Picture books are powerful tools for children to start understanding the world around them. Authors and illustrators of picture books covered a wide range of topics in 2017. They tackled fears, friends, family, and fun. Picking out the best ten picture books of the year was no easy task because so many important books were published and need to be read to our students. After reading these ten books, take a trip to your local library to find even more tools to help your students understand the world God has created.
Where Oliver Fits by Cale Atkinson
Where Oliver Fits has been one of the most circulated picture books in my library this year. Oliver is a puzzle piece who doesn’t know where he fits. He wants to be part of “something exciting . . . something wild . . . something out of this world!” (4-6). But everywhere Oliver looks, he is told no. Oliver tries everything to fit in, but nothing seems to work! He eventually decides to change who he is in order to find his place, but is he happy? How long can he keep up with this disguise? Where Oliver Fits is a must-read-and-discuss book. Cale Atkinson has filled this book with delightful illustrations, which provide a springboard for great discussions. Where do we fit? To what lengths do we go in order to find our place? Are we aware of others who are also looking for their place? Where Oliver Fits should be in every classroom and home.
Triangle by Mac Barnett
When Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen create a book together (i.e., Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Extra Yarn), magic happens! Triangle is their first book in the Shape Trilogy. Square will be released on May 8 this year, and Circle is due out in 2019. In Triangle, we meet Triangle and Square, who are friends but live in different places. Triangle leaves his triangle house one day to play a sneaky trick on his friend Square. We journey with Triangle past big and small triangles and then past shapes that have no names until we finally reach Square’s home. Triangle successfully plays a trick on Square, but when Square figures out it was Triangle, he chases Triangle and plays his own trick. The book leaves the reader wondering, Was Square’s sneaky trick part of his plan all along or did it just work out that way? Students at different grade levels pick up on different aspects of this book. Younger students enjoy debating the ending while older students wonder why Triangle and Square both live in places with their specific shapes. Triangle is sure to have your students asking questions and looking for answers in the next two books.
Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
How do we deal with our fears? How do we treat others’ fears? Jabari has completed his swim lessons and is ready to jump off the diving board. The only problem is that the diving board is very high and Jabari is nervous. Jabari acts brave while finding all sorts of excuses for why he isn’t climbing the ladder to jump. Jabari’s dad is patient and encouraging and never acknowledges that he knows Jabari is afraid; instead he gives great advice for overcoming fears. With bright illustrations that give great perspective, Jabari Jumps is a perfect book to leap into discussions about fear, overcoming fear, perseverance, and never giving up.
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt
Drew Daywalt, author of The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home, has written a clever story of how the game rock-paper-scissors came to be. Three great warriors—Rock, Paper, and Scissors—are all undefeated in battle. Each warrior longs for a worthy opponent but is unable to find one in his or her own realm. When the three warriors find each other and epic battles ensue, they realize that they have each found their match. Adam Rex’s whimsical illustrations add to the humor and fun of this book. The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors is fun to read aloud (be prepared with different voices) and would be a great way to kick off a legend and folktale unit.
You Don’t Want a Unicorn! by Ame Dyckman
No book made students laugh louder this year than Ame Dyckman’s You Don’t Want a Unicorn! A little boy makes a wish and throws a coin into a water fountain . . . POOF! A unicorn appears. Having a unicorn seems like a fun idea, but the little boy soon learns the truth about owning a unicorn: they shed glitter, poop cupcakes, and throw wild unicorn parties. He has to make a decision to quickly wish all the unicorns away before his house is completely destroyed. Will he wish them away in time, or will he be stuck with these cute but destructive animals? You Don’t Want a Unicorn! is a hilarious read-aloud book, especially if you ask students to read the sound effects! Look under the dust jacket before reading this book in order to learn the names of the unicorns, and I would also suggest watching the book trailer on YouTube, which adds to the hilarity of the book.
The Watcher by Nikki Grimes
This gorgeous book was inspired by Psalm 121 and is written with a technique called the Golden Shovel. This style takes an existing poem (or in the case of this book, a Psalm) and creates a new poem with each line ending in a word from the original poem. Here’s an example from the book:
Some days, even the ant towers over me and I
cower in a forest of grass, waiting for the fear to lift
like go, so I can be brave, rise up.
But the class bully growls my name, and I shiver in my
sneakers, feel the wet fill my eyes.
Then I remember how Mom told me to
roll my fear like a ball, toss it high in the
Air where you can catch it, and fling it to the hills.
The Watcher introduces us to Jordan and Tanya. Jordan does not like school because Tanya, a misunderstood bully, has been very unkind to him. Throughout this book, the reader understands the perspectives of both Jordan and Tanya and how taking time to understand another person can make all the difference. The Watcher could be used many ways in a classroom: to introduce a unit on poetry, at the start of studying the Psalms, or for devotions. Younger students may have a difficult time understanding this book, so I would recommend this book for fourth grade and older.
Egg by Kevin Henkes
Egg is a quiet book filled with wonderfully surprising moments. The book starts out with four eggs. Three eggs hatch, but one does not. When the fourth egg finally hatches, it contains an unexpected surprise. This story is told through single words and basic pictures, but Kevin Henkes is a master storyteller who keeps his readers engaged and guessing throughout the whole book. Before reading Egg to students, look under the dust jacket, which adds to the wonder of this book by revealing five eggs that leave students wondering why only four eggs are featured throughout the book. Egg is a book that would be great to teach predicting skills. Egg could also be used to discuss not judging a person before getting to know him or her.
Claymates by Dev Petty
Two blobs of clay, left alone. Endless possibilities. Dev Petty and Lauren Eldridge (artist) have created a fun and engaging world where two clay friends can sculpt themselves into all sorts of shapes and sizes from owls to peanuts and from wolves to hippos. Claymates is a celebration of fun and creativity. Students return to this book because of the unique and engaging illustrations that truly seem alive. Claymates would be great for art teachers to read aloud before starting a clay project.
After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Santat
Imagine if all the king’s horses and all the king’s men managed to put Humpty back together again. What would life be like after falling off the wall? Dan Santat explores the idea in this exquisitely written and illustrated book. Humpty enjoys being high above the city where he can be close to the birds, but then the great fall happens and Humpty is paralyzed by a fear of heights, which keeps him from enjoying his favorite things in life. Humpty misses his view from the top of the wall, but he knows that accidents happen, and he can’t take the chance. Will Humpty learn to overcome his fears, or is he trapped on the ground for the rest of his life? After the Fall is a must-read for students across grade levels and includes a surprise ending that will make students gasp with delight.
A Perfect Day by Lane Smith
Cat, Dog, Chickadee, and Squirrel are all having a perfect day because of Bert. Bert has a flower bed for Cat, a cool pool for Dog, a full bird feeder for Chickadee, and a corncob for squirrel. All these perfect days end when Bear shows up. Bear eats the birdseed and corncob. Bear drinks the cool water. Bear destroys the flower bed. Lane Smith uses very few words to emphasize the point that it only took one creature to create a perfect day and one creature to ruin a perfect day. A Perfect Day could also be used to show how one sentence can mean two entirely different things, depending on the situation. This is a great book to show the importance of pictures in a picture book: read the book to a class without showing them the pictures and then read it again to see how the pictures change everything.
Mary Jo Staal is a pre-K–5th librarian at Hudsonville Christian School in Hudsonville, Michigan.
