Literature for Lively Lessons :: fresh picture book titles for Pre-K to 2nd grade

Ever wanted or needed a fresh offering of picture books to read? How about locating several books on a theme in a short amount of time?

For pre-K to 2nd grade, there’s an excellent little resource to help :: Literature for Lively Lessons!

Easy to use, Literature for Lively Lessons is a whole year’s worth of picture books separated into a month-by-month format.

But, it’s much more than a listing of book titles. Go ahead, take a look…

Twelve chapters each begin with a ‘Month at a Glance’ section, each containing reading tips, inspiring quotes and monthly designations such as Deaf History Month (March), National Rivers Month (June), National Poetry Month (April), or even Peanut Butter Lover’s Month (November)!

Each month also contains four weekly themes with several reading suggestions — picture books you might be familiar with, and most likely many new non-fiction and fiction titles.

For example, homeschoolers could probably list A Pair of Red Clogs, Grandfather’s Journey or The Story About Ping as options for a early elementary titles on Asian/Pacific American studies. Literature for Lively Lessons gives around another 15+ suggestions — all listed with a brief description of each story.

Here’s a sampling from the 48 weekly themes offered:

• Numbers
• Humor
• Hawaii
• History of Aviation
• Mice
• World of Work
• Friendship
• Alaska
• Pilgrims and Immigrants
• Teeth
• Farm/City Life…

…and many more! These references alone would make it a great resource, yet there are still features such as listings of important birthdays of children’s authors, reading strategies with instructions on how to implement and an incredibly helpful index. Access books alphabetically by title, author or theme/subject.

I’ve used this little book for years, and it’s one of my first resources for inspiration when building booklists for my little ones or thinking through adding some pizazz to our homeschool year. Because really, who doesn’t want to celebrate Clown Week (August)?

While all title suggestions may not be books I’d recommend, Literature for Lively Lessons is excellent!

written by Daniele, a homeschooling Mama of five, living out the journey over at Domestic Serenity.