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Top 10 Picture Books for the Secondary Classroom by Kim McCollum-Clark
As a teacher of future English teachers, I am always trying to open my students’ eyes to the wonder and power of the picture book, both as an art form and as a terrific instructional tool for the secondary classroom. Being students of capital-L literature, my teacher-babies sometimes forget to consider these compact and powerful texts. It’s the best way I know to get numerous, diverse and COMPLETE texts into students’ minds.
It’s hard enough to squeeze out the time in the overcrowded middle and high school English curriculum to read young adult and classic novels, but with picture books, you can read the entire work aloud, model the focus you want students to concentrate on, let them explore the craft, have the discussion, and even try it out in their own writing–all in one period! Secondary teachers can use picture books in so many ways: as writing prompts, as mentor texts for craft and genre study, as “ways in” to thematic units, as complete texts for close literary analysis or application of different critical lenses. And the amazing power of the best picture books, I argue, is as “literary” as the most la-ti-dah text on your shelf already. They were carefully and purposefully constructed by multiple artists: the author, illustrator, and book designer, at the very least.
So here, in no particular order: my top ten.
1. Amos and Boris, written and illustrated by William Steig. I use this story of an unusual friendship for discussions of sentence length/variety and style. I ask students to imitate (in the rhetorical sense, of writing their own sentences in the same syntax and sentence length) various passages to experiment with Steig’s cadences.
2. Where the Wild Things Are, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. This classic picture book is perfect for exploring layers of meaning in a literary criticism exercise. Because students “know” the book, they are amazed when they start unpacking the details of the books’ construction and the significance of Sendak’s choices.
3. Fox, written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Ron Brooks. This slight text is a rich and inventive allegory about relationships. It will stimulate discussion and even arguments about the book’s theme. Brooks’ art is intense and worth careful consideration. Students will re-read and look carefully to support their positions.
4. An Angel for Solomon Singer, written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. I include this book to get the magical Cynthia Rylant and all her works in my students’ hands. Rylant’s character study of a city diner is a wonderful evocation of character and setting.
5. Orville, A Dog Story, written by Haven Kimmel and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Judy Schachner (of Skippyjon Jones fame) read this book aloud to us at the PA Writing Institute in 2010, and many participants – adult teachers – had to excuse themselves because its emotional power was so great. A perfect short story in picture book form.
6. Voices in the Park, written and illustrated by Anthony Browne. Four people come into the park; four distinct voices narrate what happened there. A terrific book for teaching perspective/point of view for reading and voice in writing.
7. Mr. Emerson’s Cook, written and illustrated by Judy Schachner, is a biographical picture book inspired by Schachner’s great grandmother, cook to the writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. This book helps describe Emerson’s Transcendalist views. Also great to explore how facts and research are woven into fiction.
8. Rose Blanche, written by Roberto Innocenti and illustrated by Christophe Gallaz, is a story set in the Holocaust about a German girl who tries to help the children in the concentration camp close to her home. Also an allegory of the White Rose (Rose Blanche) student movement that tried to resist Hitler. A good opportunity for a bit of research and an exploration of the power of allegory. Why can’t we tell every story “straight”?
9. Flotsam, written and illustrated by David Wiesner, is the story of one boy’s unbelievable beach adventure. Wiesner, a three-time Caldecott winner, “writes” and paints wordless books. His immersive artwork is a delight of the imagination, and somehow he conveys plot, character, theme and a wonderful sense of humor in his art. My sons had to help me decide which Wiesner title was “the best,” so check them all out!
10. A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms, written by Paul Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka, is a kinetic work of art describing twenty-nine different poetic forms in prose and amazing illustrations. The book goes way beyond sonnets and haikus, and best of all, suggests how a poet might choose a poetic form to match his or her poetic intention. Janeczko is one of my favorite anthologists of contemporary poetry and Raschka is a wonderful, wild-child illustrator. This book is one of a trilogy, and I recommend them all!
Nerdy friends, you are never too old for picture books–I feel like you know that! But go forth and spread the word of their amazing literary power, the purposefulness of their construction, the beauty of their craft, and their utility in EVERY classroom. These amazing masters, both wordsmiths and visual artists, can light up our reading and writing lives.
Kim McCollum-Clark teaches English and English Education at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, where her collection of young adult literature, graphic novels, and picture books are on constant loan to her teacher-babies. You can find her on Twitter as @KimMcCollum.
Nerdy Book Club 
Thanks for this terrific post. I have loved and used Margaret Wild’s Fox for several years now, but there are some titles you’ve shared that I’m not familiar with- I’m excited to find and read those books!
Hi, Kim. You’ll see some of these pop up in my Centurion list, and the wheels are turning for how I can use them in class. The biggest challenge for me when using picture books in class is how to cover the room when showing the pictures to a class with 30 students. I’d like to see a video of how that looks when it’s done effectively. Last year I brought in I WANT MY HAT BACK , and I felt like I was running laps trying to show it to everybody. It was definitely worth doing though.
High school students–even seniors–surprise me with how excited they are about things usually associated with much younger kids: picture books, read-alouds, stickers, Simon Says. I guess some “little kid” is still in there somewhere.
Thanks for this useful post.
I have cheated and projected the images on my screen…I have used my external webcam for this and I’ve seen others do this with document cameras. Once I took pictures and put them into a slideshow, but that’s a lot of work.
I sometimes use the document camera and just set the book under it and project it. But I have been know to snap photos too ; )
I have been known to get everyone on the floor, kindergarten style. I usually do that for Wild Things, and one of my former teacher-babies told me years later that she never forgot the goosebumps of being read to in a college class. That emboldened her to read aloud to her students in her high school class.
That being said, the document camera is my best friend.
I really enjoyed this post. I use picture books in my seventh grade English class,and am always trying to do it better. I’d love to see this post expanded-maybe a series. Offering more detailed information on how the book is used. I agree with the previous post…one of the the biggest problems using picture books is the teacher is not reading to a group of small children who will sit close to you on the floor; you are reading to a class of 30 or more seated at desks. This makes it difficult for everyone to see the illustrations, which are essential when using picture books. I’d love to hear how others overcome this obstacle.
Kim,
Your post came at a perfect time! I just used picture books to help students pull out and label different elements of plot. We had a blast and I was looking for more resources…. Can’t wait to check these out !
Thanks, Rachel! What books did your students get excited about? So many of the literary elements are integral the best picture books, and their brevity makes it so easy to compare and contrast!
Here are some picture books I used in my middle school classroom:
My Grandma Lives in Gooligulch (great intro to studying Australia)
So You Want to Be President? and George, Paul, John, and Ben (fun for American history)
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening and Jabberwocky (great intros to these poems)
I have to look up the ones I haven’t read. I need to share this post with my secondary colleagues. Thanks for the ideas.
Hi Gary! I often read you over at ECN. I use a document camera, as mentioned. Mine’s pretty simple but does a decent job of projecting the pictures for whole-class viewing in my middle school classroom. Thanks, Kim, for the timely post. School started the 15th for me and I can always use “new to me” books. Picture books are highly anticipated by my 7th & 8th graders and really seem to bring concepts home. Again, thanks.
Hi, Kim,
I’m excited to look up titles new to me (several are!). I love using picture books in my high school classroom. From new ones (or new to me) like Books Speak (poetry about books and reading) to older favorites like: Math Curse by Jon Scieszka which I use during the first weeks of school to set the tone of “you can look at everything as a curse or a challenge.” Great post; I love this list.
Have a great “New Year,” Lee Ann! I’m getting ready to start a new journal and I thought of you!
A great post, and a great reminder. I sometimes fall into the trap of worrying over the “advanced” nature of my reading selections for my literature classes. Will the books prepare teens for honors/AP/college? I really think such anxiety is a failing on my part. It’s great to receive this reminder to think outside the box right before my classroom doors open.
Picture books are indeed for all ages. One of my all time favourites is Naked Mole Rat by Mo Willems….march to your own drummer baby! Another is The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz. Awesome post, thanks!
I read certain picture books aloud to my Seniors to kick off a study of challenged books. I read a new one each day and ask them to guess what they all have in common. Once they learn they have all been challenged, we move on with a great discussion of perspective and points of view. Very stimulating.
I’d love to know some of the titles you use, as I am having similar discussions this year.
I do a search for “challenged books” and then use whatever is available at the public library. Some favorites are The Lorax, The Stupids, And Tango Makes Three, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. I find it necessary to talk to kids about the fact that personal point of view and bias can cause certain topics to become hot buttons for people. The purpose of this unit is to not only inform them about censorship but to acknowledge that we can disagree without attacking. The final assignment is to read a challenged book and write a letter from the point of view of a person who might object. It is really about considering points of view, which I then segue into concession and rebuttal in persuasive writing. I really like this project.
Reblogged this on DayDreamElle and commented:
Neat!
My kids were just introduced to a wonderful French picture book (translated into English) called Press Here. Very interactive and fun! As I have three toddlers of my own and am constantly reading picture books aloud to them, I regularly think how sophisticated many of these texts are, both in their story lines as well as their illustrations. A study of picture books leads nicely to a deeper study of graphic narratives, too. Thanks, Kim for such a varied list!
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I think Where The Wild Things Are is one of the greatest books of all time. When they say you can have Shakespeare and the Bible along with your Desert Island Discs, they should add this Brilliant book. I read it once to a class of grumpy 16 year olds. they all stood up and applauded at the end! 🙂
Just putting together a lesson with Angel for Solomon Singer when I googled “picture books for middle school” and love that you included it! An oldie but goodie. I remember A Chair for My Mother being very popular.
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I teach English language learners in middle school. In love using pictures to teach how it is to read. I recently did The Giving Tree by Shea Silverstein. They loved it and were able to explain essential elements of a story.