It’s that time of the year again when teachers are preparing to welcome new faces, experiences, and meaningful connections; a time to implement tried and true teaching strategies as well as discovering new ways to foster light bulb moments. In some areas, school has already begun or is soon to start—others have a little more time to enjoy summer break. In any case, it’s never too late or early to build an awesome classroom library. In their “Statement on Classroom Libraries” The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) lists various “specific educational benefits of classroom libraries to students.” One of those benefits is to “facilitate opportunities to validate and promote the acceptance and inclusion of diverse students’ identities and experiences.” The picture books listed feature cultural and universal stories and are great additions to any classroom. Most are available now, and a few are coming soon. When creating classroom libraries, know that picture books are not just for young children—upper elementary, middle, and high school students can gain so much from them, too. Happy Reading!
The Day You Begin | Jacqueline Woodson | Rafael López | Nancy Paulsen Books | 2018
I Am Enough | Grace Byers | Keturah Bobo | Balzer + Bray | 2018
Corduroy Takes a Bow | Viola Davis | Viking Books for Young Readers | 2018
The Big Bed | Bunmi Laditan | Tom Knight | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | 2018
Seeing into Tomorrow: Haiku | Richard Wright | Nina Crews | Millbrook Press | 2018
I Love You More | Taye Diggs | Shane W. Evans | Feiwel & Friends | 2018
Grandma’s Purse | Vanessa Brantley-Newton | Knopf (BYR) | 2018
How to Trick the Tooth Fairy | Erin Danielle Russell | Jennifer Hansen Rolli | Aladdin | 2018
I Am Loved | Nikki Giovanni | Ashley Bryan | Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy | 2018
Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins | Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich | Jade Johnson | Seagrass Press | 2018
Grandma’s Tiny House | JaNay Brown-Wood | Priscilla Burris | Charlesbridge | 2017
Where’s Rodney? | Carmen Bogan | Floyd Cooper | Yosemite Conservancy | 2017
This Is It | Daria Peoples-Riley | Greenwillow Books | 2018
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race | Margot Lee Shetterly | Laura Freeman | HarperCollins | 2018
The Field | Baptiste Paul | NorthSouth Books | 2018
PAR-TAY! Dance of the Veggies (and Their Friends) | Eloise Greenfield | Don Tate | Alazar Press | 2018
Mommy’s Khimar | Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow | Ebony Glenn | Salaam/Simon & Schuster (BYR) | 2018
Gator, Gator, Gator! | Daniel Bernstrom | Frann Preston-Gannon | HarperCollins | 2018
Thank You, OMU! | Oge Mora | Little, Brown (BYR) | 2018 |
Sing to the Moon | Nansubuga Nagaddya Isdahl | Sandra Van Doorn | Lantana | 2018
Are you excited about adding any of these titles to your classroom library? Which ones do you already have? Leave us a comment below.
Please know that your thoughtful donation will support our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors. No amount—$3, $5, $10—is too small!
Our stories matter.
Thanks so much!
