Category: Resources

Check here for activity guides, promotional materials, and more.

Storytime & Activity Kit: Where Is Bina Bear? by Mike Curato

Where is Bina Bear? by Mike Curato
On Sale Now
Ages 4-8

In Mike Curato’s funny, poignant picture book Where Is Bina Bear?, a little rabbit throws a party—but can’t find best friend Bina Bear anywhere!

Tiny is having a party, but Bina Bear is nowhere to be found. Is that Bina hiding under a lampshade? It looks like Bina . . . but it must be a lamp. Is that Bina beneath the fruit bowl? It could be . . . but it’s probably just a table.

Searching for Bina, Tiny realizes something is wrong—and sets out to make it right. This is a humorous yet sincere picture book about friendship, understanding, and embracing our loved ones just as they are.

Download the WHERE IS BINA BEAR? Activity Kit!

Watch the Where is Bina Bear? book trailer here:

Learn more about WHERE IS BINA BEAR? →

Storytime: Jonathan Stutzman and illustrator Heather Fox read Santa Baby + download the activity kit!

Download the Santa Baby activity kit here!

Santa Baby by Jonathan Stutzman; illustrated by Heather Fox
Ages 4-8
On Sale Now!

Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox, the duo behind Llama Destroys the World, take their trademark hijinks up to the North Pole in this laugh-out-loud, heartfelt Christmas-themed picture book.

Santa is feeling old, and being in the business of Christmas for centuries is . . . well, it isn’t all milk and cookies. In hopes of regaining some of his pep, Santa asks the spirit of Christmas to give him something for a change: skim off a couple of years and make him younger.

But Christmas magic is powerful, and Santa gets more than he wished for. Instead of a fresh new outlook and boundless energy, he needs diapers and a nap—stat. With Christmas only a few days away, the elves rush to teach Santa Baby the basics. But will there be enough time to prepare their new bundle of holiday joy for the job?

Funny and spirited, bright and inspiring, and with an unforgettable title, Santa Baby is destined to be a yuletide read families revisit every year.

“Plenty of laughs…playfully complemented by Fox’s child-friendly illustrations,” says Horn Book!

Read and Share Banned Books

Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group stands against censorship, and in support of the librarians and teachers who are doing their part to share a love of reading with their students. We believe that all readers deserve access to an inclusive selection of titles and we are committed to working with our authors to reach readers with their stories. Visit The National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom to report censorship in your community.

Want to host a Freedom to Read Roundtable event for your community? Find a step-by-step guide and more online here!

Want to read and share frequently challenged books?

Read on for more resources to use in your library or classroom!
Click the tabs below to view more books in each age category.

Picture BooksMiddle Grade BooksYoung Adult Books

We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom; illustrated by Michaela Goade

Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption.

Download the Activity Kit
Watch the Snack Time with MacKids story time with Carole Lindstrom
Take the pledge to be a water protector
Download We Are Water Protectors graphics to share on social media

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard; illustrated by Juana Martinez Neal

Winner of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
A 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner

Share the Discussion Guide
Watch a story time with Kevin Noble Maillard
Follow Kevin Noble Maillard on Twitter
Follow Juana Martinez-Neal on Twitter
Listen to the NPR Interview

It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn; illustrations by Noah Grigni

A picture book that introduces the concept of gender identity to the youngest reader from writer Theresa Thorn and illustrator Noah Grigni.

Watch a story time
Share these discussion questions from The Tiny Activist
Follow Theresa Thorn on Twitter

It's Okay to Be a Unicorn!

It’s Okay to be a Unicorn by Jason Tharp

An inspiring picture book, Jason Tharp’s It’s Okay To Be A Unicorn! features a unicorn pretending to be a horse—until he learns to embrace his true self.
Watch a storytime video with Jason Tharp.
Download the storytime kit
Learn how to draw a unicorn on YouTube
Follow Jason Tharp on Twitter

Go With the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann; illustrated by Lily Williams

High school students embark on a crash course of friendship, female empowerment, and women’s health issues in Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann’s graphic novel Go With the Flow.

Share the Book Trailer
Read an Excerpt
Add Go with the Flow to your Goodreads Shelf
Read our Author Spotlight

Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne with Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood; illustrated by Theodore Taylor III; foreword by Jason Reynolds

Woke: A Young Poet’s Guide to Justice is a collection of poems to inspire kids to stay woke and become a new generation of activists.

Find resources on TeachingBooks.net
Share a video of Mahogany L. Browne and Jason Reynolds
Add Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice to your Goodreads Shelf

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

Kat Leyh’s Snapdragon is a magical realist graphic novel about a young girl who befriends her town’s witch and discovers the strange magic within herself.

Download the Discussion Guide
Take the Virtual Book Tour
Add Snapdragon to your Goodreads Shelf
Follow Kat Leyh on Twitter

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

Download the Activity Kit
Watch the Story Time
Watch Bad Kitty interview Nick Bruel
Add Bad Kitty to your Goodreads Shelf
Follow Nick Bruel on Twitter

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese is the winner of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, an Eisner Award nominee for Best Coloring, a 2007 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and a New York Times bestseller.

Download the Discussion Guide
Share a video of Gene Luen Yang
Read an interview celebrating the 10 year anniversary

This One Summer written by Mariko Tamaki; illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

A New York Times bestseller
A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book
A 2015 Michael L. Printz Honor Book
An Eisner Award Winner

Download the Discussion Guide and Reading Group Guide
Watch an interview with Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
Add This One Summer to your GoodReads shelf

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George Matthew Johnson

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. 

Share an interview with George Matthew Johnson
Use these discussion questions to start a conversation
Watch the short film trailer
Read the MacKids Spotlight
Follow George Matthew Johnson on Twitter

Flamer by Mike Curato

Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love.

Read the MacKids Spotlight
Download the Discussion Guide
Read about the inspiration
Share the Writing Queer Comics for Teens video
Follow Mike Curato on Twitter

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

In this powerful novel, a teenage heroine delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school.

Watch this video of Laurie Halse Anderson
Download the Discussion Guide
Visit RAINN online to learn more
Follow Laurie Halse Anderson on Twitter
Add Speak to your Goodreads Shelf

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

An unlikely teenager starts a feminist revolution at a small-town Texas high school in this novel from Jennifer Mathieu, author of The Truth About Alice.

Read an interview with Jennifer Mathieu
Share the trailer for the Moxie Netflix movie
Check out the Moxie Tumblr
Add Moxie to your Goodreads Shelf
Follow Jennifer Mathieu on Twitter

Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

A tragic kidnapping leads to an unlikely friendship in this novel about finding light in the midst of darkness from the author of The Truth About Alice.

Share the Horn Book interview
Add Afterward to your Goodreads Shelf
Follow Jennifer Mathieu on Twitter

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
A New York Times Bestseller
Stonewall Book Award Winner—Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist

This riveting nonfiction book for teens about race, class, gender, crime, and punishment tells the true story of an agender teen who was set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, California.

Share the Discussion Guide
Read the article that inspired the book
Watch The 57 Bus Book Talk
Follow Dashka Slater on Twitter

Told in Carolina and Trevor’s alternating voices, this is an up-close-and-personal story of two teenagers falling in love for the first time, and discovering it might not last forever.

Forever for a Year by B.T. Gottfred

Follow B.T. Gottfred on Twitter
Add Forever for a Year to your Goodreads Shelf
Read an essay by B.T. Gottfred

The Nerdy and the Dirty by B.T. Gottfred

A cool girl–with an X-rated internal life–and a socially-inept guy prove that opposites attract in this honest look at love, sexuality, and becoming your true self.

Follow B.T. Gottfred on Twitter
Add The Nerdy and the Dirty to your Goodreads Shelf
Read an interview with B.T. Gottfred

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The first book in the #1 New York Times– and USA Today-Bestselling Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer like you’ve never seen it before, now with new cover art! See where the futuristic YA fairytale saga all began, with the tale of a teenage cyborg who must fight for Earth’s survival against villains from outer space.

Share the Discussion Guide
Visit The Universe of Marissa Meyer
Watch the Lunar Ever After Trailer
Add Cinder to your Goodreads Shelf
Follow Marissa Meyer on Instagram

Snacktime with Debbi Michiko Florence & Jamie Michalak, co-authors of Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites

Join authors Debbi Michiko Florence and Jamie Michalak for a cooking lesson and make wonton pizzas, a recipe from their new picture book, Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites!

Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites by Debbi Michiko Florence and Jamie Michalak; illustrated by Yuko Jones
On Sale Now!
Ages 4-8

Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites is a picture book biography that tells the story of the powerhouse female Japanese-American chef and her rise to fame

As a child and adult, Niki faced many naysayers in her pursuit of haute cuisine. Using the structure of a traditional kaiseki meal, the authors Debbi Michiko Florence and Jamie Michalak playfully detail Niki’s hunger for success in thirteen “bites” — from wonton wrappers she used to make pizza as a kid to yuzu-tomatillo sauce in her own upscale Los Angeles Michelin-starred restaurant, n/naka.

To anyone who tells her a woman can’t be a master chef, Niki lets her food do the talking. And oh, does it talk. Niki was featured on the first season of Netflix’s culinary documentary series Chef’s Table. And Chrissy Teigen proclaimed that Niki’s restaurant was one of her absolute favorites. She’s currently a featured teacher on MasterClass.

A smart, strong woman with starpower, Niki is only just getting started — like the young readers who will devour this book, featuring illustrations by Yuko Jones!

Praise for Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites:

★ “In 13 ‘Bites,’ the duo follows Nakayama through food-centered memories, including bonding moments with her grandmother, embarking on a post-high school Tokyo food tour, and trying and then studying kaiseki at a cousin’s ryokan…Mixed media and digital art by Jones make each vignette atmospheric, with varying angles and insets, toothsome details, and watercolor washes.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “Art, storytelling, and food work together on so many levels in this beautiful tale about master chef Niki Nakayama’s life… Young readers will be inspired.”—Booklist, starred review

“The meticulously detailed illustrations highlight the food, experiences, and Japanese culture. Included at the end are a timeline of Nakayama’s life, deeper explanations of the concepts of kuyashii and kaiseki, and a recipe for wonton pizza. A flavorful, inspirational biography of a woman who showed the world what she could cook up.” —Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Guide: FALLOUT by Steve Sheinkin

Fallout by Steve Sheinkin
Ages 12-18
On Sale Now!


New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents a follow up to his award-winning book Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, taking readers on a terrifying journey into the Cold War and our mutual assured destruction.

As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance, spy planes fly above, armed submarines swim deep below, and undercover agents meet in the dead of night.

The Cold War game grows more precarious as weapons are pointed towards each other, with fingers literally on the trigger. The decades-long showdown culminates in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world’s close call with the third—and final—world war.

Download the discussion guide for FALLOUT here
Learn more about FALLOUT here →

Celebrating Indigenous Literature for National Native American Heritage Month

Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month in your school or library! Keep reading to find more book recommendations, watch a presentation by Firekeeper’s Daughter author Angeline Boulley, download the We Are Water Protectors activity kit, and watch a read-aloud of Fry Bread by author Kevin Noble Maillard!

Watch author Angeline Boulley discuss her inspiration, storytelling, and research process for her bestselling debut novel Firekeeper’s Daughter. Plus, educator Kit Robinson shares how teachers can use Firekeeper’s Daughter in the classroom.

Download the Firekeeper’s Daughter teacher’s guide here.

Find Ojibwe language translations, correct spellings, and audio pronunciations for Firekeeper’s Daughter in this Anishinaabemowin resource center, created by Margaret Noodin, a professor at UW-Milwaukee.

Find more books for National Native American Heritage Month here →