Katie Cunningham

Just in time for summer, Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey is a charming tale of the everyday experiences of a young girl making her way through the world. This is a story primed for early elementary grade readers for summer reading, read-alouds, book club conversations, and to join the series bin of your classroom library.

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Amari and the Night Brothers is a thrilling, fast-paced read that tackles issues of loss, belonging, and race in ways that will inspire readers to confront prejudice and interrogate privilege.

The post Amari and the Night Brothers Celebrates #BlackGirlMagic appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

In Bear Island, Caldecott-winning author and illustrator Matthew Cordell affirms for children that they can find resilience and hope in the midst of grief.

The post Wandering through Grief Towards Reassurance with Bear Island appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

In Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, a young Chinese American girl speaks to readers through lyrical language that celebrates the beauty of her eyes and the eyes of her beloved Mama, grandmother Amah, and little sister, Mei-Mei.

The post Encourage Self-Love with Eyes that Kiss in the Corners appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

At The Classroom Bookshelf, we champion the read aloud as an essential and joyful part of one’s literacy life.  With World Read Aloud Day fast approaching on February 3rd, we wanted to spotlight this upcoming global book party as a joyful way to lift up the power of books and children’s voices. Whether students are […]

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If ever there was a time for poetry as a source of hope and healing, the time is now. As 2020 comes to a close, poetry can be a source of comfort for students and teachers as we continue to face challenges while embracing joyful sites of possibility. Naomi Shihab Nye’s, latest book of collected and new poems is a welcome respite and source of inspiration for attending to this moment and contemplating what comes next.

The post Poetry for Hope and Healing with Naomi Shihab Nye’s Everything Comes Next appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

From the author-illustrator team that brought you the Caldecott Honor- and Newbery Honor-winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, comes another poignant picturebook that celebrates Black joy and Black excellence.

The post Affirming Children’s Worthiness with I Am Every Good Thing appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

Sixth grader, Stephen, lives in Brooklyn, is into sci-fi, and is a mixed race tween who has started to painfully experience the ways that white people in his neighborhood treat him differently than his white friends. If you are wondering how to begin confronting Anti-Black racism in your classroom, start with What Lane?

The post Confronting Anti-Black Racism with the Middle Grade Novel What Lane? appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

A Collaborative Blog Post from Katie Cunningham and Kavita Tanna During this global pandemic, a microscope has been held up to the social inequities our society has perpetuated and often ignored including unequal schooling, structural inequalities, racism, mental health, and the impact of climate change. In this post, we draw from the metaphor that while […]

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