PICTURE BOOKS FOR BIG KIDS

I'm always on the lookout for picture books to share with our intermediate grade kids. Here are a couple I could share with pretty much every grade.

NEW SHOES by Susan Lynn Meyer 

Ella Mae has always worn her cousin Charlotte's hand-me-down shoes to school, but this year her feet are too big for Charlotte's shoes and Ella Mae needs new shoes. When she and her mother go to the shoe store, she learns that black children are not allowed to try on shoes. Instead, she and Mama trace her foot, then the store owner decides what shoes will fit. Ella Mae and her cousin Charlotte decide to open their own shoe store, where anyone can try on any shoes they want. They go door to door, offering to work in exchange for a used pair of shoes, which they then polish and clean up for their shoe store. A powerful look at Jim Crow laws in the late 1950's, you might want to consider pairing it with RUTH AND THE GREEN BOOK (Calvin Alexander Ramsey),WHITE WATER (Michael S. Bandy) or FREEDOM SUMMER (Deborah Wiles). Great for talking about advocacy or giving back to your community.

In a Cloud of Dust- Alma Fullerton

Anna attends school in a village in Tanzania. One day, a truck comes to their school, loaded with bikes for the children. By the time it's Anna's turn for a bike, however, there are none that will work for her. She tries to hide her disappointment, helping her friends as they learn to ride their new bikes, running alongside of them as they ride home from school. At the end she is in for a big surprise. Great for talking about caring for friends and sharing and giving what we have. Pair this one with THOSE SHOES by Maribeth Boelts.