I love incorporating picture books in the upper elementary classroom as much as possible. There's often a misconception that picture books are only for younger students, but they're a great way to reinforce concepts for upper elementary students too. I always recommend reading each title once for enjoyment before re-reading it in order to do a deep dive into the lesson.
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Excellent Picture Books
Picture books aren't just for younger kids! Every single one of these books has been carefully selected with upper elementary students in mind. Tuesday and Flood are both wordless books, which I HIGHLY recommend using for inference. These are the cream of the crop when it comes to stunning illustrations that truly add to the written story and each of them can be used any time of the year.
- We are Water Protectors
- The Vanishing Lake
- Tuesday
- Flood
- Hair Love
- Teacup
- Dreamers
- A Different Pond
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Related Picture Book Resources
Reading Skills
These books are perfect companions for teaching key reading skills.
- Sequencing: Manji Moves a Mountain
- Cause and Effect: Stuck
- Point of View/Perspective: Voices in the Park
- Inference: The Memory String
- Compare/Contrast: Tea With Milk
- Fact/Opinion: Saturday
- Author's Purpose: The Watcher
- Theme: Blackout
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Related Reading Skills Resources
Informational Text Picture Books
Let's talk informational texts: This was always an area where I felt like I could grow my classroom library. I had SO many bins of novels and picture books, and just one or two baskets full of informational text. My World Record books were always checked out, but other than that, students weren't always gravitating toward the informational texts. It became really important to me to make sure I had high-interest, super engaging texts that they just couldn't pass up. I don't know about your students, but mine are OBSESSED with the Who Is/Who Was series and ANYTHING to do with fast and fun facts! These were a sure bet to get students reading nonfiction, so they are comprising my list of books today!
- Who Is/Who Was Box Set
- Interesting Stories for Curious People
- 50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet
- If the World Were a Village
- Bet You Didn’t Know
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Related Informational Text Resources
- FREE Pre-Reading Task Cards
- FREE Open-Ended Reading Response Task Cards
- Reading Response Task Card Bundle
- Informational Text Reading Comprehension Passages
Figurative Language Picture Books
These titles are perfect for exposing students to rich language.
- Similes and Metaphors: Firebird
- Personification: The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
- Hyperbole: Dona Flor
- Idioms: In a Pickle
- Alliteration: Animalia
- Onomatopoeia: The Remarkable Farkle McBride
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Related Figurative Language Resources
- FREE Back to School Simile and Metaphor Task Cards
- FREE Halloween Figurative Language Task Cards
- FREE Christmas Figurative Language Task Cards
- Figurative Language Flip Book
- Figurative Language Bundle
Math Picture Books
These titles help reinforce math concepts and introduce your students to inspiring mathematicians. They're a great way to combine literacy and math skills!
Math Concepts
- Perimeter and Area: Spaghetti and Meatballs for All
- Adding and Subtracting Decimals: Pigs Will Be Pigs
- Problem Solving: The Grapes of Math
- Problem Solving: Mathterpieces
- Division: The Doorbell Rang
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Inspiring Mathematicians
- The Boy Who Loved Math
- Nothing Stopped Sophie
- The Girl With a Mind for Math
- I'm Trying to Love Math
- Counting on Katherine
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Related Math Resources
- FREE Math About Me Task Cards
- Seasonal Math Projects Bundle
- 3rd Grade Math Skill of the Day
- 4th Grade Math Skill of the Day
- 5th Grade Math Skill of the Day
Fluency Picture Books
These books are hand-selected to improve your students' fluency. Fluency is such a crucial skill because the faster and more accurately students can read and decode, the more effectively they can comprehend.
- No David
- Good Boy, Fergus
- Help! We Need a Title! (Great for punctuation!)
- Rude Cakes
- You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You
- Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together
- Very Short Tall Tales to Read Together
- Very Short Fables to Read Together
- Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Related Fluency Resources
- FREE Fluency Starter Kit (goes with 10 fluency tips here)
- Fluency Task Cards SKILL Bundle
- Fluency Task Cards SEASONAL Bundle
Growth Mindset Picture Books
These books will help your students develop a growth mindset, which has truly become a staple life skill in our classroom
- What the Road Said
- What Do You Do with a Problem?
- Rosie Revere, Engineer
- Jabari Jumps
- Maybe
- Trying
- The Book of Mistakes
- A Splash of Red
- Browse all titles on Amazon
Related Growth Mindset Resources
More Picture Book Resources
I also have this post on using picture books to support learning. It includes a FREE printable resource for parents!
