The Power of the Picture Book: Bridget Rieth

Pump Up the Volume

Mass quantities. A profusion. Mucho. A lot. For those of you data heads out there that need precision: one hundred eighty. That’s the number of squares on our #classroombookaday challenge door, and it’s the number of picture books we’ve pledged to read together this school year. Many of you know the drill-one picture book each day, without fail, no matter what other reading you are engaged in. (Jeff Anderson told me I could end a sentence with a preposition.) I am already a teacher who reads loads with my students, but I had yet to take the official bookaday plunge.

On the first day of the new school year, I excitedly announced to my fifth grade students that we would be reading a picture book a day, each and every school day of the year. And the crowd went wild. (Donalyn told me you’re never too old for read aloud.) Kids were stoked, suggesting titles and wondering when we could get started. I obliged immediately with the perfect book for that momentous day, School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex. And we were off. The first week focused on books about school and community building, as well as the kick off to our social studies Identity unit-Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.

As the weeks unfold, we’ve taken on themes of friendship as we established our class family (A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead), teamwork to strengthen our bonds (Nobody Likes a Goblin by Ben Hatke), and courage as we readied ourselves for 2 nights away at camp together (Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall.) We were delighted that our beloved Camp Miniwanca staff agreed to join in the fun by including a picture book each day in our action packed activity schedules (This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers.) It was easily the calmest part of each day, a restful and reconnecting moment for us all.

Fall brought seasonal favorites such as The Scarecrow’s Dance by Jane Yolen and Halloween laughs from Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds. We even celebrated Spirit Week dress up days with books:

• Crazy Hair/Hat Day: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
• Sports Day: Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull
• USA Day: I Too Am America by Langston Hughes and Bryan Collier
• PJ Day: Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
• School Spirit Day: Three Cheers for Tacky by Helen Lester

I want to keep listing the exceptional books, new and classic, we have had our hands on, but instead I’ll give you a link to the ongoing document my colleagues and I use to keep track of our reading: Bookaday Challenge. There are tabs for all three classes, as we are each growing our own community of readers. If a book is indicated as “birthday” or “star student,” it was chosen and read aloud by a fifth grader. The best part of those days are that students frequently choose a book that has already been read by the teacher. On BYOPB day, each student brought in or chose a favorite from our classroom library and took turns reading to each other and then to their kindergarten buddies. Other abbreviations indicate if the day’s selection was included in a content area class. We use many, many picture books in our instruction, but only count them as the bookaday entry when we are pressed for time. (Google hates that I keep using bookaday as a word, but it's fun to say, so I’m using it. Andrew Clements told me I can use made up words.)

Being such a believer in showering students with great literature, I want to go on at length about the community we are building and the important work of developing a love of reading in all students. (Thomas Newkirk told me that increasing the pleasure of reading can propel the development of reading skills.) I want to describe the moment each day when we gather close and the conversations that ensue-some deep, some silly, all valuable. Instead, I’ll share my students’ answers to the following question: What would you say to other teachers who are considering a bookaday challenge?

E: I think it will give a sort of break to the class if they are stressed. I also think maybe there could be a lesson behind the book's story.

Uh oh, she’s figured me out!

S: Other teachers should read a picture book a day because then they could have a theme for the week so it could give them ideas for reading, writing, and other subjects in school.

This one is on to me, too, and those cross curricular connections!

K: Other teachers should read a book a day because...you can have a good talk about the picture book because it’s not a chapter book. In a chapter book a lot of things happen and the picture books are usually only focused on one thing.

Hey, that’s true-focused and explicit instruction! (Did she know that Penny Kittle told me to use short mentor texts to increase complexity and demands on readers?)

P: I think other teachers should do the picture book a day challenge because it is fun to read a picture book each day, even if the kids are older. Even older kids like picture books. It is also really fun to do a challenge every day. If you succeed the challenge, it is (a) good feeling. I also like just to read any sort of book with the class.

(Happy sigh) Me too...

A: Other teachers should do picture book a day because it gives students the opportunity to hear a picture book and it keeps the class excited about “hey, if I get this done, we get to hear our picture book of the day.” It's a great way to learn about different authors and illustrators that they might like. It also teaches students about different things like history or a major event.

Whoa-we are accomplishing so much with these books-motivation, craft, and content! I guess the nonfiction selections and conversations about authors and illustrators are paying off.

G: Reading one picture book each day, no matter what the conditions are, is great because it gives us something to think about all day, keeping our brains very active. Not only that, but I sometimes think of picture books (as) small, bite-sized tastes of different genres and types of writing. There can be very text-heavy picture books, or even picture books with few or no words. It introduces students to brand new types of writing.

Alright, I know you think I made this one up. I swear on a stack of Nancy Atwell books that this is student-generated. I’m thinking of having him take the class over next week.

After just 2 months of the #classroombookaday challenge, I can tell you this is a permanent addition to my teaching practice. It is a joyful tool to help grow readers, build community, model thinking, build empathy, teach content, expose children to diverse characters, stories, authors, and illustrators, and provide a gentle, safe, relaxed space for my students. (Steven Layne told me to keep reading to them. And I will.)


** #classroombookaday was started by Jillian Heise (inspired by Donalyn Miller's #bookaday challenge). More information can be found at classroombookaday.com 

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Bridget Rieth is a fifth grade teacher at Breton Downs Elementary in East Grand Rapids, MI where she spends an impressive amount of her income on books for her classroom, co chairs the Interscholastic Yule Ball, and thanks her lucky stars everyday for amazing students and colleagues. It took her forever and a month of Sundays to complete her M.Ed. in Literacy Studies at GVSU, but now she kind of misses the classes, and is grateful for her many Nerdy friends that keep the conversation going. Bridget has a husband full of forbearance, two grown sons, and a big white English bulldog. They all enjoy picture books. You can connect with her on Twitter @bkrieth.