Firoozeh Dumas, author of Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, and Malaka Gharib, author of I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir, sat down over Zoom for a conversation about their books, the value of representation, using humor and joy as teaching tools, and how positive change begins

On April 8th, the nation observes Days of Remembrance in an effort to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust as well as honor survivors and pay tribute to liberators. To learn more about Days of Remembrance, click here.   Franci’s War The engrossing memoir of a spirited and glamorous young fashion designer who

April is National Poetry Month, reminding us of poetry’s important role in our culture and in our classrooms. We are celebrating by appreciating a few titles that highlight the lives and work of inspiring poets.   The Hill We Climb On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a

Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary, a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit, has since become a world classic beloved by generations of students. As of March 2021, all Penguin Random House editions of

Nhora Lucía Serrano is the associate director for digital learning and research at Hamilton College. Originally from Colombia, she is a medieval and early modern scholar whose areas of focus include Latin America and transatlantic studies, editorial cartoons and graphic arts, book history and print culture, and technology-enhanced learning and educational innovation. Serrano was a

In How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates shares what he’s learned in more than a decade of studying climate change and sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions.   Bill Gates explains what needs to be done to make a world

March is Women’s History Month, which recognizes the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. Beginning as “Women’s History Week,” a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California in 1978, the movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year.

The United Nations recognizes February 20th as World Day of Social Justice. This year’s theme is a Call for Social Justice in the Digital Economy. Read more about the importance of social justice for peace and security in today’s world. We’ve provided a few books centered on social justice issues including disability justice, antiracism and

Carol Tilley (she/her), a former school librarian, is currently an associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at University of Illinois. Tilley’s comics scholarship focuses on young people’s comics readership, especially in the US during the mid-20th century. Her research on Fredric Wertham was featured in the New York Times and other media outlets. She

The American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter announced their 2021 literary award winners and honorees at its virtual annual meeting. Below you can find which Penguin Random House titles appropriate for Middle School and High School students were among the winners.  To see which Elementary School titles were honored, click here. Printz Honor Every Body Looking

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Find more on the

Rebecca Wanzo is a professor and chair of the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. She is the author of The Suffering Will Not Be Televised: African American Women and Sentimental Political Storytelling (SUNY Press, 2009), which uses African American Women as a case study in exploring the