Ten for Ten 2016: Top 10 New Picture Books for Your Reading Power Collection

This annual summer celebration of picture books is hosted by Cathy from Reflect and Refine: Building a Learning Community and Mandy from Enjoy and Embrace Learning. This is my forth year of participating in this event – you can read my 2015 post here, 2014 post here and 2013 here.   Each year, the blogging community chooses 10 picture books on a range of themes – from diversity, to bullying, to writing, to conservation.  For the past 3 years, I have organized my 10 for 10 post around Reading Power – featuring two new releases for each RP strategy: Connecting, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, and Transform (synthesizing).  The response has been positive each year, so I am continuing the tradition!  For those who are already using RP, these would be my recommendations for adding or replenishing your collection this year!

CONNECT

 Thunder Boy Jr. – Sherman Alexie

Connecting to names, origin of names, father-son relationships and family.  I love the voice in this delightful book.  Gorgeous illustrations and perfect for your aboriginal collection as well.

2. The Class – Boni Ashburn

Follow 20 different students from 19 different homes as they get ready kindergarten.  This book is a true celebration of diversity with children from many different backgrounds, morning rituals, routines, families, and ways of getting ready to go to school. Adorable illustrations and a perfect ‘CONNECT’ book for your early primary students.

QUESTION

3. The Night Gardener – The Tan Brothers

Who keeps cutting the trees into animal sculptures during the night?  It is the magical mystery this book will slowly reveal.  Another book with illustrations you will linger over and a unique and creative story that will have your students wondering.

4. Follow the Moon Home – Deborah Hopkinson & Philippe Cousteau

How can a community save the sea turtles of the South Carolina coast?  Powerful story of how young people can make a difference – inspiring and beautiful.  Could also be used for Transform.

VISUALIZE

5. Finding Wild – Megan Wagner

Two kids set off on an adventure away from their urban home and discover all the beauty of the natural world. This book is so full of triple scoop words, I can hardly stand it! Perfect for visualizing and an anchor book for descriptive writing.

6. I Hear a Pickle – Rachel Isadora

Sweet, simple introduction to the five senses for early primary students.  Great for teaching that visualizing is not just about what we see!

INFER

7. The Whale – Ethan Murrow & Vita Murrow

Wow – this book is truly a remarkable pencil-sketch wordless picture book.  Two children are out to prove that the rumored Giant Spotted Whale in their town is real or a myth.  This is a book where you really need to take your time to read the pictures.  The newspaper headlines also help to tell the story and are perfect for practicing inferring.

Grandad’s Island – Benji Davies

Benji Davis gifts us with an extraordinary, thought-provoking book about life, death and love.  Poignant, gracefully told story about a young boy trying to understand why his grandfather is no longer in his life.  What makes it so touching is how subtle the message is – leaving the reader with spaces to wonder and to think.

TRANSFORM

9 Ada’s Violin – Susan Hood

The extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash. Inspiring and filled with hope.

10. Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story – Arun Gandhi & Bethany Hegedus

How can throwing away a worn-down pencil hurt anyone? How can wastefulness lead to violence? With the help of his grandfather, Arun learns how every wasteful act, no matter how small, affects others.  A wonderful transforming story.

There you have it!  My top 10 for 10 picture books for 2016!

Thanks for stopping by!