Summary Vashti believes she can’t draw and feels frustrated when faced with a blank sheet of paper. Her art teacher encourages her to start by making a simple mark and signing her name. Reluctantly, Vashti complies and creates a single dot on her paper. The next day, Vashti discovers that her teacher has framed her

Summary In day in the life of a little girl named Louisa, she contextualizes her successes and failures with her future aspirations. She notices patterns and draws connections between what she can (and can’t) do right now and how her experiences prepare her to do more as she grows. Climbing a rock wall will enable

Summary This short picture book is written in a style accessible to readers who might also be learning to ride a bicycle for the first time. In the story, a little girl works with her grandfather to learn to ride a bike. Their process spans her becoming interested to taking ownership to trying and failing

Summary When Irene’s mother, a dress maker for the dutchess, falls sick the day of the royal ball, little Irene volunteers to deliver her dress to the palace. Before leaving, Irene tends to her sick mother and carefully packages the dress with tissue paper in a large yellow box. There is a winter storm outside,

Summary When a sheep observes a flock of birds flying overhead, she is inspired to create a flying machine in order to see the world the way they do. She approaches her friend, a wolf, to help. He is initially skeptical that it can be done, but ultimately agrees to help her. They work together

Summary This Todd Parr picture book is a perfect SEL read aloud for younger readers. It presents a dozen scenarios in which children (and even some grown ups) may feel embarrassed or ashamed with reassurance that these things are “okay”; they can ultimately be fixed, allow you to learn, or maybe even lead to things

Summary A girl draws a picture — first of a girl, then of her immediate surroundings, and eventually of her entire world. She reflects on every step along her artistic journey. These include the things that go according to her plan, her mistakes, and even her attempts to correct for those mistakes that always obscure

Summary This is the story of a sunflower seed, who has come to see himself as a bad seed. He does all kinds of things — big and small — that annoy and inconvenience other the seeds. They talk about him behind his back, and he knows it. He used to be a pleasant seed,

Summary After a series of swimming lessons, Jabari goes to the swimming pool with his dad and sister and tells them he is finally ready to jump off the diving board. Walking towards the diving board and climbing the first rungs of the ladder, Jabari shows and voices hesitation. With support from his dad, he

Summary Some things come easily for Kate, but she can’t help but focus on the things that are hard, such as getting ready for school on time, doing cartwheels with her friends, and speaking in front of her class. They are even harder because Kate ends up making her parents upset or getting teased by

Summary Horace Pippin was a boy with big hands who loved to make art. Because he was so big and strong, he had many responsibilities in his family, but he drew pictures whenever free time he had. His classmates loved his artwork, and he even won a magazine contest for his drawings. When Horace was

Summary In this expansion of the original nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty goes into greater detail about the emotional toll his accident had on him long after the king’s men were able to physically restore him. He wasn’t the same at his fall. He was too scared to return to the wall where he once watched

Summary On the day of the school talent show, like every other day, Beatrice wakes up and completes her morning routine. She gets dressed, makes her bed, feeds her hamster, and packs lunch for her brother Carl. She remembers to do everything, and she does everything just right. When Beatrice and Carl leave to go

Summary One day, a little boy gets a chance. It appears in the form of a shiny golden origami butterfly, but it could represent anything. The chance flies all around the boy, but he isn’t sure what to do with it. When he starts to grab for it, he hesitates and it flies away. The

Summary Sophie is a little girl who loves gardening. One day, when she is struggling to solve a jigsaw puzzle, her older sister walks up and solves it for her, telling her she wasn’t smart enough to solve it herself. The next day at school, Sophie is still upset and convinced she isn’t smart. Her

An informational text that promotes growth mindset by introducing young readers to the parts of the brain and their jobs Your Fantastic Elastic Brain: A Growth Mindset Book for Kids to Stretch and Shape Their Brains by JoAnn Deak Ph.D.

A social story about a boy who learns the value of compliments and constructive criticism as well as ways to respond and incorporate feedback Thanks for the Feedback… I Think?  by Julia Cook

A biography of a boy whose creativity, persistence, and problem-solving skills led him to create the Super Soaker Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton

Summary Peter is a little boy who wants to whistle. One day, he sees an older boy playing with his dog and whistling, so he tries to whistle but can’t. He spins around and makes himself dizzy. Later, Peter sees his dog, Willie, and hides in a box. He wants to whistle in order to