PBS
Chosen Family and Ghost
There's something powerful about a book that speaks your language and experiences or introduces you to the language and experiences of others. A National Book Award winner, Jason Reynolds' novel, Ghost, is such a book. Find out more...
PBS
Relatable Characters in Dark Tales and The Book Thief
Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is another novel high on the list of must-reads from The Great American Read collection. Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, and John Green of Crash Course series fame share...
PBS
One Hundred Years of Solitude | The Great American Read
One Hundred Years of Solitude introduces readers to magic realism. Told in a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Nobel Prize-winning novel is a candidate for The Great American Read program and aficionados...
PBS
Frankenstein | The Great American Read
A top vote-getter for the Great American Read program is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Find out why the classic tale, adapted into over 50 films and numerous TV shows, has earned its spot on the favorites list.
PBS
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Rather than windmills, Ignatius J. Reilly, the hero of John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize-winning A Confederacy of Dunces, battles against modernity. Find out why Professor Walter Isaacson thinks Toole's novel should get viewers' votes...
PBS
The Handmaid's Tale | The Great American Read
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is the focus of a Great American Read video that urges viewers to read this dystopian novel about a villainous society that oppresses women and minority groups.
PBS
George R.R. Martin Discusses Lord of the Rings
George R.R. Martin, famous in his own right for heroes, villains, dragons, and direwolves, offers his rationale for why viewers should vote for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings with its elves, wizards, and hobbits as part of the Great...
PBS
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Created for the Great American Read series, a short video encourages viewers to vote for Invisible Man. Musician Wynton Marsalis and Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, among others, share their rationale for why Ralph...
PBS
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Narrators of a short video offer their rationale for why Catch 22 should be included in the Great American Read program. They touch on the key themes in Heller's satirical and sobering novel about Captain John Yossarian and the catch-22s...
PBS
Dune
Dune remains one of the most popular science fiction tales ever written. Find out why with a short video that argues for including Frank Herbert's tale of sandworms and Fremen, Mentats and witches, villains and heroes in the Great...
PBS
And Then There Were None
Justice and murder are the heart of the best mysteries. The writers interviewed for this episode of the Great American Read try to convince viewers that the best of this genre is Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
PBS
1984 by George Orwell
Reverend Katrina Foster offers her rationale for why Winston Smith, the tragic hero of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, is her favorite literary character.
PBS
The Continuing Fight for Tom Robinson and To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, but its messages remain just as true today as they were in Harper Lee's novel. Learners watch a video that details the story of Anthony Ray Hinton, who was sent to prison for a crime he...
PBS
Family and Identity through To Kill a Mockingbird
How does the Finch family structure set it apart from their community, even before Atticus begins defending Tom Robinson? Watch a video that discusses how Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird establishes a distinctly American world...
PBS
Chosen Family and The Outsiders
Can you choose your family after all? The greasers in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders are as close as family, even though only Pony Boy and his brothers are related. A short video features commentary by hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor...
PBS
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Is the Queen of Hearts a misunderstood monarch or an unchecked tyrant? A video from a series on villainous characters examines how Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland paints the Queen of Hearts as the ultimate...
British Council
Romeo and Juliet
An engaging video featuring William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is accompanied by six activities designed to reinforce vocabulary, story elements, and comprehension. Scholars match words to pictures, place events in sequential order,...
British Council
Twelfth Night
Scholars experience Shakespeare's, Twelfth Night, with an engaging interactive. After watching the story, six activities extend the learning experience. Topics include characters, vocabulary, a sequence of events, comprehension, and...
Lit2Go
The Swallow and the Crow
What characteristics make a true friendship? Pupils explore the question when reading "The Swallow and the Crow," Aesop's fable about two birds comparing their feathers. The post-reading graphic organizer encourages thinkers to write...
Lit2Go
The Tree and the Reed
Are thoughts of superiority ever justified? Aesop's fable "The Tree and the Reed" is about a tree that thinks he's better than a reed and is taught otherwise by nature.The post-reading compare/contrast activity features a graphic...
Lit2Go
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
When does simplicity trump glamor? Readers compare and contrast a country mouse and a town mouse after reading a 312-word fable by Aesop. The graphic organizer differentiates instruction for all readers, scaffolding them to carefully...
Lit2Go
The Lion and the Statue
How does one's perception affect their representation of places and events? Readers investigate this question by listening to Aesop's "The Lion and the Statue" and completing a graphic organizer to analyze characters and their motivations.
Lit2Go
The Horse, Hunter, and Stag
A resource on plot structure and summarizing begins with an audio retelling of "The Horse, Hunter, and Stag." After listening to the fable, pupils break down the plot chronologically before writing a short summary.
Lit2Go
The Fawn and His Mother
Teach your class about fear and cowardice from the perspective of a doe and her fawn. A teaching resource based on Aesop's "The Fawn and His Mother" includes an audio version of the fable, a text passage, and a reading activity in which...