I use picture books for a whole lot more than graphophonemic lessons. I use picture books that offer the reader multiple ways of understanding the world around them, through people and the communities we all live in, through surface and deep structures. When I choose books, I carry an agenda of finding books that will help each individual and our community of readers discover and understand the people around us more. I hope they are surprised by what they notice and connect with, and I trust that our repeated readings of the text cause them to have multiple a-ha moments. With an agenda like this, it is obvious that I must choose books carefully.