Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the freedom of the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas. The newly freed Black Americans observed Juneteenth as a celebration of freedom and

  Former First Lady Michelle Obama has a special and inspiring message for librarians and educators everywhere, thanking them for the invaluable work they do in guiding our nation’s young people to become critical thinkers, engaged citizens, and empathetic leaders. Mrs. Obama’s memoir, Becoming, is now available as a young readers’ edition and in paperback.

Dear Readers, Are you stuck at home, right now? Me, too. I can hear the laundry spinning in the dryer and smell overripe bananas piled on the kitchen counter. I’m spending a lot of time looking out the window, too, because I’d really like to go outside and talk to people. But I’m not supposed

Rep. John Lewis, nonviolent political activist, key leader of the Civil Rights Movement, long-serving member of the House of Representatives, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Honor, and author of the best-selling March trilogy, died July 17th, 2020. In 2013, Lewis, along with Andrew Aydin, a longtime member of his congressional staff, and comics artist

Mark your calendars! You are invited to attend the FREE edWebinar “Change Lives with Empathy and Resilience in the Classroom: Unbroken, A Victory for Hope” (July 29th, 4:00-5:00pm) featuring Heather Fuller, high school educator and creator of the Unbroken Curriculum, and Darri Stephens, Resilient Educator Editor in Chief. Heather will discuss how you can transform

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

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

The film adaptation of Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is now streaming, available to rent or purchase through digital outlets such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Google Play. In February, the acclaimed film won six NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Actor in a Motion

Dear Reader, This story is fiction. But it also tells the truth. All stories start with a seed and for me that seed was planted years ago when I first crossed paths with Lord Byron’s epic poem, The Giaour, along with his deeply ingrained Orientalism and sexism. In college, I took a class that centered around

Educators are using Minecraft to teach a range of subjects, from history and chemistry to computer science and math. The game empowers educators to transform their classroom with game-based learning. Students build key skills like creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving to help prepare them to thrive in the digital world and future workplace. The Minecraft Educational Sampler will introduce you to the world of Minecraft and provide helpful tips

On Monday, November 11, we were delighted to host the Inaugural Penguin Random House Middle School Teacher Advisory Board at our NYC headquarters. Our diverse group of talented, innovative educators included five women and three men, hailing from different regions of the U.S. During the meeting, board members and Penguin Random House Education staff engaged