Do you have a favorite picture book? I don't remember being too crazy about Dr. Seuss when I was a kid, and for some reason those are the only picture books I really remember. When I got to Penn, one of the first classes I took was called Children's Literature. We read a variety of chapter books and graphic novels, but we also learned about many different picture books. I took picture books for granted! There are many picture books that can serve a wide range of audiences, not just young elementary school kids. I have a relatively small library of picture books on my book shelf, but the ones I do have are very special books that I think will transition well between grades. I wanted to share some of my favorites and some of the books I will be reading to my students very soon.
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Told from four different perspectives, Voices in the Park is absolutely packed with material. It has art history references, symbolic imagery, multiple perspectives, socioeconomic class differences…to name a few. It's about a mother who takes her son and their dog to the park, and a father who takes his daughter and their dog to the park. I'm using this in my thematic unit on play because the two kids end up playing together and crossing the barrier between them that their parents can't.
The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong
The Dumpster Diver is an awesome book about upcycling and community. It tells the story of a group of kids who live in an apartment building in New York City. Every Saturday one of their neighbors puts on a scuba suit so he can transform into the Dumpster Diver! He goes through their building's dumpster, looking for trash that he can transform into all sorts of strange inventions. The illustrations are amazing. David Roberts also illustrated two other pictures that I love: Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer.
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
This is going to be a pretty important book during my thematic unit on play. Roxaboxen is a land invented by children in a desert town. They made roads, built houses, and had two competing ice cream shops (like any self-respecting place should)! The amazing this about this book is that Roxaboxen is a real place the author's grandmother and her friends invented when they were young children. I'm using this book to spark my students' imaginations into designing their own playscape in our classroom.
Some additional titles for you:
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech (author of Walk Two Moons, which is also amazing, though not a picture book)
The Dark by Lemony Snicket
Mama's Saris by Pooja Makhijani
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Estrellita Says Goodbye to Her Island/Estrellita se despide de su isla by Samuel Caraballo
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