picture books that promote critical thinking

10 of the Best Children’s Books That Promote Critical Thinking

Mikkaka Overstreet

Mikkaka Overstreet is from Louisville, Kentucky by way of Saginaw “Sagnasty”, Michigan. She has been an educator since 2006 and earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction in 2015. By day she is a mild-mannered literacy specialist. By night she sleeps. In between, she daydreams, writes fiction, and reads books. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and cats.

View All posts by Mikkaka Overstreet

Unfortunately, there are people and groups more interested in an industrious than a thoughtful population. The general public doesn’t agree on the purpose of public education . Neither, it seems, do education stakeholders. During recent remarks, North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt declared 2022 “the year of the workforce.”

Truitt explained, “We have got to redefine what the purpose of K–12 education is. Some would say it’s to produce critical thinkers, but my team and I believe that the purpose of a public K–12 education is to prepare students for the postsecondary plans of their choice so that they can be a functioning member of the workforce.”

While that statement makes my skin crawl, it’s more than unsettling: it’s contradictory. Employers regularly cite problem-solving and critical thinking skills as ideal qualities they seek in employees. According to a study from the Association of American Colleges and Universities , 95% of employers view critical thinking specifically as “very important” or “somewhat important.” Thus, preparing kids to think critically is preparing them for the workforce — and beyond.

Undoubtedly, our society needs more critical thinkers . We have lots of problems, both old and new, that will require innovative solutions. The following books will help encourage the next generation of big thinkers.

10 Children’s Books That Promote Critical Thinking

The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López

The incomparable Jacqueline Woodson has done it again. In this newly released children’s book, readers journey into the vivid imaginations of the central characters. Woodson tells the story of children stuck inside because of bad weather. Rather than succumb to boredom, the children use their imaginations to escape the confines of their apartment. Surely, this will inspire children to dream big.

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom

This inspiring picture book centers on a child with an idea. We get to follow the child as they nurture the idea and watch it grow. Undoubtedly, this simple story will resonate with anyone who has ever been afraid to share their big dreams with the world.

Shadow by Suzy Lee

This gorgeous wordless picture book is a guaranteed hit. The young protagonist uses her imagination and her shadow to create a fantasy world. Mirrored illustrations show both the true objects and the magical world the girl has built.

Going Places by Peter H. Reynolds and Paul A. Reynolds

I’m a big fan of Peter H. Reynolds’s work. He has a whimsical style and encourages creativity and self-love in his several excellent picture books. In this story, written with his twin brother, Reynolds introduces us to another uniquely wonderful protagonist. Maya enters a go-cart competition and must create a winning vehicle out of one of the identical kits given to all contestants. Of course, Maya doesn’t think inside the box she’s given. This is another fun story with a great lesson.

Mistakes Are How I Learn by Kiara Wilson

As we all know, mistakes are a part of the learning process. In this encouraging book, Wilson reminds kids to give themselves grace and space to make mistakes. Similar to The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes , this book is a good reminder for little perfectionists.

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

This picture book takes the well-known duck or rabbit puzzle and tells a story. Obviously, readers will feel compelled to see both sides of this argument. This is a humorous introduction to considering varying viewpoints.

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

In this Caldecott Honor winner, seven blind mice try to determine the identity of an unfamiliar object. In Young’s take on the classic Indian tale, each mouse only gathers partial information. Of course, it takes the wisdom of the seventh mouse to put the pieces together and solve the puzzle.

What To Do With A Box by Jane Yolen and Chris Sheban

You can probably guess what’s going to happen in this book, right? Clearly, there’s a metaphor here. Enjoy all the things a child can imagine with outside-of-the-box thinking in this rhythmic tale.

They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel

This book brilliantly executes a creative concept. Using strange and gorgeous illustrations, Wenzel depicts how differently individuals can perceive the same object. Consequently, readers are pushed to consider multiple viewpoints and how our perceptions color what we see.

Solutions for Cold Feet and Other Little Problems by Carey Sookocheff

Follow one little girl and her dog through the challenges of a normal day in this fun story. The girl asks lots of questions and persists when she encounters problems. This tale will inspire kiddos to see problem-solving as a positive and necessary part of life.

Hopefully, you’ve found something on this list that inspires you to think and dream. If you’d like more content like this, check out 7 Board Books for Woke Babies and 10 Science Books for Curious Kiddos . Read, think, and dream BIG!

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One reason we love picture books at ERG is they not only look inviting and feel wonderful in our hands, but also have layers to dig into! The themes that often emerge from picture books provide our students with ideas to explore, opinions to express, and rich conversations to be had. One magical quality of picture books is the ability to address sensitive topics in an approachable way. This is often created with word choice and illustrations. 

If you are wondering how to challenge some of your highest-level readers, this lens is often useful. Exploring theme is not easy – it requires making inferences while staying grounded in text evidence. Noticing an author’s word choice in combination with the illustrations is another way to explore tone, which can stretch the thinking of your students around texts.

You may now be wondering how to support your most needy readers. One way is to read the text aloud to students, but still have them explore the rich questions that will exercise their higher-level thinking skills. It is important to allow our less successful readers to participate in discussions around rich texts. The more they do this, the more the more successful they will become.

If you have a wide range of readers, consider using the picture book as a read aloud, in a literacy station, or in small group work (if you have multiple copies). The reading, writing, and talking is often much easier to generate with picture books FIRST before you head into texts with more complex structures.

However, make no mistake about it – the critical thinking is still critical thinking. Higher level discussions come from really good questions, so don’t forget to plan ahead!

There are many titles that will lend themselves to exploring theme and tone, but here is one of ERG’s favorites .

Name of Book : The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Level of text:.

Guided Reading Level M, Lexile Level 300

Remember, the thinking can go well beyond the “levels”!

Brief Summary:

There is a fence that segregates Clover’s side of town from Anna’s. The two girls figure out how to become friends despite the rules of the grown-ups. This book is told from the view of the child, which creates hope while exploring issues of racial divisions.

Higher Level Thinking Questions:

• What are some clues that help us infer the time period of this story?
• What could the fence represent?
• What words did the author use to help use our senses as we read?
• What is the significance of the ending?
• How did the author handle delicate subject matter?
• How does the author represent “hopeful voices”?

These can be discussed in collaborative groups or used as a way to increase comprehension through writing!

Supporting Organizer:

What Does it Say, Mean, Matter?

This graphic organizer helps make student thinking visible, and serves as a bridge from concrete thinking to abstract thinking. It can be used with a variety of texts, especially those with deeper themes. It also lends itself to multiple reads.

If you like this, then you might like others by this author:

Jacqueline Woodson: The Day You Begin , Each Kindness

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10 Great Critical Thinking Books for Children and Teens

Top Critical Thinking Books for Every Age

Parents must see it! How to develop your children's logic and critical thinking must be cultivated, and improve children's critical thinking from an early age!

"Critical thinking is an important skill for children to face competition in the future, and it is also the focus of American elementary school teaching! How do learn critical thinking through intensive reading of picture books?"

Critical Thinking is necessary to complete our family baby's daily work, but here also the focus of US elementary teaching why emphasize the importance of critical thinking training? My experience is that American education thinks this is a key skill for the future!

Children's Books for Fostering Thoughtful Analysis

• "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds
• "Dino Dens and Dragon Tales: A Scavenger Hunt Adventure" by Jean Marzollo
• "Ish" by Peter H. Reynolds
• "We Are Water Protectors" by Carole Lindstrom
• "Frederick" by Leo Lionni
• "A Ball for Daisy" by Mary Murphy
• "Cranky Pants Day" by Laura Numeroff:
• "Where's Spot?" by Eric Hill
• "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Bill Martin Jr.
• "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch
• "Think Like a Detective: A Kid's Guide to Critical Thinking" by Alex Woolf
• "The Year We Learned to Fly" by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López

Engaging Reads for Fostering Critical Thought in Kids

• "Seven Blind Mice" by Ed Young
• "Think Like a Detective: A Kid's Guide to Critical Thinking" by John Miller
• "The Most Magnificent Thing" by Ashley Spires
• "What Should Danny Do?" by Emily Mlyniec
• "The Mystery of the Missing Muffins" by Rebecca Elliott
• "Rosie Revere, Engineer" by Andrea Beaty
• "The Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It, Shape It" by JoAnn Deakin
• "Iggy Peck, Architect" by Andrea Beaty
• "Duck on a Bike" by David Shannon
• "Sidekicks" by Dan Santat
• "What Do You Do With An Idea?" by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom
• "Rationality" by Steven Pinker
• "Shadow" by Suzy Lee
• "Going Places" by Peter H. Reynolds and Paul A. Reynolds
• "Mistakes Are How I Learn" by Kiara Wilson
• "Duck! Rabbit!" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
• "What To Do With A Box" by Jane Yolen and Chris Sheban
• "They All Saw A Cat" by Brendan Wenzel
• "Solutions for Cold Feet and Other Little Problems" by Carey Sookocheff
• "Bad Dog" by Mike Boldt
• "Vampenguin" by Lucy Ruth Cummins
• "Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots" by Michael Rex
• "This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes" by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
• "Forces of Nature" by Ammi-Joan Paquette
• Critical Thinking for Kids - Amazon

Literature for Developing Critical Thought in Middle Schoolers

• Mind Benders: Logic Puzzles for Smart Kids by Raymond Smullyan
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada
• Rationality by Steven Pinker
• The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking for Children, 2nd edition by Dr. Linda Elder
• An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments by Ali Almossawi

Books Cultivating Analytical Skills in Elementary Readers

• The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Think Like a Detective: A Kid's Guide to Critical Thinking by Alex Woolf
• Critical Thinking Activity Book For Kids Ages 6 to 8 by Jennifer L. Trace

Picture Books Inspiring Analytical Skills for Kindergarteners

• The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
• Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins
• Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
• White Is for Blueberry by George Shannon and Laura Dronzek
• The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López
• What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom
• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
• The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

Intellectually Stimulating Reads for High School Students

• "The Art of Reasoning: An Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking" by David Kelley
• "The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking for Children" by Dr. Linda Elder
• "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman
• "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling
• "On Bullshit" by Harry G. Frankfurt
• "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
• "The Art of Argument" by Rolf Dobelli
• "Mistakes Were Made But Not By Me" by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson
• "Thinking in Systems: A Primer" by Donella Meadows
• "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
• "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell
• "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
• "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler
• "An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments" by Ali Almossawi

Teen-Friendly Books for Nurturing Analytical Thinking

• "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
• "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe
• "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
• "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
• "1984" by George Orwell
• "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
• "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien
• "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell
• "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
• "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" by Karen Joy Fowler
• "The Art of Thinking Clearly" by Rolf Dobelli
• "Big Ideas for Curious Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy" by The School of Life

10 Great Critical Thinking Books for Kids and Teens

1.  children's book of philosophy  .

2.  101 Fresh & Fun Critical-Thinking Activities  

3.  81 Fresh & Fun Critical-Thinking Activities  

4.  The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy  

5. The Fallacy Detective  

• For ages twelve through adult.
• Fun to use -- learn skills you can use right away.
• Peanuts, Dilbert, and Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.
• Includes The Fallacy Detective Game.
• Exercises with answer key.

6.  The Art of Argument  

7.  A Rulebook for Arguments  

8.  Rhetoric Alive!: Principles of Persuasion  

9.  Mastering Logical Fallacies  

10.  What Do You Do With A Problem?  

How Promoting Critical Thinking in Kids Through Books?

• Critical Thinking Skills - Focus on the Family Teaching children to think critically, whether in books or about what people say, is a skill. It was the first step in teaching my kids the critical thinking process. 
• How Reading Improves Critical Thinking - Critical thinking is an important skill for children to develop as they grow. Good critical thinking skills can be attained in a variety of ways. Reading mystery books.  

Conclusion of the Critical Thinking Books for Children and Teens

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Muhiuddin Alam is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ReadingAndThinking.com. He serves as a consistent contributor to various websites and publications, including Medium , Quora , Reddit , Linkedin , Substack , Vocal , Flipboard , and Amazon KDP . Alam personally read numerous books and, for the past 10 years, has been providing book recommendations and reviews. Find Me: About Me & Google Knowledge Panel .

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{{item.title}}, my essentials, ask for help, contact edconnect, directory a to z, how to guides, education for a changing world, the magic of thinking critically with picture books.

How could the magic of picture books be used to enable the development of critical thinking skills?

In this episode, we spoke to Irish academic Mary Roche, who makes the case for using children's picture books to teach critical thinking skills to younger learners. Mary is a highly experienced primary school teacher and a lecturer in initial teacher education in Ireland. She is the renowned author of the award-winning book: Developing Children's Critical Thinking through Picturebooks (2015).

This episode was recorded in 2019. The views expressed in Edspressos are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily represent the views of the NSW Department of Education.

Episode transcript

SPEAKER: Welcome to the New South Wales Department of Education's Edspresso Series. These short podcasts are part of the work of the Education for a Changing World initiative and explore the thinking and ethical literacy skills students need in an AI future. Join us as we speak to a range of experts about how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are likely to change the world around us and what this might mean for education.

The magic of picture books has been used throughout history to support student learning. But can these timeless gems facilitate the development of critical thinking skills? In this episode, we hear from Mary Roche, an experienced primary school teacher and renowned author of the award-winning book, Developing Children's Critical Thinking Through Picturebooks. Mary makes a case for why critical thinking skills can be effectively taught through the text and illustrations in picture books. Mary, how would you define critical thinking, and why might it be important to develop for an AI-augmented future?

MARY ROCHE: In my book, I describe critical thinking as thinking for yourself. Not just receiving other people's ideas but looking at all the evidence possible and making up your own mind. And, it does demand effort, it does demand active engagement with ideas. So it's not a passive activity and it's about looking at something from all sides and weighing up the evidence. And then in relation to texts, which is more my work, it's helping children to become agents of the texts rather than victims of the texts, if you like.

Ultimately, I think critical thinking leads to critical literacy and it's all about, well, what kind of a world do we want to live in, which leads to the second part of your question. I think it's essential for democracy, for active citizenry. Because we need to empower people as early as possible to sort through arguments and to understand different perspectives and where people are coming from, what agendas, what ideology they have. And then to assess the logic of things.

So, in a world where artificial intelligence, algorithms, robotic thinking processes are going to come to the fore, it's essential that we have a critically literate populous, really. So that we can discern what's true, whose ideology is at play here, who's dominant, who's powerful and who's powerless. And that means equipping children, really, with the skills as early as possible to, I suppose tell fact from fiction.

SPEAKER: Mary, thanks for that, it's really interesting. It's often said that content knowledge is required to think critically. Can younger students who may not have deep content knowledge still think critically? And, what does critical thinking in the early years look like?

MARY ROCHE: If we go right back to the earlier, very simplistic idea of thinking for yourself. So if you have a tiny tot at home and you ask them, do they want a yellow lollipop or a red lollipop and they say, "I want the yellow one." And you say, "Why do you want the yellow one?" "It's because it's the same colour as my wellies or it's my favourite colour". They're giving you a reason for a choice that they have made. Which is a very basic beginning of critical thinking. And I've worked quite a lot during my career as a primary teacher with very young children. And so, I used to start with asking open-ended questions. And it gets children, very, very early, thinking for themselves about why things are happening in a picture or in a nursery rhyme or in a story.

So, moving along into traditional stories, I'm sure you've got the 'Little Red Hen' story where the other animals wouldn't help to cut the corn, but they all wanted to help to eat the bread. So asking questions like, why is that hen, why do you think her friends aren't helping her? What's going on in their lives? What's happening here? And it's beginning that process of children saying, Oh, there's another layer of meaning here. They may not articulate that but they begin to see that there are things that go beneath the surface, deeper than the surface. And we have to start looking between the lines.

So yeah, they may not have huge experience and content knowledge and prior knowledge, but they have language, they have thought processes, they have curiosity, they are engaged in the story. It has got meaning for them, it's relevant for them. And they begin to look beneath the surface here. So, to go back to your question, yes, content knowledge is important but, at the very early stages children are very capable of doing critical thinking.

SPEAKER: Mmm. What led you to develop the critical thinking and book talk approach? Could you take us through what it looks like in practice?

MARY ROCHE: What led me to it was, I trained as a primary teacher way back in the 1970s, and my first experiences in the classroom were not great. I had a very large number of children, over 50 children in a class of mixed junior and senior infants, which would be age four to age six. And I can remember thinking, you know, that was unfair on the children, unfair on me, and looking back afterwards when I got the language of critical reflection, I understood that my teaching was all about control and domination. It was very didactic, it was very monologic. And I questioned that for quite a while, but I couldn't figure out a way of how to create a more dialogic classroom.

And serendipitously, a bit later on, I met with Philomena Donnelly in Dublin who had taken the work of Matthew Lipman, the Philosophy for Children, she had taken his work and with the professor of philosophy in her college, Professor Joe Dunne, she had adapted it to an Irish context and called it 'Philosophy with Children' or 'Thinking Time'. And I saw this as a possible way of introducing more dialogue into my classroom. So she would take a picture or a line from a poem or a story or anything, and just begin to ask questions about it. And the children would all be given an opportunity to reply.

And I thought this was fantastic, because there is a danger in a classroom even when a teacher tries to do what she thinks is authentic discussion. There is a danger that the dominant children will take over and that some children's voices will never be heard. So, I gradually took that thinking time idea and, I suppose, refined it a bit in order to just discuss picture books. And that came about because in 2011 in Ireland, we got a new literacy numeracy policy, which was, I suppose, a reaction or a fallout from our PISA results, which showed a drop in standards. And the literacy numeracy was to the fore. And I felt, well, if I'm trying to introduce a new approach to teaching for our teachers, it needs to be linked to something that they have to do already.

So I devised in 2010, I had designed my critical thinking and book talk approach and I linked it with literacy specifically around picture books. Thinking, in my innocence, that they're short and they're sweet and we'll get through a book fairly quickly. I had no idea of the complexity and the magic of picture books at that point.

So, what it looks like in practice is that a particular time is set aside, at least 45 minutes. The children are seated in a circle. So, the pedagogical framing of this is that you will try and time it when there won't be any interruptions, when maybe the children have had a break and the story is read either at that point or it could be read in advance. What I do is, I photograph the story or scan it and beam it up onto the whiteboard so that every child can see the images and I take my time reading it.

When the story is finished, I give the children time to think, process silently, and then I say, who would like to start? And whoever starts, I tell them, has huge power because they will decide what kind of knowledge we're going to create today. Because the person who starts, when they're finished speaking, will tap on the shoulder of the person to their left or to their right, and that will determine the direction around the circle.

And I always say to children, you know, if it goes that way, we will think different thoughts than if it went that way. Because what we say will influence what other people think and give them new ideas, and it's just amazing that we're going to create knowledge. So, the idea that knowledge is not a fixed box of tricks that a teacher can transmit to an empty vessel. All of that Freirean idea of the banking metaphor of education. That knowledge is fluid, dynamic, ongoing, being created, never finished, it's always evolving. And that children can construct knowledge and co-construct knowledge. Listening to each other, arguing, building up ideas, building on each other's ideas, processing what others are saying, getting new ideas.

All of that, those values underpin my work. And so to kind of go back to your question, why, what led me to do this. It was to do with these ideas of justice and fairness and care about the other. That children needed to have more voice in their classroom, needed to have their voices heard, rather than just responding in kind of a recitation way or an initiation response evaluation type interaction. Their actual ideas and thoughts needed to be heard. And I tried to find a way of doing that, and critical thinking and book talk is the way that I have found.

SPEAKER: Thanks for that. Why is it important to give space for critical thinking when developing young children's literacy? And will encouraging critical thinking also make students better readers?

MARY ROCHE: I will take the second bit first. I think it makes them better readers, but better in the sense of more discerning, more active, more engaged. It teaches them to be curious and to be sceptical. One child said to me at one point, we were doing a religious education because I was in a Catholic school, and we were doing religion and it was the 1st of February, which is the feast day of Saint Brigid. Nearly as big as Saint Patrick in our world. And it said in the little lesson, now this was aimed at seven, eight-year-olds, that Brigid loved the poor. And one chap interjected and said, "That's such woolly thinking, what does it mean she loved the poor? Did she only love people who were poor, if there were good rich people, did she not love them?" And he just tore it apart. And so, yeah.

Better readers in the sense that they begin to challenge and they begin to question their assumptions that are built into what they're reading. And given this complex world, we cannot afford for children not to engage in some tough conversations if they are to learn to become critical analysts of the world who are able to make informed decisions. As they engage with the world around them.

So, that's the aspect of literacy and it goes back to Allan Luke's work of being a critical literate person. Not just decoding, encoding, reading for information, which are all hugely important, they're all absolutely necessary. But that last step of becoming critical is the part, I think, that will prepare them to take their place in the world and make a difference perhaps.

SPEAKER: Mary that's really interesting. You also encourage teachers to ensure that children spend time studying the illustrations in picture books. Why is this important, and how does this help to develop their thinking skills?

MARY ROCHE: There are books that are illustrated books and they're beautiful. For example, there is a new illustrated version of 'Harry Potter'. The pictures are great, they add to it. But, the story will stand alone without the pictures. But in a normal, ordinary picture book where you have texts and images and we'll take 'Rosie's Walk' as an example. There is another narrative going on in the images that is not in the text.

So, if you just read the words and didn't show the children the pictures, they're going to miss the whole point of that story. The whole fun of being that story. And Margaret Meek talked about the child being the teller and the told. So, by being able to read the pictures, they're able to read a whole other narrative that marries with the narrative they're being told, and it's quite tongue in cheek and can often be quite subversive. And children, pre-literate children, children who haven't yet learned to maybe decode the texts, are extremely conscious of the tiniest things in the images.

And so giving them time to look at those images and then giving them some of the skills around examining the images, like where is the artist positioned? Who's dominant in the picture? Are they facing forward, is their back turned? Why is that? So, all of these parts of the picture can be analysed.

So, what I do with 'Once Upon an Ordinary School Day' is I scan in, or I take my red whiteboard marker when the image is on the whiteboard, and draw a smile on the child's face and say, now what do you feel? Is he happy now? And they say, oh, that changes how I feel about him. That makes me think he's happy to go to school. Now I've got a different feeling about the story. And for the first time, small children can realise that artists manipulate our feelings. This need not be a pejorative term. But that this is an aesthetic and we are made to feel, and this can be the very first time that they realise that everything in this image is carefully placed, it's there for a reason.

SPEAKER: Thanks for that, Mary. How then does critically studying picture books support students' understanding of their own thought processes, and why might that be important to making them better thinkers, do you think?

MARY ROCHE: I encourage teachers when they're doing this critical thinking and book talk approach to have a notebook and pencil in their hands. They sit into the circle as a participant. I encourage them to sit there with a notebook and pencil and to jot down what the children are saying. It has several effects.

First of all, you're looking down at what you're writing, you as the teacher are looking down. Therefore, the children, there's no point in them talking just to you, because, initially, when you do this work, the children tend to just answer the teacher because that's what they've been trained to do since they were in pre-school. So they begin to talk to each other and make eye contact with each other because you're not available to make eye contact with them while you're writing. So, that's one benefit.

The second benefit is they say, "Hm, she's actually writing down what I'm saying, it must be worth something." And the third benefit, and there are more than three, is that you've got a record of what was said. Now, I used to type those out, and then after three or four discussions I would give the transcripts to the children and we would go back over, this is assuming now they can read, so they were at that point, eight-year-old children.

And I would give them the transcripts and say, "Would you still agree with what you said or have you changed your mind?" And they begin to question why they said what they said and re-evaluate it in the light of seeing the old discussion and say, "Hm, I don't know why I said that. I think it was because Robbie said that and Mary said that and I was just thinking about what they were saying. I wasn't really thinking for myself. I actually disagree with what I said." Or they might say, "I partially agree and partially disagree with what I said."

But what it leads to is the children beginning to examining why they're thinking what they're thinking, what's prompting that thought and how is their thinking improving. So, from that point of view, after doing this work for a year, maybe, in a classroom, or more than a year if it's policy in a school, they get very, very good at analysing their own thinking.

SPEAKER: I'm sure they do get very good at analysing their own thinking. If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself as a school student, what would you tell yourself to focus on? To help you prepare for what was to come. And would you give different advice to students today?

MARY ROCHE: When I think back on myself as a reader, I was like a vacuum cleaner, I just hoovered up everything. I just read everything I could lay my hands on, that was at the start. But then I began to just read one kind, the things I liked. So, I liked Enid Blyton, I liked the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew and I kind of just kept on reading what I liked. Now, you might say, what's wrong with that?

If I were to give myself a little bit of advice, I'd say, challenge yourself a little bit more. Read something outside your comfort zone, and if you don't like it, analyse why. So, I would maybe go back and say, keep a reading diary, note down the books you like and your responses to them. Just briefly, it's not going to be a big chore. And that's the advice I would give to teachers, how can we inject enthusiasm and passion for reading if we're not enthusiastic, passionate readers ourselves? How can we inject these feelings into children and encourage them to become passionate?

So, my advice to teachers would be, at least once a week to read something current from the world of children's literature and maybe not just the populist books that are being flagged up wall to wall in the bookshops. But to go on websites and go into Twitter, even, there's a huge community in Twitter who are involved in promoting and discussing children's literature and read a good quality children's book. Let children see you reading and be able to discuss the book. There's nothing more empowering for a child than to know that the teacher has read and enjoyed a book that they have read and enjoyed. Because now they can discuss that as equals.

SPEAKER: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Edspresso Series. You can find out more about the Education for a Changing World initiative via the New South Wales Department of Education's website.

• Teaching and learning

Business Unit:

• Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation

Fostering inquisitive minds with picture books

By Early Childhood Education Consultant, Linda T Harrison

There is an undeniable magic in illustrated books, and story is certainly one of the most powerful ways children can find out about the world. This piece examines how the humble picture book can inspire opportunities for inquiry-based teaching and learning in the early years, primary school and beyond. Embedding literature in the classroom can promote divergent thinking, visual literacy and deepen conceptual understandings to support EYLF V2.0 Learning Outcomes and the Australian Curriculum.

The immersive nature of picture books

As we open a book and begin to weave the tale, we ignite sparks of imagination that nourish the minds of young readers. Through the cadence of our voices and the shared excitement of discovery, we can create a magical realm where characters come to life and adventures unfold. This immersive and interactive nature of picture books offers boundless possibilities to inspire curiosity, educate, and nurture a lifelong love of stories and learning.

“Reading aloud and talking about what we’re reading sharpens children’s brains. It helps develop their ability to concentrate at length, to solve problems logically, and to express themselves more easily and clearly” (Mem Fox). 1

Whilst children’s experiences with literature primarily provide an important pathway to becoming a reader, we must also carefully consider titles we select for use in classrooms based on their potential to harness a young learners’ spirit of investigation. Quality picture books can promote deep learning, encouraging children to pose questions and investigate the answers through extended project work. 2 The Children’s Book Week ® 2024 theme, Reading is Magic , celebrates the impact of a good book…

 “ The magic of reading also lies in its power of enticement; a good story provokes conversations” (The Children’s Book Council of Australia, 2024).  

Through conversations sparked by the pages of a picture book, we can harness their transformational power as springboards for discovery about the world. Image: Linda T Harrison.

What is quality children’s literature?

Quality children's literature encompasses a range of characteristics that not only provide enjoyment, but also educate and emotionally resonate with young readers  -  including the setting, characters, plot, themes, illustrations and language. Well-crafted literature plays a vital role in developing critical thinking skills; by presenting complex themes, diverse perspectives, and nuanced characters that challenge children to interpret and analyse. Exposure to rich literary devices and illustrations also offers multiple life-changing benefits of reading by supporting multimodal literacy , skills vocabulary acquisition and comprehension.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a trusted source of quality Australian literature recommendations for children aged 0-18 years, with their annual Book of the Year Awards recognising writing and illustrating excellence. Other picture book catalogues for early educators and primary teachers to consider include:

• NCACL Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Resource , picture books for children aged 0-12 years.
• NCACL Picture Books for Older Readers , for use in the curriculum (grade 5 through secondary school).
• The World Through Picture Books catalogue - IFLA , an annotated list of picture books from around the world, recommended by professional librarians.
• Raising Literacy Australia , picture books for babies, toddlers and preschoolers; together with planning ideas for teachers and links to the EYLF.
• Bologna 2024: Australian Catalogue , world class Australian literature for children aged 0-18 years.

Good picture books provoke inquiry

Picture books are powerful educational tools that transcend age boundaries, offering diverse applications across the curriculum. Their interdisciplinary nature makes them a valuable tool for teachers seeking to enrich children’s learning for grades F-10. In early learning settings, educators can promote EYLF Learning Outcome 5.2 through book-focused conversations by:

• Exploring concepts such as rhyme and letters and sounds when sharing texts with children.
• Engaging children in discussions about books and other texts that promote consideration of diverse perspectives.

Picture books often present complex concepts in accessible ways, making them ideal for introducing new ideas and encouraging children to explore them further through inquiry. Image: Linda T Harrison.

Picture books are often suitable for more than one audience simultaneously, able to be read on several levels and interpreted differently depending on the age of the child. 3 Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker is a prime example, nominated for ‘ Picture Book of the Year’ award in the 2024 CBCA Shortlist , and chosen book for ALIA's National Simultaneous Storytime 2024 . This story can provoke inquiry and deepen understandings about a wide variety of age-appropriate social, emotional and environmental themes.

Libraries, schools and ECEC services can register to take part in this vibrant event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy. Images: Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA)

‘Bowerbird Blues’ in early education

Bowerbird Blues can extend learning about concepts including  -  STEM, the interdependence of living things, rhyme, sustainability, bird habitats and behaviours, love, friendship, belonging and persistence. Educators can use it as a provocation for investigations into how this bird cleverly engineers a ‘bower’ by:

• Engaging in co-curriculum construction by researching facts about ‘bowers’ together using the ABC Kids listen Bopping Bowerbirds podcast and Satin Bowerbird video .
• Inviting children to draw a plan for a ‘bower’ model, facilitating discussions about design and stability.
• Scaffolding STEM learning, problem-solving and creativity as children construct a 3D ‘bower’ using open-ended materials  - paper plates, pop sticks, fallen twigs, leaves, twine, blue loose parts, clay.

As children build a ‘bower’, opportunities are provided to re-tell the story and make meaning using a range of media. Image: Linda T Harrison.

These downloadable Shared Storytelling Ideas for Families and Bowerbird Blues Teaching Notes: Early Education share more follow-up play-based learning ideas in the home and early learning settings. The Play School Storytime: The Forgotten Song Saving the Regent Honeyeater episode is a useful digital storytelling resource to extend children’s learning about the habitats and behaviours of other Australian bird species.

Wildlife advocate, Ben Dessen, reads ‘The Forgotten Song’ by Coral Vass on Play School Story Time.

‘Bowerbird Blues’ in primary schools

Bowerbird Blues offers extensive learning opportunities across the Australian Curriculum , inspiring wonder and investigation about the natural environment and sustainability concepts for K-6 students. Designing a board game based around the story is one example of how teachers can promote learning about biodiversity, plastic pollution, recycling, mathematics, visual literacy, design and technologies by:

• Asking students to create a design brief, write the rules, draw the artwork and make pieces for a game. Consider – How will you include the natural and constructed environments featured in the book e.g. city, sea and sky? What sustainability messages will you include? What challenges will players face?
• Encouraging older students to use digital software to design and build their game by using symbols, shapes, images and sound.

Integrating quality literature into the curriculum can inspire critical thinking, creative expression and meaningful connections across subject areas. Image: Linda T Harrison.

These downloadable Bowerbird Blues: Activity Ideas for Teacher Librarians and Primary Teachers share more planning ideas, worksheet templates and mapping across the Australian Curriculum.

Picture books for K-10 students

With their vivid illustrations and thought-provoking narratives, picture books can serve as windows into a world of knowledge, imagination and understanding for students across the K-10 curriculum:

• Using picture books for intercultural understanding (nsw.gov.au)
• Guide to picture books in geography K–10 (nsw.gov.au)
• Guide to picture books in history K-10 (nsw.gov.au)

About the author

Founder of Play Pathways Australia , Linda T Harrison (B.Ed) is an experienced teacher and early education consultant for organisations including ABC Kids Early Education, NESA, ALIA and Story Box Library. Through her work she advocates for the value of a play-based curriculum for young children, acknowledging the vital role quality literature plays in creating inquiry learning programs.

Helpful links

• CBCA Book Of The Year Awards: Notables 2024
• ALIA's National Simultaneous Storytime - 2024
• Investing in a reading nation (australiareads.org.au)
• CBCA - Bowerbird Blues - Judges review
• Why Children's Book Council of Australia stickers are highly coveted by publishers, authors and illustrators - ABC News
• Australia's highest-selling female author Sally Rippin named new Children's Laureate - ABC News
• ABC Kids Early Education webinar: Children's Literature and Multimodal Literacy in the Early Years
• Education experts break down the best ways to teach children how to read - ABC News
• Introduction to the science of reading | Australian Education Research Organisation
• Play School Story Time : ABC iview
• ABC Education Story Time - ABC Education
• Story Time Play Worlds - ABC Kids
• Children help judge best books - ABC Kids
• Using multimedia texts to spark storytelling - ABC Kids
• 1. Fox, M. (2008). Reading Magic: Why reading aloud to our children will change their lives forever . Mariner Books.
• 2. Touhill, L. (2012). Inquiry-based learning. NQSPLP e-Newsletter: No.45
• 3. NCACL Champions Picture Books for Older Readers

Home › Blog Topics › Improve Visual Literacy Skills with Picture Books

Improve Visual Literacy Skills with Picture Books

By Maureen Schlosser on 10/21/2019 • ( 4 )

Visual literacy is the ability to gather meaning from an image. It’s the practice of asking questions about what we see and why it matters. Giving learners opportunities to look closely at images will sharpen their critical thinking skills.

Picture books are the perfect medium for visual literacy exploration. Captivating illustrations on book covers, jackets, and endpapers are all worthy of examination. Readers will contemplate the context and wonder about what they see. Facilitating conversations around the artwork cultivates a deeper understanding for the story.

Take a look at the examples and ideas below to improve visual literacy skills with picture books.

Smile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry)

When we think of Charlie Chaplin, we imagine a silhouette of a skinny man with a top hat and cane. This mental image might have been the inspiration for Ed Young’s illustrations in S mile: How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry) . We see outlines of figures, places, and objects throughout this intriguing story. These silhouettes will engage readers to make connections and ask questions.

Visual Literacy Lesson Idea

View the double-page spread from the book  Smile  by Gary Golio and Ed Young. Ask learners the following questions:

• What information can you gather about the story by looking at the silhouettes?
• Why do you think the outline of the boy’s face takes up an entire page?
• What do you notice about the figure in the bottom-right corner of the page? ( Further exploration of the book will reveal that the little guy moves as you flip through the pages.)

Visit Library Lessons to read more about this book.

The Breaking News

Author Sarah Lynne Reul tackles a relevant topic in a gentle way in The Breaking News . Young audiences can read this story by narrating what they see in the illustrations. Facial expressions, body language, and color choices give important clues about the story. Readers will appreciate learning how a young girl can help people feel better by doing small acts of kindness.

Explore this double-page spread from  The Breaking News  by Sarah Lynne Reul. Ask learners the following questions:

• What is happening on this page? How can you tell? What details in the illustration support your observations?
• Invite readers to think of a time when they tried to make people feel better. What did they do?

For more ideas to use with this book, visit the Library Lessons blog.

Every Month Is a New Year: Celebrations around the World

Readers of all ages will want to touch and explore each page of the gorgeous Every Month Is a New Year: Celebrations around the World . The illustrations, done in collage, feel like they can pop right out of the page.

The book opens like a regular calendar. Every month features a new year holiday from a different part of the world. More information about calendars and celebrations are included in the back of the book.

Introduce  Every Month is a New Year: Celebrations around the World by Marilyn Singer and Susan L. Roth.

• Ask learners what they can expect to learn from this book.
• Open to the first page. Invite learners to notice how you turn the pages of the book. Ask them, “What’s different about reading Every Month Is a New Year? Why do you suppose that is?”
• Open the book to the month of September. Ask learners what they notice and what they wonder about the illustration before reading the text. Consider why daisies and a grid fill the pages.

Do you have a book recommendation for a visual literacy lesson? Please share in the comment box below!

For more ideas to strengthen visual literacy skills, read “ Encourage Conversation with a Compelling Illustration: A Lesson That Supports the AASL Standards Framework for Learners” from Knowledge Quest .

Author: Maureen Schlosser

Author: Lessons Inspired by Picture Books for Primary Grades and Social and Emotional Learning for Picture Book Readers published by ALA Editions Blogger: https://LibraryLessonsWithBooks.com Skillshare Teacher: https://skl.sh/3a852D5

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Categories: Blog Topics , Student Engagement/ Teaching Models

Tags: picture book lesson , picture books , visual literacy

Great article, Maureen! Thank you for pointing out the importance of visual literacy for students. It’s an easy thing to overlook and assume that kids are getting, but providing clear examples and guiding questions can really help enhance and expand their thinking and abilities.

We recdntly added Shaun Tan’s excellent book The Arrival to our 8th grade curriculum as a supplemental text. It has no words – the entire story must be inferred from the exquisitely detailed drawings. It’s a wonderful story whose nuances can be explored through careful examination. Without strong visual literacy skills, many readers miss important elements of the story.

Steve, Thank you for your insight and book recommendation! I’m looking forward to borrowing it from the library! It looks and sounds like a powerful story.

Maureen – thank you so much for including a spread from THE BREAKING NEWS. And Steve – THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan is one of my very favorite books! I wrote a blog post about it several years ago – https://writersrumpus.com/2016/11/18/hope-and-humanity-in-the-arrival/ . It is a wonderful book to pore over, for middle school students and grownups like me.

Wow! Thank you for sharing your blog post about The Arrival! It looks like a remarkable book with thought provoking illustrations.

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• May 25, 2022

Picture Books about Inquiry and Questioning

Children have a natural curiosity, giving them a head start in being effective inquirers. These picture books for questioning and inquiry illustrate characters with curiosity and thinking skills going through the inquiry process.

Why Read Picture Books about Inquiry and Questioning?

According to the IBO , inquirers nurture their “curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. [They] know how to learn independently and with others. [They] learn with enthusiasm and sustain [a] love of learning throughout life.”

Children have a natural curiosity, giving them a head start in being effective inquirers. Inquiry skills develop the research skills children need through their academic life and beyond.

The benefits of an inquirer and questioning include:

• fostering curiosity
• developing critical thinking skills
• enhancing problem-solving and research skills
• developing creativity and independence
• increasing student responsibility for their own learning
• encouraging independent thinking
• supporting reasoning skills

Children have a natural ability to ask questions, giving them a head start in being effective inquirers. Inquiry skills develop the research skills your students need through their academic life and beyond.

Using Picture Books about Inquiry and Questioning

Inspire inquiry in your classroom by reading about characters who are independent and effective thinkers who make connections and problem solve.

Use these suggested inquiry books to see inquiry in action with characters who:

• think critically, creatively and reflectively
• build on prior knowledge
• research and gather information, independently
• analyse their findings and those of others
• interpret data
• learn from others
• create new understandings
• understand there may be more than one answer
• present and communicate their findings, explaining their learning
• refine their finding and start the inquiry process again

Most of the characters go through an inquiry process and make surprising discoveries along the way. However, some lack an inquiry attitude. This shows as:

• ignorance and disinterest
• unable to express their views, leading others to disregard their opinions
• uninformed and uninterest in learning and their own education
• fewer opportunities to be successful
• listens to misinformation and doesn’t check different perspectives

Questions to Use with Picture Books about Inquiry and Questioning

• Is there a connection between being curious and being good inquirer?
• What does it mean to be an inquirer?
• Did [character] ask the right questions to further their understanding of the situation? Can you think of any others?
• Did [character] use inquiry skills that would be useful to you?
• Is there a connection between being an inquirer and asking questions?
• How do you know [character] was being an inquirer?
• How did the inquiry process help [character]?
• How do you know the [character] was going through an inquiry process?
• How were the [characters] inquirers?
• Were any of the [characters] curious? How do you know?
• Describe how a character used their curiosity/inquiry process to solve a mystery. Could they have done anything differently?

FREE Learner Profile Graphic Organizers

Would you like some FREE Learner Profile graphic organisers?

The resource includes a graphic organizer for each learner profile. Fill in the form below to get access to the FREE  pack.

You can find the FULL INQUIRY  resource pack by clicking on the image.

If you already have access to the  free resource library , you will find the freebie in the  Learner Profile  section.

Ada's Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World's First Computer Programmer by Fiona Roberton

Born in 1815, Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician. She is often called the first computer programmer because of an algorithm she wrote for a computing machine.

Use this biography to promote STEM , inquiry , knowledge , gender roles , computing, mathematics, and inventions .

Ask Me by Bernard Waber

An inquisitive girl and her father walk through their local neighbourhood. She is full of questions for her father as they explore their world.

A poetic picture book to explore asking questions and curiosity .

Avocado Asks: What Am I? by Momoko Abe

Avocado is feeling fine until a customer asks if it is a fruit or vegetable. Avocado has no idea how to respond and the question just won’t go away.

Reinforces asking questions , a sense of  identity and being positive in your own skin.

Be a Maker by Katey Howes

Think about how you can make a difference by discovering how many things can you create in a day. Can you make a new friend, a change, a donation or a spaceship?

Read to inspire curiosity , inquiry , creativity and inspiration.

Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler

Curious Ernest D dives into his pond and discovers an unexpected, fantastical world. When he returns to his ordinary life it doesn’t seem quite so ordinary anymore.

Read to discuss curiosity and inquiry .

The Boy and the Sea by Camille Andros

Sat on a beach, a young boy stares out at the sea, thinking and asking questions . As he grows, his questions become more complex, but he still returns to the sea for answers, and to take the time to pause and think.

Use to discuss asking questions, curiosity , perspectives , setting and making connections .

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

A severe drought in Malawi caused 14-year-old Kamkwamba to drop out of school to save his family money. He researched how he could bring electricity to his village and built a working windmill from scraps.

A book that promotes responsible decision-making, perseverance , a growth mindset and social awareness .

The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter

There are words that make a boy’s heart soar and laugh and also words that make him lonely and sad. He decides to spread words to whoever he thinks will appreciate them.

This book promotes appreciation , communication and inquiry .

Cece Loves Science by Kimberly Derting

Cece is full of questions and curiosity . She learns “scientific inquiry… can lead to a lot of fun and adventure” when her teacher sets a task to try an experiment. After brainstorming with her friend Isaac, they decide to observe the food Einstein, Cece’s dog, eats. Through the process, she learns about asking questions, creative thinking and perseverance .

The Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence Parry Heide

Ahmed lives in bustling Cairo and he has a secret, but before he can share it he travels through the city with his donkey and cart selling fuel. After a long, busy day he proudly shows his family how he can now write his own name. Use to discuss hard work while overcoming adversity .

A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech

A well-meaning principal learns that learning outside of school can be just as important as being in school.

Reinforces themes of self-management , balance , wellbeing and enthusiasm.

The Fortune-Tellers by Lloyd Alexander

This Cameroon folktale tells of a sly fortune-teller who takes advantage of villagers seeking news of a positive future. When a young carpenter visits, the fortune-teller’s predictions come true in an unusual way.

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures by Julia Finley Mosca

No one expected Temple Grandin to be able to talk after being diagnosed with autism. But her ability as a visual thinker helped her connect with animals and invent groundbreaking improvements for the farming industry.

This biography promotes women in science , problem-solving, creative thinking and inquiry .

The Girl with Big, Big Questions by Britney Winn Lee

A young girl asks lots of big questions to everyone she meets, but when her classmates ask her to stop, she stays silent. When there is a crisis in her community , she understands how important her questions are to solving problems and making a difference. 

Read to discuss curiosity , questioning, research, persistence , inquiry and problem-solving .

Going Places by Peter H Reynolds

The Going Places contest involves building a go-kart and racing it, but Maya has a different idea. Her curiosity and open-mind help her find a unique way to cross the finish line.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Hidden Figures tells the inspirational story of four black women who worked at NASA in the 1940s. Their intelligence and determination changed the world by putting a man on the moon.

A powerful picture book to promote gender roles , tolerance , inquirers and perseverance .

How To by Julie Morstad

A diverse collection of children show the reader how to do different things in different ways. Read to start discussions on play, curiosity , inquiry , and problem-solving .

How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander

A lyrical book on the joy and power reading brings. Kwame Alexander suggests, “get real cozy between the covers and let your fingers wonder as they wander” through the book. He advises the reader not to “rush though: Your eyes need time to taste. Your soul needs room to bloom.”

Islandborn by Junot Díaz

Lola collects memories of the Caribbean island where she was born. She finds out about music, beaches, sweet mangoes, a colourful environment and destructive forces. These tales help Lola’s feel pride in her heritage.

Reinforces themes of belonging , identity , immigration and inquiry .

Izzy Gizmo by Pip Jones

Izzy Gizmo is an inventor but her inventions didn’t always work as expected causing Izzy to get cross and quit. But her Grandpa’s advice of not giving up helps her continue her work.

Read to promote a growth mindset , inquiry , perseverance and self-management .

Just Because by Mac Barnett

At bedtime, a curious child asks her dad random questions . Rather than answering ‘just because’ he gives the most fantastical replies. Her last question is, “Why do we have to sleep?” He tells her, “Because there are some things we can only see with our eyes closed.”

Marvelous Mattie by Emily Arnold McCully

Learn about the work of Margaret E. Knight and her fight against restrictive gender roles in a time when women were not accepted as scientists.

This book deals with gender roles, tolerance , open-mindedness and independence.

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

A girl and her canine assistant adjust, examine, tweak, fasten, fix, straighten and study to create the most magnificent thing. But not everything works out the way she imagines.

Promotes creative thinking , self-management , perseverance and a growth mindset .

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne

A boy with a brilliant mind imagines evolutionary ideas. This boy grows into Albert Einstein who revolutionised our understanding of the universe.

This biography promotes science , creativity, inventions , perseverance , questioning and curiosity .

The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito

Yoshio lives in Tokyo and listens to the sounds the city creates around him, like a symphony hall. When he meets a musician he learns about the sound of silence in Japanese, ma. He goes on a journey to find ‘ma’ in the noisy city.

Read to start discussions on inquiry , mindfulness , and exploration of our local environment.

Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei by Peter Sis

Galileo Galilei explored new ideas and challenged scientific beliefs. He discovered that the Earth was not the centre of the Universe and revolved around the Sun. His results were shocking as they challenged the accepted view of the earth held since ancient times.

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

As a cat takes a walk different animals see him very differently. Their perception of the cat depends on their own point of view. Some animals only see a blur, others see something big and scary, while others only see a tiny dot from the sky.

The Thingamabob by Il Sung Na

A curious elephant finds a mysterious red object, but it has no idea what it is. His friends can’t help, so the elephant starts experimenting. When the rain begins to fall he finds a great use for the ‘thingamabob’; as an umbrella.

Read to starts discussions on inference , prediction , problem-solving , curiosity, creative thinkers , asking questions and inquiry .

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein

Told in Haiku, Wabi Sabi sets off on a journey to find out the meaning of her name and her identity . She discovers that wabi sabi is a Japanese philosophy of seeing beauty in simplicity.

Read to discuss inquirers , reflection and thinkers .

Weslandia by Paul Fleischman

A young boy called Wes creates his own sustainable civilisation called Weslandia. Reinforces themes of inquiry , identity and environmental responsibility .

What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada

Discover how one great idea can grow and spread around the world. Inspire children to have confidence in their ideas as you never know what can happen!

Reinforces themes of brainstorming, confidence , growth mindset , inspiration, self-esteem and creativity.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

A boy named Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge lives next to an old people’s home. His favourite resident is Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper. When Wilfrid finds out she has lost her memory he goes on a journey to discover what memories are so he can help Miss Nancy find hers.

Promotes a sense of community , friendship , compassion and different perspectives .

Wolves by Emily Gravett

Rabbit visits the library to learn about the behaviour of wolves. As it reads, a shadow with sharp claws and a bushy tail creeps off the page. Should the rabbit be wary of this sinister figure?

Zoom by Banyai Istvan

Nothing is quite what it seems in this wordless picture book. The reader zooms into pictures within pictures until they get closer and closer to the action.

Disclosure : This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything through them, I will get a small referral fee and you will be supporting me and my blog at no extra cost to you, so thank you! You can find more information here .

How do you promote inquiry and curiosity in your classroom? Tell me about your favourite inquiry books in the comments!

Did you enjoy this post? Why not share it!

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School Reading List

Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK

Home » Children's nonfiction, genre and cross-curricular topic books » Books to encourage critical and creative thinking skills

Books to encourage critical and creative thinking skills

Thinking skills – children’s books to encourage creative and critical thinking

Books to encourage thinking skills – this list of books contains texts that have been specifically selected to promote both critical and creative thinking skills through reading.

The fiction and nonfiction titles below will encourage children to independently engage in critical and creative thinking. For example, thinking critically, analysing and evaluating characters and storylines, observing, inferring and predicting what might happen next and reflecting using reasoning to support their interpretation and evaluation.

Children can also look at plots, characters and situations to stop and think, consider cause and effect, and propose their own original solutions to narrative problems. There are also titles to help children engage in creative thinking processes, think outside the box, think differently, use fresh perspectives, consider different points of view, and use teamwork and communication to present imaginative ideas.

This list includes titles by authors including Oliver Jeffers, Alice James, Alex Frith, Petr Horáček, Hannah Peck, John Condon, Leo Timmers and The School of Life.

Children’s books to encourage creative and critical thinking skills – our recommended titles

What will i discover by tanya lloyd ky, illustrated by rachel qiuqi.

‘Why does every humpback whale sing a different sound’ and ‘How many dinosaurs roamed the Earth’ are just two of the big questions posed in this beautifully illustrated large-format picture book. With awe and wonder oozing from every page, ‘What Will I Discover’ is a joy to read and share with preschool and EYFS-aged children.

Big Cat by Jess Racklyeft

Seven-year-old Catherine is neat and precise and when she discovers a very wild cat, they find adventure in the most unlikely of places. With clever multi-perspective illustrations and short bursts of text that will encourage children to think differently and ask questions, Big Cat is highly recommended for reading and discussing with EYFS and lower KS1 children.

The Best Bear Tracker by John Condon and Julia Christians

A confident young girl is determined to follow the ‘Bear Tracker Rules’ and become the best bear tracker in the world. Children will love spotting the curious family of bears that follow her, undetected, throughout her quest in this hilarious picture book story for EYFS and KS1. If you are teaching instructional and procedural writing in Year 2 or lower KS2, ‘The Best Bear Tracker’ would make a great text to use for modelling and developing logical ideas and to encourage critical thinking skills.

The General by Michael Foreman

When an important army general falls from his horse, he looks up, dazed, and appreciates the beauty of his surroundings. This sets into motion a plan to change the world and strive for peace. Written at the height of the Cold War, ‘The General’ is still a highly relevant picture book to read and discuss in KS2 PSHE classes. The distinctive illustrations will inspire children’s artwork in KS2 – particularly the mosaic-style depiction of the army camp from above.

Meanwhile Back On Earth by Oliver Jeffers

When two children can’t stop arguing, their dad decides to take them on a journey through time and space. Looking back at the planet Earth helps to teach his children what matters, what makes us human and what brings people together in harmony. Exquisitely illustrated, this hardback picture book is a wonderful achievement, both visually and in terms of the powerful and universal message. The sparse text is both thought-provoking and inspiring and will challenge the reader’s views on the value of life and mankind’s place in the universe. Highly recommended for reading and discussing with classes in KS1.

A Perfect Wonderful Day with Friends by Philip Waechter

When Racoon realises that he has no eggs for his cake, he visits Fox. Fox needs to fix the roof, so they enlist the help of Bear, beginning a heartwarming quest of camaraderie, helpfulness and cake. A sparkling picture book about friendship, community and positivity and what makes an enjoyable day. A useful resource for EYFS and KS1 teachers to use when modelling story journeys.

The Perfect Present by Petr Horáček

Best friends Tom and Mot give each other a wonderfully imaginative birthday present. Tom gifts a beautiful feather. Might it be from a magical bird? Mot gives a marble. Or perhaps it is a tiny planet? The Perfect Present is a highly creative and charming story with glorious and colourful illustrations. It’s ideal for eliciting creative thinking skills in class discussions. For EYFS and KS1 teachers looking for large display ideas, the multicoloured feather in particular will provide a wealth of inspiration.

A Little Bit of Hush by Paul Stewart

Disturbed by the chattering starlings, squawking crows and banging woodpeckers, the poor baby squirrels can’t get any sleep! With charming collage-style illustrations, ‘A Little Bit of Hush’ explores how we react to noise, and helps to explain mindfulness and consideration for the feelings of others with pupils in EYFS. It’s also a great story to help promote peace and quiet at bedtime with younger children.

Elephant Island by Leo Timmers

When a seafaring elephant with a captain’s hat finds himself marooned on a rock, he works together with a mouse to build an island. After some time, more and more animals help out, and the island becomes more and more spectacular. It even develops a Ferris wheel! With themes of ambition, growth, perseverance, and confidence in the face of peril; as well as captivating illustrations; this book is perfect to read and share with EYFS classes or discuss and think about creatively in PSHE lessons with older children. It’s a unique book that children will want to read, imagine, and think about again and again.

To Catch a Cloud by Elena de Roo and Hannah Peck

When a young boy spots a cloud he challenges it to catch him – and so begins a chase over land and sea in many kinds of weather. Told in the first person through rhyming verse and spectacular vibrant illustrations, this is a fantastic source of inspiration for creative writing, poetry modelling and display ideas in KS1 classes. In particular, the artwork, depicting interesting and unexpected perspectives, really makes the wind and weather come alive.

The Very Hard Book by Idan Ben-Barak

This innovative paperback invites children to think. Exploring metacognition and critical thinking in a way that primary-aged children will understand, this book encourages children to consider logic, perception, paradoxes and more, through big bold, illustrations, clever typography and engaging short bursts of text. The perfect book for thinking children, it’s very hard not to like everything about this book.

Big Questions about the Universe by Alice James and Alex Frith

When experts at London’s Royal Observatory collected the most interesting ‘big questions’ children had asked, topics included the solar system, how stars were formed, how people can live and travel in space and how much we know about our existence and the universe. This book helps to answer these questions, and more, in a brightly illustrated hardback that’s jam-packed with short bursts of facts, details and ideas to spark the imagination. Refreshingly ambitious, and not dumbed down in any way, Big Questions about the Universe is highly recommended for KS2 libraries,  and also extension reading to encourage the development of thinking skills in greater-depth students.

Mathematics for Beginners by Sarah Hull and Tom Mumbray

If a child questions why we learn maths, then reading this book will provide them with many fascinating and relevant answers. Each chapter covers an exciting concept that will appeal to both children who are interested in Maths and those who enjoy being challenged. Including clear and concise introductions to mathematical modelling, probability, game theory and the concept of proof, this is a great read for ‘greater-depth’ students in years 5&6, and a useful resource for lower KS3 libraries.

Ten Ways to Build a Brilliant Brain by Nicola Morgan

This comprehensive guide to building a brilliant brain includes advice on healthy eating, developing a growth mindset and positive outlook exercising, being inquisitive, reading books, making friends, improving resilience and resting and sleeping well. The high-quality text isn’t dumbed down and is presented in short bursts of clarity with helpful graphics and illustrations. An inspiring and practical read, this book will appeal to children aged 10-13 who are experiencing change, school transition, or who want to learn how to improve their confidence. Highly recommended.

Big Ideas from History by The School Of Life

Thorough, in-depth, enticingly illustrated and thought-provoking, ‘Big Ideas from History’ covers a diverse selection of civilisations and cultures. It doesn’t simply explain the where, who and when; it focuses on the how and why; and prompts children to think critically. It spans prehistory, ancient realms, the middle ages, the early modern period, industrialisation, the world of today and predictions for the future. A substantial book in every sense – this 320-page hardback weighs in at over two-thirds of a kilogram – this is the perfect ‘big’ book present for a curious upper primary or lower secondary-aged child. There is a free extract here .

Books to encourage children to use thinking skills – bulk orders and class sets

To buy a pack of all or some of the books in this list, or to order class sets of book(s) in this list, please click the button below to order via uk.bookshop.org, an organisation that supports local bookshops.

Disclosure: If you buy books using the button above, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Critical and creative thinking skills resources

• There’s a great set of free resources designed to help schools develop a culture of critical and creative thinking in science, produced by Stem Learning.
• Educations Scotland’s National Improvement Hub has made available a framework for students to ‘design their own thinking, including extensive case studies, downloadable discussion prompts, and practical activities.
• The Geographical Association has collated an exhaustive series of case studies with real-world examples of how primary schools have used thinking skills to deepen geographical enquiry.
• CEA has curated a comprehensive set of free curricular and cross-curricular resources for primary schools with crib sheets covering interpreting information, how to problem solve, how to make decisions, how to think creatively, how to work in a team and how to manage yourself. These resources are potentially very useful for evidencing the development and integration of thinking skills for Ofsted deep dives in school inspections.
• The Department for Education in Southern Australia has published a useful aide-memoire that explains what critical and creative thinking is, and how it applies to children’s learning, in a brief and helpful format for parents and stakeholders.

If you liked this list of children’s books to encourage creative and critical thinking skills, you might also enjoy our collection of books for bored children , narrative nonfiction texts and our children’s literature podcast .

About Tom Tolkien

Further Reading

• Resources for English Teachers
• BookTok: a blessing or a curse? | Series 1, Episode 18
• How to halt the summer slide by encouraging students…
• Big Ideas From Literature by The School of Life
• The Reading Framework | Series 1, Episode 13
• How to use Lego to encourage reading skills | Series…

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This booklist was last updated on July 27th, 2023 and first published in 2022 .

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Home » Funded Projects » Using picture books to develop primary school children’s critical thinking and critical literacy

Using picture books to develop primary school children’s critical thinking and critical literacy

In this collaborative action research project, we (a literacy researcher and a primary school deputy head) design and implement a series of interactive reading circles with children in a year 1 and 2 class. 

Inspired by the work of Mary Roche, we use picture books to introduce the children to careful and close readings of stories, taking account of both text and images and how these work together. In small groups (no more than 8 participants) children sit together around a picture book, spending time looking at each page and discussing its meaning and content. 

Our aim is to offer an approach to meaning making and engaging with fictional texts that is child centred and can serve as an antidote to the often narrow conceptions of ‘reading comprehension’ that are part of the national curriculum in England. In terms of research, our main question is how such discussions can best be facilitated and what questions and prompts teachers can use to ignite children’s ‘deep’ thinking about stories and their multiple meanings. For example, we video-record and analyse some of the circles to examine how teachers can use ‘I wonder why’ statements and open questions to facilitate children’s deep and critical thinking about author intentions and how convincing a story or idea is. 

As part of the reading circles, we are also trying to find out how we can introduce the children to thinking about the meanings of visuals and modes such as colour or size.

Current UKLA Funded Projects

Books, bags and boxes: a study of the role and impact of the leeds school library service, discovering doctoral literacies: the emergence of new literacy events and relational doctoral practice, teacher’s perceptions and experiences of using narrative video games to teach literacy, reading for cultural meaning: creating a literacy toolkit for english teachers to use when selecting prose texts for diverse students. melissa jogie.

The multimodal school play: integrating performative digital animation into narrative and set design

‘To start talking phonics is crazy’: how parents understand ‘literacy’ in the lives of children with learning disabilities

Past ukla funded projects, grammar policy, pedagogy and the primary-secondary transition: students’ perceptions and reflections: ian cushing & marie helks, “you’ll never be as good as the white kids in their language”: using young adult fiction to explore language discrimination in schools. dr ian cushing & mr anthony carter, ​what literature texts are being taught in years 7 to 9 judith kneen, cardiff metropolitan university, developing effective oral feedback exchanges: supporting children’s writing at key stage two., rivers of multilingual reading – torrent or trickle sabine little, university of sheffield, agentic writing across the primary curriculum: using dramatic enquiry in a community of writers.

©2024 United Kingdom Literacy Association, All rights reserved

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Developing Children's Critical Thinking through Picturebooks: A guide for primary and early years students and teachers Kindle Edition

This accessible text will show students and class teachers how they can enable their pupils to become critical thinkers through the medium of picturebooks. By introducing children to the notion of making-meaning together through thinking and discussion, Roche focuses on carefully chosen picturebooks as a stimulus for discussion, and shows how they can constitute an accessible, multimodal resource for adding to literacy skills, while at the same time developing in pupils a far wider range of literary understanding.

By allowing time for thinking about and digesting the pictures as well as the text, and then engaging pupils in classroom discussion, this book highlights a powerful means of developing children’s oral language ability, critical thinking, and visual literacy, while also acting as a rich resource for developing children’s literary understanding. Throughout, Roche provides rich data and examples from real classroom practice.

This book also provides an overview of recent international research on doing ‘interactive read alouds’, on what critical literacy means, on what critical thinking means and on picturebooks themselves.

Lecturers on teacher education courses for early years or primary levels, classroom teachers, pre-service education students, and all those interested in promoting critical engagement and dialogue about literature will find this an engaging and very insightful text.

• Print length 210 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Routledge
• Publication date July 25, 2014
• File size 8909 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

"This book is exactly what it claims to be on the cover – it is a well-mapped guide for classroom teachers, students or parents who are looking for ways to engage young students in reading activities that will develop their critical literacy and their critical thinking skills. […] I would recommend this book to all primary school teachers, as well as to second-level English and SEN teachers." – Jean Johnston, ILSA Quarterly

"The voices of children and teachers, richly engaged with picturebooks, resound enthrallingly in this enthusiastic, thoughtful and superbly well-informed account of productive classroom practice." - UKLA Academic Book Award Panel

"This book brings together into one voice the best of an academic, scholar and educational practitioner working to develop the quality of the educational experience for children in circumstances where values of humanity often seem to be, at best ignored, and at worst felt to be voilating contradictions" - Mary Huxtable, Educational Journal of Living Theories

"I would cerntainly recommend this book for teachers eager to put their students at the heart of an authentic learning environment where teachers and pupils create and negotiate meaning together" - Duncan McCarthy, InTouch Magazine

"Mary Roche has created a bright, engaging, and academically rigorous study of the powerful role that picture books play in the primary classroom. She has just been highly commended for its significant contribution to the teaching of English at the UKLA academic book awards. " - Martin Galway, Herts for Learning

About the Author

Mary Roche is Senior Lecturer in Education at St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, Ireland.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B36Q67PC
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (July 25, 2014)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 25, 2014
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 8909 KB
• Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 210 pages
• #3,767 in Preschool & Kindergarten
• #4,012 in Elementary School
• #21,368 in Early Childhood Education

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