Age Level

More time, less social pressure, and more flexible scheduling has helped some kids flourish.

What can educators do? We can offer young people an opportunity to better understand and make sense of this moment through information. Nonfiction books for young people offer us gripping accounts of the past and present in language that engages young people’s hearts and minds. Nonfiction books for young people provide a “container” of information vetted and researched, with evidence documented in bibliographies and chapter notes, acknowledgements and author’s notes. Nonfiction books for young people personalize and problematize history. Nonfiction books for young people can be juxtaposed in the classroom so that students can hear a range of perspectives and make sense across texts. Nonfiction books for young people can model inquiry and informational literacy, while also providing essential information about our past, our present, and the government structures within which we operate.

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Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed BasketballWritten by Jen BryantIllustrated by Frank MorrisonPublished by Abrams, October 6, 2020ISBN: 978-1419741081 Book ReviewThe end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 heralds the opening of the NBA basketball season. As we enter the new year, we are reminded of the athlete activism that has changed the landscape […]

The post Above the Rim: Peaceful Activism for a New Year appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

We don't know what next year holds. We don't know where books will take us. But as we do each year, we’ve curated “best of” lists from a range of publications and organizations that review children’s and middle grade books. We hope you find these lists useful. You may be in search of winter holiday hibernation reads. You may be trying to find just the right book for a child or tween in your life, or new books for your classroom collections or school library.

The post Books as Bright Spots in 2020 appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

In a stunning picture book biography, author Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrator Laura Freeman celebrate the life and work of Philip Freelon, Architect of Record for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. This not-to-be missed title has broad possibilities for exploring art and design; featuring diverse life stories; and inviting students to consider how they might use their own talents to be dream builders.

The post Building Big Dreams with Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

Companies continue to respond to the pandemic's impact on educators and students; NCTE is taking proposals for next year's convention; the Educator Jobs Fund Act of 2020 is proposed in the senate; and Simon & Schuster plans new graphic novels for young readers.

The Teachers March! captures a powerful moment in U.S. history, celebrates the tenacity and intrepidity of teachers, and has an important role to play in language arts and social studies curriculum.

The post Celebrating Collective Action in The Teachers March appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

Messner and Sorell contextualize the "first Thanksgiving" myth; Hachette announces new BIPOC imprint; Linda Sue Park creates Korean and Korean diaspora author and illustrator resource; results of the K-12 Scholastic Student Vote.

Set in January 1986 against the countdown to the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, this coming-of-age novel by Newbery Award-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly tells the story of a family searching for something to bring their orbits into alignment with their dreams and with one another before disaster strikes.

The post Navigating Family, Middle School, and the Universe in We Dream of Space appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.