Organizing Picture Books

Most people recognize Jim Trelease as "that read aloud guy" based upon his best-selling The Read Aloud Handbook. It's a complete resource for teachers and parents on read-alouds, and on literacy in general.

For me, one of the stand-outs from that book is Chapter Seven. In that chapter Trelease points out that not just books, but even breakfast cereals, look more appealing when they're shelved covers-out. All the chain bookstores feature their most recently released picture books that way, but how can classroom teachers find the space? The answer: rain gutter shelving.

You can check out that link and get the idea for yourself, and there's even a page at ehow.com which explains it in a bit more detail. Whether in your classroom or at home in the kids' room, it's a cool idea.