Books to Teach Library Skills & Procedures

Katie Ketchem
Aug 24, 2025
3 min read

The beginning of the school year comes with several classes of library procedures and teaching skills. No matter how busy our agenda for the day is, I always make time for a read aloud at the beginning of each class. Bonus points if the book ties into what we are learning that day! These are some of my modern favorites for teaching specific skills in the library. Comment with some of your favorites!

Engagement and Year-Long Programming

How to Get Your Octopus to School

Written by Becky Scharnhorst, Illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett

This year I started off by reading this book to every class, even my oldest groups! It is the perfect book for talking about first day jitters. Throughout the book the nervous octopus is hiding in the illustrations and the students have to search for him. I purchased a red octopus plushie to go with the story. For the rest of the year our library octopus (lovingly named Oscar) will be hidden in a new spot every week. We are already a few weeks into the school year and students are loving looking for him every time. My goal with this game is to engage and intrigue our reluctant readers with a fun reason to come in every week.

First Checkout

The Book that Jake Borrowed

Written & Illustrated by Susan Kralovansky

I love to read this book with kindergarten and first grade on their first checkout day. This rhyming and repetitive book is perfect for teaching younger students about how to care for a book. After the book I have students complete this FREE worksheet about book care. If you would like an entire presentation on book care and first checkout then this bundle is for you.

Book Care

Our Incredible Library Book

Written by Caroline Crowe, Illustrated by John Joseph

This book follows the journey of a library book from student to student. Along the way this beloved book becomes tattered over time. I like to stop after every page to talk about what the children in the story shouldn’t have done with the book and what they could have done instead. I like to read this book to 2nd-5th grade and then complete the same presentation on book care that is linked above.

Books are for Borrowing

The Bad Seed Goes to the Library

Written by Jory John, Illustrated by Pete Oswald

Students will love seeing a familiar character in this story. The Bad Seed falls in love with his checkout choice and thinks it is his to keep forever. This is the perfect opportunity to talk to students about the importance of returning books so we can share them with others. There is always a new favorite story waiting for you!

Overdue Books

Overdue: The Misadventure of Bob the Book

Written by Gloria Koster, Illustrated by Pawel Gierlinski

Follow the adventures of Bob the library book. Everything is great until someone forgets to turn him back in! I read this book to my students the week after our first checkout. We were able to talk about the importance of bringing books back.

Checkout Motivation

The Story of a Book

Written by Joy McCullough, Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth

This book talks about the magic of stories when they find the right reader. I like to read this story towards the beginning of the year to encourage the joy and excitement of searching for new books to read. This helps push students to new titles they haven’t thought of looking at before instead of sticking to the same beloved titles over and over again.

Libraries are Magical

The Library Fish

Written by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Illustrated by Gladys Jose

This is a personal favorite of mine that I just had to include in this list. The library fish is in awe of everything that happens in the library. Students love listening to the adventures of the fish and it is always a hit.