2023 Picture Book Nominees
The Chicken Who Couldn't by Jan Thomas, 2020
Self-esteem, self-reliance, humor, farm animals
It has not been a good day for Chicken. He went to the fair with Farmer, but didn’t win even one ribbon. And on the way home, the road is so bumpy that Farmer’s truck knocks Chicken right out! He’s been left behind! It’s the end for Chicken. Surely, he can’t walk all the way home. Or avoid the hungry fox along the way. Or maybe…he can?
Lesson Ideas:
Activities about the life cycle of chickens
Hen to Home lesson plan
Authors website
Lesson Plan from Publisher
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Read Alikes:
You Are (Not) Small - Anna Kang
We Will Rock Our Classmates - Ryan T. Higgins
Piggy Bunny – Rachel Vail
A Little Chicken – Tammi Sauer
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: How can the chicken get back to the farm?, How can the chicken get out of the hole? Come up with slogan words that would describe you in positive words (3-5 words).
Activities about the life cycle of chickens
Hen to Home lesson plan
Authors website
Lesson Plan from Publisher
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Read Alikes:
You Are (Not) Small - Anna Kang
We Will Rock Our Classmates - Ryan T. Higgins
Piggy Bunny – Rachel Vail
A Little Chicken – Tammi Sauer
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: How can the chicken get back to the farm?, How can the chicken get out of the hole? Come up with slogan words that would describe you in positive words (3-5 words).
Cow Boy is not Cowboy by Gregory Barrington, 2020
Friendship, goats, cowboys, cows
Goat Girl--an adventurous goat--lives on Humdrum Farm, a place where everything is ordinary, and she's looking for some excitement. When she meets Merle--a bull--she mistakes him for a cowboy since he's both a cow and a boy. Cowboys aren't ordinary so Goat Girl can't wait to introduce herself. "HOWDY COWBOY!" An annoyed Merle insists he's not a cowboy. But will this not-a-cowboy change his mind when his rootin'-tootin' dream has a chance to come true?
Lesson Ideas:
Cowboy Activities (Teacher Pay Teachers)
Activity from Publisher
Coloring Sheets for Merle and Goat Girl
Behind the Scene Advice from the Author
Awards: Colorado Book Award Winner
Read-Alikes:
Cowboy Slim – Julie DennebergAw
Moo – David LaROchelle
Cowy Cow – Christopher Raschka
Cows – Jon S. Hutton
Cows – Kate Riggs
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: How could you persuade Merle to be brave and take action? Describe this story in one word.
Cowboy Activities (Teacher Pay Teachers)
Activity from Publisher
Coloring Sheets for Merle and Goat Girl
Behind the Scene Advice from the Author
Awards: Colorado Book Award Winner
Read-Alikes:
Cowboy Slim – Julie DennebergAw
Moo – David LaROchelle
Cowy Cow – Christopher Raschka
Cows – Jon S. Hutton
Cows – Kate Riggs
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: How could you persuade Merle to be brave and take action? Describe this story in one word.
Eat Pete! by Michael Rex 2018
Monsters, hunger, play
Pete couldn't be more thrilled when a monster shows up in his bedroom. Now Pete has someone to play with! And the hungry monster couldn't be more thrilled to be there, either. Now he can . . . EAT PETE! But Pete has other ideas. And they are all good fun and quite distracting--things like playing cars and pirates. Well, we all know the course of playing together nicely never did run smoothly. So how much longer will the monster have to wait before he can . . . EAT PETE?
Lesson Ideas:
Don't Eat Pete Game Printable
Missouri Book Awards Activities
Story Map Lesson
Michael Rex website
Eat Pete Puppet
Read Aloud (SchoolTube)
Read-Alikes:
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates – Ryan T. Higgins
Leonardo the Terrible Monster - Mo Willems
Go to Bed Monster – Natasha Wing
I Just Ate My Friend – Heidi McKinnon
I Will Not Eat You – Adam Lehrhaupta
Quit Calling Me a Monster – Jory John
A Splendid Friend, Indeed – Suzanne Horn
I Need My Monster – Amanda Noll
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho, 2021
Self-confidence, family, body positive, physical appearance
A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.
Lesson Ideas:
Inspire Me ASAP Lesson Plan
Literature Guide
Teachers Pay Teachers Lessons ($)
Lesson Plans and Activities from Clutter Free Classroom
Discussion Questions and Extension Activities from the Publisher
Another Activity from the Publisher
Educators Guide
Resources from The Classroom Bookshelf
Authors Website
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Read Across America Lesson Ideas
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: Come up with two (or more) metaphors and two (or more) similes that describe a part of you that can be seen.
Fill in the blanks with your own descriptive word (s):
Eyes sparkling like_______.
Eyes That ______in the corners and glow like_________.
Eyes filled________.
Sister's eyes gazing up like___________.
Eyes crinkle into _______________.
Change "eyes" to fingers, nose, mouth, ears.
Awards:
Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text
ALSC Notable Children’s Books 1995-2015
CCBC Choice Award
Charlotte Zolotow Award
SLJ Best Book of the Year 2021
California Golden Poppy Award 2021
Chicago Public Library Best Picture Book 2021
Kirkus Best Book 2021
Read-Alikes:
Eyes That Speak to the Stars – Joanna Ho
Where Are You From? – Yamile Saied Mendez
Shine Bright – Kheris Rogers
Black Gold – Laura Obuobi
Laxmi’s Mooch – Shelly Anand
I Am Everything Good – Derrick Barnes
I Am Golden – Eva Chen
Inspire Me ASAP Lesson Plan
Literature Guide
Teachers Pay Teachers Lessons ($)
Lesson Plans and Activities from Clutter Free Classroom
Discussion Questions and Extension Activities from the Publisher
Another Activity from the Publisher
Educators Guide
Resources from The Classroom Bookshelf
Authors Website
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Read Across America Lesson Ideas
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: Come up with two (or more) metaphors and two (or more) similes that describe a part of you that can be seen.
Fill in the blanks with your own descriptive word (s):
Eyes sparkling like_______.
Eyes That ______in the corners and glow like_________.
Eyes filled________.
Sister's eyes gazing up like___________.
Eyes crinkle into _______________.
Change "eyes" to fingers, nose, mouth, ears.
Awards:
Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text
ALSC Notable Children’s Books 1995-2015
CCBC Choice Award
Charlotte Zolotow Award
SLJ Best Book of the Year 2021
California Golden Poppy Award 2021
Chicago Public Library Best Picture Book 2021
Kirkus Best Book 2021
Read-Alikes:
Eyes That Speak to the Stars – Joanna Ho
Where Are You From? – Yamile Saied Mendez
Shine Bright – Kheris Rogers
Black Gold – Laura Obuobi
Laxmi’s Mooch – Shelly Anand
I Am Everything Good – Derrick Barnes
I Am Golden – Eva Chen
Looking for Smile by Ellen Tarlow, 2020
Bears, smiles/smiling, lost and found
Waking up one morning to discover that the smile which has always been with him is nowhere to be found, Bear enlists the help of his woodland friends to recover his smile again.
Lesson Ideas:
Publisher Website
Smile Activities
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Feeling Cards
Book Journey
Illustrator website
Awards:
Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year selection title We Found a H
Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Award reading list
Read-Alikes:
Velveteen Rabbit – Margary Williams
Come Home Already – Jory John
Wintercake – Lynne Rae Perkins
Henry & Leo – Pamela Zagarenski
We Found a Hat – Jon Klassen
Magnificent Homespun Brown: a Celebration by Samra Cole Coyon 2020
Self-confidence, , self-esteem, human skin color, family life
Magnificent Homespun Brown is a song, a poem and a celebration about feeling at home in one’s own beloved skin; celebration of the love of family and oneself.
Lesson Ideas:
Teaching Books
Teachers Pay Teachers ($)
Teaching Guide
Coretta Scott King Discussion Guide (see page 10)
Making Self-Portraits
Shirley's lesson ideas: What color are your eyes? compare to an inanimate object. Describe your lashes, compare to an inanimate object. Describe your hair, compare to an inanimate object. Describe your skin, compare to an inanimate object. Describe two non-physical things about you and compare to inanimate objects. Draw the blocks of a quilt; in each block share a memory of someone in your family - parent(s), sibling(s), grandparents, uncles/aunts, cousins or share good memories of you with important people in your life if not your relatives.
Awards:
Coretta Scott King 2021 Honoree
ILA 2021 Children’s & Young Adults’ Book Awards winner
NCSS 2021 Notable Social Studies book
Maine Lupine Award winner
CBC Recommended book
SLJ Best Book of the Year
New York Public Library Best Picture Book 2021
Read-Alikes:
Magic Like That – Samara Cole Doyon
Skin Like Mine – Latashia M. Perry
I Am Brown – Ashok Banker
Black is a Rainbow Color – Angela Joy
I Am Everything Good – Derrick Barnes
Shades of People – Shelley Rotner
I Am Enough – Grace Byers
Colors of Us – Karen Katz
We’re Different, We’re the Same – Bobbi Jane Kates
Amazing Faces – Lee Bennett Hopkins
A Girl Like Me – Angela Johnson
I Am Brown – Ashok Banker
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners – Joanne Ho
Sulwe – Lupita Nyong’o
Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor 2021
Flying, self-confidence, baby birds, flight
Turn the book sideways and upside down to follow courageous kingfisher Mel on her journey from downward fall to triumphant flight in this tale of self-confidence and taking a leap of faith in learning how to fly without help.
Lesson Ideas:
Author website
Teachers Pay Teachers ($)
Activities from Publisher
Teaching Books
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Meet The Illustrator
Shirley's Lesson ideas: Compare to "Flight School" by Lita Judge and/or "Calvin Can't Fly by Jennifer Berne, who else could help Mel?
Awards:
Caldecott Honor Book 2022
Barnes & Noble Children & Young Adult Shortlist honoree
ALA Notable Book of the Year
Vermont Red Clover Book Award nominee
New Hampshire Ladybug Award nominee 2022
Geisel Award winner
Publishers’ Weekly Best Books 2021
Read-Alikes:
Bluebird – Lindsey Yankey
Egg Drop - Mini Grey
Wings – Cheryl B. Klein
The Bird That Couldn’t Fly – Raquel Arrechea
My Brother the Duck – Pat Zietlow Miller
A Round of Robins – Katie Hesterman
Flight School – Lita Judge
Author website
Teachers Pay Teachers ($)
Activities from Publisher
Teaching Books
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Meet The Illustrator
Shirley's Lesson ideas: Compare to "Flight School" by Lita Judge and/or "Calvin Can't Fly by Jennifer Berne, who else could help Mel?
Awards:
Caldecott Honor Book 2022
Barnes & Noble Children & Young Adult Shortlist honoree
ALA Notable Book of the Year
Vermont Red Clover Book Award nominee
New Hampshire Ladybug Award nominee 2022
Geisel Award winner
Publishers’ Weekly Best Books 2021
Read-Alikes:
Bluebird – Lindsey Yankey
Egg Drop - Mini Grey
Wings – Cheryl B. Klein
The Bird That Couldn’t Fly – Raquel Arrechea
My Brother the Duck – Pat Zietlow Miller
A Round of Robins – Katie Hesterman
Flight School – Lita Judge
Sugar in Milk by Thrity N. Umrigar 2020
Family, culture, India, folklore, immigration, Social Studies
Loneliness engulfs a young girl in her new life in America, where a loving aunt and uncle do little to dispel her homesickness. One day, her aunt tells her a folktale about Persians forced from their homeland seeking refuge in India. The Indian king, hesitant to host foreigners, pours a glass of milk and fills it to the brim to indicate that his kingdom is full. Disappointment ripples through the weary travelers. But their clever leader adds a spoonful of sugar to the glass and mixes it without spilling a drop, silently conveying the message that "just like sugar in milk, we will sweeten your lives with our presence." Having won over the king, the travelers, known as Parsis, are welcomed to their new home.
Lesson Ideas:
Teaching Books Story Map
Teaching Books Cultural Map
YouTube Video on Book
Summary of book and tags
Parsi's Folklore
Shirley's Lesson idea: What is a folk tale? Where is Persia? What is the country called now? Tell/share a folk tale from your culture- written or aloud. Sugar = Persians, Milk = Indians (mixed together, the sugar dissolves to become one and enriches the "country/mixture".
Awards:
ALSC Notable Children’s Book of 2021
Kirkus Best Books of 2020
SLJ Best Books of 2020
Ohioana Book Award 2021
Anne Izard Storytellers’ Choice Award 2022
Read-Alikes:
The Day Saida Arrived – Susana Gomez Redondo
What is a Refugee? – Elise Gravel
Marwan’s Journey – Patricia de Arias
Here I Am – Patti Kim
From Far Away – Robert Munsch
I’m New Here – Annie Sibley O’Brien
This is a Taco! by Andrew Cangelose 2018
Squirrel, tacos. humor
Taco the squirrel agrees to be in a book only because he was promised tacos, but when the story displeases him he simply rewrites it--with tacos.
Lesson Ideas:
Reading Rumpus Lesson Ideas
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Lesson Plan
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: Why does the squirrel say his name is Taco? If you were to change your name to your favorite food, what would your new name be? The story is fiction, but has facts in it: Squirrels are some of the cleanest rodents in the wild. Squirrels have silky, soft fur squirrels eat nuts, acorns and bark. Flying squirrels can glide through the air for over 150 feet. Prairie dogs eat garbage because they love the taste. Prairie dogs can pack large amounts of food into their cheeks to take back to their homes. Prairie dogs can rotate their ankles completely backwards. Prairie dogs can climb in any direction. Prairie dogs are great climbers and can jump from branches. Hawks are natural predators. Hawks are great eaters; they can eat their body weight of food in a week. Compare to "Chester" by Melanie Watt; Chester uses his red marker to change his story.
Awards:
ILA Children’s Choices Reading List 2015-2020
Read-Alikes:
Dragons Love Tacos – Adam Rubin
The Three Pigs – David Wiesner
Z is for Moose – Kelly Bingham
Chester – Melanie Watt
This is a Birthday Cake – Andrew Cangelose
This is a Whoopsie – Andrew Cangelose
Reading Rumpus Lesson Ideas
Read Aloud (YouTube)
Lesson Plan
Shirley's Lesson Ideas: Why does the squirrel say his name is Taco? If you were to change your name to your favorite food, what would your new name be? The story is fiction, but has facts in it: Squirrels are some of the cleanest rodents in the wild. Squirrels have silky, soft fur squirrels eat nuts, acorns and bark. Flying squirrels can glide through the air for over 150 feet. Prairie dogs eat garbage because they love the taste. Prairie dogs can pack large amounts of food into their cheeks to take back to their homes. Prairie dogs can rotate their ankles completely backwards. Prairie dogs can climb in any direction. Prairie dogs are great climbers and can jump from branches. Hawks are natural predators. Hawks are great eaters; they can eat their body weight of food in a week. Compare to "Chester" by Melanie Watt; Chester uses his red marker to change his story.
Awards:
ILA Children’s Choices Reading List 2015-2020
Read-Alikes:
Dragons Love Tacos – Adam Rubin
The Three Pigs – David Wiesner
Z is for Moose – Kelly Bingham
Chester – Melanie Watt
This is a Birthday Cake – Andrew Cangelose
This is a Whoopsie – Andrew Cangelose
We Disagree by Bethanie Deeney Murguia 2020
Mice, squirrels, friendship, quarreling
Mouse likes figs. Squirrel prefers twigs. Mouse likes blue and polka dots. Squirrel likes red and does not like spots. It seems that they disagree on everything! Is there any way they can be friends, despite their differences?
Lesson Ideas:
Five Ways to Handle Disagreements
Author website
Shirley's lesson ideas: Divide paper on both sides into six (or less or more) squares. Label each square with a favorite: color, fruit, animal, musical instrument, stripes or dots, vegetables, etc. Students fill in both sides- one for likes, other for dislikes; students then find others who have some likes/dislikes.
Read-Alikes:
Beware – Bob Raczka
Duck, Duck, Porcupine – Salina Yoon
Rabbit’s Bad Habits – Julian Gough
Too Many Carrots – Katy Hudson
Friends Forever – Derek Anderson
Without You – Genevieve Cote
Clark and Shark – Bruce Hale
Hedgehog Needs a Hug – Jen Betton
Pigs Make Me Sneeze – Mo Willems
