Top 5 Favorite Picture Books

Need some more picture book ideas?  Getting tired of reading the same books that everyone else is reading?  Well I had class again tonight and as I stated last week, I am going to tell you about my top 5 picture books that were shared tonight.

It is such an amazing class because we all either get paid or earn PGC (professional growth) hours for reading and learning about great books to use during reading and writing workshop.  Pretty sweet huh?

So my top 5 picture books tonight are... (drum roll)

Wild Child by Lynn Plourde

I might have shared this book before, but it is worth repeating.  It is a book about Mother Nature and seasons changing.  Wild Child is a great book for making inferences, asking and answering questions, and how illustrations enhance the meaning and beauty of a text.  Those skills are what I have used in the past, but when I was rereading it through the lens of a writing teacher, I found that it is also great for rhyming, alliteration, and creative endings to stories.  There are three other books that go along with this one.  I have not read them but can bet they are cute also.

We Are in a Book by Mo Williams

This book is absolutely hilarious.  Gerald the elephant and Piggie discover that they have an audience... the reader.  It is great fun for them at first but they begin to worry when they realize the book is drawing to an end.  This interactive book is very engaging and great for beginning readers.  There is a quite a variety to choose from.

14 Cows for America

Have you heard of this book?  WOW is the first word that comes to mind.  I literally cried while reading the endnote.  Such a touching true story about a man from Kenya who was studying in America during the 911 attacks.  His people were known warriors but his culture also taught him to be compassionate and strive to heal wounds.  So after the horrific attacks, his heart ached for the Americans and he decided to give a gift of a cow (which is precious to his people).  He returned home to ask for a blessing on this very special gift and his pain for the Americans touched the hearts of his people.  Instead of 1 sacred cow, they presented 14 and cried, with their hands across their chests, along with the Americans they presented it to as our national anthem played.  Like I said, WOW!!!!
These words below come from Amazon and are so powerful.

"A mere nine months have passed since the September 11 attacks, and hearts are raw. Tears flow freely from American and Maasai as these legendary warriors offer their gift to a grieving people half a world away."

Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger

This book is a beautiful story about Grandfather Twilight who takes a single pearl and takes a walk which brings on night.  As he walks, the illustrations display the oncoming night which grows larger throughout the book.  In the end, he sets the single pearl free to take its nightly place in the sky because after all, what would night be without the moon.  This book is wonderful for making inferences, asking and answering questions, and using illustrations to add to the meaning and beauty of a text.

I grouped these two together because they both share a common theme.  Two completely different settings and groups of people find beauty and love in their surroundings.  There is something beautiful and something to love in all of our lives.  Sometimes it is easily recognized and sometimes we have to look beyond the bad to see all the beauty.

Hope you enjoyed my book shares.  Have you read any of these? What are some of your favorite books?  I would love to hear about them! :)

Antoinette