Deb L. Marciano, Ph.D.
Professor of Elementary and Literacy Education
Consider Using Children's Picturebooks to Enhance Creative and Critical Thinking
Deb L. Marciano, Ph.D.
Department of Elementary Education
Dewar College of Education and Human Services
Valdosta State University
Presented at The University of Georgia Innovation in Teaching Conference
October 19, 2018, Athens, GA
Annotations and Suggestions of a Sample of Children’s Literature to Use as Mentor Texts Across the Curriculum
Laminack (2017) defines: a mentortext as any text you can learn from as a writer. Any text. That means essays and poems, stories and research reports, menus and catalog descriptions, a picture book, a novel, a screenplay, or a billboard. So, a mentortext can be any text in any form or genre that you can learn from as a writer.
The following is a sample of popular children’s literature that can easily be used to entertain readers as well as serve as foster critical thinking skills and be utilized as models of ways to express content information in creative ways.
Aritmetickle: An Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes. (J. Patrick Lewis & Frank Remkiewicz, 2002). Provides content specific (Math) riddles.MODEL FOR: presenting content area concepts and vocabulary in riddle form.
Arches to Zig Zags: An Architecture ABC. (Michael J. Crosbie, Steve Rosenthal, Kit Rosenthal, 2000). This rhyming alphabet presents architectural terms and photographs. MODEL FOR: content vocabulary and concepts as an alphabet.
Animalia. (Graeme Base, 1996). Intricate illustrations of objects for each letter. MODEL FOR: Content vocabulary and illustration. May be best to work as a group to find or create or photograph content related items of all associated concepts for each letter.
Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems. (John Grandits, 2007). The visual appearance of concrete poems matches the topic of the poem. The words form shapes which illustrate the poem’s subject as a picture, as well as through their literal meaning. MODEL FOR: Content vocabulary; concepts illustration; poetry writing; visual representation.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (Mo Williems, 2006) (also: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), The Duckling Gets A Cookie?(2012), The Pigeon Wants a Puppy (2008). Insistent character, Pigeon, tries to cajole the reader into giving him his way.MODEL FOR: Multiple perspectives; voice; speech balloons; thought bubbles.
G is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book. (David M. Schwart & Marissa Moss, 1998). Higher level math terms and concepts explained with humor and funny illustrations. MODEL FOR: Content vocabulary; concepts; illustration; alphabet.
If You Give A Mouse a Cookie. (Laura Joffe Numeroff & Felicia Bond, 1985, reissued in 2015, also: If You Give A Pig a Pancake, 1998; If You Give A Moose a Muffin, 1991; If You Give A Pig a Party, 2005; If You Give A Cat a Cupcake, 2008; If You Give A Dog a Donut, 2011; If You Give A Mouse a Brownie, 2016). MODEL FOR: Cause and effect; consequences; circular story format (ends up back where it started) which can be written in 8 storyboard boxes: if A, then B, then C, then D, then E, then F, then B, then back to A; sequencing.
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. (Paul Fleischmann, 1988). (Also See: You Read to Me series). Lines of two voices in a dialogue between two entities (i.e. people, places, things, or ideas presenting two different points of view. MODEL FOR: voice; multiple perspectives; compare/contrast (places where two perspectives overlap say the same line).
No Milk! (Jennifer A. Ericsson & Ora Eitan, 1993). Character wants to get milk from the cow by trying a myriad of techniques. MODEL FOR: Trial and error; steps in a process; repetitive pattern; persuasiveness.
Places in Time: A New Atlas of American History. (Susan Buckley & Elspeth Leacock. 2003). Illustrations include cross-sections and a bird’s eye view cutaway drawings with use of labels around the page. MODEL FOR: incorporating text (labels) in illustration.
Q is for Duck – An Alphabet Guessing Game. (Michael Folson & June K. Kent, 1980, reissued 2005). Alphabet with a twist in riddle format: Why does the letter stand for the picture? (i.e. Q is for duck because it quacks. MODEL FOR: content vocabulary; concept connection that aren’t obvious, as a typical ABC book. (ex: S is for Astronaut, because she goes into Space).
Q is for Quark: A Science Alphabet Book. (David M. Schwartz & Kim Doner, 2009). Very detailed information on content and specific vocabulary presented with lots of humor. MODEL FOR: content vocabulary; concept connection; alphabet.
Rimshots: Basketball Pix, Rolls, and Rythms. (Charles R. Smith, Jr. 1999). Free-verse poetry and wordplay about basketball. MODEL FOR: content vocabulary; concept connection.
Shape Me a Rhyme: Nature’s Forms in Poetry. (Jane Yolen & Jason Stemple, 2007). Focus is science (nature). MODEL FOR: Content vocabulary; concepts; illustration; poetry writing; visual representation.
The Day the Crayons Quit. (Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers, 2013). Letters written by the character’s crayons explaining their exasperation with their perceived misuse. MODEL FOR: Multiple perspectives; different voice; problem-solving, letter writing; personification, anthropomorphism; social justice.
The End. (David LaRochelle & Richard Egielski, 2007). Modern fairy tale told in reverse order - from the end to the beginning, even with the title page at the end. MODEL FOR: Chain reaction; sequencing; cause and effect.
The Three Tamales. (Eric Kimmel & Valeria Doccampo, 2009). Cultural twist on traditional fairytale of the Three Little Pigs. MODEL FOR: Fairy tale structure (things happen in threes; geographic setting and appropriate animals of the habitat; cultural diversity; traditional literature; compare and contrast.
The Three Little Javalinas. (Susan Lowell & Jim Harris, 1992). A twist on the Three Little Pigs, in a southwest cultural twist. MODEL FOR: Fairy tale structure (Things happen in threes); geographic setting and appropriate animals of the habitat; cultural diversity; traditional literature; compare and contrast.
Town Mouse, Country Mouse. (Jan Brett 1994). Take off on The Prince and the Pauper, so that is also a literary innovation. MODEL FOR: Compare and contrast; multiple perspectives; reflective of the grass is always greener on the other side.
Voices in the Park. (Anthony Browne, 1998). The same event is very different as it is told from the four perspectives of the characters – whose story is it? See musical interpretation
(https://www.youtube.com/watch time_continue=3&v=kyCUnHLe88s). MODEL FOR: multiple perspectives (would be great for history); interpretation; voice; critical thinking.
Where in the Wild? (David M. Schwartz, Yael Schy, & Dwight Kuhn, 2008; See also: Where Else in the Wild? 2009; What in the Wild? 2010). Riddles in rhyme describe animals hidden in plain sight in photographs in natural settings. MODEL FOR: camouflage; photography; poetry; riddles for concepts and content vocabulary.
Walter was Worried. (Laura Vaccaro Seeger, 2006). Clever, simple illustrations incorporate letters of the emotion expressed by the text. MODEL FOR:illustrated vocabulary (how can the word be visually expressed to represent its meaning?)
Where’s Walrus? (Stephen Savage, 2011). Wordless picture book, where one character cannot find the other, who hiding in plain sight. MODEL FOR: social studies (setting, location,climate, environment); camouflage; disguises; cause and effect.
With Love, Little Red Hen. (Alma Flor Ada, 2004. Also: Yours Truly, Goldilocks, 2001; Dear Peter Rabbit, 1997). Twist on traditional fairy tale telling a story through a series of letters. MODEL FOR: solving social problems; cooperation; letter writing; traditional fairy tales; compare/contrast.
You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together. (Maryann Hoberman & Michael Emberley (2001) (also: You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together, 2004; You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Scary Stories to Read Together, 2009; You Read to Me, I’ll Read toYou: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together, 2012; You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together, 2013; You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Tall Tales to Read Together, 2013). Stories for two voices use alliteration, rhyme, and repetition. MODEL FOR: Multiple perspectives/voices; opinion; question and answer; call and response; compare/contrast;
any topic.