End of Year Picture Books
The end of the school year is a crazy time. (Crazy might actually be an understatement.) We are dealing with testing, assemblies, field trips, field day, cleaning up our rooms, and more. This often leaves us tired and overwhelmed with weird little chunks of time to fill. I always loved reading picture books during these times. Not only do they help share with my students how I feel about each one of them, but it was also easy to tie in writing and math activities. Let me show you some of my favorites.
1. WALK ON! A GUIDE FOR BABIES OF ALL AGES
I love, love, LOVE this book. It sends a great message for anyone who is ready to take the next step (aka moving on to a higher grade.) It talks about how students might feel scared to leave behind what they know and that they might feel nervous about the future, but slowly, one step at a time, they will overcome.
(This book is also great for the first week of school!)
2. THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU WILL BE
This book is very sweet and might bring a tear to your eye. It talks about the potential that each child has and all the wonderful things they might do. This is a great opportunity to write your students a letter or note to tell them what your wishes are for each one of them.
“When I look at you,
shinning bright as the sun,
I wish for you this..
be brave little one!”
I love how this book celebrates the bravery and honor inside each child. I also like how this can help cheer our students on in their future endeavors.
I can’t even express how much I love this one. This book is about all the things we wish we could give each student in our classroom. It is uplifting and wonderful. Trust me, you’ll want to add this one to your library.
I like this one because it’s short, sweet, and to the point in true Boynton style. It’s humorous and uplifting.
I really like how this book shows that life’s journey is full of forks in the road and uphill battles. I really like the message it sends our students as well.
7. MRS. MCBLOOM, CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM
This is a hilarious book about a teacher of 50 years who has never cleaned up her room. Now she is retiring and needs her students help to come up with a solution. This is another great book to tie in with a writing activity.
This is a book about Matthew Perez and the end of his third grade year. He has the perfect good-bye gift for his teacher and worries that he won’t have time to give it to her. This book really captures the emotions that most students feel on the last day.
If you love First Day Jitters, you’ll love this book for the end of the year. Mrs. Hartwell’s class wants to make sure she doesn’t miss them too much over the summer. It’s very cute and engaging for our students.
This list wouldn’t be complete without the tried and true Dr. Seuss classic. Always a good one to end the year.
Pro tip: I would actually start the year with this book to help set the theme of the great journey we were about to embark on together. I got this idea from my wonderful, master-teacher-of-an-aunt.
This is a beautiful story about taking risks, overcoming challenges, and achieving your goals. I love how it works with younger and older students.
I love how clear the messages in this book are. It has inspirational sayings that rhyme with matching colorful illustrations. I personally think this book works better for younger grades (K-2), but you could use it for any grade.
I absolutely love, love, love this book. It is about a student in 2nd grade who is writing a letter to her teacher after she has grown up. She recounts how she was a wild, crazy, and sometimes challenging student. She tells of how her teacher was patient, kind, and caring. It makes me cry every time and is beautifully written.
Hopefully you found some great books to read during your end of year! Remember: You have done so much for you kids and they grew because of you.
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Cassie Tabrizi
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