NCTE

In time for Banned Books Week, NCTE and SLJ have partnered again to provide professional reviews of banned curriculum staples. We highlight 18 acclaimed works by celebrated authors, including Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In our last round of reviews of banned classics, SLJ and NCTE cover two of Jane Austen's works, the timely Fahrenheit 451, and the heartbreaking I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

Fifteen outstanding books of poetry and seven novels in verse have been recognized as 2024 Notable Books. Selections include a range of formats—lively nonfiction, fantasy, and moving verse novels—written by familiar poets and debut authors.

SLJ and NCTE have revealed the 2023 round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections. The following seven works will deepen young readers’ understanding of the historical context of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 and inspire them to connect its social justice themes to present-day issues. 

Linda Sue Park's Newbery Award–winning middle grade novel A Single Shard tells the story of Tree-ear, an orphan in 12th-century Korea. The boy's heart and courage resonate with readers, and these multimodal picks are great way to expand on the novel's themes and world.

SLJ and NCTE have revealed the 2023 round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections. Use these multimodal recommendations to contextualize and extend the messaging of Virginia Hamilton's acclaimed Black folklore collection The People Could Fly.

It's just not summer if teenagers aren't pocketing S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, with its iconic gang members, dusty American landscape, and exquisitely crafted life lessons; this year, SLJ and NCTE reveal the 2023 round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections, where multimedia suggestions enrich The Outsiders and so much more.

Black Boy, published in 1945, is Richard Wright's memoir about growing up in the South during the Jim Crow era. Pair it with these books, movies, and art pieces to translate Wright's experience to modern day.

The House on Mango Street centers around Esperanza Cordero’s coming of age in her Chicago neighborhood. The below resources, including nonfiction and artwork, can enhance students’ engagement with Sandra Cisneros’s classic.