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Tag Archives: picture books about books
13 picture books to celebrate reading
Both the release of A Child of Books and a new school year got me thinking about wonderful picture books that celebrate reading. So here goes—some of my favorites that say cheers to a good book, to reading, to story itself:
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston.
“We’re made from stories.” And many of the book’s extraordinary illustrations are made from the typeface of beloved ones. Stories make life exuberant, colorful, and imaginative. Come see.
Madeline Finn and the Library Dog.
Just right for a struggling reader who needs a kind, quiet ear in order to overcome the worry of not getting words right.
The Jacket by Kirsten Hall, pictures by Dasha Tolstikova.
There is a special moment of finding a book just for you and this book imagines what it must feel like to be found.
Surf’s Up by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Daniel Miyares.
The surf may be up, but when you’re in the middle of a good book (or in this case, a classic one), you just can’t be torn way. And your friends may get hooked too.
This is Sadie by Sara O’Leary and Julie Morstad.
Sadie is sometimes The Mad Hatter, or Mowgli, or on an adventure riding a white horse. You can be those characters too and step into stories with your imagination.
This is Not a Picture Book by Sergio Ruzzier.
This will convince a kid they can read a book that’s not a picture book (by using a picture book to do it!). Always Ruzzier’s quirky, wonderful illustrative charm.
Red Knit Cap Girl and the Reading Tree by Naoko Stoop.
A reading nook turns into library with the help of friends. After all, “It is good to share books.”
How to Read a Story by Kate Messner, illustrated by Mark Siegel.
The nuts and bolts of how to go about it.
The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz, illustrated by Elena Odriozola.
This is really a story about kindness, sharing, and community, but it all starts with how the children gather on that blanket to listen to Babba Zarrah’s stories.
Let Me Finish by Minh Lê, illustrated by Isabel Roxas.
A plea against spoiler alerts, taken to great lengths. (p.s. I’ve made a reading glasses craft for this one.)
Mom, Dad, Our Books, and Me by Danielle Marcotte, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon.
Celebrating all the different kinds of reading one can do—where and how and what. Read the sky! Read a book! Read a cookbook! In a hammock. In a waiting room. In a kitchen.
Books Always Everywhere by Jane Blatt, illustrated by Sarah Massini.
An adorable ode to reading for the youngest set. “Book park/book shop/book start/book stop.”
The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski.
A book about the magic of reading a wordless book in a book with words. A story in a story that empowers readers to invent their own.
picture books about books (or poems)
I love a book about a book or story or language or reading, don’t you? It’s like a cupcake with extra frosting for bibliophiles. It affirms the things we like while indulging in them.
These two are a perfect pair for that.
A Book Is a Book by Jenny Bornholdt, illustrated by Sarah Wilkins (2013).
I love this one so much. I just reread it and laughed aloud alone in my apartment several times.
Click image(s) to enlarge
“A book is to read” the first spread tells us. Yup and yes. But a book is more than that too in this whimsical take on the written word and story that’s clearly had input from the real things kids say.
Some favorites:
“Reading a book of pictures is still reading.” Word.
“Reading books in bed is great, but not really heavy ones.” True.
“It is impossible to read in the shower.”
“How a book smells depends on what it’s been through.”
This book will charm the pages off you, book lovers!
And we must see more of Sarah Wilkins’s wonderful artwork! We must!
Thanks to Myrick Marketing for images!
This Is a Poem That Heals Fish by Jean-Pierre Siméon and Olivier Tallec (2007).
This book is mind-bending and I mean that as the highest praise. (Get ready for animals and objects who talk like it’s old hat.)
Here’s how it goes. A boy named Arthur has a fish named Leon who looks like he’s sick and going to die. Arthur’s mother’s solution is to give the fish a poem to revive it. Of course! A poem!
“But what is a poem?”
That’s what Arthur wants to know. And that’s what this book is about. It’s a story about poetry and it’s poetry itself.
When household appliances can’t answer Arthur’s question, he asks other people. They give the most baffling, beautiful answers. They speak of what poetry is to them.
“A poem, Arthur, is when you are in love and have the sky in your mouth.”
“A poem is when you hear the heartbeat of a stone.”
Aren’t those descriptions just gorgeous? And resonant?
And Tallec‘s illustrations so expressive.
Our main character Arthur is perplexed by the stuff people say about a poem. But he listens. He collects that stuff.
He tells that stuff to Leon.
And that stuff is a poem. A poem that heals his fish.
Poetry is pretty powerful stuff.
Thanks to Enchanted Lion Books for images!
MORE PICTURE BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS:
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers (2007).
Books Always Everywhere by Jane Blatt, illustrated by Sarah Massini (2013).
My Pet Book by Bob Staake (2014).
It’s a Book by Lane Smith (2010).
and
I Am the Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Yayo (2011).
I Like Books by Anthony Browne (1988).
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce (2011).
Got more books about books or reading or poetry? Lemme know!
I received a review copy of A Book is A Book from Gecko Press; opinions are my own.
