Illustrated Stories and Picture Books
Genre Study
Illustrated stories and picture books are texts with many pictures where the story is explained with the use of detailed pictures. The illustrations and pictures found within these books must portray the story accurately because for younger students, comprehension of the story is totally reliant on the pictures. Picture books can be found across any other genre and subject area. Some picture books are wordless or do not include text. Those types of books still tell a story and are great prompts for oral or written storytelling. Another type of picture book is alphabet and counting books. These books present the alphabet or counting numbers in a fun, bright and visual way. These picture books are generally used in preschool through kindergarten, as well as with some English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Predictable picture books are also used at the lower level. They are very repetitive and are designed to help children at the very early stages of reading. Another type of picture book are concept books. These books attempt to explain broad and abstract concepts in a kid-friendly and easy-to-understand way. Every classroom should use these! They can be used with any age Preschool through high school. Students enjoy being read to and these books are great for modeling specific skills.
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Books I Recommend
Math Curse
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Reference information for accessing the text (APA Citation): Scieszka, J., & Smith, L. (n.d.). Math curse.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Grade level span where the book would be considered “complex text.”: 2
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Grade level span for use as a class read aloud: K-1
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Major themes addressed in the book: Math. Infinity. Zero. Problem solving.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Qualities of the writing that are worthy of note: Bright vivid illustrations that aid in comprehension. Large kid-friendly text. Fun math problems and brain teasers on each page.
[endif]Connections to authentic local, national, or global issues: Helps students improve their problem solving skills which applies to all levels of issues.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Facets of the book that may be difficult for students and require support: Some of the math concepts may be hard for young children. Some students may feel overwhelmed with the amount of math in this book.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Support that may be needed by students because of the difficult components of the book: Read aloud only a page or two revolving around the math concepts that you are currently work with in your class so students do not feel overwhelmed with all of the math portrayed in this book. Give students white boards as you read the story aloud and allow them to work out the problems for their own.
The Conductor
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Reference information for accessing the text (APA Citation): Devernay, L. (2011). The conductor. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Grade level span where the book would be considered “complex text.”: No Lexile scores provided.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Grade level span for use as a class read aloud: K-5
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Major themes addressed in the book: Music. Nature. Environment. Storytelling.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Qualities of the writing that are worthy of note: Wordless picture book. Beatiful illustrations.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Connections to authentic local, national, or global issues: Global issue of saving the environment and trees.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Facets of the book that may be difficult for students and require support: It may be difficult for students to actually look at each picture and see the story that is presented with the pictures. They may just end up quickly flipping through each page and not paying attention to the details.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Support that may be needed by students because of the difficult components of the book: Prompt students to write a story to go along with this book, this will make students focus more on each page in order to comprehend what the illustrator is trying to portray.
