Picture Books About Reading and Writing
These lists of books are useful for introducing classroom libraries, genre studies, reading surveys, book tastings and book talks, studying figurative language and word types, understanding parts of a book and text features, appreciating reading and building reading habits.
Love for Books and Libraries
Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian
by Jacob Sager Weinstein 2018 A comic book style super hero story about how libraries have books for everyone. 
Lola at the Library
by Anna McQuinn 2006 CLEL Silver Bell nominee On Tuesdays, Lola and her mommy go to the library. What is the library all about? 
Excuse Me, I'm Trying to Read
by Mary Jo Amani 2012 It's so frustrating when your story gets interrupted! In this story, animals are disruptive, but this might lead into a good conversation about focus during independent reading time. 
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
by William Joyce 2012 Comstock Read-Aloud Award How do our stories connect and overlap? What gives them power? Opportunities to study metaphors and inferences, and celebrate love for books. 
A Perfectly Messed-Up Story
by Patrick McDonnell 2014 Illustrates how and why readers should take care of books - a good way to introduce expectations for classroom / school libraries (also meta-fiction). 
A Child of Books
by Oliver Jeffers 2016 The main character travels on a sea of words to the land of imagination. The illustrations include texts from famous texts and lullabies, which students might enjoy identifying, reading in full, and then discussing what makes a classic. Students also might be inspired to try their own versions with "seas of words," using texts with special meaning to them. 
How Rocket Learned to Read
by Tad Hills 2010 Irma Black Award Rocket learns about the alphabet and how to sound out words, and then he becomes a reader. |
It's a Book
by Lane Smith 2010 Comparing a book to a computer, this book explores why we read. 
How to Read a Story
by Kate Messner 2015 Looks at the process of being a reader, from selecting and exploring to sharing books. This might work to introduce reading workshop elements. 
The Librarian of Basra
by Jeanette Winter 2005 The true story of Alia Muhammed Baker, who worked to save the collection of community books when war came to Iraq. This book is a good prompt to discussions about why books are important to societies and cultures. 
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I Don't)
by Barbara Bottman 2010 This book is about acknowledging the not-yet reader, showing how there are lots of different books to try, and it's okay if you don't like them all. 
Book Uncle and Me
by Uma Krishnaswami 2012 Book Uncle runs a free lending library on the corner. Yasmin loves books, so she might need to take action to save the corner library. 
The Whisper
by Pamela Zagarenski 2015 This wordless picture book invites the main character and readers to imagine a story. It's a prompt to write and illustrate stories, but also a way for students to discuss how different people can read and experience stories differently, leading into debates about other texts. 
The Lonely Book
by Kate Bernheimer 2012 When it's new, the book is loved and appreciated, but as it becomes faded, it's put away. This book could be paired with Frost's poem Nothing Gold Can Stay, students learning about theme can analyze it here, or it could be connected to an environmental unit in which students challenge themselves to fix and enjoy what they have, rather than being quick to throw things away. 
Dreamers
by Yuyi Morales 2018 Pura Belpre and Tomas Rivera Award When a mother moves to the U.S. to help a family member, she doesn't speak English. When she goes to the library, it's a place to learn to "read, speak, write, and make our voices heard." |
Words and Writing
The Word Collector
by Peter H. Reynolds 2018 NAACP Image and Goodreads Choice nominee This book celebrates the discovery of unique, precise words for different purposes, and can be a kick-off for word collections on word walls and writing notebooks. 
Look! I Wrote a Book! And You Can, Too
by Sally Lloyd-Jones 2019 Explores the writing process with humor 
A Squiggly Story
by Andrew Larsen 2016 We are all writers, even if we don't know how to write letters and words yet 
E-Mergency!
by Tom Lichtenheld 2011 Funny wordplay; spelling 
Noah Webster's Fighting Words
by Tracy Nelson Maurer 2017 The story of the dictionary's creation could be a good introduction to dictionary components, synonyms, or vocabulary games 
The Great Dictionary Caper
by Judy Sierra 2018 When all sorts of words escape from the dictionary - palindromes, antonyms, onomatopoeia, and more - mayhem ensues 
Polly Diamond and the Magic Book
by Alice Kuipers 2018 What if the stories you wrote came true? Be careful how you write it! (This is a chapter book, not a picture book - but a good choice for a shorter read-aloud.)
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P is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever
by Raj Haldar 2018 Exploring odd spelling patterns in English, like heir and aisle, this could be a great tool for students to collect their own examples of word patterns and rule-breakers, or to investigate the different origins of English words and why they're spelled the way they are. 
What a Wonderful Word: A Collection of Untranslatables from Around the World
by Nicola Edwards 2018 Gives examples of words that don't translate into other languages because they are specific to a particular culture. A potential springboard for word creation unique to the culture of families and classrooms. 
Any Questions?
by Mary-Louise Gay 2014 Offers ways to get ideas for stories 
WordPlay
by Ivan Brunetti 2017 This graphic novel introduces readers to compound words 
Take Away the A
by Michael Escoffier 2014 If you subtract one letter, sometimes it makes a completely different word! Fun potential for examining spelling patterns and investigating vocabulary
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Author's Craft: Figurative Language Examples
Betty's Burgled Bakery: An Alliteration Adventure
by Travis Nichols 2017 This is a graphic novel style mystery with examples of alliteration that could kick off some excellent tongue twisters. |
Black is a Rainbow Color
by Angela Joy 2020 An extended metaphor about the meaning of being Black. |
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I Am Every Good Thing
by Derrick Barnes 2020 A series of metaphors celebrating the beauty of a child. |
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Lena's Shoes Are Nervous
by Keith Calabrese 2018 Lena is okay about her first day of school, but her shoes need a little convincing. (Personification) |
Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!
by Wynton Marsalis 2012 An exploration of sounds filling a neighborhood (onomatopoeia). 
Eek! A Noisy Journey from A to Z
by Julie Larios 2020 This story is told with just sound words and pictures (onomatopoeia). 
Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story
by Loreen Leedy 2019 This story is told through similes. 
Twilight Comes Twice
by Ralph Fletcher 1997 Personification and sensory imagery describe the transition from day to night and night to day. |
Muddy as a Duck Puddle and Other American Similes
by Laurie Lawlor 2010 A collection of similes from different U.S. regions. 
There Are No Bears in This Bakery
by Julia Sarcone-Roach 2019 Muffin the cat takes an old-school mystery detective approach to telling this tale, loaded with similes. 
Fry Bread
by Kevin Noble Maillard 2019 A book about family traditions, rich with similes. |
Author's Craft: Text Features, Story Elements, and Composition
Also an Octopus
by Maggie Tokuda-Hall 2016 Humorous tale about how to build a plot |
I Am a Story
by Dan Yaccarino 2016 How story telling changes over time, from cave drawings to printing presses to the digital age. |
The Plot Chickens
by Mary Jane Auch and Herm Auch 2009 Henrietta loves reading and writes a book, but struggles to get it published. 
How This Book Was Made
by Mac Barnett 2016 After the writing process and illustrations, how does a book get to a reader? A humorous look at the journey. |
Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesdays
by Jon Stahl 2019 Offers discussion about plot, story elements, and character conventions. 
Miss Brooks' Story Nook
by Barbara Bottner 2014 This book is an opportunity to look at story elements like plot, characters, and action |
Picture Books that Tell the Story Through Letters
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I Wanna Iguana
by Karen Kaufman Orloff 2004 This picture book series features Alex, who attempts to persuade his parents through letters. See also I Wanna New Room and I Wanna Go Home. |
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Can I Be Your Dog?
by Troy Cummings 2018 Arfy writes letters to the people living and working in the neighborhood. Adorable illustrative details in the way the stationery and buildings reflect the people inside. A sequel called I Found a Kitty follows a similar pattern. |
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Dear Yeti
by James Kwan 2015 Two hikers are searching for a Yeti, leaving him notes as they go. Plantzilla by Jerdine Nolen 2005 Gardening isn't for the faint-hearted, as a boy, his science teacher, and his parents discover. Ice Cream Summer
by Peter Sis 2015 A boy's letters to his grandfather about studying . . . and ice cream. |
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Dear Dragon
by Josh Funk 2016 It's awkward when you finally meet the pen pal you have so much in common with, and he turns out to be a human / a dragon. The Quiet Place by Sarah Stewart 2012 A girl moves to the U.S. and writes letters to her aunt in Mexico. See also The Gardener, by this author, about a girl moving to a city. |
Meta-fiction: Stories that Break the Fourth Wall
This Book Just Ate My Dog!
by Richard Byrne 2014 Bella lost her dog, and she needs help to find him. 
The Book With No Pictures
by B. J. Novak 2014 The reader is directed to read silly words, and argue about them. 
Tap the Magic Tree
by Christie Matheson 2013 Readers are invited to help move a tree through stages to make flowers bloom or lose their leaves. |
High Five
by Adam Rubin 2019 Animals invite young readers to high five 
Please, Open This Book!
by Adam Lehrhaupt 2015 Animals beg readers not to close the book. 
I Am Bat
by Morag Hood 2017 Bat warns people to keep away from cherries (his favorite). |
