Part of the power of #classroombookaday is the way it can work to build community and bring comfort through predictable routines. So what do teachers do when they don’t have a physical classroom for read alouds? During this unprecedented time, many are wanting to turn to online options to record a daily picture book read aloud to continuing sharing this time with their students. 


There are many options for creating a digital #classroombookaday grid also: a table in Google Docs or Slides, Google Sites, Padlet, or even Symbaloo with links to your read alouds. Whatever method you choose, make it easy for you to keep up with during this time!

I was going to create my own table to track these, but this Piktochart that librarian Jessica Purvis shared is amazing, and since she has them all together in an easy to see format, I’m sharing the link to her infographic with some screenshots.

The specific publisher details are located further down on her infographic. 

In addition, School Library Journal has created a COVID-19 Publisher Information Directory in a Google Doc that has all of the individual publisher permissions during this time!

They should all be covered, but if not, just be sure to check the publisher website or reach out to their school & library teams on Twitter.

You can find more of my back-to-school recommendations in my Building Community book list & blog post at Follett Community.

      In an unforgettable new novel from award-winning authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, two teens—one black, one white—grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension.
      A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?
      But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.
      Written in tandem by two award-winning authors, this tour de force shares the alternating perspectives of Rashad and Quinn as the complications from that single violent moment, the type taken from the headlines, unfold and reverberate to highlight an unwelcome truth.

My thoughts:


I’m not sure my words will be able to adequately express the importance of this book and the urgency I feel to get it into hands of my urban teens specifically, and all teens generally. 


This is a book to start conversations, in our classrooms and with each other. It’s a book to make you take a step back and look at bias in your own life. 


The power in this book lies in the stripped down simplicity-two boys, two views, one incident, which, through the honesty and realness of the characters who are dealing with complex issues of race, community, perceptions, stereotypes, and assumptions, is able to address a timely issue in a way teens will be able to relate to without feeling lectured at. 


Reynolds and Kiely have written a story that stays true to the teen voice and the inner struggle of trying to understand things that don’t make sense, and wanting to change but not knowing how, wanting to fight for what’s right in the face of outside pressures, and how that all impacts relationships with family and friends. 


It’s a gut-wrenching book because of how easy it was for me to picture my own students’ faces and voices in place of Rashad’s & Quinn’s, and in how it made me think about privilege while keeping the focus on these characters and the many real people who have been affected by racial incidents of police brutality. I especially appreciated that the two characters were the forefront, but had friends, teachers, and family who all affected their actions and decisions in a true to life way. 


It’s honest, real, powerful, and oh so important. 


It’s a book people need to read. 

“All-American Boys is amazing. I’m literally at a loss of words to explain how I feel. It was so powerful.” (Larry)

“I think this book is really good. But there’s more than just good. There is a deeper meaning to the book.” (Harrison) 

“This book is so powerful. It has let everyone know about racism that has been going around lately.” (Madelyn) 

“[The authors] produced a thoughtful way to write about what is going on these days.”(Malik) 

“I feel this book had a goal to have you look at society different and it did…” (Alex) 

“I liked this book a lot! It is definitely a part of my Top 10. I think it is a different way to talk about police brutality. I am scared for my black family.” (Aalisiyah) 

“All-American Boys was a really powerful story. Altogether the story was amazing.” (anon) 

“This book gives the best inside look on black and white societies and perspectives of teenagers.” (Kimi) 

“All-American Boys really affected me. Why are black people portrayed as the bad guy? I think this book shows that this is wrong. People appear to be more racist than they think. It’s sad that not many people notice this.” (Carlos) 

“I think most people can relate to this book.” (Rosita) 

“These are things that are happening today, police brutality. It’s not just in the book, it’s in real life this stuff happens in real life. And it’s not fair.” (Roman)

I want to make a big impact with the read alouds I choose for the first day of school. Yes, I read picture books to my 7th & 8th graders. I want a quick text that we can all share to start creating our classroom community in a positive way. I want my students to see the value and depth of picture books no matter how old they are. I want my students to know I will be reading aloud to them throughout the year (not only to model fluency, but because we are never to old to appreciate a read aloud). I want my students to continue to have fun experiences with reading and enjoy a book all together. I want the message I send on the very first day of school to be one of a love of reading and appreciation of literature in all of its forms. Picture books let me do everything I want to do on that first meeting with students.

This year is the first time that I will have a group of students for the 2nd year in a row, so it was time to decide on new first day of school read alouds for my incoming 8th graders (who I taught last year as 7th graders – I will probably still use the same one I’ve used before for my incoming 7th graders because I like the message it sends about building our community from the start). The great thing is that I won’t have to waste any time in getting to know you activities because we all know each other already, so we can jump right into the learning and reading. In thinking about all of the picture books I read aloud to this group last year (and there were many) and all of the new ones I’ve found this summer, and what I know about this class of students from last year and their group dynamics, I realized I wanted to tailor the theme of the books I chose to what I think they need and what I want to focus on from the start of their 8th grade experience. What I realized is that there were three picture books I read that all related to themes of friendship, supporting each other, and courage. Thus, my first day of school read alouds for my 8th graders this year. *I’m also very much looking forward to being able to rethink this every year for my incoming 8th graders based on what I know about that group and how I want to start our year.

ART & MAX by David Wiesner

What are you planning on reading to your students for the first day of school? How are you deciding?

Title: FIREBOAT: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey
Author: Maira Kalman
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: August 4, 2005
Number of Pages: 48

The John J. Harvey
fireboat was the largest, fastest, shiniest fireboatof its time, but by
1995, the city didn’t need old fireboats anymore. So the Harvey retired,
until a group of friends decided to save it from the scrap heap. Then,
one sunny September day in 2001, something so horrible happened that the
whole world shook. And a call came from the fire department, asking if
the Harvey could battle the roaring flames. In this inspiring true
story, Maira Kalman brings a New York City icon to life and proves that
old heroes never die.

Title: 14 COWS FOR AMERICA
Author: Carmen Agra Deedy
Illustrator: Thomas Gonzalez
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Release Date: August 1, 2009
Number of Pages: 36

In June of 2002, a very
unusual ceremony begins in a far-flung village in western Kenya. An
American diplomat is surrounded by hundreds of Maasai people. A gift is
about to be bestowed on the American men, women, and children, and he is
there to accept it. The gift is as unsought and unexpected as it is
extraordinary. A mere nine months have passed since the September 11
attacks, and hearts are raw. Tears flow freely from American and Maasai
as these legendary warriors offer their gift to a grieving people half a
world away. Word of the gift will travel news wires around the globe.
Many will be profoundly touched, but for Americans, this selfless
gesture will have deeper meaning still. For a heartsick nation, the gift
of fourteen cows emerges from the choking dust and darkness as a soft
light of hope and friendship. Master storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy
hits all the right notes in this elegant story of generosity that
crosses boundaries, nations, and cultures. An afterword by Wilson Kimeli
Naiyomah the Maasai warrior at the center of the story provides
additional information about his tribe and their generous actions.
Thomas Gonzalez’s stunning paintings are saturated with rich hues of
oranges and browns and blues and greens, which capture the nobility of
the Maasai people and the distinctive landscape of the African plain.