I breathed deeply as I uttered the last words of The Hello, Goodbye Window:
“When you look from the outside, Nanna and Poppy’s house has lots of windows, but there’s only one Hello, Goodbye Window and it’s right where you need it.”
Turning the page, I continued: “When I get my own house someday I’m going to have a special Hello, Goodbye Window too. By that time I might be a Nanna myself. I don’t know who the Poppy will be, but I hope he can play the harmonica.”
Norton Juster’s words echoed through our classroom where my five-year-olds had paused from their typical buzz for this compelling story. Each took a breath and sighed along with me. Twenty-three deep breaths. Twenty-three sighs. Quiet smiles all around.
“Well, what’d you think of that story?” I whispered into the stillness.
“That book, it just changed me,” Mills blurted out. Mills was five. He was charmed by the lead character, enamored by her grandparents, and surprised by the house that pulled the story together. At five.
A Twist in Our Class Constitution
That year on our class constitution, we posted these phrases:
- We believe in including others.
- We believe in being peace-makers.
- And we believe in reading books that change us.
Certain books do change you. They call out to you, whisper deep into your soul. Wake you from your dreams. Waft into your dinner conversations. Compel you to think differently about the world around you. And, yes, even five-year-olds can recognize such powerful pieces.
Responding To Books
So, what makes a book one that changes us? When I asked my kindergartners, they responded:
- They teach us stuff. But, more than that.
- They’re good stories about stuff we care about. And some stuff we didn’t know about.
- Some are funny. Others, not so much.
- They just make us into something different.
Read further to discover just a few books that inspired my kindergartners.
Gail Gibbon’s Nonfiction Books
The Washington Post cited Gibbons as having “taught more preschoolers and early readers about the world than any other children’s writer-illustrator.” She wrote 200+ books on everything—honeybees, baseball, and tornados. See below for things my first graders noticed about her writing style. Inspired by Gibbons, they couldn’t wait to draft their own books.
Sky Tree: Seeing Science Through Art, Thomas Locker
Locker’s paintings in Sky Tree made us slow down, celebrating one gorgeous tree through different weather and seasons. We read corresponding poems and talked about the differences we noticed in the tree over time. We discovered laminated posters of these paintings and viewed them daily. In response, the children chose “sky trees” of their own. Four times a year, children created their latest sketch to show how their sky trees changed. How delighted we were when the Columbia Art Museum displayed several of these exquisite samples in a summer exhibit of children’s work.
My Map Book, Sara Fanelli
I knew Sara Fanelli’s book would be similarly inspiring. Before I finished reading the fifth page, children asked for paper and crayons. They couldn’t wait to create heart maps, house maps, and dog body maps. Sara’s child-like illustrations compelled even reluctant artists to design delightful responses to her originals.
Earthdance, Joanne Ryder
Joanne Ryder’s poetic language pulled my students immediately into this eye-catching book about how our Earth moves and breathes. Not only did the illustrations dance, but the fonts tumbled, fell, and swayed across the pages. The children were mesmerized and rushed to try those ideas in their writing. Ryder’s writing inspired figurative language.
The Quiltmaker’s Gift, Jeff Brumbeau
After reading The Quiltmaker’s Gift, kindergartners decided to plan “random acts of kindness.” In Brumbeau’s story, the ancient quiltmaker only gave her one-of-a-kind quilts to those who couldn’t afford to buy them—despite the desires of the king.
The children worked hard to discover people they could gift something to, people who couldn’t purchase particular things for themselves. Some chose to donate blankets to downtown missions. Others gave food items for our food drive. Still others donated toys to nonprofit organizations.
Fiction Picture Books, Poems, Nonfiction and Maps
Books of all types inspired my children to change—just as Mills said. Even when some children didn’t realize the impact of the books, the enthusiasm of Mills and others pushed them to look more closely. Through powerful images or lovely imagery, these books called my children to celebrate, join in creating beauty, and change. Their words and pictures touched our hearts. And children responded with paintings, poems, maps, art museum contributions, and donations of warmth, sustenance, and love.
Looking for similar engaging Christian picture books?
Check out these picture books featured on our blog: God’s Earth Is Something to Fight For (Amy Houts), Journey with Jesus (Ann Ingalls), and The Wonder of Under (Cindy Lynn Sawyer).
Jennifer Mills Barnes invested her life in children, teaching mostly kindergartners and first graders for three decades. She was blessed to coach 41 student-teachers and welcomed over 2000 visitors into her inquiry-based classroom. Jennifer had the privilege of speaking at more than 20 conferences and served as an adjunct professor for two semesters at the University of South Carolina. She garnered national and state awards while maintaining National Board certification. But Jennifer’s passion was authentically teaching little kids.
These days, she feels called to write stories for children. As a retired teacher, she also captures her most powerful teaching moments to share with a new generation of children through helping their parents, grandparents, and teachers. The rest of the time, you can find her road-tripping with her husband, delighting in her garden, or hanging with her adult children and grandson, Tucker. Connect with her on Pinterest, Twitter, or her website, jennifermbarnes.com. Plus, check out the podcast “KidTalk” that was created with her first graders.
This is such a heartwarming piece! And a great reminder of the impact we have on young readers. I know that, while teaching journalism at a university, I had the privilege of working with some incredible students who talked about the books they read when they were younger shaped them into who they are now.