Read Across America is America’s largest celebration of reading. A great way to celebrate is to share quality literature like the books being read across America listed below. This list of books to read across America is not just a list of read aloud books to read across America, it can be used at any time of the school year. they are inclusive stories that highlight interesting characters, settings, and stories. See the full list of books read in America below!
This post highlights the following books:
You are reading: Read across america books
- jabari jumps
- mixed: a colorful story
- planting stories: the life of the librarian and storyteller pure belpré
- big red lollipop
- malala’s magic pencil
- the tropical forest of zonia
- we are protectors of water
- freedom soup
- tiara hat parade
- because
- carter reads the paper
- leila dressed as saffron
- wilma’s walk home : the life of wilma mankiller
- maya lin: artist-architect of light and lines
14 books read across america
Below are 14 quality books read across the United States. Your elementary students will love these books to read across America!
1. jabari jumps for gaia cornwall
In jabari’s jumps, jabari is in the pool with his father and sister. she just finished her swimming lessons and passed her swimming test. today is the day he will jump off the trampoline for the first time and he is very excited. however, when he lines up to go up the stairs, Jabari begins to feel nervous. he lets other kids go before him, rests, remembers to do his stretch, and even decides that tomorrow is a better day to jump. Fortunately, his father is there to help him. he explains that it’s okay to be a little scared and explains that it helps to take a deep breath and tell yourself that he’s ready. jabari starts up the tall ladder once more and comes out onto the diving board. after a deep breath, he jumps into the air and falls into the water. everyone is happy when he emerges from the water and jabari is ready to jump again.
2. Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
Initially, there were only three colors: red, blue, and yellow in the mixed book. reds were the strongest, yellows the brightest, and blues the coldest. they all got along until the reds started saying they were the best. this upset everyone and the three colors began to fight. it was decided that each color would live in different parts of the city. one day, blue and yellow became friends. blue liked how happy he felt in yellow and yellow liked how calm blue made him feel. the two colors mixed, everything began to change. at first, the other colors were not happy, they did not believe that the colors should be mixed. yellow and blue together formed a new color, green. everyone was amazed by the green and started mixing too. soon, there was a new city full of new colors.
3. seeding stories: the life of the librarian and narrator pura belpré by anika aldamuy denise
Planting Stories is an illustrated biographical book about Pura Belpre, who was the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. When she started working in the library, she realized that there were none of the popular stories and tales that she was familiar with in Puerto Rico. she decides to share her stories during storytime and through puppet shows, eventually publishing a book she pure she travels across the country and from classroom to classroom planting the seeds of her story and educating about the her homeland. when she returns to the library, she sees that the seeds of her story have blossomed and everyone tells her stories about her. Students will love learning about Pura and how she shared her stories with children everywhere.
4. Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan
The Big Red Lollipop is told from Rubina’s point of view. rubina receives her first invitation to her birthday party and is thrilled to come home and tell her family about it. She however, is disappointed when Ami tells her that, in order to go to her birthday party, she has to bring her healthy little sister.
Rubina takes Sana to her birthday party and she has a terrible time. they both get goody bags from the party that have a big red lollipop in them. Sana eats hers right away and Rubina hides it for the next day. when rubina wakes up the next morning, she is furious to discover that sana has eaten her lollipop!
Finally, Sana is invited to a birthday party. she is devastated when ami tells her that she has to bring her younger sister maryam de ella. instead of letting sana feel miserable at the party, rubina tells ami not to force sana to bring maryam. Sana has fun at the birthday party and brings home a big green lollipop for Rubina.
5. malala’s magic pencil by malala yousafzai
malala’s magic pencil is about malala yousafzai as a child. When she was younger, she watched a TV show about a boy who had a magic pencil. when she was in trouble, she could pull something out of the situation. malala always wished she could have a magic pencil too. if she had one, she could use it to put a lock on her bedroom door, or to erase the smell of the dumpster near her house. she also drew things for others: a beautiful dress for her mother or a suitable ball for her brothers to play with.
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One day, when she is taking out the rubbish, malala notices a girl her age working on the rubbish pile. when she returns home, she asks her father about it and discovers that not many girls like her go to school. School is Malala’s favorite place, but she has never considered herself lucky to be able to go.
For the next several years, Malala worked hard to be one of the top students in her class. however, at this time powerful men demanded that the girls no longer be allowed to attend school. the other girls in malala’s class stopped coming because they no longer felt safe to do so. malala decided to do something to talk about what was going on. she wrote accounts of what had happened in her valley, gave speeches and even spoke to journalists. Now people all over the world know about Malala’s story, and she keeps fighting, using her own magic: the magic of her words.
6. Zonia’s Rain Forest by Juana Martinez-Neal
in the rain forest of zonia, an ashaninka girl named zonia lives in the rain forest of peru. she is friends with all the animals that live there, like sloths, snakes, and jaguars. she takes the time to visit and greet them during their morning walk in the woods. however, she finally comes across something shocking: a part of the forest has been cut down and destroyed. she runs back to her mother for advice and decides that she must do something to help.
7. we are stewards of the water by carole lindstrom
in we are protectors of water, a girl and her people live in a town. they are protectors of the water, and they honor and appreciate all that the water has done for them. it is the first medicine, it nourishes all life, and it is sacred. when a black snake threatens the land of her village, the girl unites her village to confront the threat.
8. Freedom Soup by Tami Charles
Liberty Soup is a story about a family’s special New Year’s tradition. It’s a cold and snowy day, but inside your grandma’s kitchen, it’s hot and busy. today, belle is excited for her great-aunt to teach her how to make the traditional haitian soup of freedom for new year’s day. As they prepare the ingredients and add them to the big pot, Ti Gran tells Belle why it’s called Liberty Soup and what it means to the people of it.
A long time ago, the people of Haiti were enslaved and forced to work for their masters. part of their job was to make liberty soup, which they were never allowed to eat. when Haitians rebelled and won their freedom, they were finally able to make and eat freedom soup since they were now free. Every New Year’s Day, Haitians prepare and eat freedom soup to remember their fight for freedom.
9. tiara hat parade by kelly starling lyons
In Tiara’s Hat Parade, Tiara’s mom owns a hat shop and women from all over come to buy hats from her. however, one day she opens a nearby store that sells cheaper hats and mom has to close her store. sadly they pack up the studio and put the hats in boxes.
Tiara’s mom returns to work as an art teacher at Tiara’s school. After school, Tiara asks her mom to help her make a hat, but she refuses and doesn’t seem interested anymore, as she reminds her of her studio that she loved.
On a fun Friday at school, in art class, Mom lets the class choose their art project. tiara suggests hats, and all the other students agree. Watching her mom show the other kids how to make her hats look cool, Tiara knows what she needs to do. she surprises her mom with an evening hat parade, featuring many of the hats her mom had made! With everyone’s help, Tiara can remind her mom that better days are ahead.
10. Because by Mo Willems
because it’s a book about how a series of events can make someone know their purpose in life. the composer brahms was influenced by beethoven to write beautiful music. Due to the beautiful music of Brahms, people decided to form an orchestra to play it. tickets were sold and parts were rehearsed. because someone’s uncle had a cold, someone’s aunt had an extra ticket and invited her niece to see the orchestra play. From the moment she saw that performance, the girl learned everything she could about music and soon began to write her own music. Because of that show that she attended that day, she was able to become a successful director.
11. carter reads deborah hopkinson’s paper
en carter reads the newspaper, carter g. Woodson was the son of two former slaves. his father, james henry, had run away from his owner and fought in the civil war in the union army. After the war, Carter’s father worked on the railroad to earn enough money to pay for a few acres of land, which he farmed. he and his wife had several children, one of them a carter. Because Carter had to work on the farm, he was only able to attend school four months a year. his father knew how important it was for him to learn to read and write, so he would read the newspaper to carter.
See Also: Why Books Should Not Be Banned, for the Sake of Learning | WellGood
When Carter was 17, he had to get a job to support his family. he worked on a dump truck, then in a coal mine. While working in the mine, Carter met Oliver Jones, who opened his house as a reading room. Jones couldn’t read, but when he learned that Carter could, he inspired him to learn and investigate.
When Carter was 20 years old, he returned to his hometown and went to high school. he eventually earned a master’s degree at age 33 and earned his doctorate in history at 37. he was the second black man to earn a doctorate from harvard.
carter promoted the idea of a black history week by sending pamphlets to schools, churches and women’s groups. In 1926, black history was celebrated for the first time. today, every february we celebrate black history month, which all started with carter g. woodson.
12. Leila In Saffron by Rukhsanna Guidroz
leila in saffron is a sweet story about an evening with a young girl named leila and her family. Every Friday, Leila’s family visits her naani and her extended family for dinner. Today, Leila is wearing a saffron-colored dress, which Naani says looks good on her. Leila sometimes struggles with her self-esteem, but is comforted by her naani’s compliment.
Tonight, Leila decides to find parts of herself that she likes in the rest of her family. she realizes that she has the same smile as her aunt, then she looks at some books in arabic and wishes she could travel to pakistan soon. in the kitchen, leila’s naani realizes they are out of cilantro, and leila gets some from her neighbor miguel. At dinner, everyone raves about Leila’s curry, and after dinner, Naani lets Leila try on a saffron-colored scarf. Leila realizes that the scarf makes her feel like herself.
13. Wilma’s Way Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller by Doreen Rappaport
Wilma’s Walk Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller is a biographical story about Wilma Mankiller. Born in Oklahoma in 1945, Wilma Pearl Mankiller was an activist, social worker, and community developer who was the first woman to serve as Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Growing up, she experienced the Cherokee practice of gadugi, or helping one another, even when times got tough. When the federal government uproots her in 1956, her family is forced to leave her community for California. Wilma finds refuge and community at the Indian Center in San Francisco. Ella Wilma eventually returns to Oklahoma with her own family and participates in the Cherokee government. Her brave dedication to her community ultimately leads her to become the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation!
14. Maya Lin: Artist-architect of Light And Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey
maya lin: artist-architect of light and line tells the true story of maya lin, who designed the vietnam veterans memorial in washington, dc. ever since he was young, maya lin always loved studying the spaces around him. she observed the forest and built small towns using paper and scraps. Maya’s parents had fled China before she was born and, with an artist father and a poet mother, Maya grew up surrounded by art.
When she got to college, she imagined she would become an architect and look at all the beautiful buildings around her. During her senior year of college, Maya entered a competition to design a monument to honor the soldiers who lost their lives during the Vietnam War. when he visited the site, maya saw the design he would choose in his mind. he worked to sketch out his design and wrote an essay to accompany it.
Of 1,421 entries, the Maya design was chosen. he was surprised that he won, and was even more surprised when his design faced criticism from many people. However, she did not back down, and her design was finally approved, and she watched the thousands of people who came to honor those they had lost.
reading activities
If you’re looking for book-based lessons and activities, check out the Starts with a Story resources below. They include reading comprehension questions, sales lesson ideas, writing paper, and much more.
- jabari jumps
- mixed: a colorful story
- planting stories
- big red lollipop
- freedom soup
- we are protectors of water
Grab the Free Reading Resources!
We hope you found this list of books read in America useful! many of the featured books are part of my beginnings with a collection of short stories. For more book ideas to read aloud to your elementary students, grab this reading gift. includes read-aloud book lists, reading logs, and reading challenges for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers. will have you covered throughout the school year, as well as during the summer months! get this free elementary reading pack now!
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