Michelle Ann Abate is Professor of Literature for Children and Young Adults at The Ohio State University.  She is the author of six books of literary criticism, including Tomboys: A Literary and Cultural History (2008) which was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award.  Her most recent book, No Kids Allowed: Children’s Literature for Adults, was

TIME recently shared its list of the 100 Best YA Books of All Time. This definitive list was curated by a panel of celebrated YA authors, and includes the most compelling, enlightening, and influential young-adult books, all in chronological order beginning in the 1800s.  The list includes over 30 titles from Penguin Random House and

As part of an inaugural commemoration of Juneteenth, the National Council of Teachers of English and Penguin Random House Education partnered to support celebrations held by The Black Caucus of NCTE, a leading advocacy group of Black English language arts educators and scholars, who played a pivotal role in the celebrations. Penguin Random House Education

The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event typically held once every four years. The Games were first held in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and were most recently held in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After a yearlong postponement, the 2021 Summer Olympics are

U.S. News & World Report, which publishes the most widely quoted annual set of rankings for American colleges and universities, recently shared their list of “10 Books to Read Before College.” Describing these books as “assigned texts [that] are regularly used in freshman-level classes and offer students a chance to come together to discuss a

Andy Weir, author of The Martian, Artemis, and Project Hail Mary answers our questions about his latest book, reveals the benefit of writing relatable characters, and shares his feelings about the Fab Four. Abbe Wright: Andy, when I open one of your novels, I know we’re starting with a pretty big problem. In The Martian, we’ve got Mark Watney, who’s

Shiamin Kwa is Associate Professor and Chair of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature at Bryn Mawr College. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Chinese Literature from Harvard University and her B.A. in English Literature from Dartmouth College. She is the author of Regarding Frames: Thinking with Comics in the Twenty-First Century  (RIT

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

For World Environment Day, we are providing resources to help students gain an awareness of the varying threats to the environment. Through this understanding, we hope to give them the tools to take action to help protect the planet.   Under a White Sky In Under a White Sky, Elizabeth Kolbert takes a hard look

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. First, President Bill Clinton declared June “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month” on June 2, 2000. In 2009, President Barack Obama declared June “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.” LGBTQ+ Pride events attract millions

Contributed by Michelle Kuo, author of Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship Every teacher has likely experienced two emotions: the feeling that you’ve gotten through to a student and the feeling that you’ve let him down. In the first, the classroom is a powerful place of human connection, and the

  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.