Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: TCRWP Units of Study

Recently, my reading life has become centered around the new Units of Study for Teaching Reading from Lucy Calkins and the team at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. 

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to spend the week in New York City at the Coaching Institute for Reading at Teachers College.  It is an amazing opportunity and I was fortunate to be accepted into the Institute as well as be a part of a team sent to the training by my school district. 

Though I don't have a regular blog post for today, please know that I haven't forgotten about nonfiction picture books. Just last week, I had the opportunity to spend time with second and third grade teachers planning out the Writing Unit for Information Writing. Before I left, I pulled together my bins of nonfiction picture books that these teachers could borrow in order to immerse their students in the wonder of nonfiction books and to use these books as mentor texts. 

In addition to reading the Units of Study in preparation for the Coaching Institute, I have also been reading WRITERS AS READERS by Lester Laminack and Reba M. Wadsworth. 

So, what are you reading and how are you sharing them with young readers? 

Don't forget to link up your reviews:

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Concept Books

I love concept books. I think this started when I was teaching in an inclusion preschool classroom. As a teacher, I was constantly searching out books that I could share with children. Books that would creatively introduce or reinforce concepts that we were talking about in class. I quickly learned that not all concept books are the same. Some are brilliant and others less than stellar.  And many times you can have too many alphabet or counting books. Yet, when done well, I always want to add them to my collection. 

Here are two recent releases that have a creative concept that is smartly executed. 

8: An Animal Alphabet Book
by Elisha Cooper
Orchard Books/Scholastic (July 2015)
IndieBound | WorldCat

If you read nothing else on this book, you need to check out the post on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, here. 

Elisha Cooper's 8: An Animal Alphabet Book introduces to readers to familiar and not so familiar animals for all of the letters of the alphabet. A special pictorial guide at the end provides younger readers and the adults in their lives with an alphabetical listing of all of the animals. On every page, there is one out of all of the animals that is repeated eight times. Children are encouraged to find the animal and count up to 8.  

My next choice may seem like a fiction picture book and well, technically it is a fictional adventure book centered around two mice as the main characters. Certainly, it is a book for toddlers and preschoolers.  It even comes in an adorable smaller square size. However, it made me fall in love with Ruzzier for more than just his art. There was a genius in the way it introduced counting up to three and back from three. When I finished reading it, I smiled. It was fun, and witty, and did something I wasn't expecting.

Two Mice
by Sergio Ruzzier
Clarion Books (September 2015)
IndieBound | WorldCat

Two Mice by Sergio Ruzzier begins with one house, two mice and the fun grows from there.  

And some of the fun is simply in the illustrations.

So, what are some of your favorite abc and number books that are must adds to your collection, and how have you used them?

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews: