Why Read Picture Books?

You are old enough to read novels, so…
why read picture books?

Keats's Neighborhood

1. Appreciate the classics.

Ezra Jack Keats, Robert McCloskey, and Bernard Waber.
Eric Carle, Robert Kraus, Leo Lionni, and Bill Peet.
Edward Ardizzone, Beatrix Potter, and Brian Wildsmith.
Ludwig Bemelmans, Jean de Brunhoff and Maurice Sendak.
Robert Munsch, H.A. Rey, and Dr. Seuss.
Remember outstanding writers.

I Carry Your Heart With Me

2. Relax with a heart-warming story.

The Harmonica by Tony Johnston
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson.
All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan.
On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman.
What You Know First by Patricia Maclachlan.
Remember that there is always goodness and hope in this world.

An Extraordinary Egg

3. Enjoy great friendships.

George and Martha by James Marshall.
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel.
Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban.
Two Bobbies: a True Story of Hurricane Katrina… by Kirby Lawson
How to Lose All Your Friends by Nancy Carlson
Remind yourself of the qualities of true friendship.

Goal

4. Get the flow of a whole story in hardly any time at all.

Setting and characterization.
Plot and theme.
Style.
Remind yourself of the basic elements of stories in just a few minutes.

Born to Read

5. Absorb techniques of great writing.

Alliteration, consonance, and assonance.
Repetition, rhythm and rhyme.
Similes and metaphors.
Juxtaposition, hyperbole, and litotes.
Allusions to folklore, classic literature and popular culture.
Strengthen your awareness of literary techniques.

Artful Reading

6. Study great artistic techniques.

Museum Shapes by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Where in the World?: Around the World in 13 Great of Art by Bob Raczka.
The Ugly Duckling by Rachel Isadora.
The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers by Mordecai Gerstein.
Flotsam by David Wiesner.
Rome Antics by David Macaulay.
Appreciate the power of pictures.

On a Beam of Light

7. Expand your general knowledge.

Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird: A True Story by Stephanie Spinner.
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin.
One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin by Kathryn Lasky.
The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter.
Mao and Me by Chen Jiang Hong.
The Grand Mosque of Paris: the Story of How Muslims Saved Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle.
Learn about people, places, and historical events.

The Art of Clean Up

8. See life from different points of view.

Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne.
Jonah’s Whale by Eileen Spinelli.
Encounter by Jane Yolen.
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt.
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson.
The Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy by Ursus Wehrli.
The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola.
Pause and consider.

Stick Man

9. Expand your soul.

The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth.
Q is for Question by Tiffany Poirier. 
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.
The Elders are Watching by David Bouchard.
Peace by Wendy Anderson Halperin.
Glory by Nancy White Carlstrom.
Ponder the meaning of life.

Crankee Doodle

10. Laugh.

Nothing Like a Puffin by Sue Soltis.
No! by David McPhail.
No, David! by David Shannon.
A Sick Day for Amos McKee by Philip Christian Stead.
Punk Farm by Jarrett Krosoczka.
Relax for a few minutes.

Enjoy life! 

 

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