Books to Promote Schema Play in the Early Years
Using picture books as a tool for interaction
“The most supportive thing adults can do to help children learn, even more than selecting high-quality books, is to have conversations with them during reading.”(Strouse, 2018).
Stories can be a wonderful way to develop interactions with children – either as a one-to-one response to their interests or with a small group of like-minded inquirers. Using a story to further explore an idea and provoke discussion and conversation, connects you back to your role as a facilitator as you engage the children through high quality interactions.
We have identified picture books that you can use as a response to each play schema, either as a read aloud or as part of a learning experience. You could also use these in combination with our postcards: Developing vocabulary through schema play as you highlight and introduce new words.
How you can use this booklist in your classroom
- As a shared response to an observed schema with an individual child
- With a small group of children to promote discussion around shared schematic play
- As a provocation, to introduce a new idea related to the observed schema
- In a story basket, for children to explore further with story-related items
- As part of a learning engagement
The Wind Blew
Splat!
Balloon
Big Red Bath
Walking Through the Jungle
Stomp Dinosaur Stomp!
The Greatest Gymnast of All
Kite Day
The Wind Blew
Follow the villagers as they chase their belongings all around the town.
Splat!
Turn the pages and get splatted!
Balloon
Run with Billy as he runs around the park, trying to catch his balloon.
Big Red Bath
Pop! And Splash! with Ben and Bella as they take a bath - but watch out! You never know who will jump in!
Walking Through the Jungle
Move your body in different ways as you cross deserts, mountains and seas.
Stomp Dinosaur Stomp!
Roar and make some noise as you stomp with the dinosaurs.
The Greatest Gymnast of All
Move with this girl as she swings, jumps and leaps her way across the floor.
Kite Day
Get ready to fly with Bear and Mole- but watch out for the trees!
Handa’s Surprise
Mr. Grumpy’s Outing
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch
Moving House
Red Wagon
Lines
Handa’s Surprise
Travel with Handa as she fills her basket and walks to her friend’s village. Will her basket still be the same when she arrives?
Mr. Grumpy’s Outing
Sail with Mr. Grumpy as he rows along the river with some unexpected friends!
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch
Get into some pulley fun as the lighthouse keeper gets his daily lunch delivery.
Moving House
Pack up those boxes and bags with Sam and Sophie, as they move to a new house.
Red Wagon
Pull your way up and down hills with Lucy, as she goes to the village to collect some groceries for mum.
Lines
Follow the line in this wordless picture book to trace this girl’s movements as she goes skating across the lake.
The Jolly Postman
Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao
My Presents
Stop Sticking, Stan!
Hiding Heidi
It Was a Cold, Dark Night
The Jolly Postman
Wait for the postman and open the letters as you go through this delightfully interactive read!
Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao
Find a way to wrap your perfect bao with Amy, as she becomes a solution finder in the kitchen.
My Presents
Lift the flaps to discover what is inside the wrappings.
Stop Sticking, Stan!
Watch out! Stan may sticker you if you stand still for long enough!
Hiding Heidi
Discover how Heidi can hide herself away, just by wearing the right clothing.
It Was a Cold, Dark Night
Explore caves, dens and holes as the animals keep warm in the night.
This Is Our House
Time for Tacos
A Pocket for Corduroy
Whatever Next!
In a Jar
Angelica Sprocket's Pockets
Grandma’s Purse
Good Night, Gorilla
This Is Our House
Play ‘houses’ with these children, as they find ways to be more inclusive in their play.
Time for Tacos
Fill up your taco as you prepare dinner with Dad.
A Pocket for Corduroy
Spot all the baskets, bags and boxes in the story, as Corduroy looks for the perfect pocket.
Whatever Next!
Climb aboard with bear, as he zooms off for adventure.
In a Jar
Choose what treasures you would fill a jar with. Who would you share them with?
Angelica Sprocket's Pockets
Take a look in your own pockets. Do they hold as many delights as Angelica’s?
Grandma’s Purse
Listen to grandma's stories as she reveals the treasures she keeps in her purse.
Good Night, Gorilla
Use your own words to tell the story as you look through this book. How can the zookeeper make sure the animals are all secure in their enclosures?
Rosie’s Walk
All Sorts
Loo Queue
Pitter Pattern
The Button Box
Llama Llama Mess, Mess, Mess
Rosie’s Walk
Take a walk with Rosie around the farm as you develop positional vocabulary.
All Sorts
Sort with Frank and explore the different ways that items and people can be grouped.
Loo Queue
Get in line as the animals queue for the toilet. A great way to explore ordinal number.
Pitter Pattern
Listen, move and look with Lu as she organises her world into patterns throughout this story.
The Button Box
Explore grandma’s button box, and find the ways the buttons can be sorted and positioned.
Llama Llama Mess, Mess, Mess
Help llama tidy up his room, after such a big mess, mess, mess!
Swirl by Swirl
The Very Busy Spider
What Do Wheels Do all Day?
The Dot
Swirl by Swirl
Go round and round with nature.
The Very Busy Spider
Watch as spider spins his web, page by page.
What Do Wheels Do all Day?
Get dizzy as you get up to speed on all things wheels.
The Dot
Go dotty and get creative!
Silly Sally
Shark in the Park!
Peepo!
Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses
Look Up!
The Swing
Kika the Upside-Down Girl
This Book Is Upside-Down
Silly Sally
Meet Sally’s new friends as she topsy-turvies her way into town.
Shark in the Park!
Spy along with Timothy as he plays with his new telescope. Watch out! There are sharks about!
Peepo!
Spend the day with baby, and see the world through his eyes.
Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses
Wear your magic glasses and see how Pete the cat views his world.
Look Up!
Look down to the ground below. What do people look like from the balcony? What do they see when they look up?
The Swing
Swing up and over the world with this beautiful poem.
Kika the Upside-Down Girl
Hang with Kika as she swings and sways in the trees.
This Book Is Upside-Down
Turn and twist as you read the pages. Which way is up? Which way is down?
The Invisible String
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
Too Much Glue
The Paper Dolls
Charlie Needs a Cloak
My Incredible Knitting Nana
Iggy Peck Architect
Kama’s Lei
The Invisible String
Tie your invisible string to the people you love as you read your way through the story.
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
Find a better way to attach Pete’s buttons! They keep falling off, and they are too groovy to lose.
Too Much Glue
Unstick this messy situation as Matty gets creative in art class.
The Paper Dolls
Stay connected with the paper dolls as they play with imagination. Take care though - there may be danger snipping around.
Charlie Needs a Cloak
Weave your way through this story with Charlie, as he finds a way to make a new cloak.
My Incredible Knitting Nana
Follow Nana around the world and find out how far she goes with a piece of wool.
Iggy Peck Architect
Imagine the most marvellous creations with Iggy, as he builds with … anything he can get his hands on!
Kama’s Lei
Discover how Kama gets creative and finds a way to make a lei, with only three flowers.
Changes, Changes
Beautiful Oops!
Mix it Up!
Tad
I Can Be Anything
Mixed up Fairy Tales
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Wemberly’s Ice-Cream Star
Changes, Changes
Turn the pages in this wordless picture book and be inspired! Nothing stays the same for long - it’s all about change, change, change.
Beautiful Oops!
Change isn’t alway intentional. Mistakes can lead to transformative joy too!
Mix it Up!
Explore changing colours, with your fingers and a little dot of paint!
Tad
Watch as Tad’s brothers and sisters change and disappear one by one. What about Tad though?
I Can Be Anything
See how the girl uses her body to change, and become many things from around her home.
Mixed up Fairy Tales
Flick the pages, split the pages and change the story!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Explore transformation through life cycles in this classic story.
Wemberly’s Ice-Cream Star
Change can happen drip by drip as we see in this story.
