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Novels & Picture Books

Novels & Picture Books

I’m passionate about incorporating authentic picture books and novels into my classroom on a daily basis. Whether you’re looking to use picture books to teach reading skills, implement novel studies, or incorporate books into your morning meeting to address essential social and emotional skills, you’ll find it all here!


Start With These Posts

  • Engaging Novel Projects for Any Book
  • Thoughtful Tips for How to Select Novels in Upper Elementary
  • Incorporating Picture Books in Your Upper Elementary Classroom
24 FREE Upper Elementary Reading Response Bookmarks

FREE Upper Elementary Bookmarks

Submit the form to download 24 reading response bookmarks!

Looking for book recommendations? Try these!

FREE Upper Elementary Book Lists

Submit the form to download 19 book lists with tips!

  • Upper Elementary Novels
  • 3rd Grade
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40+ Best Novels for End of the Year Novel Studies

📚 40+ End-of-Year Novel Study Ideas Your Students Will Love As the school year winds down, keeping students engaged can feel like a challenge. Testing, field trips, and summer anticipation…

Easy Picture Book Showdown Competition for March Madness in the Classroom

For the past several years, I have been inspired to create a March Madness-style Picture Book Showdown for my school (and classroom). It has now become something I look forward…

Elevate Your November Literacy Lessons with Engaging Passages & Picture Books

November can sometimes feel rushed between the excitement of Halloween and the upcoming magic of the Christmas season, but it has plenty of exciting themes of its own to integrate…

Free Rockefeller Christmas Tree Literacy Activities

It’s no secret that I love incorporating paired passages into my seasonal instruction, and this Christmas paired text activity is one of my favorites! Over the past several years, there…

First Chapter Fridays and Novel Read-Aloud Engagement Tips

Are you looking for an engaging way to introduce your students to new books, authors, and genres they might not have explored otherwise? Then you need to give First Chapter…

Using Picture Books to Help Students Build Relationship Skills

Using picture books in your classroom can do wonders for your students’ literacy skills while also helping them build relationship skills. These picture books support your students’ social and emotional…

Novel & Picture Book Resources

  • Winter Games 2026 Reading and Math Resources | Winter Sports

    Winter Games 2026 Reading and Math Resources | Winter Sports

    $12.25
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  • Winter Sports & Winter Games Podcasts for Reading and Listening Comprehension

    Winter Sports & Winter Games Podcasts for Reading and Listening Comprehension

    $8.99
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  • Character Education Podcasts for Reading and Listening Comprehension | SEL

    Character Education Podcasts for Reading and Listening Comprehension | SEL

    $5.99
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  • Novel Study Activities | Reading Comprehension for ANY book

    Novel Study Activities | Reading Comprehension for ANY book

    $26.99
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hey, I’m Mary

I’m so glad you are here. I’m a current gifted and talented teacher in a small town in Colorado, and I’ve been in education since 2009. My passion (other than my family and cookies) is for making teachers’ lives easier and classrooms more engaging.

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Dad, I’m REALLY sorry about all the F Words in thi Dad, I’m REALLY sorry about all the F Words in this book. 🫣 But seriously, I’ve never had a book recommendation go quite as viral as this one — and for good reason! It’s an epic book. 

This is a book that gives me ALL the giggles (all while actually making genius parallels between feelings and toots, which resonates with basically every kid)!

Comment below, and I’ll send you the link! Unless you’re like my dad and you regard the word Fart as one of the worst in the English language. 😜 Then you should forego this one.
Hot take: not all fidgets and squishees and sensor Hot take: not all fidgets and squishees and sensory tools are created equal. 🙃��

Comment below, and I’ll send you the link to these beauties that I LOVE giving kids to use. 

💖 After years experimenting with these tools (NOT toys) in the classroom, I’ve found that the fidgets I go to the most are these sweet little worry stones. Not the flashy toys that somehow end up flying across the room by 10:07 AM and causing more trouble than they’re worth. 😅

Worry drones have become my favorites because they actually help kids regulate without distracting them.

A few reasons I love them:

✨ quiet and non-distracting
✨ grounding for anxious or overwhelmed students
✨ help busy hands without pulling attention away from learning
✨ no lights, sounds, pieces, or “look what mine does!” chaos
✨ feel age-respectful for older elementary students too

…and as a fantastic bonus, they are virtually unbreakable and easy to sanitize as needed. 😉 

I especially love using them during read aloud, and I offer the to every child before we settle in. 

Would love to know: are your students fidget people too? Or have you found certain ones work way better than others?
Lunges with bags full of books optional. 🤷‍♀️ Bu Lunges with bags full of books optional. 🤷‍♀️ 

But seriously — they usually don’t know what they’re signing up for by having a teacher in their life, but I couldn’t do it without them! My parents and husband are actual angels on earth when it comes to helping me with my classroom (and basically in all other ways, too!!). Who are YOUR designated helpers? 🩷🩷
Teacher Horror Movies: things students say edition Teacher Horror Movies: things students say edition. 🤣🤣 What would you add?!? Of course, these are all in good fun… I love my kids, but I’m also a germaphobe who teaches and expects her students to ask specific questions to describe what they are having trouble understanding. 😜
I am so honored to have my awards handed out in so I am so honored to have my awards handed out in so many classrooms, hanging on countless bedroom walls, and stored away in treasured memory boxes. 🥹🥹🩷🩷 

When I created these end of the year awards for my third graders back in 2010, I never would have thought they would reach so many kids (and hopefully make life easier for so many teachers at the end of the year). 

🌟 If you own this set, be sure to download the MASSIVE update with new and updated award options (autofill is still there, too)! If you’d like to hand these out to your students, comment below, and I’ll send you the info.
I can’t believe this school year is over. 🥹🩷 I don I can’t believe this school year is over. 🥹🩷 I don’t always do end of the year gifts (and teachers should never feel like the have to), but this year it just felt right! 

🔥 For one group, I made “mini s’mores kits” and a s’more keychain and for my others I did these adorable pens! They were both SUPER easy and so cute. Comment below, and I’ll send you links, including to the free Canva template for the S’mores set (the pens come with the cards!) and all the ind for how I put them together.
My favorite way to end the year. 🥹 Comment below, My favorite way to end the year. 🥹 Comment below, and I’ll send you the link to this FREE End of the Year Find Someone Who. Perfect for any day during your last week of school!
Comment below with something your students have be Comment below with something your students have been OBSESSED with this year, and I’ll choose one random commenter to win a set of accomplishment animals to end the year! Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! 🩷🩷 

💡How accomplishment animals work:

Every week, my students take a moment to share a specific success or accomplishment with me and we have a quick conversation about it. They get a little animal (or sticker) and build the cutest little collections over the year — it’s such a fun visual representation of all they’ve accomplished over the year AND such an amazing way for me to learn more about them and connect!
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