The Value of High-Quality Books

Books, media, and materials in a classroom have an immediate and lasting impact on children. Books that are accurate, affirming, and inclusive help children feel a sense of belonging, build criticality and intellect, experience joy, increase engagement, and help to build an appreciation for reading. Learn more about the value of high-quality books and how we use these resources to …

2020 Youth Media Awards Honor Diverse Picture Books

Among the winners and honorees of this year’s Youth Media Awards are a number of outstanding picture books featuring diverse children and communities.  Touching on gratitude and generosity, immigration and identity, friendship and family, here are some of my favorites. 

Women’s History Month Book Collection

It’s Women’s History Month, and to celebrate, we have put together a special book collection highlighting the amazing ways women make history every day. These eight nonfiction picture books showcase remarkable achievements made by women in science, government, writing, and more! We enjoyed putting this small collection together and we hope you and your family enjoy reading these titles. Happy …

2019 Youth Media Awards Honor Diverse Picture Books

Among the winners and honorees of this year’s Youth Media Awards are a number of outstanding picture books featuring diverse children and communities.  Touching on gratitude and generosity, immigration and identity, friendship and family, here are some of my favorites. 

School Districts are Critical Partners

School districts are critical partners for Children’s Literacy Initiative, as demonstrated in the successful launch of our Investing in Innovation (i3) Scale-up project in four urban school districts, including Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) in Florida, during the 2016-2017 school year. BCPS Superintendent of Schools Robert W. Runcie, and district leaders, quickly embraced our i3 project in seven district schools, …

We spoke with Leah Eller, a Kindergarten teacher at Green Valley Elementary in Denver, CO about her experience with CLI and why our partnership with teachers is so important. How has Children’s Literacy Initiative training impacted your early literacy instruction? The training that I have received from Children’s Literacy Initiative has helped me really target the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) while …

Partners in Literacy: JuneFrances Anderson

  A teacher since 2001, JuneFrances Anderson is a literacy teacher and coach at Oakland Elementary in Denver. JuneFrances discusses coaching and training, and how book collections are benefiting her classroom. What were your initial expectations about CLI? I really didn’t know a lot about CLI when I started here at Oakland this year. How do you feel about CLI …

Partners in Literacy: Glenda Smiley

  Throughout Glenda Smiley’s 15-year career as a teacher in New Jersey, she has taught pre-K to 3rd grade and 5th grade. Glenda also has had the unique opportunity of looping with her students (following them to the next grade) twice in her career. A 2nd grade teacher last year, Glenda followed most of her students to 3rd grade for …

Partners in Literacy: Andrew Eckhorn

  Andrew Eckhorn is a 3rd grade teacher at John Hay Community Academy in Chicago. A teacher since 2012, Andrew discusses his work with CLI and how he has seen improvements in his classroom.What were your initial expectations about CLI? I expected to learn how to facilitate a literacy block (a balanced program of literacy instruction) that would meet the …

Partners in Literacy: Rebecca Eisenman

  Since 2010, Rebecca Eisenman has worked as a teacher. Currently, she is a kindergarten teacher at Dr. William Mennies School in Vineland, NJ. Rebecca shares why she loves working with CLI. What were your initial expectations about CLI? I didn’t know much about CLI, but I was excited to use its best practices. I also was excited to learn …