NCTE 2023 Conference Resource Center

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We’re so excited to see our educator friends November 16-19 in Columbus, OH!

What’s inside our NCTE and ALAN Workshop Resource Center:
  • Make the most of your NCTE and ALAN Workshop experience + meet your favorite authors & illustrators!
    Check our NCTE and ALAN Workshop schedule for a full list of in-person author programs and book signings.
  • Score new books to review for your classroom!
    Complete this short form and request up to three (3) free teacher’s copies!
  • We’ve collected our digital resources for you in this handy resource center!
    Download our digital catalogs and request digital preview copies!
  • Not attending NCTE?
    You can still download digital resources, request preview copies, and more!
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Discussion Guide: The Gray

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The Gray
By Chris Baron
Ages 10-14
On Sale Now!

The Gray is a sensitively told middle grade story from Chris Baron about living with anxiety and finding ways to cope.

It’s been a tough year for Sasha—he’s been bullied at his middle school and his anxiety, which he calls the Gray, is growing. Sasha’s dad tells him to “toughen up”—and he does, but with unfortunate, hurtful results. His parents and therapist agree that a summer in the country with his aunt might be the best medicine, but it’s the last place he wants to be. He’ll be away from his best friend, video games, and stuck in the house that reminds him of his beloved uncle who died two years earlier.

His aunt is supportive, and there are lots of places to explore, and even some potential new friends. When Sasha is introduced at a local ranch to a horse coincidentally–incredibly–nicknamed the Gray, he feels he’s found a kindred spirit.

But his own Gray is ever-present. When one of his new friends disappears, Sasha discovers that the country is wilder and more mysterious than he imagined. He tries to muster enough courage to help in the search . . . but will the Gray hold him back?

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Activity Kit: Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince

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Take a deep dive with your classroom into Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince by Alliah L. Agostini; illustrated by Shamar Knight-Justice. This picture book is about a community coming together to have a good time. In this activity kit, you can host your own Dancehall Party, and bring different cultures together. A Dancehall Party is when “Family, friends, music, food, and drink are a universal recipe for a good time! And in immigrant communities like the early 1990s Brooklyn, New York, Jamaican community depicted here, parties or bashments are an opportunity to reconnect with local family, friends, and the rhythm and flavors of a home thousands of miles away.”

Click below to download the activity kit to share in your school or library.

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Watch our Winter 2024 School & Library Virtual Preview!

Hear us buzz about our new picture books, middle grade, and young adult titles!

You’ll hear from talented creators, including author Zohreh Ghahremani and illustrator Susie Ghahremani (Memory Garden), E. L. Shen (Maybe It’s a Sign), and Amra Sabic-El-Rayess (Three Summers).

Listen to a special picture book debut interview from author Adam Pottle and illustrator Ziyue Chen in conversation with Editorial Director of Roaring Brook Press Connie Hsu to talk about Butterfly on the Wind. Plus, don’t miss our live special guest Elisha Cooper, Caldecott honor author and illustrator, in conversation with Executive Editor of Roaring Brook Press Emily Feinberg. Listen as they discuss Elisha’s new picture book Emma Full of Wonders!

Timestamps:
4:24 – Adam Pottle, Ziyue Chen, and Connie Hsu in conversation
20:18 – Picture Books
26:55 – Zohreh and Susie Ghahremani (Memory Garden) feature video
31:19 – Middle Grade Books
32:47 – E.L. Shen (Maybe It’s A Sign) feature video
40:40 – Amra Sabic-El-Rayess (Three Summers) feature video
44:15 – Young Adult Books
52:40 – Elisha Cooper and Emily Feinberg in conversation

Educator’s Guide: Choosing Brave by Angela Joy; illustrated by Janelle Washington

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Choosing Brave
By Angela Joy; illustrated by Janelle Washington
Ages 8-12
On Sale Now!

A Caldecott-honor winning picture book biography of the mother of Emmett Till, and how she channeled grief over her son’s death into a call to action for the civil rights movement.

Mamie Till-Mobley is the mother of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy who was brutally murdered while visiting the South in 1955. His death became a rallying point for the civil rights movement, but few know that it was his mother who was the catalyst for bringing his name to the forefront of history.

In Choosing Brave, Angela Joy and Janelle Washington offer a testament to the power of love, the bond of motherhood, and one woman’s unwavering advocacy for justice. It is a poised, moving work about a woman who refocused her unimaginable grief into action for the greater good. Mamie fearlessly refused to allow America to turn away from what happened to her only child. She turned pain into change that ensured her son’s life mattered.

Timely, powerful, and beautifully told, this thorough and moving story has been masterfully crafted to be both comprehensive and suitable for younger readers.

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Educator’s Guide: Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth by Michelle Duster; illustrated by Laura Freeman

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Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth
By Michelle Duster; illustrated by Laura Freeman
Ages 4-8
On Sale Now!

Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth is an inspiring picture book biography of the groundbreaking journalist and civil rights activist as told by her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster and illustrated by Coretta Scott King Award Honoree artist Laura Freeman.

Ida B. Wells was an educator, journalist, feminist, businesswoman, newspaper owner, public speaker, suffragist, civil rights activist, and women’s club leader.

She was a founder of the NAACP, the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, the Alpha Suffrage Club, and the Negro Fellowship League.

She wrote, spoke, and traveled, challenging the racist and sexist norms of her time.

Faced with criticism and threats to her life, she never gave up.

This is her extraordinary true story, as told by her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster and beautifully brought to life by Coretta Scott King Award Honoree artist Laura Freeman.

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