The School Collection: Children's Literature at the Education & Social Science Library

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Predictable Story Books

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• Children's Books
• Young Adult Books
• Authors with Multiple Titles
• Further Readings

Exposure to literature helps children discover the predictability of written language. Predictability can take many different forms. Rhyme can help children fill in words. Repeated phrases and episode patterns, catch phrases, and cumulative patterns all contribute to predictability. Regardless of the device used, predictable stories allow children to guess what is coming next, a strategy that serves them well as developing readers. And continued exposure to books helps children develop a 'concept of story,' or basic understanding of story structure.

From : Martinez, Miriam and Marcia F. Nash. (1991) "Bookalogues : talking about children's books." Language Arts, 68(3) : 241-247.

Unless another location is noted under the call number, all books are housed in the Education and Social Science Library. Many of the older books may be located in the S-Collection storage areas; please consult the catalog and request assistance from the reference staff.

Questions? Ask a librarian.

Books for Children

SE.Aa72w	Aardema, Verna (Retold).  Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears.   Dial Books for Young Readers.  1978.
SE.Ar22b	Archambault, J. A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat. Harper Collins. 1994.
SE.G147o	Aylesworth, Jim. Old Black Fly. Holt. 1991.
SE.B14st	Baer, Gene.  Thump, Thump, Rat-a-Tat-Tat.  Harper & Row.  1989.
SE.B2751a	Barrett, Jud.  Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothes.  Atheneum.  1977.
SE.B4322m	Bender, R. A Most Unusual Lunch. Dial. 1994.
SE.B955m	Burton, M.R. My Best Shoes. Tambourine. 1994.
SE.B978m	Butler, S. The Mouse and the Apple. Tambourine. 1994.
Q.SE.C3612m (CBX)	Chandra, D. Miss Mabel's Table. Browndeer. 1994.
SE.C382f	Charlip, Remy.  Fortunately.  Parents Magazine Press.  1964.
Q.SE.C461f	Christelow, Eileen.  Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.  Clarion.  1989.
Q.SE.C6743j1997	Cole, H. Jack's Garden. William Morrow. 1997.
SE.D91t	Dunbar, Joyce.  Ten Little Mice.  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.  1990.
SE.Em13k	Emberly, Ed.  Klippity Klop.  Little Brown & Co.  1974.
SE.Er662u	Ernst, Lisa Campbell.  Up to Ten and Down Again.   Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Books.  1986.
SE.Et7p	Ets, Marie Hall.  Play With Me.  Viking.   1955.
SE.F221a	Farber, Norma & Arnold Lobel.  As I Was Crossing Boston Common.  Creative Arts Books.  1982.
S.811F663bi (CBX)	Florian, Douglas. Bing, Bang, Boing. Harcourt Brace. 1994.
SE.G12m	Gag, Wanda.  Millions of Cats.  Coward-Mcann.   1937.
SE.H329n	Hayes, Sarah.  Nine Ducks Nine.  Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Books.  1990.
SE.H5513sp	Hill, Eric.  Spot's Birthday Party.  Putnam.   1982.
SE.H589da	Hines, Anna Grossnickle.  Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti.  Clarion.  1986.
SE.H6792o	Hogrogian, Nonny.  One Fine Day.  Macmillan.   1971.
SE.H1232i	Hoguet, Susan Ramsey.  I Unpacked My Grandmother's Trunk.  Dutton.  1983.
SE.Is1w	Isadora, Rachel.  Willaby.  Macmillan.  1977.
SE.Ov21971	Keats, Ezra Jack.  Over in the Meadow.  Scholastic Book Services.  1971.
S.398.2F269	Kent, Jack.  The Fat Cat.  Parents Magazine Press.  1971.
SE.L644i	Lindbergh, R. If I'd Known Then What I Know Now. Viking. 1994.
SE.L657c	Lionni, Leo.  A Color of His Own.  Pantheon.   1975.
Q.SE.M1455p	MacDonald, Margaret Read. Pickin' Peas. Harper Collins. 1998.
Q.S.398.8M318t	Manson, Christopher. The Tree in the Wood: an Old Nursery Song. North-South Books. 1993.
Q.SE.M3632c	Martin, Bill Jr. & John Archambault.  Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Simon & Schuster.  1989.
SE.M279s	Mahy, Margaret. Simply Delicious! Orchard Books. 1999.
SE.M1792 (CBX)	McGuire, R. Night Becomes Day. Viking. 1994.
SE.M514h	Memling, Carl.  Hi, All You Rabbits!  Parents Magazine Press.  1970.
SE.M852t	Mosel, Arlene.  Tikki, Tikki Tembo.  Holt, Rinehart and Winston.  1968.
SE.N319b1998	Neitzel, Shirley. The Bag I'm Taking to Grandma's. Mullberry. 1998.
S.N319w (CBX)	Neitzel, Shirley. We're Making Breakfast for Mother. Greenwillow. 1997.
SE.N917if	Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If You Give a Moose a Muffin. Harper Collins. 1991.
SE.N917i	Numeroff, Laura Joffe.  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.   Harper & Row.  1985.
SE.N917ify	Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Laura Geringer Books. 1994.
SE.Or5st	Ormerod, Jan.  The Story of Chicken Licken.   Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Books.  1986, c1985.
SE.P615	Piers, Helen. Who's In My Bed? Marshall Cavendish. 1999.
SE.P66l	Piper, Watty.  The Little Engine That Could.  Platt & Munk.  1930.
SE.C432	Rader, Laura (illustrator). Chicken Little. Harper Festival. 1998.
SE.R123d	Raffi.  Down By the Bay.  Crown.  1987.
SE.R123s	Raffi.  Shake My Sillies Out.  Crown.  1987.
SE.R722l	Rosen, Michael.  Little Rabbit Foo Foo.  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.  1990.
SE.R983w	Rylant, Cynthia.  When I Was Young in the Mountains.   Dutton.  1982.
Q.SE.Sa57b	Sanfield, Steve. Bit by Bit. Philomel. 1995.
SE.Sch2r	Scheer, Julian and Marvin Bileck.  Rain Makes Applesauce.  Holiday House.  1964.
SE.Sch83h	Schulz, Charles.  Happiness is a Warm Puppy.   Determined Publications.  1962.
SE.Se5w	Sendak, Maurice.  Where the Wild Things Are.   Scholastic Book Service. 1963.
SE.Se81t	Seuling, Barbara.  The Teeny Tiny Woman.  Viking.   1976.
SE.Sh27s	Shaw, Nancy.  Sheep in a Jeep.  Houghton Mifflin.   1986.
SE.Si39gi	Silverstein, Shel.  A Giraffe and a Half.  Harper & Row.  1964.
SE.Sp442f	Spier, Peter.  Fast-Slow, High-Low.  Doubleday.   1972.
SE.T111j	Tabeck, Simms. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. Viking. 1999.
SE.T111t	Tabeck, Simms. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Viking. 1997.
Q.SE.T3933w	Thornhill, Jan.  The Wildlife 1 2 3.  Simon & Schuster for Young Readers.  1989.
Q.SE.T3933wi	Thornhill, Jan.  The Wildlife A-B-C.  Simon & Schuster for Young Readers.  1990.
SE.T81a	Tudor, Tasha.  A is for Annabelle.  Oxford University Press.  1954.
S.398.2098V322s	Van Laan, Nancy. So Say the Little Monkeys. Atheneum. 1998.
Q.SE.W112d	Waber, B. Do You See a Mouse? Houghton Mifflin. 1995.
Q.SE.W524h2000	West, Judy. Have You Got My Purr? Dutton Children's Books. 2000.
SE.W522i	Westcott, Nadine Bernard. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  Little,  Brown.  1980.
SE.W64t	Wildsmith, Brian.  The Twelve Days of Christmas.   F. Watts.  1972.
SE.W852n	Wood, Audrey.  The Napping House.  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.  1984.
Q.SE.W894h1995	Wormell, M. Hilda Hen's Happy Birthday. Harcourt Brace. 1995.
Q.SE.W93g	Wright, Betty Ren.  Good Morning, Farm.  Western Publishing Company.  1971.
Q.SE.Z620	Zieffert, H. Oh, What a Noisy Farm! Tambourine. 1995.
SE.Z653t	Zimmerman, Andrea Griffing. Trashy Town. Harper Collins. 1999.

Books for Young Adults

S.B113e	Babbitt, Natalie.  The Eyes of Amaryllis.   Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  1977.
S.C235r	Carris, Joan D.  The Revolt of Ten-X.   Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.  1980.
S.C712s	Colman, Hila.  Sometimes I Don't Love My Mother.   Scholastic.  1979.
S.G443t	Girion, Barbara.  A Tangle of Roots.   Scribner.  1979.
S.G83b	Greene, Constance.  Beat the Turtle Drum.   Dell.  1979.
S.H397t	Hentoff, Nat.  This School Is Driving Me Crazy.   Dell.  1978.
S.H597te	Hinton, S.E.  Tex.  Dell.  1982.
S.H7192h	Holland, Isabelle.  Heads You Win, Tails I Lose.   Lippincott.  1973.
S.K464d	Kerr, M.E.  Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack.   Dell.  1973.
S.K672m	Klein, Norma.  Mom, the Wolfman, and Me.   Avon.  1982.
S.M992y	Myers, Walter D.  The Young Landlords.   Viking.  1979.
S.P261ha	Pascal, Francine.  The Hand-Me-Down Kid.   Viking.  1980.
S.Z662s	Zindel, Paul and Bonnie Zindel.  A Star for the Latecomer.  Bantam.  1981.

Authors With Multiple Titles

Further Readings: Journal Articles

Atwell, Margaret A.  (1985)  "Predictable Books for Adolescent Readers."  Journal of Reading, 29(1) : 18-22.

Gilles, Carol. (2000). "'Mem's the Word': Examining the Writing of Mem Fox." Language Arts, 77(3): 250-257.

Heald-Taylor, Gail.  (1987)  "Predictable Literature Selections and Activities for Language Arts Instruction."  Reading Teacher, 41(1) : 6-12.

Johnston, Francine R. (1998) "The Reader, the Text, and the Task: Learning Words in First Grade." Reading Teacher, 51(8): 666-675.

King, J. F. (1998) "Knowing Where to Go...Sometimes Helps in Getting There: Using Predictable Books With Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children." Perspectives in Education and Deafness, 16(1): 9-10.

Martinez, Miriam and Marcia F. Nash.  (1991)  "Bookalogues : talking about children's books."  Language Arts, 68(3) : 241-247.

Mefferd, Peggy E. and Pettegrew, Barbara S. (1997) "Fostering Literacy Acquisition of Students with Developmental Disabilities: Assisted Reading with Predictable Trade Books." Reading Research and Instruction, 36(3): 177-190.

Meyer, R., Martens, P., Flurkey, A., and Udell, R. (1998) "Complicating Predictability: Textuality, Intertextuality, and Intercontextuality in Beginning Reading and Writing." National Reading Conference Yearbook, 47: 354-365.

Reutzel, D. Ray and Parker C. Fawson.  (1989)  "Using a Literature Webbing Strategy Lesson With Predictable Books."  Reading Teacher, 43(3) : 208-215.

Saccardi, Marianne C. (1996) "Predictable Books: Gateways to a Lifetime of Reading (Teaching Reading)." Reading Teacher, 49(7): 588-590.

Saccardi, Marianne C. (1996) "More Predictable Books: Gateways to a Lifetime of Reading." Reading Teacher, 49(8): 668-670.

Watson, Dorothy. (1997) "Beyond Decodable Texts--Supportive and Workable Literature (Talking About Books)." Language Arts, 74(8): 635-643.

Further Readings: ERIC Documents

Communication Skills, Grades 1 and 2 Assessment. (1989) Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Sate Dept. of Public Instruction. ED311443

Lipson, Marjorie Y. and Wixson, Karen K. (1997) Assessment and Instruction of Reading and Writing Disability: An Interactive Approach. Second Edition. ED426075

Sullivan, Barbara S. and Martin, William C. (1994) Enhancing Beginning Readers' Performance with Predictable Materials. ED387783

Tutoring Children in Reading and Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide. Book 1: Kindergarten. (1998) ED423517

Tutoring Children in Reading and Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide. Book 2: Grades 1 & 2. (1998) ED423518

All the images on the S-Collection pages are used with the kind permission of Children's Books Online: The Rosetta Project, the largest online collection of illustrated antique children's books. The S-Collection logo is made up of letters from alphabet books in the Rosetta Project's collection.