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I’ve got a few more picture books to help you get back into the swing of school things. Check back at the rest of the posts this week and and a big list coming next week if you need more ideas!
There is more than a little need for fostering inclusion, acceptance, sympathy, and other social skills in our kids’ lives. This beauty is designed to do just that.
Rhyming text starts the reader out on the first day of school and takes us through various scenarios in the classroom, the cafeteria, the playground and out into the community repeating the refrain that “all are welcome here.” There are simple reminders that we all have special talents and dreams. We all have stories to share and things to learn from each other. It’s as simple (and complex) as that.
The illustrations are bright and cheery and so diverse you almost can’t believe it’s all fit into one book (two moms, two dads, kids in wheelchairs, girls wearing hijabs, boys wearing turbans, grandparents…you name it, it’s probably represented.)
A note on the publication page tells us that Kaufman originally created a poster for her daughter’s school that eventually spread across the country. When Penfold saw the image, she sat down to create a story to go with it. Somehow this makes it even more powerful to me than the story on its own. Knowing that it’s not just a story of wishful thinking but one based on a real experience makes me hopeful for our future. I highly recommend it!
All Are Welcome
Written by: Alexandra Penfold
Illustrated by: Suzanne Kaufman
Number of Pages: 32
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018
Age Range: 3-8
Rating: 5/5
My favorite way to teach is to use a book as a starting point. So, while this isn’t strictly about going back to school it uses fabulous word and language play which you’ll be sure to need/want as the year goes by.
Three little dinosaur brothers set out to discover the world around them and find something to eat. The first and second describe the mountains as “big”, the sun as “hot.” But the third is no ordinary dinosaur. He’s a stegothesaurus who knows lots of words and uses them as often as he can. His mountains are “gargantuan, gigantic, Goliath” and his sun is “blazing, blistering, broiling.”
After a bit of a mishap he meets another dinosaur a little like him and the two spend the day sharing adventures and swapping words but she isn’t all she seems.
I admit I giggled all through this clever book. It’s absolutely perfect for encouraging your students to improve upon their writing by using descriptive words and leads very nicely into an introduction about the thesaurus and other reference books. Great fun!
Stegothesaurus
Written by: Bridget Heos
Illustrated by: T. L. McBeth
Number of Pages: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt, 2018
Age Range: 3-8
Rating: 4/5
And here’s another book to use as a resource for tackling some otherwise tricky concepts, this one involving math…
Whether your child is just learning to count, practicing grouping, sorting, multiplication or just has a knack for thinking outside of the box this book will spark their rational mind. Sure you can count straight up from one to eleven but sometimes life (and our math problems!) are a little more complicated than that. What other ways can you think of to get to eleven?
The book shows an apple with six bites, then a core, then a stem, then three seeds… 6+1+1+3=11
or a hen waiting for her eggs to hatch; five eggs, three cracking, two with beaks, and one just hatched…5+3+2+1=11
There are items at a circus, things that came out of a magician’s hat and more. And of course, the possibilities for extending this are countless! 😉
Twelve Ways to Get to Eleven
Written by: Eve Merriam
Illustrated by: Bernie Karlin
Number of Pages: 32
Publisher: Aladdin Picture Books, 1996
Age Range: 3-8
Rating: 4/5
I hope you’re all ready for school with those backpacks and lunchboxes and bouquets of newly sharpened pencils and, of course…books! Happy reading!
