Funny, New Picture Books Your Students Will LOVE! | Crafting Connections
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Funny, New Picture Books Your Students Will LOVE!

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Elementary students of all ages will enjoy these hilarious new picture books!
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

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt- This hilarious picture book will surely become a favorite classroom read-aloud!
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.
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt- This hilarious picture book will surely become a favorite classroom read-aloud!

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt- This hilarious picture book will surely become a favorite classroom read-aloud!

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 Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt- This hilarious picture book will surely become a favorite classroom read-aloud!

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

XO, OX: A Love Story by Adam Rex! This fun classroom read-aloud is perfect for identifying character traits, theme, and to practice inferencing!
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.
XO, OX: A Love Story by Adam Rex! This fun classroom read-aloud is perfect for identifying character traits, theme, and to practice inferencing!

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.
XO, OX: A Love Story by Adam Rex! This fun classroom read-aloud is perfect for identifying character traits, theme, and to practice inferencing!

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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