Picture Books and The Common Core

Have you ever been really excited about a good book?  I just love great picture books! Tonight I took a class at our local Teacher Center and it was AMAZING!  

We all know about the RIGOR and COMPLEXITY of the COMMON CORE. . . BLAH,BLAH,BLAH!  The Common Core wants us to use more complex texts while teaching.  Text that have RICH VOCABULARY, DISTINGUISHED ILLUSTRATIONS, DEEP INQUIRY, CONNECTIONS TO REAL EVENTS AND text that COMPARE and CONTRAST. 

Check out these books that have great Common Core connections.  

Chloe and her friends won't play with the new girl, Maya. Every time Maya tries to join Chloe and her friends, they reject her. Eventually Maya stops coming to school. When Chloe's teacher gives a lesson about how even small acts of kindness can change the world, Chloe is stung by the lost opportunity for friendship, and thinks about how much better it could have been if she'd shown a little kindness toward Maya.

With its powerful anti-bullying message and striking art, it will resonate with readers long after they've put it down. 

Rosa sat so Martin could march. Martin marched so Barack could run. Barack ran so our children can soar. This is the seed of a unique picture book that is part historical, part poetry, and entirely inspirational. It takes the reader through the cumulative story of the US Civil Rights Movement, expanding the popular slogan beyond these three heroes to include more key players in the struggle for equality. Spare prose and vivid imagery make this a truly moving and accessible picture book to be savored by readers of all ages.  Just AMAZING!!!!  

One hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do? When they go up to the roof to escape the heat, they find the lights—in stars that can be seen for a change—and so many neighbors it's like a block party in the sky.  This book has outstanding picture!  It would be great to use for lessons about family and homes!

 A beautifully simple book for small children where transforming pages reveal ten things that everyone can do to help conserve their world. Many of them, such as turning off the television properly, walking to school and turning off lights when leaving a room, are about conserving energy. Others, such as feeding the birds in winter and growing plants from seed, will encourage an understanding of nature and conservation.  A great book to use around Earth Day!

Living with the use of one's eyes can make imagining blindness difficult, but this innovative title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colors based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help reading along with their fingers. This extraordinary title gives young readers the ability to experience the world in a new way.  A great book to use while teaching the Five Senses.

It’s time for the little red chicken’s bedtime story—and a reminder from Papa to try not to interrupt. But the chicken can’t help herself! Whether the tale is Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood or even Chicken Little, she jumps into the story to save its hapless characters from doing some dangerous or silly thing. Now it’s the little red chicken’s turn to tell a story, but will her yawning papa make it to the end without his own kind of interrupting?