Thursday, February 19, 2015

Nonfiction Picture Book Event: Reading Aloud Nonfiction #nf10for10

It's finally here.  Today is our nonfiction picture book event:  #nf10for10.  This is our 3rd annual nonfiction event.  In the past Mandy Robek of Enjoy and Embrace Learning, Julie Balen of Write at the Edge, and I have cohosted this event.  This year all activity will be collected on our Picture Book 10 for 10 Community.

Ways to participate:
  • Write a blog post with your 10 favorite nonfiction books and link your blog to our Picture Book 10 for 10 Google Community.  (You will be unable to post until you have requested to join.  I'll try to keep an eye on requests all day.)  
  • Please click the 2015 link to post.
  • Leave your favorites directly on our Picture Book 10 for 10 Google Community site.  
  • Feeling creative?  We love that!  Try a new way to share your titles (a few suggestions).
  • Tweet your favorites using the hashtag #nf10for10
  • Try to comment on at least three posts in the event.  
Please note:  If you've participated in past events, we would love it if you could add your previous posts to the tabbed year of the event.  We're trying to recreate past resources.  

10 Nonfiction Picture Books to Read Aloud
I love picture books, but must admit I still have much to learn about nonfiction.  I look forward to this event because I know many participants work hard to keep up with nonfiction across the year.  Their suggestions always help me to know more.  

In previous nonfiction events, I've shared:
This year, I thought I'd share 10 nonfiction picture books from 2014 I love to read aloud.  Mr. Schu recently shared Katie DiCamillo's video about the importance of read aloud at Watch.  Connect.  Read..  Sometimes we forget about the possibilities from reading nonfiction text to young readers.  Nonfiction read aloud can help children wonder, ask questions, and be curious about the world around them.  Nonfiction read aloud can help students step into new content and understandings.  New nonfiction picture books are also just delightful to share.  Here are my favorites:  









Dear Malala, We Stand with You by Rosemary McCarney (2014).  (Note:  This book contains difficult topics so consider this before reading to a group.)  






Iqbal, A Brave Boy from Pakistan / Malala, A Brave Girl from Pakistan:  Two Stories of Bravery (2014) by Jeanette Winter.  (Note:  This book contains difficult topics so consider this before reading to a group.)  




Creature Features (2014) by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page.











Ivan:  The Remarkable Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla (2014) by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by G. Brian Karas.









The Scraps Book:  Notes from a Colorful Life (2014) by Lois Ehlert.









Hippos Can't Swim and Other Fun Facts (2014) by Laura Lyn DiSiena, Hannah Eliot, Pete Oswald (illustrator).








Feathers:  Not Just for Flying (2014) by Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen (illustrator).







Have You Heard the Nesting Bird (2014) by Rita Gray and Kinard Pak (illustrator).


Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold (2014) by Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen (illustrator).  

















21 comments:

  1. We can't wait to read Star Stuff and Have you Heard the Nesting Bird - Those two books are new to us. Thanks for hosting this wonderful event. We love learning about so many wonderful titles.

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    1. I have a feeling many of these titles will be available for purchase at Dublin Lit. Oh no!! Don't let me hang out near the books for too long.

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  2. My First Graders Love Ivan. Thanks for the nudge to read more nonfiction! I was just visiting Kimberly Moran's blog, she has a great suggestion for kids processing read alouds from time to time. I jotted down Hippos Can't Swim. Thank you for your work in organizing this community!

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    1. Kendra,
      I'm so glad you joined the conversation. Looking forward to further connections with Slice of Life.

      Cathy

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  3. I love this list Cathy and so agree with you - nonfiction read alouds are so important for so many reasons. I believe they need to be part of our weekly literacy activities in a big way. Many of these titles are my favourites. I am seeing Feathers on so many lists! It is so rich with possibility. I added my list (and past lists) to the Google Community. Thanks for all of your work in hosting this community!

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    1. Carrie,
      Thank you for sharing your list with the community. I love the work you do with children's literature and look to you for smart suggestions.

      Cathy

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  4. Too often nonfiction read aloud is relegated to content reading. I encourage teachers to discover how the world of nonfiction has changed and share some of those books.

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    1. Authors have done much to make this an exploding genre worth more time in our classrooms.

      Cathy

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  5. My granddaughter and I just visited the zoo yesterday (our school has a winter break!). It was lovely, hardly anyone there, & we had a long discussion about the hippo, whose pool is now empty. I will need to find that "Hippos Can't Swim" for her, Cathy. I'm glad you read aloud nf books too. Of course they're great. I read The Right Word to my middle schoolers and they loved it. Thanks for the whole list-very good ones that I love or for me to find! Thanks for hosting (starting) this wonderful tradition!

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  6. What I love about nonfiction read alouds is how much metacognitive situations present themselves. My students and I could talk for hours about what we know--misconceptions, etc. I am excited to read Have you Heard the Nesting Bird and Scraps.

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    1. Kimberley,
      Misconceptions are one of my favorite conversations with young readers. I always find it fascinating the transition from using the pictures to thinking more about the text for first graders.

      Cathy

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  7. Hi Cathy: I am pleased to find your blog Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community. What an outstanding list of nonfiction GREATS! I look forward to checking out your many posts. As an educator, we will continue to share the importance of and love for literacy. Thank you.
    ~Suzy Leopold
    P. S. I, too, am a certified Reading Recovery Teacher.

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    1. Suzy,
      Thank you so much! It seems we share many common interests. It will be fun to learn from one another. Looking forward to continued conversations.

      Cathy

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  8. I too had Star Stuff on my list too and wanted to put the Scraps but didn't think it was quite a biography but one everyone should own and then encourage their students to create collage work to represent and show learning. Thanks for the reminder, putting that in my future.

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  9. I wrote a comment and I don't know if I hit publish so I'm typing this to see if you approve comments first - this is a test. LOL

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  10. Yes, you do approve comments, aren't you glad I'm giving you lots to approve. On to more posts!

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  11. Thanks for reminding me I need to read Have You Heard The Nesting Bird? I love so many of the titles you selected.

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    1. Thanks for stopping, Margie. So many great nonfiction titles, so little time.

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  12. Cathy - I love your statement about the importance of read aloud, especially with informational texts! These are great titles, and it is fun to see at least one book from our most recent bookstore adventure on your list!
    The cover of Hippos Can't Swim is enough to make me want to grab that book! Thanks for sharing!
    Oh, and thanks for hosting!!!!!

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