giveaway · mentor texts · Read Aloud

Five on Friday: Picture Books Edition

Stacey Shubitz

My review basket of books was overflowing earlier this month. (Yes, I realize this is a good problem to have.) Therefore, I set aside an evening to just read picture books. Do you know how wonderful that was?

It’s not like I don’t spend time reading picture books. I read them multiple times a day to my daughter. However, there’s something incredible about discovering a picture book — by ADULT self — for the first time!

What follows in this post are five new favorites, some of which debut this months some of which came out a few months ago.  Regardless, they’re all gems and you’ll want to have copies of them for your classroom and/or personal library.

Speaking of copies of them, five publishers are giving away the books mentioned below. Be sure to leave a comment on this post if you’d like a chance to win one of these five books.


At The Same Moment Around The World_FC_LoRes(1)  At the Same Moment, Around the World by Clotilde Perrin (Chronicle Books) — Have you ever wondered what other people are doing in other parts of the world when you’re, say, listening to a song as you ride in the car? Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wondered what other people were doing in other cities. Perrin’s book seeks to provide answers to what is happening around the globe at the same moment.  This book will spark a sense of amazement in children, which will make it an enticing way to teach about time zones. I believe this book will lead children to do some fierce wonderings about what others are doing after reading this book. At the Same Moment, Around the World can serve as a topic choice mentor to children who can create stories about characters living in different places doing the different things at the same time.
The book begins at the Greenwich meridian moving from day to night. (FIRST PAGE TEXT: “It is six o’clock in the morning in Dakar, Senegal. Keita wakes up early to help his father count the fish caught durnig the night.)  Each page of the book describes what a child is doing in each of the original 24 time zones.  (OTHER PAGES: “At the same moment, in Shanghai, China, it is two o’clock in the afternoon, and Chen practices for the Lunar New Year parade.” “At the same moment, in Lima, Peru, it is one o’clock in the morning when baby Diego is born!”)
The final two pages of the book teach readers about time zones providing them with information about early timekeeping and accurate time keeping.  Furthermore, there’s an exquisite world map that folds out at the back of the book.  The map of the pictures each of the characters from the book, names them, the city they live in, and draws a line to where their geographic location (e.g., Kiana and Allen from Honolulu points to a palm tree on Hawaii while Nadia from the United Arab Emirates points to tall buildings in Dubai).
Count the Subway(2)  Count 123 on the Subway written by Paul DuBois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers) — The New Yorker in me wanted to review this book since it’s about the Subway. (In case you’re wondering, I rode the 6 train between work and home.) The mother of a toddler in me appreciated this book since it counted up to ten and back down to one, which is hard to find in a counting book (most just count up).  The writing teacher in me wanted to share this book with you since it has a great rhythm (i.e., it’s a rhyming text) that uses specific words to help readers feel as if they’re underground hearing the screeches and feeling the rumbles of the subway.
I was guilty of reading the book without realizing that it was Dan Yaccarino of Doug Unplugged who was the illustrator.  A few pages in, I recognized his playful style, which fits the text perfectly.
Seeing as the school year is winding down, I know many of you might be gearing-up for independent writing projects. If you have students who want to write and illustrate picture books that deal with basic concepts (e.g., counting, shapes, letters), this is an excellent mentor text to have in their pile.
9780547684628_hres(3)  Edgar’s Second Word by Audrey Vernick and Priscilla Burris (Clarion Books) — There are so many books out there about waiting for a sibling to arrive and what happens after a baby is born.  Well, this is a touching new take on what it’s like to be a big sibling.
Hazel is elated to become a big sister. Once he arrives she likens him to a pillow and a watermelon since he doesn’t do much of anything. She dreams of reading to her little brother, Edgar, but he seemed uninterested at first “Like a pointing, grunting watermelon.” Once Edgar finally spoke, his first word was no. In fact, he was a “NO-shouting boy,” which frustrated Hazel to no end. But Hazel persisted and kept reading to him, which led to his second word.  I won’t spoil the ending, but let me just tell you, it’ll melt your heart.  In fact, I think it’ll melt most kids’ hearts. Therefore, this is a great book to showcase when you’re teaching satisfying endings to your students.
Both Edgar and Hazel are strong characters. Any unit that requires well-developed characters would benefit from studying these two closely.  In addition, Edgar’s Second Word can also be used to teach students about balancing the parts of a story (i.e., giving different amounts of weight to different parts), using specific details, and creating a turning point.
Finally, if you know of a child who is becoming a big sister or brother, this is a great present to bring over for them after their baby sibling arrives.
StarringMeandYou_HCJ.indd(4)  Starring Me and You by Geneviève Côté (Kids Can Press) — Piggy and Bunny have been best friends ever since Me and You was published in 2009.  This new installment in the series by Côté shows young children how to play together despite wanting to be the star of the show. (Something that is quite hard for many children to learn!)  The book ends with the characters engaged in an apology of action where they make amends for their behavior and move on with the show.
Piggy and Bunny are strong characters each of whom express the same emotions in different ways (e.g., Bunny hides when he feels shy while Piggy fakes a smile). This book can be helpful for having kids create strong characters. In addition, the text and illustrations can be studied to help young writers think about how to create compassion among characters as they’re writing.
9780399257186_medium_The_Baby_Tree(5)  The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall (Nancy Paulsen Books) — This may not be a text you’re going to keep in the mentor text basket of your classroom library, but it is a book you should own!  Why? Because one day you’re going to be faced with a child who wants to know where babies come from!  And if you have Blackall’s new book in your possession, you will be armed to answer that age-old question with honesty and strength.  
Now, if you teach in the kind of place where conversations about the birds and the bees aren’t verboten, you must consider placing a copy of The Baby Tree in your classroom. It is expertly crafted for young children and features illustrations that are both tender and realistic! (NOTE: When I taught fourth grade, I read Breasts by Genichiro Yagyu aloud to the girls when we split up into the girls and boys sections for the puberty talk with the school nurse. As you can imagine, The Baby Tree‘s subject matter doesn’t scare me.)  The Baby Tree has dialogue, internal thinking, precise words, punctuation that creates voice, strong characters, and an excellent structure. It’s also got the kind of ending that is sure to put a smile on your face, rather than making you feel awkward about the conversation that will follow. Finally, there’s a one-page Q&A that will help even the most reticent among us prepare for the “Where do babies come from?” conversation.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:
  • This giveaway is for five books for five separate winners.  Many thanks to Chronicle Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Kids Can Press, Penguin Books, and Random House for donating copies of the above-mentioned titles for five different readers.
  • For a chance to win this copy of one of the above-mentioned books please leave a comment about this post by Friday, May 30th at 11:59 p.m. EDT. I’ll use a random number generator to pick the winners, whose names I will announce at the bottom of this post, by Sunday, June 1st.
  • Please be sure to leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment, so I can contact you to obtain your mailing address if you win.  From there, my contacts will ship your book out to you.  (NOTE: Your e-mail address will not be published online if you leave it in the e-mail field.)

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on this post. I used a random number generator to pick out five winners. Then, whenever I could, I tried to match someone up with a book they mentioned.  The winners of the books are:

At the Same Moment, Around the World by Clotilde Perrin will go to travelinma.

Count 123 on the Subway written by Paul DuBois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino will be sent to Katie.

Edgar’s Second Word by Audrey Vernick and Priscilla Burris will be for Lisa Keeler.

Starring Me and You by Geneviève Côté will be mailed to Jeanne Wright.

The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall will be heading to jbmiller73.

Published by Stacey Shubitz

I am a literacy consultant who focuses on writing workshop. I've been working with K-6 teachers and students since 2009. Prior to that, I was a fourth and fifth-grade teacher in New York City and Rhode Island. I'm the author of Craft Moves (Stenhouse Publishers, 2016) and the co-author of Jump Into Writing (Zaner-Bloser, 2021), Welcome to Writing Workshop (Stenhouse Publishers, 2019), and Day By Day (Stenhouse, 2010). I live in Central Pennsylvania with my husband and children. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, doing Pilates, cooking, baking, making ice cream, and reading novels.

65 thoughts on “Five on Friday: Picture Books Edition”

  11. What a great giveaway! With baby #3 on the way, my five- and three-year old will need some fresh books to read this summer 🙂

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  12. I love when another teacher blesses books! They all look like great additions to my classroom library. I just picked up “Starring Me & You” but all the rest are new to me! Thanks!

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  13. Edgar’s Second Word sounds perfect for my nephew, since he just became a big brother. I bet a lot of my third graders would be able to connect to it as well. I will put it on my list to read. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. Thank you for sharing this review! I am adding your books to my list of read/buy in the future. I am definitely going to get the second one for my niece, who will be a big sister in a few months! I love giving books as gifts to children, so this sounds like the perfect choice. Thanks!

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  18. Great find through twitter today. Thanks for sharing. I am always looking for counting books and there are few that count forward and backward so I will need to get this for my firsties to enjoy.

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  19. At the Same Moment would fit nicely in our unit ‘ourselves in the world.’ Wonder if it could mentor small moment narratives?

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  21. I am intrigued by the first book..same moment around the world and could use this in so many ways to bridge subjects in the classroom.

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  24. Thank you for sharing these titles. As a teacher and mother if two toddlers, I can’t wait to get some of these titles to share with them.

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  26. Thank you for sharing your reviews! It is a crazy time of year and there just doesn’t seem to be any extra time anywhere but I am hoping to start a little planning for next year. This helps!

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  28. Nothing is better than picture books. One of the most fascinating courses I took was ‘Visual Literacy’. The most fascinating one is At the Same Moment. I often wonder that myself.

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  30. They all look wonderful. I just love the feel and smell of the pages of a new picture book. I just want to go out and buy myself a new one just because of this post. They all look amazing, especially the book about time zones and Edgar’s Second Word.

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  32. Between this website, Twitter and The Nerdy Book Club, my Amazon wish list is overflowing! I need a second job just to pay for books.

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  33. Stacey, I’d be happy to send you a copy of my children’s book Pizza Friday. It was illustrated by my mother. In addition to the story, it contains my family’s recipe for pizza (including dessert pizza), Italian vocabulary study, puzzles, and a writing prompt. Email me privately with your address if you are interested.

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  34. At the Same Moment, Around the World sounds like a great book to use when we read Me on the Mapl It would be a great extension to be used in so many ways. I can’t wait to share it with my students!

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  35. I am especially intrigued by “At the Same Moment Around the World.” I am teaching a unit on folk tales around the world, with an emphasis on map skills and continent study and this book would fit in nicely. I’d love to win it!

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  39. I haven’t read it yet but am wondering if At The Same Moment Around the World would also be a book to launch a discussion about living like a writer, noticing and wondering. Am dying to read Edward’s Second Word. I love the idea of the sister reading to him. Makes me think of the poem, “I had a mother who read to me.”
    Thanks for the reviews. So fun to find out about new books to share.

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  40. Thank you for sharing these new pictures books. I am always on the look out but don’t know where to start. My favorites are At the Same Moment, Around the World and Edgar’s Second Word. Both are on my summer reading and planning list.

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  41. At The Same Moment would be a good book to share as an example for the trait of Organization. It’s also a great book to encourage looking beyond out borders.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  42. The subway counting book is a must-have for my New Yorker baby, thank you Stacey! A side note (and this is the crazy New Yorker in me talking), I wonder why the numbers of the trains aren’t illustrated with the proper colors on the cover? Is it not about New York subways?
    What a great post, energizing and thoughtful. New mentor texts for summer writing projects, here I come!

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  44. Our media specialist introduced me to At the Same Moment Around the World. What a great mentor text for writing. When taking a small moment and writing it big, this shows children all the things that are going on in that tiny moment. Thanks for all your recommendations!

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  45. Thanks for sharing. It is always great to hear about new picture books. While they all sound wonderful I am most intrigued by At The Same Moment Around The World.

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  49. New books for the classroom are always such a great way to hook teachers into trying some new lessons. Love the choices.

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  50. I didn’t specify which book I would love to have! I am especially intrigued by At the Same Moment Around the World since it would go nicely with our Celebrations Unit. I also love Starring You and Me – it would be a great addition to my reading and writing mentor texts.
    I would love to share these books with my colleagues too! Thanks for the opportunity!

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  52. I love picture books and was especially intrigued with the book Starring Me and You. What a great way to teach about how people express their emotions differently. Can’t wait to check out these titles!

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  53. Thank you, Stacey! I would like to be entered to win a set of these books. I really appreciated this opportunity to read your recommendations! I am always looking for great new books for my first grade classroom and for me!

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  54. I’ve been on a spree of picture books and new read alouds lately since I got word of a new grade change. These all sound (and look) fantastic! I can’t pick which one I like best. As I read I kept imagining how to use it in my new 3rd grade class next year or the last baby one is perfect for home! Really well written blurbs of these books, Stacey. That first book, At The Same Moment Around the World sounds amazing and I’m looking for it. Fingers crossed I win them and an give them a good home.

    butlerbin2013@gmail.com

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  60. Lists, lists, lists. I love a great book list and enjoyed reading your take on each book, especially possible mentor text ideas. Makes me want to go to the bookstore!!

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  61. I enjoy reading and sharing picturebooks. I run workshops for teachers about using picturebooks to teach critical thinking. My book “Developing children’s critical thinking through picturebooks” will be published by Rout ledge in July

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  63. What great-looking titles! I love the idea behind At the Same Moment Around the World, and what older sibling hasn’t felt a bit disenchanted with a younger one at some point?

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