These are books that kids will want to read-or should read, but will enjoy doing so. Board book, picture books, kid lit, elementary school books, middle school books, high school books, all age comic books and more will be talked about here.
There a couple of ‘feelings’ books that are out there for the illustrated book audience, and they all aren’t created equal. If you’re new to the emotional book game or simply want to dig into some books that place an equal balance on entertaining, as well as the message then you need to read the series by Tom Percival. Tilda Tries Again is in the Big, Bright Feelings book series. It’s an oversized illustrated book that deals with emotions that any kid experiences.
Ida B. Wells Voice of Truth is a fabulous example of an illustrated book that is greater than the sum of its parts. Non-fiction illustrated books can sometimes be a tough read for those younger audiences. Sometimes they’re too long for the attention spans of those young readers, while other times there’s just something that doesn’t connect. Voice of Truth connects with young readers and does so in a simple, less-is-more manner that deftly balances the text by Michelle Duster, to the art by Laura Freeman, with the difficult to quantify X factor.
Overground Railroad is a book that looks at how black people traveled from the mid-1930s through the mid-1960s. In my mind’s eye that’s the way, I described Overground Railroad, the Green Book, and the Roots of Black Travel in America to myself. It felt odd when I stated it that way, but that’s because I hadn’t heard about the Green Book and I was thinking about the topic from my modern-day perspective. It’s also worth noting that this is the Overground Railroad version that’s been adapted for young adults. In 2020 a book with the same title, by the same author came out, but that was geared for an older audience.
Sometimes I co-teach a lesson on fantasy reading. It’s good to experience it from this perspective because it reminds me what separates the good from the great; as well as those that didn’t measure up to the levels of their predecessor. The Accidental Apprentice was the first book in the Wilderlore series, which we were big fans of. The Weeping Tide is the second book in the series and as the name and cover image would imply, it mainly takes place around the water. This is where our fantasy lesson planning came in, because I was reminded that fantasy books typically have a large number of characters.
I’m a very punctual person, but I was really late to the illustrated book party that Andrea Beaty and David Roberts have been putting on. Granted, I have seen them because it is impossible to not see one of their books in a lower to mid-elementary classroom or in their school library. The Questioneers book series’ iconic use of graph paper on their cover images makes it clear that these are illustrated books are kept close to the heart of STEM. Aaron Slater, Illustrator follows the previous book’s blueprints. It has rhyming pages, lovingly detailed art, and has a story that aims high with its stem-tastic appeal that’s disguised as an illustrated book
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I read Quiet! to a second-grade classroom the other week. It was storytime, but one reason for reading Quiet! to them was that I just simply wanted that. One of the great ironies about teaching elementary school children is that in order to have peace and sanity is that you are the one who has to speak, even it’s at a quiet, yet energetic volume as you read to them. Quiet! is the sort of illustrated book that bathes in allegory and has pictures to help younger readers infer what’s happening. It’s also gorgeously illustrated with visions of a city that feels Parisian but has an anywhere appeal that’ll make young readers’ thoughts go wherever.
In fifth-grade social studies the topic of civil rights isn’t touched on too much. It does dig deeper than the “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr., but other speeches, incidents or players in the movement won’t be addressed until middle school. Shirley Chisholm is one of those historical figures that should be mentioned in that class. In 1968 she was the first black woman elected to the United States Congress and the first black woman to run for the President of the United States of America as she sought the nomination from the Democratic Party. Speak UP!, Speak OUT!, The Extraordinary Life of “Fighting Shirley Chisholm” by Tonya Bolden is out on Nat Geo Kids and does what they do best.
To celebrate Black History Month and the release of Speak Up, Speak Out!: The Extraordinary Life of Fighting Shirley Chisholm by Tonya Bolden (January 4th), 5 blogs across the web are featuring posts from the book and author, as well as 5 chances to win!
A book your 6th grader and up will love and learnI mentioned the phrase prisoners of geography to a group of fifth-grade students in social studies one day. At the time we were learning about the westward expansion of the United States, specifically, how impactful it was when The Louisiana Purchase opened up that massive area. When I used that phrase the term ‘prisoners’ and ‘geography’ threw them for a loop and immediately led to the things that fifth-grade students will say. I quickly told them that it wasn’t an incarceration, rather the term meant that people and countries are largely defined by the physical boundaries that surround them. Prisoners of Geography, Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps is not your average world book. This is a very smart book that leads to questions, answers and an actual discussion about what’s happening in our world and why things have happened.
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