In this sequel to Closer Reading, Boyles delivers what teachers have been clamoring for: ready to go, day-by-day lessons for teaching high quality picture books, with close reading in the forefront of the instruction.

In Part I of the book Boyles explains the why behind the how of using picture books that share a theme as the basis for extended units, spelling out for teachers the difference between her brand of investigation and “units of study” which have common pitfalls.

In Part two of the book, she provides 10 text sets, each spanning about 15 pages that cover commonly taught themes such as leadership and survival.

• Boyles has an intuitive sense of what teachers today need in order to improve, and this book gives them 10 text sets they can turn around and teach tomorrow, which is more than a year’s worth of quality instruction.


• In the CCSS era with big stakes tests looming, this book gets teachers to fast track top CCSS instruction and includes formative assessments to help teachers get a handle on student’s progressing skills as readers, thinkers, and writers.