A highly effective way to teach point of view to elementary students is to read aloud a picture book that lends itself to teaching this reading strategy. Reading aloud a picture book facilitates a learning experience where you can model how to use point of view to better understand the text and engage students in their learning by asking related questions. Below is a list of 10 picture books for teaching point of view. Check out the full list, as well as the teaching resources that go with them!
10 Picture Books for Teaching Point of View
Below are 10 picture books that are great for teaching elementary students about point of view.
1. Alfie by Thyra Heder
The story starts from Nia’s point of view. She loves her turtle Alfie but she thinks that he doesn’t notice the different stories she tells him or dances she teaches him. After a while she forgets about him, until he disappears on her seventh birthday. The story then changes to Alfie’s point of view. Alfie loves Nia and she makes him feel incredibly happy with her stories and dance moves and she always makes him laugh. This book lends itself to teaching about points of view as both the owner and the fish tell their perspective of their relationship. Check out these Alfie activities!
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2. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Denene Millner
This story is told from the point of view of a narrator. The narrator is explaining to a boy who is about to get his haircut how he feels after his haircut. He talks about what a good haircut can do for a person’s confidence, and how other people will feel when they see his fresh cut. This story allows the narrator to not only tell us the story, but to address the boy in the book specifically- making this a great mentor text for teaching point of view! Check out these Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut activities!
3. Dear Mrs. Larue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague
Mrs. Larue’s dog, Ike, was a very spoiled dog. Frustrated with his behavior, she made the decision to send Ike to the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy. Once at school, Ike started writing letters to Mrs. LaRue and expressed his dislike for the boarding school. Soon, he decided to escape. Good thing he did because right as he was walking, Mrs. LaRue got hurt in the street! Mrs. LaRue was so happy to have Ike home! She was grateful he saved her. This wonderful story is told through the perspective of Ike, the dog. We are able to feel compassion and sympathy as he writes about his challenges with the Canine Academy. Check out these Dear Mrs. Larue: Letters from Obedience School activities!
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4. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
A wolf sets out to tell his version of what really happened the day he blew all the houses down. The wolf claims that he is completely misunderstood! This silly story is sure to have students thinking about perspective as the wolf retells this fractured fairy tale from his point of view. Check out these The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs activities!
5. Memoirs of a Hamster by Devin Scillian
Seymour the hamster is very happy with life in his cage. He has everything he needs: his wheel for exercise, a water bottle for hydration, and food. Seymour never thought of leaving his cage until Pearl the cat told him about life outside the cage. However, once he escaped he realized Pearl was lying and instead wanted to catch Seymour! This silly story is told from Seymore’s point of view and is shown through pronouns and diary entries. Check out these Memoirs of a Hamster activities!
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6. After the Fall by Dan Stantat
Humpty Dumpty is terrified of heights after he falls off the wall and the king’s men have to put him back together. After building a paper airplane and having it land on the top of the wall, Humpty must be brave and overcome his fear. He is filled with joy when he gets to the top. Humpty Dumpty is no longer afraid. He hatches into the bird that he was always meant to be. This rendition of the classic nursery rhyme provides first person narrative as Humpty tells the story himself, using the pronouns “I” and “me”. Check out these After the Fall activities!
7. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Duncan’s crayons have decided to run away! They feel like Duncan has mistreated them, and are not going to take it anymore. At the end, Duncan hears the crayons’ concerns and creates a picture using all of them in better ways. Students will love this story told from the point of view of crayons in letter formats! Check out these The Day the Crayons Quit activities!
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8. The Bad Seed by Jory John
The main character is a sunflower seed who considers himself to be bad. He does not use his manners and he describes all the ways that he is bad. The people in his community call him the Bad Seed and do not want to be around him. Eventually, he changes his mindset and self-talk and becomes a good seed. He works really hard on using his manners. He admits that it is hard but continues to try his best. This fun story is a great read for teaching point of view because we are able to see into the mind and inner thinking of this Bad (well, good!) Seed. Check out these The Bad Seed activities!
9. Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose
In this story, there is a boy who finds an ant and wants to squish it, and an ant who doesn’t want to be squished. The story goes back and forth between the perspective of the ant and the perspective of the boy. The boy gives the ant reasons why he should squish the ant. The ant gives the boy reasons why he should not be squished. At the end of this story readers have to decide whether or not the boy should squish the ant. This story has readers explore what it is like to take the perspective of someone else when making choices. Check out these Hey, Little Ant activities!
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10. A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts
The last book on this list of picture books for teaching point of view is A Bike Like Sergio’s. The author wrote this story from the point of view of Ruben, a boy who really wants a bike. Everyone else has a bike, but Ruben’s family can’t afford one. One day, he sees a woman who dropped money, and thinking it was a dollar, he kept it. It was actually $100, and he wanted to use that money to buy a bike. Eventually, he returns the money to the woman who dropped it. Ruben is proud of himself for doing the right thing. This story lends itself to teaching point of view because we can empathize with Ruben as he struggles to decide between what is right and what he wants. Check out these A Bike Like Sergio’s activities!
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In closing, we hope you found this list of picture books for teaching point of view helpful. They are some of our favorites! Check out some related posts below!
