32 Picture Books About Readers, Reading, and Books
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One of our goals as librarians, teachers, and parents is that the children in our lives become skilled readers who understand what they read and learn to love reading.
Today, I’m sharing my favorite picture books about learning to read, readers, reading, and books. Share these with your children, read with your students, or give them as gifts to your bookish friends with kids. I hope they inspire lots of reading!
Picture Books About Reading and Books
Picture Books About Readers, Reading, & Learning to Read
How to Read a Story by Kate Messner, illustrated by Mark Siegel
In simple steps, learn how to become a reader — from finding a story and a reading buddy to reading the story out loud to your buddy in a loud, clear voice.
How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
A luminous, whimsical celebration of the reader’s life with lyrical text, evocative images, and captivating typography. “Squeeze every morsel of each plump line until the last drop of magic/drips from the infinite sky.” Sweet’s layered collages pop with neon color and vibrant images while Alexander’s prose creates rich mental images. This is a dazzling book you’ll want to savor again and again.
How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
Rocket is a dog who accidentally becomes a bird’s reading student when he’s nearby the bird’s “school.” Rocket isn’t interested in learning to read until he hears the bird read a story about an unlucky dog missing his favorite bone. Rocket learns the alphabet, letter sounds, and how to read words. Eventually, the bird must fly south for winter but will return for more reading.
How to Teach Your Slug to Read by Susan Pearson
If you can teach a slug to read, you can teach anyone to read. Surprisingly, slugs learn to read just like people do. First, you read out loud to him. Then, you point to repeated words. Then, you can attach labels to the slug’s favorite things. The most important part of the process is to have patience with your slug.
Wolf by Becky Bloom
Wolf can’t believe that the farm animals aren’t scared of him. They don’t even look up from their books to see that Wolf is about to eat them! So, upon further investigation, Wolf tries to learn to read, too. He practices and starts out with just the basics. Then Wolf decides to go to the library and buy a book for himself. Soon Wolf discovers that practice makes him better and reading books makes him new friends.
The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley and Katie Berube
Nick does everything with his cats — except read books. That’s why Nick decides to teach his cats to read, too. Verne, the cat, is interested but Stevenson, the cat, is not. Until . . . Nick discovers Stevenson’s drawing. All Stevenson needs are words, and he’s written his own story to read.
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
Henry doesn’t like to read books–he likes to EAT them! And the more he eats, the smarter he gets. But he gets sick from eating too fast. Will Henry learn to READ the books instead? Silly, clever, and poignant– we love this book!
Read the Book, Lemmings! by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah OHora Foxy’s book specifically says that lemmings (small, fuzzy, illiterate rodents) do not jump off cliffs. As soon as he tells the lemmings who are on his arctic ship, they all JUMP off the boat. EVEN THOUGH THE BOOK SAYS they don’t jump off cliffs. Foxy realizes that they’ll never understand lemming behavior if they don’t read the book. Clearly, he needs to teach them how to read. Quirky and hilarious.
Lupe Lopez Reading Rock Star by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Lupe is in the “bad” reading group. So she fake reads or makes excuses. She even quits her band. But one day after school, she notices the musicality of the sounds of words, in particular, their beats. Before long, she finds the beats of each sound and can sound out the words! Before long, she’s reading words and sentences. Lupe rejoins the band and remembers to ask for help when she needs it.
Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Ilaria Campana
Red likes to read, and she uses the knowledge from her books on how to handle life’s situations. For example, when you encounter a wolf, maintain eye contact and slowly back away! And in this retold fairy tale, Red reads a story to Grandma, Wolf, and the Woodcutter.
I Do Not Like Books Anymore by Daisy Hirst
Natalie and Alphonse are siblings who love books… until Natalie gets her first reading-by-herself book which is boring. Her frustration is relatable — both with the often boring easy readers (gak!) as well as the patience and practice required for improving. Natalie makes up her own story which her dad writes down.
Let Me Finish! by Minh Le, illustrated by Isabel Roxas
Don’t you hate it when people interrupt you when you’re reading? Worse yet, when they ruin the story by telling you what happens!? If so, then you’ll love this hilarious story about just that. Unfortunately, this harassed reading boy just can’t escape the animals who want to tell him everything. And the ending? Well, I won’t tell you. Wouldn’t want to spoil it now would I?
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown
Molly the bookmobile librarian drives to the zoo and helps all the animals find a book they’ll like. And soon, the animals are wild about books! Rhyming and playful.
Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp
What a sweet story of love and success learning to read! (Okay, I admit to shedding a tear or two. Because dogs. And books. . .) Madeline really wants to be a better reader, but reading just doesn’t click until she meets a beautiful white dog named Bonnie who helps Madeline build her confidence in reading.
Read! Read! Read! by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke
The poet celebrates a child’s life filled with reading and the culture of reading! “A book gives you a double life. / It builds a treehouse in your head / a haven you can climb to / when you wish to get away.” The poems show kids reading while eating and at school, readers transported and affected by stories, and readers researching and remembering. “And as I chew I read. / And as I read I chew.“
The Highest Mountain of Books in the World by Rocio Bonilla
In a wonderful example of books taking us places, Lucas discovers that even though he can’t fly physically, stories take him to other countries, discover interesting things about history, and imagine worlds that don’t exist.
Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Bunny loves books so much he figures out a way to sneak into the library — through the book return chute. When his friends discover him reading, they want to go, too. What will the librarian do when she discovers the book-loving animals? Give them all library cards, of course!
Thesaurus Has a Secret by Anya Glazer
Thesaurus is a dinosaur who loves words — and something secret, too: reading. When the other dinosaurs find Thesaurus reading, he’s worried about what they will think but they want to hear the rest of the story– and it helps them become readers themselves.
Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t) by Barbra Bottner, illustrated by Michael Emberley
Miss Brooks the library loves books A LOT. Missy says she’ll never love books like Miss Brooks. And she doesn’t. Even the books her mom reads to her. UNTIL…she reads a book about a warty ogre called Shrek–she loves it! Apparently, even ogres like Missy can find something at the library.
I Want to Read All the Books written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Bookworm approved. Teacher approved. Parent approved! In this story about a girl (like me) wants to read ALL the books and learn all the things. Hana discovers the library is filled with more books than she can ever read. And instead of feeling happy, she feels overwhelmed. (Relatable!) A kind librarian and her mom help Hana see that even if she can’t read all the books, it’s fun to share the ones you love and hear about the books your friends love, too. And that’s how her book club begins… What a wonderful celebration of learning, reading, and friendship!
You are a Reader! You Are a Writer! by April Jones Prince, illustrated by Christine Davenier
You scan and spy letters and words, practice, grow, and fly. You read stories and recipes, labels and maps. You love drinking up stories. You are a reader…and a writer! You find ideas and write with juicy words and details that show. You journal, letter write, sing, and storytell because you are a writer…as much as you are a reader. With jaunty rhymes and cheerful illustrations, this is a wonderful book that you can flip and read one way or the other — two in one!
Picture Books About Books
Franklin’s Flying Bookshop by Jen Campbell, illustrated by Katie Harnett
Franklin the dragon scares everyone he meets until he meets Luna, a girl who loves books and stories just as much as him. Together they decide to open a flying bookshop on Franklin’s back. They show people the wonder of stories.
Give Me Back My Book! by Travis Foster and Ethan Long
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce, illustrated by Joe Bluhm
Morris Lessmore loved books and his orderly life. But, a wild wind blows everything topsy-turvy, including the words in his books. He meets a flying lady pulled by books who gifts Morris a good book that leads him to a library of winged books. These flying books read to him and are his faithful companions as he writes stories and grows older. Pensive, whimsical, and emotionally resonant.
This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne
Bella takes her dog for a stroll across the page –when the dog disappears into the book! Bella investigates because this book is very naughty. Your kids will laugh through this entire story, and help get everything out of the book.
The Liebrary by Amanda Pearlstein and Howard Pearlstein, illustrated by Maren Amini
I love this funny satirical story about not believing everything you read…Because when this family starts believing all the lies from the lie-brary book, things get completely wild and crazy. Imagine candy for breakfast, driving at age six, insulting your neighbors, and ignoring alligator signs…well, after a day of misadventures, the children learn a valuable lesson. What will it teach you?
This is a Story by John Schu, illustrated by Lauren Castillo
From the words on a page to the books on the shelf, when humans need help connecting, books can help. Readers with questions and imaginations and hearts that grow find connection and understanding in books at the library. “A story helps us understand everything,” explains the author. The warm illustrations show a sea horse-loving girl and other readers enjoying, learning, and wondering as they read books at the library.
Make Way for Readers by Judy Sierra and G. Brian Karas
The animal readers and their books join Miss Bingo, the storytime flamingo, for a rollicking time of story and movement. Even when little Annabelle’s toe is stepped on, her friends make her smile again by telling her a story. Younger children will enjoy this sweet celebration of storytime and stories!
Bear’s House of Books by Poppy Bishop, illustrated by Alison Edgson
Book-loving friends, Fox, Rabbit, Hedgehog, and Mouse, go on a book hunt and low and behold, find a book, a fantastic story about a dragon. They realize it belongs to Bear so they take it to his house where they discover — MORE BOOKS and no Bear– so they curl up and start reading. But what will happen when Bear returns home?
Have a Look, Says Book. by Richard Jackson, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
A girl and her father sit in a cozy chair and open a book then, travel through the pages where all the book things introduce themselves, describing what they’re like. The girl and her father meet everything and are cozy.
Hug This Book by Barney Saltzberg, illustrated by Fred Benaglia
BookSpeak! Poems About Books by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Josee Bisaillon
I love this book! Salas writes 21 fun, funny, delightful poems about books. You’ll read poems from the perspective of a character, about what happens in the bookstore at night, or how the book sees the reader.
Hooray for Books by Brian Won
The Book of Gold by Bob Staake
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers, illustrated by Sam Winston
Travel over mountains of make-believe, lose yourself in forests of fairy tales and live in a home of invention. This is a whimsical trip showing you belong to the stories you read. Captivating illustrations are made from words and phrases– big, small, curvy, cave-like –from familiar stories adorn each page along with book spines, watercolor art, and ink drawings.
Books Always Everywhere by Jane Blatt, illustrated by Sarah Massini
A beautifully illustrated book about books! Book wide, book tall, . . . book start, book stop, . . . book rainy, book sunny. Reading this feels like I’m in a wonderful library or bookstore. Lovely.
We’re Going on a Book Hunt by Pat Miller, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Hunting for books means you need one that is not too hard or too easy but just right. This could be a decent introduction for a lesson on book choice and/or just-right books.
Read Island by Nicole Magistro, illustrated by Alice Feagan
In this rhyming story, see a welcoming island of stories. Animals from the Pacific Northwest area of British Columbia arrive to read and listen to stories.
Good Night Little Bookstore by Amy Cherrix, illustrated by E.B. Goodale
Sweet, rhyming, and gentle — say goodnight to the bookstore– to the door chime and picture books, the mysteries and recycling, the cat and the keys. This would make a lovely gift for any book-loving friend.
