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
How to Speak “Friend”
Melissa Kolb shares some of her favorite mentor texts for helping preschoolers understand friendship.
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.
Nine Picture Books for Teaching Mindfulness
Kim Yaris and Jan Burkins conclude their series on integrating children’s literature and mindful teaching.
Multicultural Series Books
Shari Frost is alarmed when she realizes how rarely children of color are represented as main characters in book series. She decides to compile a list of multicultural series books.
Eight Picture Books That Show (vs. Tell) How to Be Mindful
Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris continue their series on teaching mindfulness with picture books.
Top 10 Intermediate Books for Boys
Katherine Sokolowski finds many of the boys in her classroom love to read about violence, weapons, and crude humor. She challenges teachers to appreciate boys’ interests and set some of our own criticism aside.
Books for Studying Illustration with First Graders
Katie DiCesare has suggestions for books to support an illustration unit early in the year.
Books for Brain Breaks
Mandy Robek compiles a list of her favorite books for brain breaks with young learners.
A Strong Foundation: Books and Media for Launching Literacy Workshops
Help students transition back to school with minilessons that give children a strong sense of the purpose of literacy workshops.
Launching Writing Workshop: Mentor Texts
Mandy Robek shares her favorite texts for building understanding early in the year of writing workshop with young writers. These books are ideal for launching discussions about how writers find ideas.
Launching Reading Workshop: Mentor Texts
Mandy Robek shares her favorite texts to use early in the year with young students to introduce them to everything from places to read to how to handle books.
A Booklist for Memorial Day
Sarah Klim’s latest booklist includes titles for honoring those who serve on Memorial Day.
Conferring About Independent Reading
Karen Terlecky confers with Alex, a fifth grader who needs help choosing books for independent reading.
Celebrating Screen-Free Week (BOOKLIST)
Screen-Free Week is scheduled for May 5-11 this year. Here are some book suggestions to help you explore the issue with students.
A Booklist for Earth Day
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22. Sarah Klim presents some favorite titles to share with students and build awareness in this booklist.
The Power of Mystery Series for Teens and Tweens
Ruth Shagoury shares her top picks of mystery series for teens and tweens.
Children’s Literature for the Olympics
The Olympics are just around the corner, and Sarah Klim has suggestions for read alouds in a new booklist.
Rethinking Nonfiction Topic-Based Text Sets
Franki Sibberson concludes her series on redesigning nonfiction sections of classroom libraries in the age of the Common Core.
Rethinking Nonfiction Series Books
Franki Sibberson explains how she features nonfiction series books in her classroom library.
Rethinking Nonfiction Author Baskets
Franki Sibberson realizes she needs to highlight nonfiction authors in new ways in her classroom library.
Mock Newbery Club
Katherine Sokolowski has suggestions for organizing and hosting a Mock Newbery Club in the weeks before the award is given in late January.
Curating a Nonfiction Classroom Library
Franki Sibberson writes about how her thinking about nonfiction is changing her classroom library in this first installment of a four-part series.
November Contract: Family and Memoir
The November installment of Megan Ginther and Holly Mueller’s yearlong literacy contract series has a theme of family and memoir.
Strong Girls Book Group
Franki Sibberson shares a range of books that include compelling female characters with a group of fourth-grade girls.
She Wants to Be Katniss for Halloween: Courageous Girls in Books
Shari Frost celebrates a tomboy who finally finds a female character she wants to emulate with a booklist highlighting courageous girls.
Mentor Texts for “Versus” Stories
Shark vs. Train! Fork vs. Spoon! Versus stories are incredibly popular in writing workshops these days. Cathy Mere found herself struggling to teach narrative conventions to students writing versus tales, so she created a booklist of mentor texts.
Mentor Texts for Writing Endings
One goal of many primary teachers is to help students finish their drafts with an ending other than “The End” (or “they lived happily ever after”). Katie DiCesare shows her first graders many alternative examples, and she begins early in the year.
The Minimalist: Essential Texts for Kindergarten Teaching
Max Brand develops a "Swiss army knife" booklist of texts that he can't live without when teaching young learners.
“My Ideal Bookshelf”: Books That Educate Us
Ellie Gilbert shares an activity that is a terrific way to get to know your new students. Although Ellie works with high school students, this activity can be adapted for the younger grades.
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