Touching Texture

I was stuck; thinking about what I could possible read/teach/share when my first graders arrived in the Library.  And then I had one of those casual conversations that occur in the hall or in the copier room or by the mailboxes. 

The art teacher mentioned that she was doing "texture" with the first graders, explaining the difference between texture you can see with your eyes and texture you can actually feel.  Ding!

First I showed the students Lois Ehlert's book Snowballs.  I had recently purchased a new copy because our only other copy was falling to pieces.  The illustrations are so incredibly vibrant!  I read the book and asked the students, "If you could touch the mittens/birdseed/buttons/bottlecaps, how would they feel?".

Then we moved on to The Black Book of Colors.  This is a book that is in Braille as well as in standard text.  The students were able to actually feel the Braille and the raised illustrations.  {On a related note, twitter.com/LizB does a braille storyhour which I cannot wait to hear about once she escapes San Diego.}

What are your favorite textured books and/or what has been your most recent "copier room" lesson plan?