Children’s Literature for

Building ComprehensionOnly a glimpse at all the books that

can be used for comprehension!

Matthew SpiteJamie EdwardsLindsay DeFeo

“The Greedy Triangle” by Marilyn Burns

Burns, M. (2008) The greedy triangle. New York: Scholastic Inc.

This books takes us to a place where a triangle keeps

asking the local shape shifter to add more lines and angles until it doesn't know which side is up because he is unhappy with his shape.

This book is great for students learning about

shapes and geometry. This book is also great for making inferences,

predicting and drawing conclusions.

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle

This book is about a caterpillar developing into a butterfly. Students can

make predictions and draw conclusions about this

book. This is also a great way to integrate science into literacy. Students will

love the interactive images and ideas of Eric Carle.

Carle, E. (2007). The very hungry caterpillar. Philomel Books.

“The Great Kapok Tree” by Lynne Cherry

This book takes you on a journey through a Brazilian rainforest where

the many different animals that live in a great kapok tree try to convince a man with an ax of the importance of not cutting down their home. This

book is great for previewing, predicting, making inferences and

using a KWL Chart!

Cherry, L. (1990). The great kapok tree. Houghton Mifflin Hartcourt.

“Is There Really a Human Race” by Jamie Lee Curtis

Curtis, J. (2006). Is there really a human race? Joanna Cotler Books.

This picture book is made for younger children but has concepts for children of

all ages. The book features a look at how fast we move through live and how we

should appreciate our surroundings including other people and the

environment. For comprehension, this book is fabulous for previewing, predicting

and questioning. Students can predict what will happen because of the title and ask questions as to why people act the

way that they do!

“Rosie’s Walk” by Pat Hutchins

Rosie the hen that is taking a pleasant walk around the farm, but the walk

isn't very fun for the fox who is trying to follow the difficult course Rosie is

unknowingly leading him through. This book is great for building sequencing skills. Students can create a timeline

based on the series of events that Rosie and the fox go through.

Hutchins, P. (2005). Rosie’s walk. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

“The View from Saturday” E.L.

KonigsburgKonigsburg, E.L. (1997). The view from Saturday. New York: ScholasticFour children are joined together by Mrs. Olinski to form a team, "The Souls," to

compete in the academic bowl. We meet them as they answer questions in the final round. We gain an insight of the

bond between people. This book is most definitely for older students but can be read to younger students. This book is great for summarization. Students can

decipher between important information and give a general overview of the story.

“Dreamcatcher” by Audrey Osofsky

Osofsky, A. (1999). Dreamcatcher. Scholastic Inc.

This book takes us into a place where a young boy is dreaming and a dream catcher protects him from

bad dreams. This books is for young students and will help them make

inferences. The book is set up where students can draw

conclusions from each page!

“The Ink Drinker” by Eric SanvoisinSanvoisin, E. (2002). The ink drinker. Random House Children’s Books.

The book takes us into a setting where a boy is stuck

in his father's bookstore over a holiday vacation and he hates to read. He spies on customers and for the

young narrator of this story, the adventure begins as

soon as he spots a strange-looking man sucking the ink

out of stories! He follows him to see what happens!

This book is mainly for older students (4th grade on) and

shows students the importance of reading in

lifelong learning. Students can relate to the main

character and realize that reading is so much more

than just words on a page.

“The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss

Seuss, D. (1971). The lorax. Random House Inc.

Dr. Seuss, again, takes us to a magical place where all the Truffala

Trees are being destroyed. Although this

books is about ending the destroying of the

environment, students can indefinitely make

inferences, draw conclusions, and act

upon their ideas. Students can use this book to promote their views on saving the

environment .

“The Seashore Book” by Charlotte Zolotow

Zolotow, C. (1994). The seashore book. New York: HarperTrophy

A mother's words helps her son imagine the seashore, even though

he's never seen the ocean. This books fosters visualization skills in students. They could make music for the book and draw pictures of

what they feel and see.