Bring The Biggest Splash to Your School

Why teachers use The Biggest Splash in the classroom

The Biggest Splash is a rhyming picture book for ages 3–7 that doubles as a ready-made preschool curriculum anchor and a kindergarten reading packet. The bouncy meter and predictable rhyme scheme make it a natural fit for rhyming picture book lesson plans, phonological-awareness warm-ups, and circle-time read-alouds where every kid can chime in on the next word.

At its heart, the story is a social-emotional learning (SEL) conversation about sharing spaces. Frog wants the lake to herself; Duck, Turtle, and the rest of the lake crew want to play. Teachers use the book to open K–2 discussions about cooperation, taking turns, frustration, and friendship, the everyday SEL skills that show up in every shared classroom, lunch table, and playground.

Because the story is set on a summer lake, it’s also a hook for lake early science activities: floating and sinking, ripples and waves, weather, and the simple physics of a big splash. Pair the read-aloud with a water-table center or a “make-a-wave” experiment and you’ve got a full STEAM block.

And for the watersports families, the climax of the book is a backyard waterski show. The Biggest Splash is one of the only picture books that introduces young readers to kids waterskiing and wake surfing in age-appropriate language, making it a favorite gift for kids who are learning to waterski, growing up at the lake, or watching older siblings ride for the first time.

Best for: preschool, pre-K, kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade classrooms, school libraries, summer reading programs, lake-community story hours, and SEL specialists looking for a fresh read-aloud about sharing spaces.