10 Great Children's Books that Teach About Nouns

There are so many terrific picture books for teaching nouns! Teachers can find children’s books that focus on nouns in general or on specific types of nouns, such as collective nouns. Some books are simple reads – short sentences focused on nouns – while others have a more involved plot. Teachers should always preread books to ensure they fit the needs of their students.

Research has shown that students remember and understand grammar better if it is integrated with reading and writing. A perfect way to integrate reading into a grammar unit is with a mentor text that showcases the focus skill.

Here are ten great children’s books for teaching about nouns.

Noun Type: Common & Proper

Incredible Ned by Bill Maynard

This is an interesting story that primarily focuses on common nouns. Ned is a boy whose mind creates visible images of what he says. As Ned grows older, his thought pictures grow more complicated and distracting. Eventually, Ned gets help from his art teacher, who shows him another way to get the pictures out of his head.

A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What is a Noun? By Brian P. Cleary

This book is from the Words Are Categorical series. The author states that it is easier to show what nouns are than to explain them, and that is exactly what the books does. The text emphasizes nouns by putting them in color and illustrates the key words. The pages focus on just one or two sentences, making it easy for student to see the nouns. The story is colorful and fun – a quick read to highlight primarily common nouns.

Noun Type: Collective

A Crash of Rhinos by Greg Danylyshyn

The illustrations in this book will definitely keep your students’ attention! This book focuses on the collective nouns about animals that many people don’t know – such as a crash of rhinos or a run of salmon. The text is written with a lot of wordplay, which is integrated into the illustrations. This book could be used with a lesson on collective nouns or even in a poetry unit.

An Ambush of Tigers by Betsy R. Rosethal

This is another entertaining book about animal-based collective nouns. The collective nouns are used in amusing sentences, such as “Does a cast of hawks get a standing ovation?” The illustrations are wonderful and are well integrated with the text. A glossary is included at the end of the book.

A Cache of Jewels by Ruth Heller

Part of her World of Language series, this book includes all types of collective nouns – noun just animals ones (lock of hair, bevy of beauties). This series has been well-loved by teachers for many years, and this book is no exception.

Noun Type: Abstract

A Lime, a Mime, a Pool of Slime: More About Nouns by Brian P. Cleary

This is another winner from Cleary’s Words Are Categorical series. This book does review common and proper noun, but it also does a great job introducing abstract nouns. I like how the story gives a lot of examples for each one, and explains how some nouns you can see or touch, while others you can’t.

Noun Type: Possessive

The Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why You Can’t Manage Without Apostrophes by Lynne Truss

This gem is written by the same author who wrote Eat, Shoots & Leaves. Just like that book, this one demonstrates how punctuation affects the meaning of a sentence. For example, she illustrates the following sentences: “See the boys bat.” , “See the boy’s bat.” , “See the boys’ bat.” For visual learners, seeing the difference in meaning will help cement their understanding of the importance of apostrophes. The book does cover both possessive nouns and contractions.

Greedy Apostrophe: A Cautionary Tale by Jan Carr

This is a terrific book to teach how to use apostrophes. In the story, all the punctuation is assigned to jobs. However, the greedy apostrophe is impatient and wants to go places where he doesn’t belong. This book explains the difference between plural and possessive nouns in a humorous way.

Noun Review

Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns by Ruth Heller

This book is another treasure by Heller. In this book, she reviews many different types of nouns, making this the perfect book for a review of nouns. This book includes common, proper, concrete, abstract, compound, singular, plural, and possessive nouns. Students will enjoy her beautiful illustrations as they review nouns.

Children’s books are excellent for any grade level! Students of all ages enjoy reading picture books. A great mentor text can quickly help students understand a concept. 

These books about nouns are definitely an asset for any grammar teacher. What is your favorite mentor text for teaching grammar?