Hey, teacher friends.
You know that moment when you find something that just works?
For me, it’s been picture books—especially books about following directions—to help my students understand what it means to listen.
Today I’m sharing 15 of my favorite books I use in my classroom to teach listening and following directions.
I’ll start with books that focus more on listening in general, and then move into books that help students understand listening so they can follow directions.
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Table of Contents
Why Picture Books Work for Teaching Listening
Picture books are a simple way to start conversations about listening and following directions.
Instead of constantly correcting students, stories let them see characters experience the consequences of not listening and how things improve when they do.
Many of these books also open the door for discussions about feelings, teamwork, and what it really means to listen.
Books About the Importance of Listening
Listen Buddy
Listen Buddy is about a little rabbit who is never listening all the way. It’s kind of like that game of telephone, where someone says something and he only hears part of what they are saying.
It isn’t until he finds himself in a situation where he HAS to listen to be able to get home. From then on, he’s an excellent listener.
Why This Book Works
This book is perfect for students who seem like they’re listening but are still missing parts of the directions.
Monkey Needs to Listen
This is actually one of my new favorite books.
Monkey Needs to Listen is a story about a monkey at an after-school program. His teacher Mr. Croc finds some wheels and wood and thinks it will be fun for the students to build cars in teams and race them.
All throughout, he is giving directions, and all the students are still and listening except Monkey. Because he isn’t listening, Monkey’s go-kart goes too fast and falls apart.
All the animals decide to help Monkey fix his go-kart. Everyone is working as a team, and this time Monkey is listening, and the animals get to race again.
Why This Book Works
This book is perfect for discussing the consequences of not listening and how everyone has more fun when we listen and follow directions.
Why Should I Listen?
Why Should I Listen is a story about a little boy Joe. Joe finds it really hard to listen when he’s busy doing other things.
Joe then tells what can happen if you don’t listen, and he explains how he feels when people don’t listen to him.
Why This Book Works
This book is great for helping students understand how it feels when people don’t listen—and how teachers may feel the same way when they aren’t listened to.
I Have a Little Problem, Said the Bear
I Have a Little Problem Said the Bear, is about a bear who goes all over town with his problem. But no one listens to him; they all assume what his problem is and give him solutions.
It isn’t until he meets Fly that he finds someone who actually listens to his problem and gives him a real solution to his real problem.
Why This Book Works
This book is perfect for discussing what it really means to listen to someone.
Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen
Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen is about Howard, who just doesn’t listen. Sometimes bad things happen to him because he isn’t listening.
Then one day because he isn’t listening, he has to sit in timeout. While he is in timeout, he thinks of all the times he wasn’t listening during the day.
The next day, he’s determined to listen. He does a great job listening and earns the #1 listener star.
I also love that the author included 7 steps to be a good listener at the end of the book.
Why This Book Works
This book is perfect for students who find it hard to listen because they are moving too much or just distracted in general.
The idea of earning a number one listener star is also something easy to bring into the classroom.
The Rabbit Listened
The Rabbit Listened is about a boy, Taylor, who built a creation with blocks that got knocked down. Animals come by with how they think Taylor should feel/deal with the situation. But Taylor doesn’t feel like doing any of the things the animals say.
Then the rabbit comes and just sits with Taylor until he feels like talking, and the rabbit just listens.
Why This Book Works
This book opens the door for discussions about feelings, empathy, and what it means to be a good listener and friend.
Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker
Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker, is about a bird named Lacey who loves to talk.
She talks and talks and talks, until she gets sick. When she’s sick, she isn’t able to talk. That’s when she learns there are a lot of things she’s been missing.
She learns how important it is to listen to others.
Why This Book Works
This book is great to teach about balancing talking and listening, when it’s a good time to talk and when it’s important to listen.
Quiet Please, Owen McPhee
In Quiet Please, Owen McPhee Owen loves to talk. But he talks so much that he can’t ever hear what anyone else is saying.
After he gets sick, he learns that there are good times to talk and other times to just listen. This book focuses more on not talking over our friends.
Why This Book Works
I would use this book if you have students constantly talking over one another and you want to teach them that we listen when others are talking.
Books About Listening to Follow Directions
Strega Nona
Strega Nona is about a little old lady, Strega Nona, who is getting old and needs help, so she hires Big Anthony to help her around her house.
She gives him just one rule: don’t touch my magical pasta pot. Well, when Strega Nona goes out of town, Anthony doesn’t listen, and he decides he wants to make pasta too, but the magical pasta pot keeps making pasta and doesn’t stop until Strega Nona returns.
Why This Book Works
This book is good for talking about the consequences of not listening and what happens when we don’t follow the rules.
Crunch the Shy Dinosaur
Crunch the Shy Dinosaur is an adorable book about Crunch a shy dinosaur.
The book is interactive with the class. They get to practice saying hi in just the right volume as well as other things.
Why This Book Works
This book is great to practice listening to directions. On each page the book gives a direction that the students must follow.
All the directions have to do with our speaking volume, which also makes it great for practicing voice levels.
Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse is about a little mouse named Lilly who LOVES school. Then, one Monday, she brings her new purple plastic purse to school with her.
Her new purse, sunglasses, and quarters distract her from listening all morning. Her teacher, Mr. Slinger, has to take her items for the rest of the day.
The next day, she gets to share her purple plastic purse at sharing time.
Why This Book Works
This book is perfect for the class that keeps bringing in items that distract from learning.
It shows how it’s important to listen and follow directions and how sometimes objects from home need to stay at home or only come out during sharing time
That Rule Doesn’t Apply to Me
That Rule Doesn’t Apply to Me is about a boy named Norman, but everyone calls him Noodle. He sometimes doesn’t follow the rules because he believes that they don’t all apply to him and that there are too many.
The book gives a lot of examples of rules that Noodle feels like he shouldn’t have to follow, like calling out in social studies because he’s supposed to be more involved.
Then he writes a poem about why rules stink. After his mom reads it, she explains to him that rules are actually a good thing. Noodle realizes that rules are good because they are what keep us safe
Why This Book Works
This book is good for older children, as it is a longer story. It’s especially good if you have students that just don’t like to follow the rules or directions and think they should be able to do whatever they want to do.
What If Everybody Did That?
In the book What If Everybody Did That, a little boy does a bunch of different things he’s not supposed to.
An adult in each situation asks him what it would look like if everybody did that, and it shows a picture on the other side of what it would look like if everybody did that.
Many things in this book aren’t geared toward school, but I would use this book to talk about following directions and what it would look like if everybody wasn’t following directions or listening.
Why This Book Works
This book helps students visualize why following directions matters.
Things My Way
Things My Way is about a boy named Dominic who doesn’t want to follow directions; he prefers to do things his way.
He eventually learns that every choice he makes has a consequence. Mom helps Dominic figure out when you need to follow directions and when it’s okay to do things your own way by making cupcakes.
Why This Book Works
This book is perfect for talking about following directions. I love to use it to make a recipe in class where we follow directions like Dominic in the book, then we practice following directions again to make a craft.
Clark the Shark
Clark the Shark is about a shark who is overly enthusiastic, which makes him too loud, too rough, too much. Clark’s teacher teaches him to “Stay Cool”.
The next day, Clark tries to stay cool, but it’s not working. Then he decides if he makes a rhyme maybe he can remember like when teacher’s talking, don’t go walking.
When Sid the Squid comes to school, Clark is able to teach him the “Stay Cool” motto
Why This Book Works
This book is perfect for students who are a bit impulsive and need help following directions.
Final Thoughts on Using Books About Following Directions
Listening and following directions go hand in hand.
Students who are constantly talking often struggle to listen, which makes following directions difficult.
Picture books are a simple way to help students see why listening matters and how it helps everyone in the classroom learn and have more fun.
If you’re working on helping students understand voice levels and when to be loud or quiet, you might also enjoy my book list where I share six of my favorite books for teaching voice levels and quieting a noisy class.
For more classroom book lists, check out these posts:
Save This Book List for Following Directions
Save this post so you can come back to these books about following directions whenever you need them! Just pin it to one of your favorite teaching boards on Pinterest. That way it’s right there when you’re looking for simple, effective ways to help your students listen and follow directions the first time—so your classroom runs smoother, one routine, one strategy, one book at a time.
