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Growth Mindset Picture Books for Kids: The Top Classroom Read Alouds

Growth Mindset Picture Books for Classroom Read Alouds
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Picture books are a fantastic way to convey important growth mindset concepts to your students.  If you are looking for a list of age appropriate titles for your level(s), I’m going to start by saying that I believe picture books are relevant and appropriate for all age groups.  In the upper grades, you might get a few snickers, but in most cases, students (and, ahem, adults) really enjoy picture books.

My goal is to help you plan your growth mindset instruction by providing a summary of each book as well as a list of the MAIN growth mindset topics that are covered in each book. If you click on any image, you will be directed to Amazon where you will find a listing for the book in case you wish to purchase it.

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • the brain
  • parts of the brain
  • neurons
  • malleability of the brain
  • perseverance

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain is the first book I would to teach your students about growth mindset and fixed mindset.

This is THE book that I would use to begin discussing growth mindset with my students. Growth mindset concepts are steeped in science.  To get buy-in from students, they need to understand very early on that you aren’t just blowing smoke when you talk about their potential and capabilities. More specifically, they need to understand the workings of the brain.  

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain provides a framework for the students to understand the parts of the brain, their functions, and how their brains play a part in perseverance, learning new things, and making mistakes.  The illustrations are colorful and informative as well.  If you only get one growth mindset book, this is the one you need to order!

  • Literature Unit Companion Lower Grades: My ShopTPT
  • Literature Unit Companion Upper Grades: My ShopTPT

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • making mistakes
  • grit
  • perseverance
  • tackling challenges
  • perfection
  • failure
  • confidence

Are you teaching your students about the benefits of making mistakes? Do your students know about growth mindset concepts? The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes is a perfect picture book to help students understand the benefits of making mistakes.

This book is about Beatrice, a little girl who never makes mistakes.  She is very careful about how she completes tasks because she has a reputation to live up to and surely doesn’t want to disappoint anyone. She always remembers to do her homework, make her bed, and greet her fans.  Her juggling act even won the Talent Show for three years in a row because it was PERFECT! Beatrice always fixed potential mistakes before they happened and if she was worried about making a mistake, she would refrain from participating because she didn’t want to disappoint anyone.

Her fourth talent show was about to begin!  Can you guess what happens when you juggle a pepper shaker and a hamster?  Well, it’s unpredictable to say the least.

If you have students who struggle with perfection or who get down on themselves for making mistakes, this is the perfect book to share with them.  Not only does it convey the message that it’s okay to make mistakes, it shows students that mistakes have an upside… and making them can actually be fun!

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

The Dot by Peter Reynolds

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • tackling challenges
  • positive and negative self-talk
  • overcoming obstacles
  • confidence
  • failure

The Dot by Peter Reynolds is a great picture book for teaching students about growth mindset. It covers topics like facing challenges, failure, confidence, and perseverance.

Vashti was upset because she assumed that she just wasn’t any good at art.  Her teacher’s good sense of humor and patience helped Vashti see the talent she didn’t even know she had.  This is a story about Vashti’s one little dot, created in anger, that opened her up to a whole new world.

The message in The Dot inspires readers to take risks and embark on a journey of self-discovery.  This is a perfect book for students who show a lack of confidence.  It will inspire them to take a first step even if it is small because those small steps can lead to extraordinary places!

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • benefits of making mistakes
  • overcoming obstacles
  • perfection
  • tackling challenges
  • reframing your mindset

Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg is a perfect book to teach students about growth mindset and the beauty in making mistakes.

Beautiful Oops gives students fantastic examples of how mistakes can be flipped into something worthwhile and beautiful.  A variety of “OOPS” are covered including torn or bent paper, stains, smudges, and holes.  Each flaw, or oops, is a chance to use your imagination and create something spectacular.

Students will love the interactive nature of this book, as each oops is real… you will see torn paper, bent pages, splotches, and even a crumpled paper INSIDE THE BOOK!  This is truly a rare gem for students who struggle with perfectionism and who beat themselves up at every little mistake.

Finding the benefits in making mistakes is a pillar of growth mindset instruction and this book will have your students well on their way to embracing mistakes.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

We’re All Wonders by R. J. Palacio

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • tackling challenges
  • overcoming obstacles
  • positive and negative self-talk
  • resilience
  • confidence

Growth mindset topics for We're All Wonders include, tackling challenges, overcoming obstacles, positive and negative self-talk, and confidence.

We’re All Wonders is based on the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  Auggie, the main character who lives with facial deformities, shows readers that he’s just like everyone else.  He longs to live in a world where everyone sees him for who he is and not what their eyes show them.  With determination and perseverance, Auggie takes us on a journey of growth by tackling life’s challenges.

Teachers can use this opportunity to talk to their students about positive and negative self-talk, overcoming obstacles, and the difference that confidence can make in your ability to successfully overcome obstacles and challenges.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

Bubble Gum Brain by Julia Cook

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • growth and fixed mindset
  • the malleability of the brain
  • grit
  • perseverance
  • tackling challenges
  • self-talk
  • the power of YET
  • failure
  • improvement
  • confidence

Teach your students about the malleability of the brain using Julia Cook's Bubble Gum Brain. It's a great picture book to kick off a discussion about growth and fixed mindset!

Bubble Gum Brain is a wonderful introductory book about growth mindset.  It’s an effective overview because so many concepts are covered.  It can be used at the very beginning of the year or as a review after students have been exposed to growth mindset concepts.

The story follows two children, Bubble Gum Brain and Brick Brain.  Each child has a very different approach to life.  Bubble Gum Brain embraces challenges, isn’t afraid to try new things, and doesn’t mind making mistakes.  On the contrary, Brick Brain exhibits behaviors consistent with someone who has a fixed mindset.  Bubble Gum Brain encourages Brick Brain to take off his wrapper and stretch his brain.

Help students understand why becoming is better than being using Bubble Gum Brain.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • perseverance
  • tackling challenges
  • fear of failure
  • courage and bravery
  • the power of YET

jabari-jumps

Jabari knows he’s ready to jump off the diving board because, well, he finished his swim lessons and that’s what is supposed to happen next!  In this sweet story about a little boy who works to overcome the challenge of jumping off the high dive for the first time, kids will learn about the facing fears, tackling challenges, and perseverance.

This story also requires students to make inferences about how Jabari is feeling. The text never directly points to fear of failure or overcoming challenges, so it’s also a perfect time to teach students about inferencing.  Why does Jabari squeeze his dad’s hand as he anticipates his first jump?  How is Jabari feeling?  How do you know?  These are just a few questions you can use to help students reflect on what is really happening in Jabari Jumps.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • confidence
  • failure and the fear of failure
  • tackling challenges
  • making mistakes
  • perseverance
  • the power of YET
  • perfection
  • motivation

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty is a great book for teaching kids about growth mindset and fixed mindset concepts. The growth mindset concepts covered include failure, making mistakes, perseverance, motivation, confidence, and the power of YET.

Rosie Revere has dreams and desires to become an engineer one day!  She loves to create gadgets and gizmos by collecting and hiding away treasures from the trash.  One day her great-great-aunt Rose comes to visit and mentions her dream of flying and Rosie knows that she can help her aunt’s dream become a reality.

She sets off to build her biggest and best contraption yet.  Rosie finishes it up and tries to take off, floats for a moment, and then sputters and plummets to the ground.  She hears Aunt Rose laughing, but it turns out that Rose really thinks Rosie is wildly successful!

This story is perfect for students who feel like their first attempt needs to be perfect.  The lesson here is that the only time you fail is when you choose to quit.  Each failed attempt is a step closer to success.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • failure
  • perseverance
  • grit
  • making mistakes
  • tackling challenges
  • overcoming obstacles
  • motivation
  • improvement

The Most Magnificent Things by Ashley Spires is a perfect picture book for talking to students about growth mindset concepts including perseverance, grit, making mistakes, tackling challenges, and the fear of failure.

The Most Magnificent Thing is a story about a little girl who plans on creating the MOST MAGNIFICENT thing ever.  She and her assistant, the little pup, gather supplies and get to work.  They work and work.  They finish up, take a good look and their contraption and realize that it’s all wrong.  There is nothing magnificent about it, not at all.  She keeps trying.  She fiddles and tugs and wrenches, but she just can’t seem to make it work.  She tries and tries and tries, but becomes angry and frustrated.  To top it all off, she smashes her finger and then EXPLODES!

How does she overcome her frustration and failure?  Readers will see that over time, she is able to see things in new ways and start all over again.  She is able to use what she knows about her past failures to create something better than she ever has ever created before.  It will take perseverance, determination, and grit. Will she get there?

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • taking risks
  • confidence
  • perseverance
  • fear of failure
  • motivation
  • commitment

What Do You Do With an Idea? is a picture book that helps student harness enough confidence to see their ideas through. This story is about a child with an idea. The people in this child’s life didn’t think the idea was any good, which felt discouraging. At first, the child believed those people and wanted to give up, but the idea continued to grow.  Amazing things happened when the child decided to protect the idea and let it grow.

This story will give students the freedom to tap into their own magnificence, to take risks, and put their ideas to the test.  Thinking big and seeing things in new ways can give people confidence in their dreams and provide motivation to persevere through discouragement and doubt.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • tackling challenges
  • overcoming obstacles
  • fear of failure
  • confidence
  • resilience
  • motivation
  • reframing your mindset (problem)

What Do You Do With a Problem? is the perfect picture book to share with students who have tendencies towards worry or anxiety.  The entire message in the book encourages students to find opportunities and ways to grow in the face of problems.  Reframing issues or problems in ways that help students find opportunities to learn new things is a pivotal component of growth mindset instruction.

Reframing problems provides growth opportunities for students that they wouldn’t otherwise experience.  For more ideas about using this book with students, you can hop over to this post as well.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

What Do You Do With a Chance? by Kobi Yamada

Growth Mindset Topics Covered:

  • taking risks
  • facing challenges
  • fear of failure
  • making mistakes
  • overcoming fear
  • embracing failure
  • courage and bravery
  • the power of YET

The little boy wasn’t sure what to do when he stumbled upon a chance.  He didn’t know if he should take the chance or if he should let it go. Eventually, he decided to let it go.  He regretted his decision and wished he’d had the courage to grab it.

The next time a chance came around, he decided to go for it but missed and fell.  Feeling defeated, his disappointment and frustration prevented him from taking new chances.  For a time, he didn’t notice any new chances or opportunities. He began to worry that he might not get another one.  He wondered if he’d even be brave enough to take a chance if one came along.  Ultimately, he devised a surefire strategy to overcome his fear and knew he’d be ready the next time a chance came around.

The prominent growth mindset theme here is taking risks. Failure only occurs when the chance is ignored.

Literature Unit Companion: My ShopTPT

Tackle growth mindset instruction by using Kobi Yamada's books, What Do You Do With an Idea? What Do You Do With a Problem? and What Do You Do With a Chance?

This will be a GROWING BLOG POST!  New growth mindset books will be added to this list over time.  If you have suggestions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or to email me at [email protected].

If you want more information about purchasing all of these literature unit companions at a bundled discount, please check here.

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I am Kirsten Tulsian, an elementary educator with 18 years of experience as a teacher and counselor. My passion lies in empowering students to discover their inherent brilliance through the use of engaging, rigorous, and meaningful activities. I look forward to connecting with you!

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