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The use of picture books has been illuminated as a potential to address important topics such as STEM, fluency, and social justice. Unique genres such as hybrid texts and wordless picture books are also worth considering for instruction. This article explores new perspectives on using picture books. Potentials for using wordless picture books beyond the early grades to support literacy across the curriculum are shared first. Next, we discuss how some picture books lend themselves to the engineering design cycle and can be used as an organizing idea for instruction which focuses on integrating the STEM disciplines. To continue, the prospect of utilizing picture books to strengthen reading fluency while engaging students in rich content area material is discussed. The potentials for using banned and challenged picture books to teach social justice is discussed next. We conclude by presenting practical strategies, picture books to consider for each of the areas, and lessons learned.

The Common Core State Standards for English language arts expect that teachers will use narrative and informational texts to teach content area material across the curriculum. However, many teachers at all grade levels struggle to incorporate both kinds of text, especially given the vast amount of specialized content they are required to teach. The purpose of this article is to introduce hybrid text as an engaging genre that artfully integrates narrative and informational text and teaches content area material across the curriculum. It begins by situating hybrid text within the Common Core Anchor Standards for Reading. Next, it describes how hybrid texts can integrate narrative and informational text. Then, it identifies several design features and discusses potentials of hybrid text. It ends by sharing suggested hybrid texts that teachers can use to teach mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts.

The Common Core State Standards bring the importance of connecting texts to the forefront by sharing that students must be able to “analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches authors take” (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, , p. 10). However, this is not all that is important for teachers to know and think about. This article shares three points to consider when thinking about meeting this standard. These points were concluded after an 18‐week inquiry with elementary school students and are shared by first stating what each point is and then discussing why it might matter. Potentials for curriculum and instruction and final thoughts are presented as a conclusion.

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