As an educator, I’ve come to believe it’s important to know a small collection of books intimately.  Not only does this make sense financially, but having a handful of mentor texts you know well allows you to use them with students for many purposes.

When I was selecting fiction and nonfiction texts to feature in Craft Moves: Lesson Sets for Teaching Writing with Mentor Texts, I looked for exquisitely written picture books. While searching for the fiction texts, I looked for books that represented a variety of races, cultures, and sexual orientations since I believe all students deserve to read mirror books, in which they can see themselves, and window books, in which they can learn about others (Bishop, 1990). If we make conscious choices about the mentor texts we present to students – in terms of showcasing impeccable writing and a range of human experiences –…