Picture Book

All the Ways to be Smart

Ellen Bees

07 Sep 2026 • 1 min read

The book cover of All the Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys. It shows eight kids who look happy and are engaged in a variety of activities, like reading, looking at a beaker, smelling a flower while wearing a pirate hat, wearing a helmet, looking through a magnifying glass, and playing a musical instrument.

I like to begin my first English class of the school year with a picture book and this year I have chosen All the Ways to be Smart, by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys. The book is a celebration of all the ways students can be smart and talented. As the authors say, "Smart is not just being best at spelling bees, a tricky test. Or knowing all the answers ever... Other ways are just as clever."

Each page outlines different ways kids can demonstrate how they are smart, from talent at making Halloween art to demonstrating an active imagination to knowing all there is to know about dinosaurs. The book emphasizes the importance of kindness and all sorts of interpersonal skills, like helping others feel included. Whether one is a keen storyteller or an introspective thinker (or perhaps both), there are lots of ways to be clever and we should celebrate all of these different strengths.

This year, I will read the book on our first day to establish a shared understanding in our classroom about how our different strengths make our classroom a better place to be. We'll discuss the different ways to be smart that are shared in the book and why these different talents are important in our classroom community. Finally, I'll borrow from Universal Design for Learning and have students identify ways they are smart, write these on a sticky note and add them to our 'community brain,' a visual display that will celebrate our strengths. With this activity, we'll set the tone for the year where we celebrate each other and value our differences.