100+ Book Recommendations and a Brief Mid-Year Survey
Good morning everyone,
The countdown to winter break is on! This update is a short but important one, so let’s get right to it.
Our 2024-25 Project LIT Book Club Selections: Be sure to check out last week’s newsletter for the full rundown. In short, we’d love for you to help us narrow our list of 128 outstanding titles to a more manageable number before we “reveal” our official list in January. The plan is to add 25 Middle Grade (MG) and 25 Young Adult (YA) titles to our existing collection (shout out to Danielle for helping us update this spreadsheet). Here’s how you can get involved right now: check out this list of MG and YA titles — add them to your TBR (To Be Read) list, share and discuss with students, and then, when you’re ready, complete this form. Thanks to everyone who has done so already.
Mid-Year Survey: Please take a few minutes to complete this survey — your feedback is greatly appreciated! I am incredibly grateful for this community, and I cannot wait to collaborate with many of y’all on some exciting projects, whether it’s finalizing our book lists, organizing our AoWs, developing a bank of WRAP prompts, curating a poetry collection, or planning our next Project LIT Summit. So yes, please take this survey!
The 10 Best Books I Read in 2024 (in no particular order): There’s Always This Year; Hello Beautiful; Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow; Rez Ball; Tom Lake; Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention; Wellness; Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball; A Rover’s Story; and Poetry Comics.
UPDATES & REMINDERS
I recently recorded a webinar that outlines my Read & WRAP framework and general approach to the ELA block. You can check it on Corwin’s YouTube channel here. (I’m excited to collaborate with many of y’all to develop a Read and WRAP sequence, among other things. Stay tuned for that invite!)
I was honored to join Natalie Daily, Stephanie Wilson, and Amy Hermon, the incredible host of the School Librarians United podcast. You can listen to our conversation here.
JUST READ IT is officially (or perhaps unofficially?) an Amazon Top New Release and Corwin bestseller. This book continues to find readers because of y’all. Thanks again to everyone who has purchased a copy, spread the word in your school/district, facilitated a book study, shouted out Just Read It on social media, shared a Goodreads review, or sent me a kind message or email. It means more than you know. You can order JUST READ IT on Amazon or here (use the code HOLIDAY25 for 25% + free shipping). Corwin has also shared an excerpt from the book; check out Chapter 1 here.
If your school, district, or organization is planning a JUST READ IT book study or would like for me to deliver a keynote address and/or lead a PD session/workshop in 2025 or 2026, please reach out. I love connecting with fellow educators and supporting/strengthening your team’s literacy efforts.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete both surveys. This work is impossible to sustain alone, which is why I am so appreciative of our mighty community. Wishing you, your students, and your families a healthy, happy holiday season.
Jarred