Help Your Students Feel the Bookjoy on April 30!

Children's Day/Book Day, also known as El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día), is an observance held annually April 30 and a year-round commitment to connecting children with diverse books and programming opportunities.

Día is an enhancement of Children’s Day, which began in 1925. Children’s Day was designated as a day to bring attention to the importance and well-being of children. In 1996, nationally acclaimed children’s book author Pat Mora proposed linking the celebration of childhood and children with literacy to found El día de los niños/El día de los libros. This year, we encourage all educators to share "bookjoy"--the pleasure of reading--with their students. For ideas on how to celebrate Día in your school, check out these resources.

Library Grants Return Thanks to NEA Foundation

Thanks to generous support from the NEA Foundation, the Read Across America Library Grants are back! NEA will award grants ranging from $250 to $1,000 to public schools serving economically disadvantaged students to purchase diverse books for public school libraries. Only NEA members may apply. The deadline for all applications is March 30, 2018. For details and to download the application, click here.

A Million Books March

Join RIF’s Million Book March and share the importance of reading in a way that is fun, exciting, and supportive. Use the easy, free and customizable resources to help get your students excited about reading all month long! 

A Celebration of Diverse Books and Readers

Hundreds of third and fourth graders in a rainbow of Read Across America T-shirts packed into the NEA auditorium in Washington, D.C., to kick off  March's month-long reading celebration. “Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers” is this year's theme and the event showcased best-selling diverse authors Kwame Alexander, Jesse J. Holland, and Gene Luen Yang as well as 20 authors of diverse books featured in the Read Across America Resource Calendar. Read more, here.

Read Across America Facebook Live Event

On Thursday, March 1st, NEA President Lily Eskelsen García took questions from educators and their students for a Q&A with award-winning authors and 2018 Read Across America Ambassadors Gene Luen Yang, Kwame Alexander, and Jesse J. Holland! 

Find out what they had to say and what Panera Bread has to do with inspiration.

Save School Librarians

Schools across the country might not have librarians next school year. Facing drastic budget cuts, schools are making hard choices about programs to keep or cut. Help protect your library — a vital extension of your classroom and a technology-rich hub of student learning. Find out how.

NEAToday: Inside the World of Reading

• Educator Brings The Lessons of ‘Wonder’ to Life
  Best-selling book's message of acceptance and kindness inspires Vermont teacher Drazin to create a presentation for schools to raise awareness about disabilities and creating a culture of acceptance.
• Better Read than Dead: New Young Adult Book Dives into McCarthyism
  he year is 1953, during the nation’s Second Red Scare, when thousands of Americans were accused of being communists, Elliott’s story is told through the eyes of two teenage boys, Richard and Vladimir. Recently, Elliott sat down with NEA Today to talk about the book and how the lessons of McCarthyism are relevant to today’s middle schoolers.
• Want Diversity, Hope and Healing? Open a book.
  A roundup of 2017 best diverse books for students.
• The Library Lifecycle
  From young children at story hour to retirees learning second career job skills, the library “ecosystem” serves the needs of our community members throughout their lives.
• Not Your Grandfather’s School Library
  “Walking into a school library can be like walking into Willy Wonka’s factory—just about anything could be going on inside those doors and it’s often amazing and sweet,” says McLean County, Illinois, school librarian Michelle Gattley.

Reading Resources for Each Month of the Year!

Visit RAA partner Reading is Fundamental’s Literacy Central to access an array of content to accompany the featured titles on our 2017-18 calendar.  These resources include lesson plans, activities, interactive puzzles, videos, leveled reading passages and more.

Purchase RAA Books at Reduced Rates!

Read Across America is proud to partner with First Book to offer books featured in our 2017-18 calendar at reduced rates to educators who serve kids in need. To celebrate RAA Day, First Book is offering $20 off RAA titles with their NEAREAD code. Order your books here.

Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers

NEA's Read Across America Resource Calendar 2017-18

Bring the celebration of reading and literacy into your classroom and school all year long and celebrate the 20^th anniversary of NEA’s Read Across America! The 2017-18 resource calendar is now available. Order yours today! Quantities are limited. 

The 2017-18 Read Across America Resource Calendar is a benefit of NEA membership. NEA members may order up to 20 calendars by visiting the Read Across America store.

Click here to request your calendars

United Through Reading’s 40 Million Stories Campaign

Deployments and separation continue to be a reality for military families. Children have an estimated 180 nights without their parent at home for bedtime stories. That’s 40 million stories missed each year by military children. NEA is partnering with United Through Reading to connect military families to the read-aloud experience. We believe that every military child deserves a bedtime story. Find out how you can help!