messages about what it means to be big and which of those messages she chooses to own.
Instructor
Christy Rush-Levine
Gibberish, by Young Vo
Gibberish written and illustrated by Young Vo is the story of Dat’s first day of school in a brand new place. The immigrant experience is powerfully centered and brilliantly depicted through smart choices in color, artistic style, and text.
Instructor
Christy Rush-Levine
Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld
Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld is a story about a girl navigating loss by learning from her grandpa how to notice what is beneath the surface during a walk through nature.
Instructor
Christy Rush-Levine
How To, by Julie Morstad
How To, written and illustrated by Julie Morstad, is a collection of invitations to do a variety of things that, when paired with the illustrations, offer a unique perspective on some otherwise ordinary actions.
Instructor
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills
I Am a Tornado by Drew Beckmeyer
I Am a Tornado written and illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer is a perfect mix of science and social emotional learning.
Instructor
Christy Rush-Levine
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero is told in the voice of Daisy, a young girl whose motorcycle ride with her papi describes both her relationship with her father and the changing community where she lives.
Instructor
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills
The Kindest Red by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly
The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly, is the story of how a young girl wants to create a kind world and inspires those around her to be kind, too.
Instructor
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills
The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly, uses figurative language accompanied by beautiful illustrations to tell the story of a younger sister who admires her older sister’s hijab, witnesses bullying, and discovers how to stay true to her identity.
Instructor
Christy Rush-Levine
The Rough Patch by Brian Lies
The Rough Patch written and illustrated by Brian Lies tells the story of the effects of loss of a best friend and a path to navigating life after loss.
Instructor
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills
Go-To Book Guides
Picture books are rich resources for teaching a variety of skills and content. A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon is rich with vocabulary to study. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes is the perfect way to launch a new school year by sharing name stories. Everyone loves Jan Brett’s The Mitten, especially after the first snowfall, to teach characters and sequencing.
These books are some of the well-loved go-to texts for teachers in our elementary school libraries. Teachers know exactly what to expect when they pull these books off the shelf. We can engage students in meaningful conversations and use the texts to enhance instruction without investing much preparation or planning time. We know these texts through and through, and we also have printable lessons to support these books ready to go.
Do you know what else these picture books have in common with each other, and with many of the other go-to texts on our shelves? They were all published before the year 2000. Simply put, they are old. Might there be newer, fresher texts out there that could meet all of the same needs as our trusted go-tos? Yes!
In just the past 10 years the children’s literature publishing industry has gone through some significant changes. According to data compiled by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education Cooperative Children’s Book Center, from 2015 to 2018 the number of books representing Latinx and Asian American characters more than doubled. The number of books representing African American characters increased by around 30 percent. There have also been major changes in the number of books with authentic contemporary portrayals of previously underrepresented populations, including characters who are neurodivergent, differently abled, Muslim, LGBTQ, and Indigenous.
With such a new wealth of resources and a growing need to make curriculum more relevant to today’s students, a new collection of go-to books is just what teachers need. Our new Go-To Book Guides are designed to support teachers in refreshing their toolboxes with new go-to books to grab off the shelf and immediately use in classroom instruction.
Each guide contains a video introducing the book, a teacher resource to support instruction with minimal planning, and student activities to download and print.
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