For Fellow Educators

The Book Whisperer 

by Donalyn Miller

This book is an absolute MUST READ for every reading teacher and librarian. Donalyn Miller promotes free choice of reading materials, a diverse classroom library, and the 40 BOOK CHALLENGE! I love her ideas to build excitement around books, and the way she describes readers as "developing, dormant, or underground" instead of "reluctant." Her ideas are so effective to help develop a positive culture of reading.

Readicide 

by Kelly Gallagher

I heard Kelly Gallagher speak early on in my teaching career, and I have taken many of his words to heart. In this book, he talks about how we kill students' love of reading by excessive testing, reading journals, and books logs. Teachers are often under the belief that if something isn't graded, it doesn't have value, but Gallagher promotes recreational reading, and provides great resources to help shift mindset in our schools.

Passionate Readers

by Pernille Ripp

Pernille Ripp is a veteran middle school language arts teacher (and someone you should definitely be following on Twitter, by the way.) In this book, she talks about how to use your own identity as a reader to inspire students, how to physically organize your classroom to make it the most positive reading environment possible, and how to guide students to choose reading materials to match their interests.

The Creativity Project

edited by Colby Sharp

More than 40 authors contributed to this book, including Peter Brown, Kate DiCamillo, Margarita Engle, Adam Gidwitz, Victoria Jamieson, Jess Keating, Kate Messner, R.J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park, Dav Pilkey, Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Dan Santat. The result is a collaborative collection of words, art, poetry, and stories by some of our most celebrated children book creators -- plus additional story starters for students to try!

The Write Thing 

by Kwame Alexander

Newbery-winning author Kwame Alexander has created this "how to" guide for teachers to run successful writing workshops in their own classrooms. He provides step-by-step instructions to guide students through the writing process, dividing the book into three parts: writing, publishing, and presenting. His humor and personality shine through, making this a must-have for any writing teacher.

Game Changer

by Donalyn Miller & Colby Sharp

Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp explain one of the most important factors for student literacy: access to books. In Game Changer, they provide practical information about successful school and classroom libraries, the power of book ownership, the importance of diverse books, and meaningful family-community reading engagement. This book should be read by every librarian and reading teacher.