Looking for some engaging children’s books to teach persuasive writing? Persuasive writing, based on logic and with some emotion, is a skill that will serve young writers in grade school, high school, and beyond, whether they’re looking to become a writer or just need to write a report at work. And there’s plenty of inspiration to be found in some of your favorite children’s books, from the classics to some more recent additions to the classroom library.
You will inspire your students to be as convincing as possible during argumentative and opinion writing with our top 10 books for persuasive writing. These children’s books highlight some of the most entertaining features of persuasive language, including an engaging hook, exaggeration, anecdotes, and counterarguments.
You are reading: Persuasive books for kids
Students will love hearing these stories and studying the persuasive language devices used!
the best books to teach persuasive writing
the day crayons quit smoking – by draw daywalt
poor duncan. he wants to color, but his crayons have blown up the chicken coop! he drew the classic daywalt story of the day the crayons decided they had had enough is both a great story and a great writing prompt. red crayon is a persuasive narrator who tells us how overworked he is as he defends fellow crayons from him. the book plays a lot with emotional language that your students can learn from.
To put this into practice, students can write letters from Duncan to their crayons or vice versa. Encourage your students with some examples of emotional language.
the perfect pet – by margie palatini and bruce whatley
elizabeth really wants a new pet! She campaigns with her parents to find the right pet!
until doug arrives – the perfect and most unusual pet of all! Since I Want Iguana, this offers an opportunity to talk about pets, but to shake things up, consider challenging your students to write letters about why something won’t work for their family. do you really want a tiger to move into an apartment? why is an elephant the wrong animal to live in a snowy climate?
grab this persuasive writing printable template: a pet turtle!
eat your peas – by kes grey
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It’s time for dinner! daisy knows what her mom is going to say even before she says it…eat the peas!!!”
Challenge your students to play mom in this situation. what would you say to convince your child to eat those green vegetables? this is a great opportunity to work on adjectives in writing: peas are delicious, nutritious, tasty, or even healthy!
i want an iguana – by karen kaufman and david catrow
Alex is desperate to adopt his friend’s baby iguana. Through a cute exchange of notes, Alex and his mom use persuasive language to support his side of the argument!
This is another must read when teaching persuasive writing and can open the door to writing about a pet in the classroom or at home. Combine this with your letter writing unit and challenge your students to defend a new animal at home or in your classroom. challenge your students to think carefully about the words they will use to persuade a parent/guardian or you.
Some phrases you might want to use include:
- what to do/what we have to do. . .
- I ask you to think about . . .
- I am writing to you. . .
don’t let the pigeon drive the bus – by mo willems
In this adorable story, the bus driver takes a break and gives the reader an instruction…”don’t let the pigeon drive the bus!”
but boy… that pigeon is a cheeky persuasive little thing! Put your students in the role of a bus driver. what should they say to convince them that a pigeon should not take the wheel of the bus? we love letting the class vote: should the pigeon drive the bus or not? the majority rules, and each student must write a persuasive argument for the winner. this challenges children to sometimes take a side they might not otherwise take, which can help them expand their skills.
This is a good time to talk about evocative verbs. what happens when the pigeon drives the bus? Will it crash, crash or destroy the city?
hey little ant – by phillip and hannah hoose
What would you do if the ant you were about to step on looked up and started talking? taking the form of a debate, a powerful tool for persuasive writers, that’s exactly what happens in this book. The ant makes a compelling and persuasive case for her survival as the boy’s friends gather to taunt him for hesitating! Your students can write from multiple angles on this one: the ant, the step-by-step, or even the teasing friends. Make a t-chart and encourage your students to find reasons why the ant should be squashed…or not!
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i want a new room – by karen kaufman and david catrow
This is the funny companion of Quiero Iguana! ever since his little sister arrived, alex has been forced to share a room with his little brother ethan, and he’s not doing so well!
alex wants a new room! many of your students will be able to relate and you can challenge them to write about their own experiences. already have their own room? they can write about something they would like to add to their room or home.
the true story of the 3 little pigs – by jon scieszka
There are two sides to every story, and when the big bad wolf takes the stand, he finally has his say. he tries to persuade everyone that he is the victim in this whole story! this is a perfect example of a counterargument to present to your students and an opportunity to challenge them to take an unusual position.
some script messages to get out of this:
- Write about why a popular villain is really the “good guy/girl”.
- Write about why breakfast is not the most important meal of the day.
- write about why the sky is not really blue!
otto is running for president – by rosemary wells
In this children’s story, it’s election time and, as the title suggests, Otto is running for president! While popular Tiffany and athletic Charles make increasingly outrageous promises in their campaigns for president of Dog Country Day School, Otto quietly enters the race, vowing to only try to do what the students really want. a great book to read during election season, it can also be read in the middle of the year to talk about how persuasion is about getting someone to side with her or getting them to support her cause. Challenge your students to write about why they think Otto won and whether or not they would have voted for him.
be friends with trees – by patricia lauber
This is a non-fiction option to discuss persuasive language and a fantastic story about the importance of trees as sources of food, oxygen, and other essentials. A great way to turn an ecology lesson into a writing prompt, your students can develop a poster or write a letter using this story about why we should be friends with trees.
free download why plant a tree? classroom poster to inspire your students.
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build your classroom library? here are some other reading recommendations:
- books to teach about character traits
- books about love
- books to teach procedural writing
- books by aapi authors
- books for the first day of school
- age-appropriate books to teach about the limits of the body
- books to hook reluctant readers
- engineering books for children
- books with female protagonists