Funny, New Picture Books Your Students Will LOVE!

For me, stepping into the children's section of my local bookstore, and gazing at the covers of the featured picture books is like walking into a bakery and ogling over the decadent treats that line the bakery case. In both locations, my heart starts to race and my mouth begins to water! Can you relate?

During my most recent trip to the bookstore, I hit the jackpot! I found two books that were completely new to me (published in 2017), and I fell in love with both of them. Both are quite funny, making them perfect books to engage students of all age levels. (Full disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links.)

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

As you can probably guess, The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors was the first book to catch my attention. Check out that cover! I was eager to open it up and find out how Drew Daywalt created a legend to go along with this popular game.

I was not disappointed. This book is hilarious! It begins with Rock's crushing defeats over Clothespin and Peach. Next, it moves on to Paper's victories over Printer and Trail Mix. Then, readers watch Scissors defeat Tape and Chicken Nuggets. Finally, the epic battles between Rock, Paper, and Scissors take place. The three great warriors are relieved to finally have met their matches. The story ends with "That is why children around the world- in backyards, on playground, and yes, even in classrooms- still honor the three great warriors by playing... Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

The author does an exceptional job of exhibiting voice in this book. In fact, if you teach your students about the Six Traits of writing, and spend time on the voice trait, this would be a great mentor text to add to your list.

I highly recommend asking your librarian to consider purchasing this book for your school library, or you might even want to purchase a personal copy for your own classroom. (Kids will be waiting in line to check this out from the library!) This one is sure to become a class favorite! I must warn you, there ARE a few incidents of some crude humor, so if this makes you uncomfortable, you might not enjoy this book quite as much. (Clothespin is holding a pair of men's underwear when they do battle. Also, when Rock challenges Peach, he tells Peach, "You, Sir, look like a fuzzy little butt.") I'm sure the crude humor, though, will make students love this book even more!

XO, Ox: A Love Story

This book is quite different than The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors. Whereas the previous book was clearly funny in an in-your-face sort of way, XO, Ox: A Love Story contains more subtle humor. I love reading these sorts of picture books with upper elementary students because it's so fun to watch them "catch" the more advanced humorous elements.

In this book, Ox writes a fan letter to Gazelle to tell her that he loves her. Gazelle send a canned response and a photo as a reply. Ox, which turns out to be quite gullible, write a second letter and receives the same reply. Ox does not understand that Gazelle is not responding herself, in fact, he writes back and mentions the "amazing coincidence!" The book continues on with Ox and Gazelle exchanging letters, and Gazelle gets more and more rude in her responses to Ox.

One of the best things about this book is its ending. It ends with "Dear Ox," and the reader must infer what Gazelle is going to tell Ox in her letter. The illustrations on the final page and inside the back cover makes the ending obvious.

This book also includes an important message about judging others. This book would make a great read-aloud while you are covering ELA topics like character traits, inferencing, and theme.

I would love to hear your humorous picture book recommendations! Please comment below with a favorite title that I should check out!

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Interactive Digital Task Cards!! {FREEBIE included!}

Less than a decade ago, I didn't even know what a "task card" was. Now, however, I can't imagine teaching without them! They are so student-friendly, and they can be used in SO many different ways!

Now... get this... new technology has allowed task cards to be IMPROVED! The talented people at Boom Learning have found a way to create digital task cards that students complete online!! And to make it even easier, they have joined forces with TeachersPayTeachers! A set of Boom Cards can be purchased on TpT, and after you purchase, a link transports you right to the Boom Learning platform where the digital task cards are housed. (Full disclosure: I am receiving a free renewal for writing a blog post about Boom Learning.)

Boom Cards are truly incredible! Why? Let me share a short list of just some of the awesome features provided by Boom Cards:

1. Boom Cards are paperless! That means that no printing, no cutting, no laminating, and no storing is required! 
2. Boom Cards are innovative! At my recent school, my principal was thrilled whenever a teacher implemented a new type of technology into their classroom activities. 
3. Boom Cards provide immediate feedback! After a student answers each question, he is informed immediately whether his answer is correct or incorrect. Students who choose an incorrect answer are given an opportunity to answer again.
4. Boom Cards are student-friendly and engaging! They feel like any other educational app that you might find on an electronic device. Kids can earn badges and awards. They can even sign in from home to access the cards, and do them with a parent! 
5. Boom Cards are teacher-friendly! Once a teacher sets up an account, he or she can add students and then assign a deck to individual students or to the entire class. Because the task cards are self-checking, the teacher can access reports that tells how each student did on the assigned decks.
6. Boom Cards are versatile! They work on any device... SMARTBoards, iPads, desktop computers, phones, etc. Furthermore, Boom Cards can be used in multiple ways! Students can complete them individually at their desks, iPads can be set up at a learning center, or your entire class can work through them together as a large group activity using the Fast Play option!

During this launch period, Boom Learning is providing a one-year subscription to every teacher for FREE! After the year has passed, you can either renew your subscription in order to access the premium features, or you can continue to play all of your decks for free using the Fast Play option!

I encourage you to check out a deck for yourself! These truly unique task cards can best be understood by exploring a deck. Feel free to explore my FREE Boom Card deck that focuses on possessive nouns. Just click on the image below to check it out!

I currently have a few decks available in my TpT store, and I hope to add more in the coming months. Click HERE to view my current listing of Boom Cards.

If you try them out, please let me know what you think! I hope you and your students love them as much as I do!

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Leave a Comment 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, Task Cards, test prep