Mary Lyn Ray and Felicita Sala’s When You Find the Right Rock is a quiet celebration of attention and belonging—of the small, ordinary things that feel extraordinary when noticed with care. Through poetic language and luminous illustrations, Ray and Sala capture the simple act of finding a rock and transform it into something magical: a story about connection, grounding, and discovery. I think one of my favorite parts of this book when reading it to our little one was pausing on lines like,

“Still, there might be times when rocks don’t seem like much to look at. But then one will surprise you—like when you notice something special about you that surprises you. Just when you were maybe feeling sort of ordinary, there it is.”

For writers and journalers, this book is a meditation on presence. It reminds us that meaning often hides in small moments—holding a smooth rock, feeling its weight, noticing its color or warmth. When You Find the Right Rock invites us to pause, look closer, and find joy in what fits just right in our hands and hearts.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Both texts in this mentor text pairing share something important: they invite readers to think about possibilities and connections between people. Each story is set during nighttime—centered on sleeping, dreaming, and what might be happening beyond our awareness.

102 and While You’re Asleep both draw readers into a space of curiosity, asking us to imagine what exists just beyond what we can immediately see. Young readers will also appreciate that both authors illustrate their own stories, reinforcing the idea that storytelling is both written and visual. (102, notably, was created entirely with ballpoint pen.)

In 102, Matthew Cordell plays with the idea that even when we count and feel certain, there is always more—more to notice, more to discover, and more just outside our awareness. In While You’re Asleep, Emmy Kastner explores what might be happening in the quiet hours of the night, suggesting that the world continues in small, surprising ways while we rest.

Together, these books remind us that the world is full of hidden moments, unseen details, and endless possibility.

For writers, they offer an invitation to explore imagination, curiosity, and the idea that there is always more beneath the surface.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Outside In, written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cindy Derby, is a poetic meditation on the quiet, persistent ways the natural world moves through our lives—even when we think we are separated from it. I would argue this is the perfect mentor text for a teacher that feels they cannot get outside in nature or wants to do more outside work with kids, but perhaps cannot because of time, budget, or access to natural spaces.

Through rhythmic, lyrical language and richly textured illustrations, the book shows how “outside” is never truly outside. It seeps in through light, sound, memory, breath, and presence. The world is always reaching us, even in stillness.

For writers, Outside In becomes an invitation to explore observation, contrast, and connection—especially the invisible threads between environments, emotions, and experience.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

The Tree in Me is a quiet, powerful exploration of growth, change, and the deep connections between humans and the natural world. Through lyrical language and expressive illustrations, Luyken invites readers to see themselves reflected in trees—rooted, reaching, bending, and growing.

I especially love the colors throughout this book. The pages evoke a pink sunset, with bright oranges and pinks that seem to jump off the page.

This book reminds us that growth is not always linear. Like trees, we stretch toward the light, weather storms, and change with the seasons. For writers, The Tree in Me becomes an entry point into reflective and metaphorical writing, where personal experience connects to the natural world.

While the book primarily focuses on the trees within us, these ideas can extend to other elements of nature as well. We might consider the storms within us, the flowers that grow inside us, or the gardens we cultivate with our thoughts. In this way, we are deeply connected to the natural world and to one another.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Remember, by Joy Harjo and illustrations by Michaela Goade, is an invitation to reflect on who we are, where we come from, and how we are connected to the world around us. Through Harjo’s poetic repetition and grounding language, readers are reminded that memory is not just something we recall—it is something we carry.

The text moves gently through reminders of connection: to the earth, to ancestors, to breath, to belonging.

This book encourages us to slow down, to listen inward, and to recognize that our stories are part of something larger. For writers, Remember becomes an entry point into reflective writing, where memory, identity, and observation can meet.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

While We’re Here by Anne Wynter, with illustrations by Micha Archer, invites readers into a quiet, reflective space centered on a simple but powerful idea: we are here, together, in this moment. Through rhythmic language and layered, collage-style artwork, the book explores what it means to exist alongside others—humans, animals, and the natural world—right now. A striking message for anyone; however, anyone in a caretaker role will truly appreciate the images of slowing down and being with our kids in the everyday moments.

The text moves gently through shared experiences (and yes, disappointment), grounding readers in presence rather than urgency. It doesn’t rush toward a conclusion; instead, it lingers. It asks us to notice where we are, who we are with, and what it means to simply be.

For writers and journalers alike, While We’re Here becomes an invitation to pause, reflect, and write from the present moment—not as something fleeting, but as something worth holding onto.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Goldfinches by Mary Oliver, with beautful artwork by Melissa Sweet, is a celebration of attention, presence, and the quiet joy found in the natural world. Through Oliver’s poetic language and Sweet’s layered, textured illustrations, readers are invited to slow down and notice—truly notice—the brilliance of a small yellow bird moving through its environment.

This picture book, adapted from Oliver’s poem, reminds us that wonder is always available to us, especially when we pause long enough to see it. The goldfinch becomes more than a bird.Iit becomes a symbol of delight, curiosity, and the art of paying attention.

For writers and journalers, Goldfinches offers an invitation to observe closely, to write what we see, and to rediscover beauty in the ordinary.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Emmy Kastner’s So Tortoise Dug is a gentle, inspiring story about a tortoise who does what tortoises do best—dig! But as Tortoise digs, she discovers more than dirt and tunnels. She uncovers wonder, quiet courage, and the joy of moving at her own pace. Through Kastner’s warm language and playful illustrations, readers are invited to celebrate curiosity, self-trust, and the slow beauty of discovery. I also really love the nonfiction connections here as we encourage (as both teachers and parents) kids to be aware of the world around them. The book is based off of the real relationship of how two species coexist in the wild: the gopher tortoise and the Florida mouse. In the Author’s Note, Emmy goes on to explain that the book is a “pourquoi tale (“pourquoi” is the french word for “why”) This type of story is a fictional explanation of why something is the way that it is.” I love the idea of writers being able to explain real-world concepts through made up stories.

For writers and journalers alike, So Tortoise Dug reminds us that every creative journey takes time. It encourages us to keep going, keep digging, and find joy in uncovering what’s beneath the surface of our thoughts, stories, and dreams.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Joyce Sidman and Melissa Sweet’s Dear Acorn (Love, Oak) is a gentle and poetic exploration of connection, patience, and transformation. Told through a series of tender letters from an old oak tree to a newly fallen acorn, this picture book beautifully captures the rhythm of life cycles—growth, waiting, change, and renewal. Through Sidman’s lyrical language and Sweet’s rich mixed-media illustrations, readers are invited to consider how all things in nature are intertwined. On the blog, I have been a huge fan of the illustrations from Melissa Sweet. How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander and How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander are two of the first picture books I recommend to teachers to lead conversations about reading and writing in their classrooms at any level.

For writers and journalers alike, Dear Acorn is an invitation to reflect on relationships, resilience, and the quiet passage of time. It reminds us that even the smallest beginnings hold the promise of something enduring and strong. In Dear Acorn the lost art of letter writing can help writers tap into new ideas and people working in a journal to access different parts of the world around them.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Julie Morstad’s picture book A Face is a Poem offers readers a playful and poetic way of seeing something familiar—our own faces. Instead of describing features literally, Morstad leans on metaphor: freckles as sprinkles, flowery faces, faces that you find in the clouds. Each page invites readers to view the ordinary as extraordinary. I actually paused in the bookstore when I saw the cover of this book because the colors and imagery were so beautiful.

For writers, this text is a gift. It reminds us that description doesn’t have to be technical—it can be imaginative, metaphorical, and deeply personal. For journalers, it opens the door to self-reflection and self-expression through the lens of poetry. This post serves as a how-to guide for using this text in multiple ways: in the classroom, at home, or within your own notebook.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Maps and the act of getting directions are some of the most literal ways people connect from one place to another. There’s something deeply grounding about drawing a map—especially one that doesn’t follow traditional geography. In My Map Book, author-illustrator Sara Fanelli reimagines what mapping can be: not just a way to track location, but a playful and reflective tool for understanding ourselves, our experiences, and our world. Inspired by her work, this blog post offers 25 creative mapping activities perfect for outdoor journaling. These prompts are flexible for individuals, students, or groups, and each one encourages cross-curricular connections—blending literacy, science, art, and social-emotional learning. If you’re a teacher without easy access to green space, outdoor mapping is also a great way to introduce nature journaling to your students.