The Ultimate Book List for Radical Teachers

We take ourselves too seriously as teachers.  We censor our classroom libraries so children don't encounter material that could be controversial, make them laugh too loud during silent reading, or get gawkers looking over one another's pages to see what the fuss is about.

When I say radical, I mean it in a two ways:
            1) we want to be kick-ass awesome teachers!
            2) we want to be rabble-rousers.

This book list will have a bit of both.  And thanks by the way to some readers, who have suggested various books to me over the course of the last few months.  Your selections are included here as well!

I love Phonics Comics. They come in 3 levels, and each has a few stories in it.  I have ALL of them.  I have a basket in my library called simply, "comic books."  I am not amongst the folks who believe children should only read comics during free time.  I figure if it gets them reading, let them read!

I try to have lots of trade books around that get my reluctant readers reading so they aren't always stuck looking at the leveled readers from our series. The Dumb Bunnies is at the top of my list. In fact, almost anything Dav Pilkey writes should be on this list. He writes about what kids like to read- underwear, barf, stupidity, and all kinds of "grown up banned" topics.

Along with this book, The Stupids series is a great one to get kids laughing.  Yes, they've been banned. That makes it all them all the better! Discuss with the kids why they could have been banned and engage those critical thinking skills!  (Note: I don't have The Stupids Die so I won't speak for that book.)

Being October, I thought I would share another one of my favorite banned books, In a Dark, Dark Room by Alvin Schwartz. (The link contains lesson plans from the publisher- last page of the PDF). I remember reading it when I was a child- and retelling the stories at my own campfires!  Reluctant readers love scary stories! Older children who are low readers also enjoy this book, as it doesn't seem as babyish as many of the books at this level. (I kept multiple copies in my third and fourth grade classrooms for older children with low skills.)

Speaking of scary, no zombie themed classroom would be complete without a selection of zombie books for kids:

The great thing about the first two books is that they really are easy readers! What a fun way to perk up a boring leveled library!

Again, it's October, so in addition to Halloween, it's time to think about Columbus Day.  I hope you all have access to materials to teach the accurate history of Columbus. Rethinking Columbus, which is published by Rethinking Schools, does just that.  Let's let go of the walnut shell boats and glorifying Columbus. Use this as an opportunity to teach about the native tribes from your area and issues of power and privilege.

If you are interested in using materials like this, Encounter, by Jane Yolan is an amazing picture book to read and discuss with your students.

And finally, any good radical teacher will have a collection of multi-cultural books about social injustice and people fighting for their rights, overcoming hardship, and making a difference in the world. Below are my favorites:

Social Justice, is of course important, but so is social learning!  I use these books to prompt discussion, to open the children's eyes to those around them, and to help us appreciate one another's differences. These are my favorite books for social learning activities in the classroom:

And there you have it! Get reading!