Books to Develop Story Language: One of the easiest ways to get picture books into the hands of young readers is with wordless picture books. Developing story language is essential in learning to read. Wordless picture books provide opportunities to talk through a story. Wordless picture books require readers to pay attention to the meaning of the story told through illustrations. They are perfect for young readers who focus on words over meaning, second language learners, and readers who need to develop oral language.
Chalk by Bill Thomson
You're A Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day
The Umbrella by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert
Wave by Suzy Lee
The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
Books with Repetition: Repetition supports young readers as it provides opportunities to see words again and again, it reduces the challenge of texts, and helps build fluency.
The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin (author) and James Dean (illustrator)
In My New Yellow Shirt by Eileen Spinelli (author) and Hideko Takahashi (illustrator)
Aaaarrgghh! Spider! By Lydia Monks
Up, Up, Down! by Robert Munsch
Format: The format of a book is important to consider when picking picture books for our classroom libraries specifically matched to the book handling knowledge of readers. I look for books that are easy to navigate with print appropriately sized for the reader. Layout is also important. Readers need to be able to understand how to move through the text.
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