Booklists
There are so many wonderful new children's and young adult books published each year -- and there is a lot of dreck out there too. We aim to be curators as we sort through, organize, and group books so that you can find just what you need. Whether it's mentor texts for a unit on persuasive writing, or just-right books for a fifth-grade English language learner, we've scoured lists of award winners, recommendations from colleagues, and the Kidlitsophere to come up with these lists.
Latest Content
Novels in Verse (Booklist)
Leigh Anne Eck curates a fantastic booklist of novels in verse for middle-grade and young adult readers.
What Criteria Should We Use When Selecting Whole-Class Texts?
Christy Rush-Levine reminds us that text selection affects students. By shaping a unit of study to contain texts of varying formats and representing a wide variety of characters, students are empowered to develop their own ideas even while reading a whole-class text. Download a diverse text list to deepen a discussion of how family shapes identity.
Book Talk: Sheets and Delicates by Brenna Thummler
Christy Rush-Levine pairs Brenna Thummler’s books Sheets and Delicates in a book talk for her sixth-grade class.
Books to Fuel Creativity and Imagination
Stella Villalba shares books that will fuel your creativity and nourish your imagination.
Picture Books that Help Construct a Wider Definition of Home
Stella Villalba compiles a book list about the topic of home. She shares the way she allows students to co-construct their own understanding of home by using picture books that provide a variety of lenses through which to view the topic.
Lead with Art, and Literacy Will Naturally Follow
Stella Villalba widens our perspective by sharing the link between art and literacy with suggested picture books to help build the bridge.
Beyond Personal Narrative: A Change in Perspective
Cathy Mere nudges us to consider perspective as a craft move and provides a stack of mentor texts in this book list.
Building Informed Empathy with Picture Books
Nawal Qarooni Casiano shares three gorgeously varied picture books and guiding questions designed to cultivate an inquisitive stance and informed empathy in students.
Best Graphic Novel Adaptations for the Middle Grades
Shari Frost shares her favorite graphic novel adaptations for the middle grades.
Picture Books That Affirm and Celebrate Students’ Identities
Stella Villalba shares 2020 picture books to celebrate and affirm students’ identities.
Issues Overload
Shari Frost finds that the issues students may be dealing with in some children’s books can be overwhelming. She shares some of her favorite books for grappling with one troubling topic at a time.
Picture Books for Mental Wellness
Mandy Robek learns a lot about worry from her daughter, and discovers a treasure trove of picture books to promote mental wellness and help students cope with difficult emotions.
Meet Someone New Monday: Using Picture Book Biographies to Bring Marginalized Voices into the Classroom
Melissa Quimby creates “Meet Someone New Monday” to inspire students with picture book biographies of little-known artists, activists, and citizens who accomplish remarkable feats.
Letting Students Organize Informational Books
Mandy Robek is a little nervous about setting her students loose to organize informational texts, but she couldn’t be more pleased by what they learn in the process.
Reassuring Worried Children with Picture Books
Mandy Robek learns a lot about worry from her daughter, and at the same time discovers a treasure trove of children’s books to help students overcome worries.
Reading and Writing for the 100th Day of School
The 100th day of school has become an opportunity for classroom and schoolwide celebrations. Shari Frost provides many resources to ensure reading and writing are front and center on this special day.
Raising Student Voices: Mentor Texts
Helping students find and raise their voices so that they can someday change the world is one of the most important things we do. Cathy Mere shares some of her favorite mentor texts for this essential work.
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.
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