Reading/Writing Workshop Skill Books
Reading/Writin g Workshop
Mentor Texts
The following is a list of titles that can help support your reading/writing workshop lessons. All of these titles are a part of our library collection.
(evaluating)
Personification Onomatopoeia Flashback
Alliteration Comeback Inferencing
Children’s Books to Help You Introduce
Reader’s Writer’s Workshop/Literacy
Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair- Patricia
Polacco
Thank You, Mr. Falker- Patrica Polacco
Max’s Words- Kate Banks
Author: A True Story- Helen Lester
A Quiet Place- Douglas Wood
(visualization, show not tell)
Charlie Cook’s Favorite Book- Julia Donalson
Walter’s Magic Wand- Eric Houghton
Edward and the Pirates- David McPhail
The Girl Who Hated Books- Manjusha Pawagi
Wild About Books- Judy Sierra
Author Day for room 3T- Robin Pulver
Book! Book! Book!- Deborah Bruss
I Hate to Read!- Rita Marshall
That Book Woman- Heather Henson
The Hard Times Jar- Ethel Footman Smothers
The Best Story- Eileen Spinelli
Ish- Peter Reynolds
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Predicting
Bad Day at Riverbend- Chris Van Allsburg
Bea and Mr. Jones- Amy Schwartz
Cat Heaven- Cynthia Rylant
It Looked Spilt Milk- Charles Shaw
Suddenly- Colin McNaughton
Bubba and Beau, Meet the Relatives- Kathi Appelt
The Empty Pot- Demi
King of the Playground- Phyllis Naylor
The Little Ren Hen Makes a Pizza- Philemon Sturges
Roller Coaster- Marla Frazee
Babushka Baba Yaga- Patricia Polacco
Earthquack!- Margie Palatini
Peach and Blue- Sarah Kilborne
Mirandy and Brother Wind- Patricia McKissack
The Graves Family- Patricia Polacco
Wilma Unlimited- Kathleen Krull
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Small Moments
The Other Way to Listen- Byrd Baylor
I’m in Charge of the Celebration- Byrd Baylor
Do Like Kyla- Angela Johnson
Home Run- Robert Burleigh
Come on Rain- Karen Hesse
Knuffle Bunny- Mo Willems
Sheila Ray’s Peppermint Stick- Kevin Henkes
Roller Coaster- Marla Frazee
Saturday and Teacakes- Lester Laminack
The Kissing Hand- Audrey Penn
Koala Lou- Mem Fox
Baghead- Jarrett Krosoczka
Trevor’s Wiggly Wobby Tooth- Lester Laminack
Jin Woo- Eve Bunting
Fireflies- Julie Brinckloe
Jamacia’s Find- Juanita Havill
Amazing Grace- Mary Hoffman
Aunt Flossie’s Hats- Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
Crab Cakes Later- Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
Goggles- Ezra Jack Keats
Night Shift Daddy- Eileen Spinelli
Snowy Day- Ezra Jack Keats
Everybody Cooks Rice- Norah Dooley
Roxaboxen- Alice McClerran
A Chair for My Mother- Vera B. Williams
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Strong Leads
All the Places to Love- Patricia MacLachlan
Bigmama’s- Donald Crews (starts with a question)
Charlie Anderson- Barbara Abercrombie (introduces character and setting)
Bee Tree- Patricia Polacco (starts with Dialogue)
Cinder-Elly -Frances Minters (reminds you of another book)
Cross-Country Cat – Mary Calhoun (makes you want to read it)
Imogene’s Antlers- David Small (catches the reader’s attention)
James and the Giant Peach- Roald Dahl
Louis the Fish- Arthur Yorinks
Math Curse- Jon Scieszka
Tree of Cranes- Allen Say
Possum Magic- Mem Fox
Thunder Cake- Patricia Polacco
Peter’s Chair- Ezra Jack Keats
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Strong Endings
Milo’s Hat Trick- Jon Agee
Fireflies- Julie Bringkloe
Night Tree- Eve Bunting
The Memory String- Eve Bunting
Stellaluna- Janell Cannon
Bridge to Terabithia- Katherine Paterson
Every Living Thing- Cynthia Rylant
Fig Pudding- Ralph Fletcher
Paperboy- Dav Pilkey
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes- Eleanor Coerr
Jamaica’s Find- (end with small action)
Amazing Grace- (end with Dialogue)
Going Home- (end with small action)
The Memory String- (end with dialogue)
Fly Away Home- Eve Bunting (end with feeling)
Just Us Women- (circular ending)
Jin Woo- (end with feeling)
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Many Moments
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad
Day- Judith Viorst
Joshua By the Sea- Angela Johnson
When I Was Young in the Mountains- Cynthia Rylant
Do Like Kyla- Angela Johnson
Pictures From My Vacation- Lynne Rae Perkins
Just a Dream- Chris Van Allsburg
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Personal Narratives
Atlantic- Brian G. Karas
The Day Gogo Went to Vote- Elinor Sisulu
Roxaboxen- Alice McLerran
Tar Beach- Faith Ringold
My Mama Had a Dancing Heart- Libba Gray
Letting Swift River Go- Jane Yolen
The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash- Trinka Hakes Noble
Market Square Dog- James Herriot
The Lost Thing- Shaun Tan
The Art Lesson- Tomie dePaola
Fireflies- Julie Brinckloe
The Rag Coat- Lauren Mills
More Than Anything Else- Marie Bradby
Come On, Rain- Karen Hesse
I’m in Charge of Celebrations- Byrd Baylor
The Hello, Goodbye Window- Norton Juster
Butterfly House- Eve Bunting
Smoky Night- Eve Bunting
Mrs. Rumphius- Barbara Conney
Girl Wonder, A Baseball Story in Nine Innings- Deborah
Hopkinson
Thundercake- Patricia Polacco
Too Many Tamales- Gary Soto
The Gardener- Sara Stewart
Alexander books- Judith Biorst
Dear Mr. Henshaw- Beverly Cleary
Love That Dog- Sharon Creech
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Point of View
Voices in the Park- Anthony Browne
Hey, Little Ant- Phillip Hoose
Encounter- Jane Yoken
Ben’s Dream- Chris Van Allsburg
Bull Run- Paul Fleischman
Cinderella’s Rat- Susan Meddaugh
Dear Mrs. LaRue, Letters from Obedience School- Mark
Teague
Moose Tracks- Karma Wilson
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Retelling/Summarizing-
Readers identify key elements and condense important information into their own words during and after reading to solidify meaning.
Mirette on a High Wire- Emily Arnold
Hattie and the Fox- Mem Fox
Mouse Paint- Ellen Walsh
Edward the Emu- Sheena Knowles
Togo- Robert Blake
Buster- Denise Fleming
Clever Beatrice- Margaret Wiley
Miss Nelson is Missing- Harry Allard
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Memoirs
Chicken Sunday- Patricia Polacco
Just Us Women
Shortcut- Donald Crews
The Two of Them- Aliki
When I Was Young in the Mountains
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge- Mem Fox
Thank you Mr. Falker- Patricia Polacco
When I was Little- Jamie Lee Curtus
The Pain and the Great One- Judy Blume
Home Place- Crescent Dragonwagon
How I Learned Geography- Uri Shulevitz
The House on Mango Street
The Art Lesson
Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs
Homesick
Little By Little- Jean Little
I Have an Olive Tree- Eve Bunting
26 Fairmount Avenue- Tomie dePaola
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Sensory Images -
Readers create images in their
minds that reflect or represent the ideas in the text. These images may include any of the five senses and serve to enhance understanding of the text.
Night in the Country- Cynthia Rylant
Twilight Comes Twice- Ralph Fletcher
Pictures of Hollis Woods- Patricia Reilly Giff
Come On, Rain!- Karen Hesse
I’m in Charge of Celebrations- Byrd Baylor
Old Black Fly- Jim Aylesworth
Fishing in the Air- Sharon Creech
Where the River Begins- Thomas Locker
Puddles- Jonathan London
The Ghost-Eye Tree- Bill Martin Jr.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World- Marjorie
Priceman
Owl Moon- Jane Yolen
Up North in the Cabin- Martha Chall
Song and Dance Man- Ackerman
Night Tree- Eve Bunting
My Father’s Hands- Joanne Ryder
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Dialogue
Saturdays and Tea Cakes- Lester Laminack
I am the Dog, I am the Cat- Donald
Bee Tree- Patricia Polacco
Going Home- Eve Bunting
I Like to be Little- Charlotte Zolotow
Strong to the Hoop- John Coy
Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One- Kate Duke
Yertle the Turtle- Dr. Seuss
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of About the Author
Meanest Thing to Say- Bill Cosby
Appalachia- Cynthia Rylant
Owl Moon- Jane Yolen
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Questioning-
Readers ask questions about the text and the author's intentions and seek information to clarify and extend their thinking before, during and after reading.
An Angel for Solomon Singer- Cynthia Rylant
Monarch Butterfly- Gail Gibbons
Why is the Sky Blue- Sally Grindley
Big Al- Andrew Clements
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth- Kathryn Lasky
The Van Gogh Café- Cynthia Rylant
Charlie Anderson- Berbara Abercrombie
A Day’s Work- Eve Bunting
Fly Away Home- Eve Bunting
The Lotus Seed- Sherry Garland
Grandfather’s Journey- Alan Say
The Mary Celeste- Jane Yolen
How Come?- Kathy Wollard
Who’s in the Hall?- A Mystery in Four Chapters- Betsy
Hearne
The Red Book- Barbara Lehman
Shortcut- Donald Crews
The Three Pigs- David Wiesner
Is Your Mama a Llama?- Deborah Guarino
The Web Files- Margie Palatini
The Talking Eggs- Robert San Souci
Not a Box- Antoinette Portis
If I Were a Tree- Dar Hosta
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Determining What’s Important-
Readers judge, justify, and/or defend understandings to determine importance based on stated criteria.
Flight- Robert Burleigh
Magic School Bus Books- Joanna Cole
The Milk Makers- Gail Gibbons
Somewhere Today- Bert Kitchen
Water Dance- T. Locker
Medieval Feast- Aliki
The Great Kapok Tree- Lynne Cherry
Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad- Raith Ringold
Sierra- Diane Siebert
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Making Connections-
Readers relate what they read to personal experiences (text-to-self), to information from other text
(text-to-text), and to information about the world (text-to-world) in order to enhance understanding of self, text, and life.
A Chair for My Mother- Vera Williams
A River Dream- Chris Van Allsburg
Fireflies- Julie Brinkloe
Hurricane- David Wiesner
Ira Sleeps Over- Bernard Waber
My Great Aunt Arizona- Gloria Jouston
Owen- Kevin Henkes
The Honest to Goodness Truth- Patricia McKissack
When Was Young in the Mountains- Cynthia Rylant
The Great Kapok Tree- Lynne Cherry
Earrings- Judith Viorst
Tough Borris- Mem Fox
The Pain and the Great One- Judy Blume
Nana Upstairs Nana Downstairs- Tomie DePaola
Every Living Thing- Cynthia Rylant
My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother- Patricia Polacco
Edward the Emu- Sheena Knowles
Gregory the Terrible Eater- Mitchell Sharmat
When Sophie Gets Angry- Molly Bang
The Younger Brother’s Survival Guide- Lisa Kopelke
The Journey- Sarah Stewart
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Synthesizing-
Readers create original insights, perspectives and understandings by reflecting on text(s) and merging elements from text and existing schema.
The Alphabet Tree- Leo Leonni
Fables- Arnold Lobel
The Rag Coat- Lauren Mills
Smokey Night- Eve Bunting
Tea With Milk- Allen Say
See the Ocean- Estella Condra
A Rainbow of my Own- Don Freeman
The Lotus Seed- Sherry Garland
The Quicksand Book- Tomie DePaola
Sleeping Ugly- Jane Yolen
The Trouble With Trolls- Jan Brett
Stone Soup- Jon Muth
Smallest Cow in the World- Katherine Paterson
Judy Moody Saves the World- Megan McDonald
Apple Pie 4 th of July- Janet Wong
Charlie Anderson- Barbara Abercrombie
Emily Mirette on the High Wire- Emily Arnold
The Table Where Rich People Sit- Byrd Baylor
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Visualizing (Mental Images)
Napping House- Audrey Wood
Color a Rhyme- Jane Yolen
Encounter- Jane Yolen
Up North at the Cabin- Marsha Chall
Twilight Comes Twice- Ralph Fletcher
Night in the Country- Cynthia Rylant
The Legend of the Sleeping Bear- Wargin
One Tiny Turtle- Nicola Davies
The Snow Walker- Margaret Wetterer
The Salamander Room- Anne Mazer
Zoom- Istvan Banyai
Re-Zoom- Istvan Banyai
I’m in Charge of Celebrations- Byrd Baylor
Fishing in the Air- Sharon Creech
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More- Valerie Worth
Elbert’s Bad Word- Audrey Wood
A Bad Case of Stripes- David Shannon
Time Flies- Eric Rohmann
The Girl Who Hated Books- Maniusha Pawagi
Pictures of Hollis Woods- Patricia Reilly Giff
Come On, Rain!- Karen Hesse
I’m in Charge of Celebrations- Byrd Baylor
Old Black Fly- Jim Aylesworth
Fishing in the Air- Sharon Creech
Where the River Begins- Thomas Locker
Puddles- Jonathan London
The Ghost-Eye Tree- Bill Martin Jr.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World- Marjorie
Priceman
Owl Moon- Jane Yolen
Song and Dance Man- Ackerman
Night Tree- Eve Bunting
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Realistic Fiction
Fireflies- Julie Bringkloe
Owl Moon- Jane Yolen
Chair for My Mother- Vera Williams
Kissing Hand- Audrey Penn
Snowy Day- Ezra Jack Keats
Just Us Women- Jeanette Franlins Caines
The Stray Dog- Marc Simont
When Sophie Gets Angry- Molly Bang
Ira Sleeps Over- Bernard Waber
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon- Patty Lovell
Jessica- Kevin Henkes
Goggles- Ezra Jack Keats
The Paperboy- Dav Pilky
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed- Margaret Chodos Irvine
The Name Jar-Jengsook Choi
Grandpa Never Lies- Ralph Fletcher
One of the Three- Angela Johnson
Goin’ Someplace Special- Patricia McKissack
Fishing Day- Andrea Piakney
Freedom Summer- Deborah Wiles
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Character Traits
Angel for Soloman Singer-
Old Henry- Joan W. Bios
The Old Woman Who Named Things- Cynthia Rylant
An Angel for Soloman Singer- Cynthia Rylant
Wing Walker- Rosemary Wells
Amazing Grace- Hoffman
Amos&Boris- William Steig
Chrysanthemum- Kevin Henkes
Crow Boy- Yashima
Miss Rumphius- Cooney
My Great Aunt Arizona- Houston
Song and Dance Man- Ackerman
Enemy Pie- Derek Munson
Bootsie Barker Bites- Barbara Bottner
Jamaica’s Blue Marker- Juanita Havill
The Journey- Sarah Stewart
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Similies & Metaphors
Love is a Handful of Honey- Giles Andreae
Brave as a Mountain Lion- Ann Herbert Scott
Knots on a Counting Rope- Bill Martin, Jr.
Like Jake and Me- Mavis Jukes
Quick as a Cricket- Audrey Wood
Swamp Angel- Paul Zelinsky
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses- Paul Goble
Amber on the Mountain- Tony Johnston
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Voice- a personality through writing
Voices in the Park- Anthony Browne
My Five Senses- Aliki
Very Busy Spider- Eric Carle
Very Hungry Caterpillar- Eric Carle
Autumn Street- Lois Lowry
Boy- Roald Dahl
Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langson Hughes
(especially “Mother to the Sun”)
Everybody Needs a Rock- Byrd Baylor
Relatives Came-Cynthia Rylant
Taste of Blackberries- Dorris Smith
True Story of the Three Little Pigs- Jon Sciezka
White Dynamite and the Curly Kid- Bill Martin Jr.
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Setting
An Angel for Soloman Singer- Cynthia Rylant
Way to Start a Day- Byrd Baylor
Freak the Mighty- Rodman Philbrick
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basis E. Frankweiler- E.L.
Konigsburg
Great Kapok Tree- Lynne Cherry
Snow White in New York- Fiona French
Tar Beach- Faith Ringgold
Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails- Kay Verla
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs- Judi Barrett
The Lorax- Dr. Seuss
The Red Book- Barbara Lehman
Thunder Cake- Patricia Polacco
The Web Files- Margie Palatini
The Relatives Came- Cynthia Rylant
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Sierra by Diane Siebert
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Personification
The Little Yellow Leaf- Carin Berger
Journey- Patricia MacLachlan
Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein
If You Give a Pig a Pancake- Laura NUmeroff
Officer Buckle and Gloria- Peggy Rathmann
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble- William Steig
Velveteen Rabbit- Margery Williams
Toys Go Out- Emily Jenkins
The Barn- Debbie Atwell
There is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me- Alice
Walker
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom- Bill Martin Jr.
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Onomatopoeia
Clink Clank Clunk!
– Miriam Aroner
The Squeaky Door- Margaret Read MacDonald
One Green Apple- Eve Bunting
Night Noises- Mem Fox
Chicky Chicky Chook Chook- Cathy MacLennan
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop- Chris Raschka
Umbrella- Taro Yashima
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Flashback
Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday- Judith Viorst
Miss Rumphius- Barbara Cooney
Old Bear- Kevin Henkes
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Alliteration
Animalia- Graeme Base
Some Smug Slug- Pamela Duncan Edwards
Absolutely Awful Alphabet- Mordechai Gerstein
Worrywarts- Pamela Duncan Edwards
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Comeback Lines
Time for Bed- Mem Fox
When I was Young in the Mountains- Cynthia Rylant
The Listening Walk- Paul Showers
The Napping House- Audrey Wood
I Like to Be Little- Charlotte Zolotow
Baloney- Jon Scieszka
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Inferencing (Drawing
Conclusions)-
Readers think about and search the text, and sometimes use personal knowledge to construct meaning beyond what is literally stated.
Wreck of the Zephyr- Chris Van Allsburg
Encounter- Jane Yolen
Fireflies!- Julie Brin
Fly Away Home- Eve Bunting
If you Listen- Charlotte Zolotow
How Many Days to America- Eve Bunting
Lunch- Denise Fleming
Miss Rumphius- Barbara Cooney
Rainbow Fish- Marcus Pfister
The Story of Jumping Mouse- John Stepto
June 29, 1999- David Wiesner
Peppe the Lamplighter- Elisa Bartone
The Table Where Rich People Sit- Byrd Baylor
Going Home- Eve Bunting
Shoes from Grandpa- Mem Fox
Grandpa’s Face- Eloise Greenfield
She’s Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head- Kathryn Lasky
George and Martha- James Marshall
The Tale of Mandarin Ducks- Katherine Paterson
Mystery of Eatum Hall- John Kelly
Shivers in the Fridge - Fran Manushkin
Moose Tracks- Karma Wilson
My Lucky Day- Keiko Kasza
The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman- Darcy Pattison
The Stray Dog- Marc Simont
Seven Blind Mice- Ed Young
Tuesday- David Wiesner
How Are You Peeling?- Saxton Freymann
Mama: A True Story- Jeanette Winter
Bootsie Barker Bites- Barbara Bottner
The Arrival- Shaun Tan
Duck! Rabbit!- Amy Rosenthal
The Flower Man- Mark Ludy
Rose Blanche- Roberto Innocenti
The Gardener- Sarah Stewart
The Journey- Sarah Stewart
Not a Box- Antoinette Portis
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Writing With Research Details
Captain Fact Series- Knife & Packer
Make Way for Ducklings- Robert McCloskey
Like Jake and Me- Mavis Jukes
Perfect Puppy for Me- O’Connor & Hartland
Popcorn Book- Tomie dePaola
Verdi- Janell Cannon
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Memorable Language
Fireflies!- Julie Brinckloe
Home Place- Crescent Dragonwagon
Jumanji- Chris Van Allsburg
Memory Box- Mary Kay Shanl
Owl Moon- Jane Yolen
The Relatives Came- Cynthia Rylant
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Cumulative Tales
Book that Jack Wrote- Jon Scieszka
Napping House- Audrey Wood
No Jumping on the Bed- Ted Arnold
Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly- Simms Taback
Home Run- Robert Burleigh
Drummer Hoff- Barbara Emberly
The Fat Cat: a Danish Folktale- Margaret McDonald
Children’s Books to Help You Teach the
Skill of Pattern Books
Goodnight Moon- Margaret Wise Brown
It Looked Like Spilt Milk- Charles Shaw
Dinner at Panda Palace- Stephanie Calmenson
Duck on a Bike- David Shannon
Where’s Mary’s Hat?- Stephane Barroux
Hattie and the Fox- Mem Fox
Is Your Mama a Llama?- Deborah Guarino
Millions of Cats- Wanda Gag
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt- Michael Rosen
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?- Steve Jenkins
Edward the Emu- Sheena Knowles
Important Book- Margaret Wise Brown
Oh, The Places We’ll Go- Dr. Seuss
Some Smug Slug- Pamela Duncan Edwards
The Napping House- Audrey Wood
I am the Dog, I am the Cat- Donald Hall
Tops and Bottoms- Janet Stevens
When I Was Young in the Mountains- Cynthia Rylant
Noisy Nora- Rosemary Wells
Not a Box- Antoinette Portis
If I Were a Tree- Dar Hosta
