News & Features

J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has long been a classroom staple. These more recent titles offer narratives with similar themes, such as mental illness, family strife, and growing up.

William Golding's Lord of the Flies remains a riveting go-to, especially for units on the rise of brute force over democratic rule, and the need of society to protect the less able. These read-alikes, curated by the NCTE and SLJ, are intended to enrich the context, amplify the message, or offer an alternative view. 

S.E. Hinton's seminal work The Outsiders ushered in a golden age of young adult literature. Here are nine books that reflect on the same themes of friendship, class tension, and adolescence. 

These eight titles are great accompaniments to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, as updated expansions on the novel's themes and its historical setting.

SLJ and NCTE collaborated to create 18 booklists of titles to replace, or use as a companion to, canon "classics." 

In the latest Censorship Roundup, administrators pull books from shelves and require parental consent based on individual complaints and an organization's list of "problematic" titles.

To support teachers and librarians in the face of ongoing censorship, School Library Journal and Penguin Random House—in partnership with PEN America, NCAC, NCTE, FReadom, and Library Journal—have created a poster that vividly illustrates the importance of intellectual freedom.

We Need Diverse Books is fundraising for LGBTQIA+ book donations, President Biden speaks out against book banners, May 6 is Floyd Cooper Day, and more in this edition of News Bites.

It Fell From the Sky by Terry Fan and Eric Fan and Cougar Crossing by Meeg Pincus are this year's winners. Three silver medalists were chosen for each award.