Arguing that picture books have much to offer students in the upper grades (including middle school and even high school students), this book discusses using picture books to stimulate students' thinking in a variety of topic areas. Chapter 1, Using Picture Books in the Middle School To Stimulate Thinking, introduces the topic of using picture books to enhance teaching in middle school classrooms. Chapter 2, Sharing Our Literary Heritage, delves into the resource of Mother Goose rhymes and nursery tales and suggests reasons and ways for engaging older students with these verses and stories. Chapter 3, Promoting Reading Development, focuses on using picture books to support the development of reading abilities; while chapter 4, Stimulating Thinking, Talking, and Writing, examines additional ways of developing literacy skills with particular attention to writing. Chapter 5 is entitled Extending Student Knowledge about Language and Literature; and chapter 6, Understanding and Appreciating Diversity, addresses the important study of diversity in our multiculture. Chapter 7, Crossing the Curriculum, looks at picture books that can help develop studies in the social studies, mathematics, and science curricula. Chapter 8, Stimulating Creativity, explores picture books that stimulate creativity related to art and music; while chapter 9, Introducing Thematic Studies, investigates the use of picture books as launching pads for theme studies. (Contains approximately 600 references. Appendix A offers fully developed, reproducible lesson plans; and appendix B lists resources to help locate more information, as well as a list of Caldecott Award books.) (SR)