What You'll Find at the Picture Book Brain
LIBRARY LESSON PLANS
Save Valuable Time
- Picture book lessons for Grades K-6
- New titles added regularly.
- Use for Reading Aloud and Writing Lessons.
- Also available in Spanish.
- Resource Creation Takes Time and Research
- Enjoy time with your family instead!
THEMED BOOK LISTS
Great books await
- 100s of lists by holiday or subject.
- New titles added regularly.
- Various topics included such as themes, genres, and grade levels
- Lists formed with input from certified librarians, teachers, and parents.
- New Lists added often.
Library Games & Resources
MUST HAVE TOOLS
You'll find a wide assortment of interactive library games and activities here on my site.
Examples include:
- Sequencing Events
- Typing Games
- Read Aloud Videos
BOOK REVIEWS
Access Top Books
Here at the Picture Book Brain, we care about the quality of literature chosen for instruction. Unsure about a book? Check our book review inventory to see if it made our list.
LATEST FROM THE PICTURE BOOK BRAIN BLOG
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
A novel study with discussion questions for the realistic fiction middle grade novel Ferris by Kate DiCamillo. A great book for studying relationships/family, impact of setting, community, working together, coming of age, and for social emotional learning (SEL)! Printable worksheets and student activities on Google Docs with provided sentence stems to help students respond in paragraph
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
A novel study with discussion questions for the realistic fiction middle grade novel The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt. A great book for studying relationships, impact of setting, bravery, working together, Greek mythology, and for social emotional learning (SEL)! Printable worksheets and student activities on Google Docs with provided sentence stems to help
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
A novel study with discussion questions for the historical fiction middle grade novel The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. A great book for studying relationships, impact of setting, bravery, working together, World War 2 (WWII), and for social emotional learning (SEL)! Printable worksheets and student activities on Google Docs with provided sentence stems
Mock Caldecott 2025 Unit Lessons and Google Activities
Dive into the Caldecott Medal with this fun Mock Caldecott unit 2025! Lessons to help students learn about the medal, pretend to join the Caldecott Medal Committee, learn about some top books that could win for 2024 – 2025 as well as previous winners. Learn about selection criteria as well with activity pages
PICTURE BOOK BRAIN WELCOMES YOU
Hey there! I'm Josh, the author of Picture Book Brain! Welcome!
I’m a teacher turned school librarian, and I am obsessed about teaching with picture books and other children’s books. Here at Picture Book Brain, we help teachers and school librarians teach every standards in the most fun and efficient way possible. We do this by providing library lesson plans, themed book lists, library games and resources, and book reviews to help teachers and librarians like you have a better work-life balance.