Booklists

Detour Texts

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan explain the concept of “detour texts”—picture books to use as mentor texts in the intermediate grades to illustrate complex literary elements. They also share three of their favorite new children’s books to use as detours.

Expanding Black History Month Reading

A heavy sigh from a student is a cue to Shari Frost that he has heard the same Martin Luther King picture book biography one too many times in February. She shares her top picture book picks for expanding children’s awareness of black history all year long.

Picture Book Biographies

Stella Villalba shares some of her favorite new picture book bIographies for bringing history to life for young learners, with a focus on perseverance.

Refugees: A Children’s Booklist

There is probably no population more misunderstood or vilified than refugees. Stella Villalba shares a booklist to help young students understand the refugee's plight and experiences.

Comics and Graphic Novels for Tweens

Comic books and graphic novels are genres tweens adore, but teachers sometimes struggle to embrace. Ruth Shagoury creates a booklist with engaging books in the genre any teacher would enjoy.

Books on a Budget

There are scores of new children’s books that continually tempt teachers. But how do you stock your classroom library with a limited budget? Shari Frost shares proven strategies.

Mentor Texts for Letter Writing

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan share some of their favorite mentor texts for a unit on letter writing.

More Nonfiction Read Alouds

Franki Sibberson shares strategies for incorporating more nonfiction into read-aloud times throughout the day.

Great Books for African American Boys

Shari Frost deals with the failure of a classic read-aloud text to reach young African American boys by finding more engaging books for them.

The Benefits of #bookaday

Franki Sibberson finds the investment of five to seven minutes a day for #bookaday with her third graders is truly time well spent.

Increasing Read-Alouds in the Primary Grades

Bitsy Parks describes her process over the years in increasing both the quality and quantity of read-alouds in her first-grade classroom.

No More Strong Girls?

Are there ways for girls in literature to be heroic without fighting? Shari Frost asks herself this question in compiling her latest booklist.

Playful Texts for Beginning Readers

Shari Frost uses playful texts to increase interest and stamina in emergent readers. She shares many of her favorites in this booklist.

Books That Mirror the Children in Our Classrooms

Stella Villalba shares some of her favorite children’s books that mirror the home cultures of English language learners.

Graphic Novels for Beginning Readers

If you are looking to increase the quantity and quality of graphic novels for your learners in your classroom library Shari Frost has a new booklist to get you started.

Culturally Responsive Texts

Katrina Edwards is horrified when a student response reveals cultural gaps in her first-grade classroom library.  She researches possibilities for expanding the diversity of texts, and shares an annotated bibliography to download linking different cultures and curricular possibilities.

Adjusting the Classroom Library for Student Needs

Mandy Robek realizes her classroom library isn't working for her second graders, in part because many of the books are still too difficult for students early in the year. She explains her process of sorting and stowing books for later use.

Teaching Inference Through Picture Books

Katherine Sokolowski explains why picture books are useful for teaching inference to intermediate students, and shares some of her favorites.

Little Levels, Big Thinking

Katie DiCesare moves beyond levels to consider her first-grade readers’ needs.

Reorganizing Primary Information Texts

Katie DiCesare thinks about the needs of her first-grade students, and spends some time reorganizing primary information texts, considering both physical texts for the library and online resources.

Nonfiction Books with More Than One Entry Point

Franki Sibberson shares some of her favorite nonfiction books with more than one entry point.

A Booklist for Grandparents Day

Sarah Klim presents a booklist for Grandparents Day, with many suggestions for read alouds to promote the September event.

Read Alouds as “Third Things”

Katherine Sokolowski uses read alouds early in the year to help students reflect on how to be kind and thoughtful members of a classroom community.

Student-Created Text Sets

Jillian Heise’s middle school students design text sets late in the school year. It’s a great activity for discovering how they have grown as readers, as well as a gift to next year’s class.

Closing the Year and Making Space to Remember

Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris explain how ending the year is all about making space for memories, and provide some texts to help in the process.

Favorite Wordless Picture Books for Teaching Inference

Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris present some of their favorite children’s books for teaching inference.

Using Picture Books to Foster Resilience

Gigi McAllister uses picture books to strengthen her fourth grade classroom community.

How to Speak “Friend”

Blurring Genres and Real-Life Readers

The line between fiction and nonfiction can be fuzzy, but Tony Keefer finds what matters most is finding texts that captivate readers.

Exploring Literary Nonfiction with Middle School Students

Holly Mueller and her middle school students have fun exploring the creative aspects of literary nonfiction.