From Memoir to Movie: Michelle Obama’s Becoming Arrives May 6 on Netflix

Arriving May 6 on Netflix, Becoming is a documentary feature film following Michelle Obama during the worldwide book tour for her bestselling memoir of the same name. Produced in association with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions and Big Mouth Productions, the documentary is directed by Nadia Hallgren and provides an up-close look at

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A Holocaust Survivor’s Perspective on Isolation

In 1942, 22 year-old Franci Rabinek arrived at Terezin, a concentration camp and ghetto 40 miles north of her home in Prague. It would be the beginning of her three-year journey through four different camps. Her memoir, Franci’s War, offers her intense, candid account of those dark years before her liberation in 1945. Before that,

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Inclusive Texts for the High School Classroom

Now more than ever, students need literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people. From Erika L. Sanchez’s poignant YA novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter to Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz’s highly informative An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, Penguin Random House has extensive offerings for

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Author Essay: The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming

Charles Lindbergh: Comparing the Past to the Present It began with the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.  That was the story I originally intended to tell.  But as I began corralling my research, the dominant personality that was Charles Lindbergh soon overshadowed everything and everyone else.  He was so complicated, so contradictory, so compelling.  To me, he

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Teaching in a New Reality: Shanetia Clark, Salisbury University (MD)

With states having “stay at home” orders, I’ve rediscovered things that give me comfort when I feel a bit overwhelmed and tired of “zoom-ing” all day.  I listen to audiobooks–ones that have nothing to do with what I’m teaching. My local library has an excellent audiobook collection, so I’m taking advantage of the time.  I

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The Power of Authentic Texts: Effective Pathways to Developing a Reading Culture and Student Success

The spring of each school year can be an anxious time. Your district’s test scores arrive, and reading scores may not have improved enough to meet your goals. The education team at Penguin Random House understands your concerns for staff and students. To support you, we’ve asked three experienced educators to write a white paper

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Bringing Excitement, Joy and Kangas to Diana: Princess of the Amazons

By Tim Beedle The creators of Diana: Princess of the Amazons want kids to know that even Wonder Woman had trouble making friends. As one of the most popular superheroes in the world, that may seem hard to imagine, but let’s not forget that Diana grew up on an island where she was the only child. Loneliness

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Recommended Books for High School Students to Read at Home

Independent reading provides students the opportunity not only to supplement their existing literature and language assignments, but also to temporarily escape the anxieties of our current reality. From George Takei’s graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy to John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down, Penguin Random House has extensive offerings for your students. Click here

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Recommended Books for Middle School Students to Read at Home

Independent reading provides students the opportunity not only to supplement their existing literature and language assignments, but also to temporarily escape the anxieties of our current reality. From Adib Khorram’s poignant YA novel Darius the Great Is Not Okay to Seth Grahame-Smith’s cannibalistic take on Jane Austen in Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies, Penguin Random House

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Meet The PRH High School Teacher Advisory Board

PRH Education was thrilled to host its inaugural High School Teacher Advisory Board Meeting on February 18th at the Penguin Random House headquarters. The nine board members—six women and three men—hailed from a range of geographic locations, from Southern California to Central Illinois to the Bronx in Manhattan. The board included six English and social

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Hidden Valley Road has been chosen for Oprah’s Book Club

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker has been chosen for Oprah’s Book Club.   “This is a riveting true story of an American family that reads like a medical detective journey,” said Oprah Winfrey. “It reveals the shame, denial, shock, confusion and misunderstanding of mental illness at a

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