# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many middle and high school English teachers are either reluctant to use picture books at all in their classrooms, OR they are interested but don't know where to start.

Grammar in particular is a great opportunity to include picture books, which can add color, imagery, and rhyming to enhance memory of rules. One way to get started would be to put these books around the room and let students rotate to them, taking notes on grammar rules or observations they take from each one!

Chatting with me today is Christina Hanson, a picture book guru who blogs at Hanson Hallway (and who does the #ClassroomBookaDay routine with her middle schoolers)!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Sara: I love Twenty-Odd Ducks as a memorable way to teach hyphens and other punctuation marks (which is SO helpful if you're a middle school teacher in particular, since some of the "fun" punctuation marks are in our Common Core standards). The whole book is built around sentences punctuated two different way and how each one would change the meaning. (For example: "Well done, steak" vs. "Well-done steak").

Christina: In , Alfie wants to enter the annual punctuation-mark talent show to show off his contraction and possessive-making skills, but he is very nervous. After the question mark, exclamation point, parentheses, and a few others show off their skills, the host, Mr. Asterisk, thinks the show is over. But Alfie summons up the courage and performs, but will his tricks work? This is a fun book full of punctuation puns, and it will be useful for students to learn about how different punctuation marks work. Plus, students will learn the origin and meaning of the word apostrophe (which I didn't even know until I read this book)!

#3: The Perfect Punctuation Book
Sara: The Perfect Punctuation Book is a pop-up book, and it's basically a premade Interactive Notebook for punctuation! It would be a great way to review basic punctuation and let students remember little rules they may have forgotten.

#4: Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What is an Adjective?
Christina: Hairy, Scary, Ordinary is one of 27 books in the Words Are CATegorical series by Brian P. Cleary. It starts out with the definition of adjective, and follows with many, many examples of adjectives. To make it easy to find them in the text, the adjectives are even printed in a different color. The story has a fun rhythm and lots of rhyming that will keep students engaged and learning new, descriptive words. Other books in this series include topics ranging from verbs to prefixes to antonyms to interjections and more!

Sara: As a side note, I'm now obsessed with this series and want to get all the parts of speech ones!

Sara: You might know the grown-up style guide of the same name, but the picture book version of Eats, Shoots & Leaves is similar to Twenty-Odd Ducks in that it shows the power of changing punctuation marks. However, this one focuses on COMMAS, and how the placement or absence of one can change everything.

Christina: Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld team up in this book about the Exclamation Mark. He has always stood out, and has tried everything to fit in with others. But with the help of a question mark, exclamation mark finds his voice and where he belongs. This book not only teaches students about how exclamation marks can emphasize text, but it's also a good lesson to find that exclamation mark inside of us.

Sara: Naomi Watt has an entire series of "That's not my (*insert animal here*)" books, and when I read them to my toddler, I always feel compelled to read it to my students, too. It's a quick example of parallel structure AND use of the possessive "its" (if you want to review it's vs. its).

Christina: Learning and spelling homonyms and homophones can be tricky for students, and this would be a good book to help students better understand them. With words like horns and trunk (homonyms) and rows/rose (homophones), Did You Say Pears? author Arlene Alda uses simple text along with photographs to create this picture book.

#9: The Girl's Like Spaghetti
Sara: The Girl's Like Spaghetti is another book similar to Twenty-Odd Ducks, this time focusing on apostrophes!

#10: Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!: A Book About Interjections and Conjunctions
Christina: In Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!, author/illustrator Ruth Heller has combined rhyming words and phrases with brightly colored pictures to create this book about interjections and conjunctions. I loved the vibrant East Asian dragon ("Awesome! Cool! Fantastic! Wow! are all interjections that people say now.") and colorful zebras ("Although this is a wondrous sight, these zebras do not look quite right, because they should be black and white."). Heller has created seven more books in this Explore Language series to help students learn even more about grammar.

Do you have more suggestions?

Tell us in the comments!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Picture Books to Teach Grammar in Secondary ELA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many middle and high school English teachers are either reluctant to use picture books at all in their classrooms, OR they are interested but don't know where to start. Grammar in particular is a great opportunity to include picture books, which can add color, imagery, and rhyming to enhance memory of rules.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This post contains affiliate links

Picture books aren't just for early readers! Many fantastic picture books concisely teach a concept, portray a literary device, or fill in background knowledge in a way that can not only fit into one class period but also keep teenagers' attention.

I recently asked several English teachers to share worthwhile picture books for a middle or high school English class, and here are the results. Many of these would be great read-alouds!

Click on the hyperlink of the person recommending the book to read her book review.

Recommended by @ secondarysara. Link to Amazon.

#2: Thanks for the Feedback

Recommended by @ mrsspanglerinthemiddle. Link to Amazon.

Recommended by @ readingandwritinghaven. Link to Amazon.

Recommended by @ elaeveryday. Link to Amazon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
20 Picture Books for the Secondary English Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This post contains affiliate links Picture books aren't just for early readers! Many fantastic picture books concisely teach a concept, portray a literary device, or fill in background knowledge in a way that can not only fit into one class period but also keep teenagers' attention.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Students in Scio, NY, discuss illustrators' choices.
Photo courtesy of Scio Central School District

Mary Zdrojewski was in for a surprise. Not long ago, the librarian in the Scio (NY) Central School District had been assigned a class of teens at her K-12 school. Zdrojewski asked the students what they wanted from their library class, expecting to hear requests for coding, robotics, or hands-on projects. "They just wanted me to read aloud to them," Zdrojewski recalls. "I tried short stories, including the 'Guys Read' series, because I thought they would be 'cool.'" But she soon discovered that "the students really wanted pictures to look at."

Picture books and older students: More educators are making this match in their teaching, with significant success. While graphic and illustrated novels gain traction among teen and tween readers, traditional picture books hold a place of their own and provide versatile, effective teaching tools for a range of students. The ubiquity of social media might explain why today's youth are particularly visually oriented, but that's only part of the picture, says Wendy Lukehart, youth collections coordinator at the District of Columbia Public Library's Penn Center. "People of all ages have always responded well to pictures," she says. For centuries, she notes, humans spent quite a bit of time gazing at art, and, in the 20th century, flipping through photography-centric magazines, such as Life, to engage with current events and culture.

During a partner reading activity at IS 289 Hudson Middle School in New York City,
students analyze a book's themes and the nuances of the writing.
Photos courtesy of IS 289 Middle School

Visual impact

Whether or not young people in 2018 more readily engage with pictures than their parents did, one fact is not debated: Older kids-in particular ELL students and those with special needs-can benefit from picking up a picture book, especially if they have a trusted educator to guide them in the process.

"Pictures are an immediate conduit to emotional connection," says Lukehart. "If you want people to really engage with a topic, whether you are publishing a newspaper, writing a blog, or teaching a class, show a picture from which a narrative can be inferred or imagined."

Picture books can also level the playing field. "Some students who may not have the strongest vocabulary, either from lack of exposure to a wide range of texts, or because English is not their first language, can do deep inference and interpretation when I'm reading a book to them," says Christina DiZebba, an eighth grade literacy teacher at IS 289 Hudson Middle School in New York City. "I'm doing the decoding and making the 'music' of the text, which helps students who struggle with fluency, vocabulary, and prosody [making the text sound like what it means]." Highly evocative illustrations can bring out more sophisticated observations from those students. DiZebba points to the mix of dramatic and subtle illustrations in Tony Johnston's The Harmonica. "Students who may not have background knowledge about the Holocaust can access the story's emotional components."

Zdrojewski, who works with students who have special needs, sees unique benefits of using picture books with this population. "They don't need to rely only on auditory information from the read-aloud. They need some guidance in visualizing the story; the pictures give them that. The pictures also provide a place to focus. They're less distracted."

These books are valuable teaching tools because they are short, notes DiZebba. "In one 40-minute period, we can read a whole text and have a discussion about it."

While graphic novels are popular, they represent a different experience from picture books, says Lukehart. "Picture books are uniquely designed to be a shared experience, whereas the multiple panels with small fonts in most graphic novels invite individual exploration," she says. But "the differences dissolve the closer you get to hybrid or wordless versions of either format."

Still, "picture books are incorporating many of the features of graphic novels," observes Myra Zarnowski, a children's literature and literacy professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Queens College in Flushing, NY. "There is an increasing use of speech bubbles, comic book-style inserts, diagrams, and so on." She points to picture books by Meghan McCarthy or the comic features in Kate DiCamillo's Flora and Ulysses. With teens, "I invite [them] to try their hands at writing picture books that incorporate the features of graphic novels."

Literacy teacher Christina DiZebba reads Jacqueline Woodson's Coming on Home Soon to students at IS 289.
Photos courtesy of IS 289 Middle School

Setting the stage for success

The way that educators introduce picture books to older kids can impact how fully students embrace and ultimately learn from them. For those who encounter resistance from students who think a picture book is "babyish," a good offense can be the best defense.

"The educator needs to take the book seriously and present the reason for sharing it, just as they would with a science experiment or anything else," says Lukehart. "If an educator believes [a book] presents a compelling perspective on a topic in a manner that will resonate with older students, there will be few problems."

DiZebba agrees. "If your students trust you, and you get up in front of the room with the belief that this, whatever this may be, is valuable, they'll go along with it. They may roll their eyes a little at first, but that's their job. They're teenagers. Believe me, they will be quickly won over by Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles or Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting or Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts."

Choosing the right titles

Books that are short on text with provocative themes are best for middle and high school students, says Lukehart. Her favorites include Margriet Ruurs's Stepping Stones; Walter Dean Myers's Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam; Christophe Gallaz and Roberto Innocenti's Rose Blanche; Tom Feelings's The Middle Passage; Anthony Browne's Little Beauty; Peter Sís's The Wall; Shaun Tan's The Red Tree; and Barbara Kerley and Brian Selznick's Walt Whitman. (Also see Lukehart's SLJ article, "Thought-Provoking Picture Books.")

High school students are fascinated by Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins, says Mary Ann Cappiello, professor or language and literacy at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, and "Classroom Bookshelf" blogger. With a timeline that depicts the history of life on Earth within the confines of a 24-hour day, "the book provides fascinating content in a clear and digestible manner that can be used as a catalyst for in-depth research and classroom investigations," says Cappiello.

Recommendations aside, librarians should just follow their hearts, Zdrojewski suggests. "My first advice for my fellow librarians would be to pick books they love, not ones they assume the students will like," she says. "My students will sit through much more 'childish' books than I'd expect if they can tell from my face and inflection that I really like that book."

Zdrojewski had often heard that older students usually go for anything by Patricia Polacco, whose books Zdrojewski doesn't love. When she shared them, "I tried to be enthusiastic, I think the students could tell," she says. "Yet when I read Robert McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal, one of my all-time favorites, the students were super engaged."
Award-winning reporter and editor Christina Vercelletto is SLJ's former news editor.
English Language Learners: Tips

Judith B. O'Loughlin, education consultant at Language Matters Education Consultants in San Ramon, CA, has been working with K-8 English language learners (ELL) in public schools for most of her career. With her older students, she looks for picture books that provided both written and visual "language" to support learning in various content topics. She explains that picture books can "explode" a content topic that might only have been referenced in passing in another text.

"In learning about the Civil Rights Movement, for example, one can read Rosa by Nikki Giovanni and learn more about how this leader influenced the movement toward civil rights legislation," she says. "But if you read New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer, you gain a deeper perspective into what it meant to be African American under segregation and how it impacted the daily lives of children in America."

O'Loughlin notes that picture books meet the criteria for most reading standards, including the Common Core Anchor Reading Standards. But she urges thinking beyond standards when choosing picture books for ELL students-and keeping these three points in mind:

1. Text and illustrations should support one another and enhance an understanding of the topic. Illustrations should provide clear and accurate information, as well as ways to build content language and promote oral and written discourse.

2 Ideally, illustrations and text work together to introduce important and/or abstract concepts through controlled language that English learners can understand. "This does not mean using age and grade-level language that is meant for younger learners," emphasizes O'Loughlin. "ELLs need language development that meets their needs, not assumptions they are 'blank slates' with no knowledge or language at all."

3. Stereotypical behavior of characters, or assumed stereotypes, should be avoided at all costs.

Tips for engaging older students with picture books
"Reading Aloud to Teens" "Picture Books and Older Students" "Picture Books in the Dorm Room"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Never Too Old: Embracing Picture Books To Teach Older Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students in Scio, NY, discuss illustrators' choices.Photo courtesy of Scio Central School District Mary Zdrojewski was in for a surprise. Not long ago, the librarian in the Scio (NY) Central School District had been assigned a class of teens at her K-12 school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Even the "big kids" like a good ol' read-aloud every once in a while, so you might be surprised to see how engaged (and interested!) your high schoolers become when you use one of these picture books for high school English class this year.

It's all about mixing things up and keeping things fresh when you're teaching. So check out a fellow elementary school teacher's bookshelf (or visit the public library) for these titles.
Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!
Picture books that are great for teaching high schoolers about theme:

A classic tale about treating others the way you want to be treated, this beautifully illustrated story can also be used to talk about character and conflict.

A homeless boy and his father spend their days and nights in an airport, and the boy feels a deep connection to a small bird trapped inside. Talk about what the bird symbolizes or use this book to talk about theme.

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krause Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

A quick read featuring personified punctuation marks, this story's message about learning to be yourself is a memorable read. And because it features the familiar question mark and period, it's also worth using for a grammar lesson!

Love by Matt de la Peña

Love is so many things to so many different people. This book celebrates love and the way it connects us all.

Stillwater the panda tells three little children stories that carry some very valuable lessons. The illustrations in this book are incredible, but it's the message that will leave your students thinking.

Picture books that are great for teaching high schoolers about character and point of view:

This wordless story about the Underground Railroad powerfully tells of a young girl and a stranger in her family's barn. You could also use Unspoken as part of a unit on American literature or to talk about point of view.

A sweet book with a ton rhythm and rhyme, Hey, Little Ant can be used as an introduction to point of view. Or, read this story and compare characters.

Another one by the amazing Eve Bunting, Pop's Bridge tells the story of two boys whose fathers are both doing the terribly dangerous job of building the Golden Gate Bridge. Use this story to discuss character, theme, or point of view.

When Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai was a child, she wished for a magic pencil. That dream changed as she grew, so did her dreams. This must-read story is perfect for analyzing character or as an introduction to Malala's autobiography, I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood up for Education and Changed the World.

This story of Philippe Petit, the man who walked between the twin towers, will totally captivate students. Discuss Philippe's reasons for doing what he did and how he changed and grew as a result.
What other suggestions do you have for using picture books for high school English? We'd love to hear your ideas and what has worked for you! Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. Plus, check out more of our high school reading lists here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Picture Books to Use in Your High School English Lessons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Even the "big kids" like a good ol' read-aloud every once in a while, so you might be surprised to see how engaged (and interested!) your high schoolers become when you use one of these picture books for high school English class this year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We are thrilled to welcome Christina from The Hanson Hallway as our guest blogger today! Christina is an expert in all things books, and she's going to share her experiences using picture books in middle school. Last year, her classes read a book a day! Wow! Read on to find out Christina's tips & resources for getting started with picture books.

You read picture books to middle schoolers? Aren't picture books for little kids? Aren't middle schoolers too old to be read to? Whether you are three, thirteen, or seventy-three, picture books are for everyone! I started reading picture books to my middle school students after attending a session last summer at
nErDcampMI called "Picture Books at Every Grade, Every Day" presented by Jillian Heise and Angie Huesgen. They explained their rationale for #ClassroomBookaDay, reactions from teachers and students, and shared examples of books they read. Jillian even read an F&G copy of They All Saw a Cat by Brenden Wenzel, and the group came up with great discussion ideas to have with students about the book. After that session, I was seriously considering doing this, but I was a little nervous about reading picture books to middle schoolers. I often asked myself: What books am I going to choose? What if the students think picture books are babyish? Where do I have time in my already busy classroom schedule to read a picture book? But a few weeks later, I took a leap of faith and decided we would try #ClassroomBookaDay.
With the help of my local librarian and friends on social media, I was able to find some engaging picture books that hooked students on to picture books at the beginning of the year. After that, I searched for picture books centered around specific classroom topics, like figurative language and grammar; common themes like kindness, courage, and perseverance; and events or holidays, like September 11 and Halloween. Sometimes, I would even pick picture books that were just fun and humorous to read aloud!
Our picture book read aloud was always at the beginning of class because it usually tied in to our lesson for the day. Students got into the routine of entering class, putting their supplies at their spot, and gathering around in the front of the classroom for me to read that day's picture book. If I missed a day of reading a picture book due to an absence or something else coming up in the classroom, the students were always good about reminding me to read two picture books the next day. We even created a #ClassroomBookaDay bulletin board outside of our classroom to not only keep track of all the picture books we read each day, but to also share the books with students, teachers, and other school guests passing by.

Beginning of the school year

Halfway point of the school year - 90 picture books!

End of the school year - 180 picture books!

By the end of the school year, we read 180 picture books! You read that right: 180 picture books, one for each day of the school year! On the last day of school, the students and I sat outside of our classroom and reflected on all the books we read. We talked about some of our favorite titles, characters, and illustrators. It was still mind-blowing to all of us that we read that many books within the school year. Every so often, maybe once or twice a month, I like to check in with students to see what they think of a picture book we read, so I will give them a
picture book exit slip to fill out. This exit slip helps me check their comprehension of a book, what they think are possible themes in it, and their personal rating of the book. These slips do not get graded either! I use the information from these slips to help decide future books and as discussion starters when I conference with students. You can grab the FREE exit slip here!

If you are a little leery to jump into reading a picture book-a-day, I have come up with a list of ten picture books that you can use in your middle school classroom throughout the upcoming school year. This picture book would be a great one to kick off the school year! "The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws..." "Each kindness makes the whole world a little bit better." Being the new student is never easy. Trying to fit in and making new friends can be a challenge. In Rock, paper, scissors has been a schoolyard game for many years. But do you know the tale of how it came to be? In Drew Daywalt's latest book, The cover of this nonfiction picture book should grab students attention right away with the photograph of a blobfish. From a wordless picture book to a pictureless picture book, In "Henry Brown wasn't sure how old he was. Henry was a slave. And slaves weren't allowed to know their birthdays." Fans of
School's First Day of School
Written by Adam Rex and illustrated by Christian Robinson

School's First Day of School tells the story of a brand new school. The story is told from the school's perspective which is nervous on the first day of school. Things don't start off so well for the school after overhearing students say they don't like school, the fire alarm goes off, and being filled trash after lunch. But the school also notices that there are others who are nervous about the first day. As the day goes on, the school is listening and learning, and cannot wait to do it all over again tomorrow. Award-winning illustrator Christian Robinson brings this story to life with his signature simple and colorful illustrations.
They All Saw a Cat
Written and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
They All Saw a Cat, a 2017 Caldecott Honor book is another story about perspective. Upon first glance, we see the expression of the cat when a child, a dog and a fox each see the cat. But then, we see how certain animals view the cat like a bird, a snake, and a mouse. The illustrations are spot-on in this book! Brendan Wenzel nails the perspectives of each animal perfectly. Students could practice point of view by choosing an animal from this book and writing their own story to go along with the illustration.

Written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Each Kindness, a new girl, Maya, arrives in Chloe's class, and she notices right away Maya's raggedy clothes and broken shoes. When Maya wants to play with Chloe and her friends, they say no. Maya does not show up for school the next day when the class is talking about kindness. Chloe's teacher demonstrates what kindness can do for others. Once Chloe realizes the importance of being kind, it is too late to apologize to Maya because she never returns to school. After reading this book to my students, I remember you could hear a pin drop in our classroom. This was a powerful book about kindness, and one that stuck with my students for a while after reading it.
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
Written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Adam Rex
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, he uncovers the journey of each item and how they finally came together for one, epic battle. Coming from different kingdoms and realms, Rock, Paper, and Scissors defeat a variety of things along the way: Rock versus Apricot; Paper versus Half-Eaten Bag of Trail Mix; and Scissors versus Dinosaur-Shaped Chicken Nuggets. Because they are all looking for a greater challenge, they call converge in the great cavern of Two-Car Garage, and the rest is history. Students will not only love the illustrations, but they will be laughing at the story from the very beginning. Try reading this book by making up voices for each item, and it will really bring the characters to life!

Written by Jess Keating and illustrated by David DeGrand

Pink is for Blobfish is a book full of information and pictures about animals in the world that are pink! Did you know that the blobfish was voted as the ugliest animal in the world? Did you know naked mole rats are talented architects? Did you know male pygmy seahorses become pregnant and carry the eggs in a pouch? Find these weird animals, facts, and more in this book. As an extension or in collaboration with a science teacher, students could choose one of these animals to research, or they could create their own book of animals that are a certain color (Example - Blue is for Poison Dart Frog or Yellow is for Banana Slug).

Illustrated by Aaron Becker
Journey is a unique picture book because it does not have any words! It is the story of a young girl with a red marker who draws a door on her bedroom wall which then opens into a magical world. By drawing things like a boat, balloon, and magic carpet, she is taken on an adventure, but is uncertain where or how it will end. You may be asking yourself: How do I read a wordless picture book? Show the pictures to the students and have them write their own story! If your student enjoy Journey, share with them the rest of the trilogy, Quest and Return.
The Book With No Pictures
The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak (most notably known as Ryan from the television show The Office) is just what it is. The book has no pictures! It probably does not seem that a book like this would be very fun to read, but you would be wrong. You have to read the words on the page, even if there are words that make silly sounds or make you talk in a monkey voice. I mean, doesn't everyone have a friend who is a hippo and named Boo Boo Butt? I'm guessing you just laughed out loud at that! And I can guarantee your students will too. After reading this book, it would even be fun for students to make up their own silly words! The Invisible Boy Written by B.J. Novak

The Invisible Boy, Brian is never really "seen" by his classmates and teacher. His classmates don't pick him to play in kickball games or invite him to birthday parties, and his teacher always seems to be dealing with other students to notice Brian. But there is one thing Brian loves to do: draw! One day, a new student, Justin, joins their class. As Justin is trying to find his place in the class, Brian is the one who steps up to make him feel welcome by drawing a picture for him. When the time comes for a group project, Justin invites Brian into his group and the rest is history. This is wonderful story to use with your students about the importance of including others. Pay close attention to the illustrations as these tell the story just as much as the words. Don't forget to check out the endpapers too!

Written by Trudy Ludwig and illustrated by Patrice Barton

Henry's Freedom Box is the dramatic, true story of Henry Brown. When Henry's slave master falls ill, he is sent away from his family to work for his master's son in a tobacco factory. Henry is lonely in this new place until he meets Nancy. Eventually, he and Nancy get married and have three children. But Nancy's master lost a lot of money, and one day, she and her children are sold at a slave market. Henry is heartbroken as his whole family is taken from him in an instant. He knew right then that he wanted to be free. Enlisting help from some friends, Henry decides he wants to be mailed in a crate to a place where there are no slaves. Despite a rocky journey, Henry eventually makes it to freedom in Philadelphia. This would be a great book to use when studying the Underground Railroad or when learning about themes like courage and perseverance.
Written by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Mother Bruce will love Ryan Higgins's newest picture book, Be Quiet! Rupert the Mouse wants to create a wordless picture book. But his two talkative friends, Nibbs and Thistle, want to help out. The pair tries to give Rupert suggestions on what he should include in his picture book, and Rupert is not having it. He just wants them to STOP TALKING! The "vishery strigulating" illustrations reflect the emotions of each of the characters perfectly from the facial expressions to the large, bold print words. There is even a cameo appearance by Bruce the bear from Mother Bruce! Read this book with lots of expression, and your students will laugh out loud at the subtle jokes and situations these mice get into. Be sure to show your students what is under the book jacket and the endpapers too.

Written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins

This list will definitely get you started, and feel free to reach out to Christina and the Secondary English Coffee Shop if you have any questions. Pin this post for later:

As always, thanks for visiting The Coffee Shop!

Christina Hanson is a sixth and seventh grade language arts teacher in north central Illinois. When she isn't sharing books with her students or reading books from her never-ending TBR pile, she loves to spend time with her teacher/coach husband and very energetic kids. She also has a love for photography, especially taking pictures of books! Christina is a member of the #BookJourney crew, a group of nine educators from across the United States, who "Read, Post-it, Tweet, Repeat." You can find Christina on Twitter and Instagram @hansonhallway or on her blog The Hanson Hallway.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Picture Books to Read in the Middle School Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Picture Books in Middle School | Using picture books in your classroom can engage reluctant readers, help introduce a lesson, and build community. Check out tips & resources for using picture books in middle school from The Hanson Hallway at The Secondary English Coffee Shop.

# data[].attributes.body
She's awesome!!!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I used to think picture books were best placed behind my desk, labeled for teaching use. Stowed away neatly so that they wouldn't be lost, not the pages too creased. After all, picture books were for little kids and certainly not the big kids I was teaching. One day, a student asked me if he could borrow one of the books that were perched behind my desk fortress, I wanted to say no, but instead asked him why? Why did he want to read that book and not the mature books in our classroom library? Sheepishly he glanced at me and then muttered, "For fun....?" And so I handed him the book. It wasn't long after that all of my students would ask for the picture books squared away and I soon realized what a fool I had been. Picture books were not for little kids. They were instead the perfect text to use in mini-lessons, to lead discussions, and to create a community of readers. I have never stored my picture books away from students since.

But what do you bring into the middle school classroom? Is there some sort of rule that applies for which books will work with these fantastically diverse years or does it not matter? It turns out that the only thing that matters is the quality of the picture book itself, once that is taken care of, the students will not stop reading them. If you are just adding picture books to your classroom library, pick wisely in the beginning, but don't get too caught up in whether or not it will make a great mentor text, I have found that the most unlikely of books can always be used for something as long as the students are into the story. So the favorite picture books we have in our room, in no particular order, are...

A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson

The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds

Pete & Pickles by Berkeley Breathed

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

Malala, A Brave Girl From Afghanistan/Iqbal, A Brave Boy From Pakistan by Jeanette Winter

Bad News for Outlaws:The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great by Bob Shea

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

by Antoinette Portis

by Kelly DiPucchio

Knock, Knock: My Dad's Dreams For Me by Daniel Beaty

Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

by Lane Smith

That Is Not A Good Idea by Mo Willems (Or anything by Mo!)

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

And the list could go on and on, but at least this is start for those of you looking to add incredible picture books to your classroom library. And don't start like me; let the kids read them whenever they want, even the big kids, especially the big kids. Which books would you recommend?
I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA but originally from Denmark, who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. The second edition of my first book "Passionate Learners - How to Engage and Empower Your Students" is available for pre-order now. Second book"Empowered Schools, Empowered Students - Creating Connected and Invested Learners" is out now from Corwin Press. Join our Passionate Learners community on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Our Favorite Picture Books for Middle School 2015

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I used to think picture books were best placed behind my desk, labeled for teaching use. Stowed away neatly so that they wouldn't be lost, not the pages too creased. After all, picture books were for little kids and certainly not the big kids I was teaching.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Picture books for middle school? Shouldn't older students have moved on from picture books years ago?

Not necessarily. Many of the best living picture books include amazing stories with rich language that big kids are finally able to read and enjoy on their own.

Additionally, some of the picture books we have on our shelves do a beautiful job of introducing kids to serious topics - like war or racism. And I purposely tend to hold these back until my kids are old enough to handle the emotional content.

Even with books that don't cover heavy topics, there are many picture books with nuances that are best understood by older children.
This book contains affiliate links.
I've included more than 100 picture books for middle school students below. This is by no means an exhaustive list because there are so, so many picture books that could be appropriate for middle school students to read.

You may see some books on the list that you've read with younger children before. It's okay! Some of them are entirely appropriate for younger children, too, but I've included them on the list because of the nuances that can be read with an entirely new perspective now that your children are older.

In our homeschool this year, Friday is picture book day for free reading for my 6th grader. I keep a rotating pile of the books listed below for my son to choose from.

The books that cover more sensitive topics, about war for instance, I like to either read with my son or take some time for pretty deep discussions after he's read them on his own. Nettie's Trip South is an example of such a book. It's about a young girl who witnesses a slave auction and includes some pretty raw emotions. For this reason, you may want to do a quick pre-read of the books listed in the history section before handing them over freely.

History Picture Books

The 5,000 Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt by Claudia Logan

Angelo by David Macauley

The Babe and I by David A. Adler

The Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully

Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights by Jim Haskins

Electrical Wizard: How Nicola Tesla Lit Up the World by Elizabeth Rusch

The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: A Russian Tale by Arthur Ransome

Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack

Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England by Diane Stanley

Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares

Jubilee! One Man's Big, Bold, and Very, Very Loud Celebration of Peace by Alicia Potter

Lady Liberty by Doreen Rappaport

Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford

Nettie's Trip South by Ann Turner

Peppe the Lamplighter by Elise Bartone

Seaman's Journal by Patricia Reeder Eubank

The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy

Smoky Nights by Eve Bunting

Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting

Uncle Jed's Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell

Vassilisa the Wise by Josepha Sherman

A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet by Kathryn Lasky

The Wall by Eve Bunting

Who Owns the Sun? by Stacy Chbosky

History Series Picture Books

Holling C. Holling Series (actually great for science, too)
Patricia Polacco Books
Science Picture Books

Alejandro's Gift by Richard Albert

The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal by Cheryl Harness

Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies

Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardow

How We Crossed West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer

It's a Frog's Life by Steve Parker

The Raft by Jim LaMarche

Salamander Rain by Kristin Joy Pratt-Serifini

The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass

Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sis

The Wartville Wizard by Don Madden

The Web at Dragonfly Pond by Brian Ellis

Science Series Picture Books
Max Axiom Super Scientist Series
Math Picture Books

While I definitely read these books with upper elementary children, they each have concepts that can be explored in much more depth with middle school students.

The King's Chessboard by David Burch

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka

One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi

Math Series Picture Books
Sir Cumference Series
Bible & Character Picture Books

These books are perfect to help your children see God's goodness in big ways.

Coming Home by Max Lucado

With You All the Way by Max Lucado

This biography is very helpful to explain the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World by Paul L. Maier

While these books are easy to read with young children, too, they make great discussion starters about character qualities for middle schoolers.

The Merchant and the Thief by Ravi Zacharias

The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau

Sanji's Seed by B.J. Reinhard

Christmas Picture Books for Middle School

Each of these Christmas books also has a nice dose of history. I know several of them are written by Patricia Polacco and I've already mentioned her books above, but I wanted to be sure you don't miss these!

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojceichowski

Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco

Gifts of the Heart by Patricia Polacco

An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco

The Scallop Christmas by Jane Freeburg
Do you have suggestions for other picture books for middle school?
That's a wrap for this giant list, but I'd love to hear your favorites! Let's keep the list growing in the comments.

Other Book Lists

I've written post after post after post about living books. You can find links to all of those posts here.

More Awesome Book Lists:

Products you may like:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
100 of the Best Picture Books for Middle School Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Picture books for middle school? Shouldn't older students have moved on from picture books years ago? Not necessarily. Many of the best living picture books include amazing stories with rich language that big kids are finally able to read and enjoy on their own.