Gaithersburg Elementary won the Read Across America Sweepstakes

NEA's Read Across America

Celebrate a nation of diverse readers with our recommended books, authors, and teaching resources.

Your school has won a set of books for every single classroom, all chosen from our Read Across America’s 2022-2023 calendar. The titles and resources featured by NEA’s Read Across America calendar include books that students can see themselves reflected in, as well as books that allow readers to see a world or a character that might be different from them.

Fill out our form to tell us which set of books you would like for your class! Not sure? Check out the book set options below the form.

Book Set Options

Read and grow together with 12 recommended books and teaching resources that promote diversity and inclusion.

Elementary

These books are designed to support readers from Kindergarten through third grade.

The Year We Learned to Fly/El Año En Que Aprendimos a Volar by Jacqueline Woodson

By following their grandmother's advice, a brother and sister discover their ability to use their imaginations to lift themselves up and escape their troubles as their ancestors once did.

Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome by Kat Zhang

With the help of her family, Amy finds a way to welcome the new student in her class who has just come from China and does not speak much English.

Growing An Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son /Cultivando a un artista by John Parra

Juanito takes his sketchbook along to draw when he goes to work with Papi, a landscape contractor. Later, he uses his artistic talents to help his father create the plan for an entire garden and help plant it.

Powwow Day by Traci Sorell

River has been very sick and cannot join in the dancing at this year's tribal powwow, but as she watches her family dance for her healing, she has faith she will dance again.

Sometimes, All I Need Is Me/A veces, yo soy todo lo que necesito by Juliana Perdomo

A young girl shares how she finds joy, love, and strength from within and from family and friends.

Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

Travel the world to explore the complex history and cultural significance of the color blue.

Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste

This picture book biography celebrates both Claudette Colvin, whose teen-aged activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and the power of collective action.

Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker

Everyone has a story and a dream on Dream Street, where a caring community of neighbors invite, nurture, celebrate, share, and listen to each other’s dreams.

A Song of Frutas/Un Pregón de Frutas by Margarita Engle

A young girl visits her grandfather who is a pregonero—a singing street vendor in Cuba—and sings along with him to help him sell all kinds of fruit.

I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani Larocca

Jyoti and her grandmother, who lives in India, create special memories when they are together. Rather than saying goodbye, they look forward to the future when they will see each other again.

’Twas the Night Before Pride/La Víspera de Orgullo by Joanna McClintick

On the night before Pride, one family packs snacks and makes signs as an older sibling shares the importance of the event with the newest member of the family.

Juna and Appa by June Park

Determined to help her father, Juna, a young Korean American girl, goes on a magical quest to help find a lost jacket in her family’s dry cleaning shop.

Middle Grade

These books are designed to support readers from fourth to seventh grade.

Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood by Kwame Mbalia

The wonders of Black boyhood are celebrated in this collection of stories, comics, and poems about finding and attaining joy.

The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

When twelve-year-old Evan Pao, his mother, and sister move to a small Virginia town, their new neighbor Brady Griggs goes out of his way to make Evan, who is Chinese-American, feel unwelcome.

Cuba In My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas

To escape military service for children in 1961, twelve-year-old Cumba's parents send him away from Cuba to Miami, where he navigates his new life while longing for his family.

Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young

Nathan Todacheenie, an 11-year-old Diné boy who is spending the summer with his grandmother, must summon his courage to save the life of a Water Monster—and help his uncle heal.

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Twelve-year-old Sai gets the chance to chart her own destiny when Mangkon's most celebrated mapmaker takes her along on an expedition to find the fabled Sunderlands.

Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau

Paralyzed from the waist down, Balinese, basketball-loving Jordan befriends a magical white elephant who helps her discover water polo and continue her athletic dreams.

When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods

To figure out what happened to his missing father, thirteen-year-old Winter travels to Los Angeles from Mississippi to visit his cousin Eden and her family during the summer of the Watts Riots in 1965.

Karthik Delivers by Sheela Chari

In the summer of 2009 as fourteen-year-old Karthik makes deliveries for his father's ailing Indian grocery, he secretly takes the lead in a play about the young Leonard Bernstein.

Barakah Beats by Maleeha Siddiqui

As she tries to adjust to life in her new middle school, Pakistani-American seventh-grader Nimra Sharif joins a band made up of popular eighth grade boys to try to save her friendship with her best friend.

Lotería by Karla Arenas Valenti

Eleven-year-old Clara searches for her missing cousin Esteban, not knowing that Life and Death have come to Oaxaca City and selected her as a pawn in their annual Lotería game.

Spin with Me by Ami Polonsky

When Essie moves to North Carolina for just one semester of seventh grade and meets Ollie, a non-binary, "gender weird" classmate, a gentle romance develops while Essie ponders her own label.

Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan

As her Quinceañera approaches, princess-to-be Solimar visits the oyamel forest to sit among the monarchs where she is chosen as protector of the young and weak butterflies who give her the gift of seeing the near future.

Celebrate a nation of diverse readers with our recommended books, authors, and teaching resources.

Gaithersburg Elementary won the Read Across America Sweepstakes

Book Set Options

Elementary

The Year We Learned to Fly/El Año En Que Aprendimos a Volar by Jacqueline Woodson

Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome by Kat Zhang

Growing An Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son /Cultivando a un artista by John Parra

Powwow Day by Traci Sorell

Sometimes, All I Need Is Me/A veces, yo soy todo lo que necesito by Juliana Perdomo

Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste

Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker

A Song of Frutas/Un Pregón de Frutas by Margarita Engle

I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani Larocca

’Twas the Night Before Pride/La Víspera de Orgullo by Joanna McClintick

Juna and Appa by June Park

Middle Grade

Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood by Kwame Mbalia

The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

Cuba In My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas

Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau

When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods

Karthik Delivers by Sheela Chari

Barakah Beats by Maleeha Siddiqui

Lotería by Karla Arenas Valenti

Spin with Me by Ami Polonsky

Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan

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Gaithersburg Elementary won the Read Across America Sweepstakes

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Book Set Options

Elementary

The Year We Learned to Fly/El Año En Que Aprendimos a Volar by Jacqueline Woodson

Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome by Kat Zhang

Growing An Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son /Cultivando a un artista by John Parra

Powwow Day by Traci Sorell

Sometimes, All I Need Is Me/A veces, yo soy todo lo que necesito by Juliana Perdomo

Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste

Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker

A Song of Frutas/Un Pregón de Frutas by Margarita Engle

I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani Larocca

’Twas the Night Before Pride/La Víspera de Orgullo by Joanna McClintick

Juna and Appa by June Park

Middle Grade

Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood by Kwame Mbalia

The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

Cuba In My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas

Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau

When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods

Karthik Delivers by Sheela Chari

Barakah Beats by Maleeha Siddiqui

Lotería by Karla Arenas Valenti

Spin with Me by Ami Polonsky

Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan

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