As a former second grade teacher, this time of year always makes me think of back-to-school goal setting with my students and how important it is to accompany goal setting with discussions and examples of the habit of mind persisting. I loved reading and discussing picture books with my students about persisting, so I thought I’d share three of my favorites.
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires, is about a little girl who has a vision for something she wants to create, but when she actually goes to do it, it doesn’t turn out like she’d hoped. She has to go through several iterations of her project, and deal with the frustration that she feels along the way. But ultimately, she ends up with a huge sense of satisfaction when she finishes her project, which turns out wonderfully!
Brave Irene, by William Steig, is about Irene, whose seamstress mother is sick in bed and cannot deliver the duchess’s ball gown. The task falls to Irene, who has to persist through a blizzard to get the dress there on time.
In Amazing Grace, by Mary Hoffman, the super-imaginative Grace has to persist when others are telling her she can’t do and be what she wants.
All of these books are fantastic jumping-off points for a lively classroom discussion about persisting through obstacles when trying to reach goals, both academic and social.
What are your favorite picture books for persisting? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
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Wow - great post @Aimee_DeFoe This is great
Children’s literature is such a great gateway to spark a conversation about something as intangible and potentially abstract as persistence, especially for young children. Some other books along these lines that I’ve read and loved with my classes over the years include:
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty (part of the “Questioneers” series) about a little girl who loves to create inventions of all sorts, but is too afraid of failure to share them. When she finally does, she learns that even in making mistakes, she’s still accomplishing great things, and learning how to make her inventions even better.
A Little SPOT of Perseverance by Diane Alber is a part of a Little SPOT collection, that I found to be really helpful in being able to talk about specific qualities or habits of mind, like persistence. With practice, one’s little spot of perseverance, can grow - and Little Spot helps you see what will help that spot to grow in yourself.
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I love Rosie Revere! Great suggestions!
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I love this thread. Linking literature to STEM is such an entry way for each student to get into science and STEM as a whole.
I start every year reading “What Do You Do with an Idea?” By Kobi Yamada. As I read, I let each student get a few minutes with the plush egg with legs and a crown. My favorite moment as a kid was stories with plushies!
This idea leads into any STEM lesson - and I find myself thinking of starting this year reading the story to each grade level to get everyone back thinking about creativity. I might not include the plushie for 5th grade.
Here’s the picture - I highly suggest it 
Have you guys read this book? @Audra_Selkowitz @Aimee_DeFoe
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@Anna_Blake I completely forgot about that book when I was writing the original post, but it is a GREAT one! Also, I really want that egg plushie now, although I expect I am too old for it 
There are so many great picture books that are easy to link with STEM, but chapter books are a little more difficult. Do you have any good suggestions?
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@Anna_Blake YES! I love that book, and the others in that series as well, like What do you do with a problem? and What do you do with a chance?. Kobi Yamada, the author, has a great way of putting pretty deep and abstract ideas into simple language, and the illustrations are just lovely! Here are the cover images for reference
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Thank you @Audra_Selkowitz for all the books! Yes this author is amazing. And @Aimee_DeFoe you are NEVER too old for a plushie. I feel like when my kids see me enjoy a book - they in turn enjoy the book as well. Please share more - I’m loving this thread!
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@Aimee_DeFoe and @Anna_Blake I came across this series of chapter books - Ellie, Engineer by Jackson Pearce, that looks like it could be great for read alouds, or older readers.
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