Class Book Ideas: How to Make a Book Your Whole Class Writes

A class book is a picture book your whole class writes together: every child makes one page, usually a drawing with a sentence, on a shared theme. Children love seeing their own page next to their friends' pages, and a finished class book often becomes one of the most reread books in the classroom library. Below are 20 class book ideas, a page-by-page plan for an "All about our class" book, and how to put it together and print it.

What is a class book, and why make one?

A class book is a shared book in which each child contributes a page on the same prompt. Teachers in preschool, kindergarten and the early grades use them to practice writing a sentence, to build community, and to give children a book where they are the authors.

Because the pattern repeats on every page ("If I were the teacher, I would..."), early readers can often read the whole book themselves. That repetition is a big part of why children return to it.

Class books work for homeschool groups, scout troops, Sunday school and families with lots of cousins too. Any group of children with a shared theme can make one.

20 class book ideas

Each idea is one prompt. Every child finishes the sentence and draws a picture.

1. All about our class: "My name is [Name] and I like [favorite thing]."
2. If I were the teacher: "If I were the teacher, I would [let everyone have recess all day]."
3. Our field trip: "At the [farm], my favorite part was [the goats]."
4. Our class ABC book: each child takes a letter. "[A] is for [astronaut]."
5. What makes me brave: "I was brave when I [went down the big slide]."
6. When I grow up: "When I grow up, I want to be [a vet]."
7. Our favorite foods: "[Name] likes to eat [noodles]."
8. I can help: "I can help by [feeding the class fish]."
9. If I had a pet dragon: "If I had a pet dragon, we would [fly to the beach]."
10. What I'm thankful for: "I am thankful for [my grandma]."
11. Our counting book: each child draws a number. "[Five] [ladybugs] on a leaf."
12. The weather today: "When it is [rainy], I like to [jump in puddles]."
13. Kindness counts: "I was kind when I [shared my markers]."
14. The 100th day: "If I had 100 [balloons], I would [float away]."
15. Our classroom: "My favorite place in our room is [the reading corner]."
16. Seasons: "In [fall], I like to [jump in leaves]."
17. A class pattern book: based on a favorite read-aloud pattern, with each child's own animal or color.
18. My family: "In my family there is [me, Mom, Grandpa and our cat]."
19. Things I learned this year: "This year I learned how to [read a whole book]."
20. Dear next year's class: "My tip for you is [be nice to the class turtle]."

For more themes, our list of children's book ideas has dozens that can be turned into a single class prompt.

A page-by-page plan for an "All about our class" book

This plan suits the start of the year and works with any class size. The middle section repeats once per child.

1. Cover: "All About [Room 12]" or "[Ms. Lee]'s Class", with a group drawing or a photo of the classroom door.
2. Welcome: "Welcome to [Room 12]. We are [the Busy Bees]. There are [22] of us."
3. Our teacher: "Our teacher is [Ms. Lee]. She likes [gardening] and [tacos]."
4. Our room: "In our room we have [a reading corner, a fish tank and a big rug]."
5. Our day: "Every day we have [circle time, centers, recess and story time]."
6. Child pages (one each): "This is [first name]. [He/She/They] likes [soccer]. [He/She/They] is good at [building with blocks]." Each child draws themselves.
7. Our favorite book: "Our class favorite book is [title]."
8. Our class rules: "In [Room 12], we [are kind, take turns and clean up]."
9. What we want to learn: "This year we want to learn about [dinosaurs, space and the ocean]."
10. Last page: "Together, we are [Room 12]. The end."

How do I collect pages from the whole class?

The easiest way is to have every child draw on the same size paper, add their sentence, and then photograph each drawing. Matching paper keeps the book looking consistent.

• Give a sentence frame. Write the prompt on the board or on the paper so children only fill in the blank.
• Let younger children dictate. You or a helper can type their words straight into the book.
• Photograph in good light, straight on, with the whole drawing in the frame. Our guide to turning kids' drawings into a book has more photo tips.
• Keep a checklist of names so nobody's page goes missing.

How to make a class book on makeabook.fun

makeabook.fun is a free picture-book maker that runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with no sign-up.

1. Open the drawings starter. Go to "Their drawings", which lets you upload photos of the art, a whole stack at once, with a line under each.
2. Pick a size. Square (8.5 × 8.5 in) or Big (8.5 × 11 in) suit drawings done on regular paper.
3. Upload the drawings. Tall pictures like drawings are shown whole automatically, so nothing gets cut off.
4. Type each child's sentence under their drawing, using the layout "picture with words below".
5. Add the opening and closing pages from the plan above.
6. Finish the cover. Add the title and list the author as "[Room 12]" or "The Busy Bees".
7. Flip through it in the reader with the class, then download the free PDF.

Privacy: what about children's names and photos?

Drawings and first names are the safest choice for a class book. If you want photos of children or full names, follow your school's policy and get permission from families first. makeabook.fun keeps the book in the browser on your device and nothing is uploaded, so we never see the children's pictures or words. Use the Backup file to move the book from a school computer to another device.

Printing copies for the classroom and families

The free full-color print-at-home PDF puts each page on US Letter or A4 paper, so you can print one copy for the classroom library and more for families. For the copy that stays in the room, the Keepsake edition ($2.99 once per book) gives print-shop quality at the exact book size, no makeabook.fun mark, a fold-and-staple booklet layout, and free re-downloads if a new student joins. Our guide to how to print a picture book at home covers paper and binding.