Books by NYC, for NYC

Reading just got a whole lot more FUN-damental for NYC’s public school students.

After receiving hundreds of recommendations from students, families, educators, and community members, we’re proud to announce the release of our updated NYC Reads 365 recommended reading lists!

NYC Reads 365 is a City literacy program that seeks to inspire children of all ages to read independently for fun all year long. At the core of NYC Reads 365 is a collection of DOE-approved reading lists that, for the first-time ever, include high-quality and interesting books recommended to us by school community members just like you from all across the City.

Using your feedback, we’ve created brand new reading lists that better reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of our shared community—in our schools, in our City, in our country, and throughout the world—highlighting voices representing a wide range of perspectives, cultures, genres, formats, styles, and subjects.

“There are many ways to talk about diversity, but having books and curricular resources that feature main characters and are written by authors that are truly representative of our wonderful city is crucial,” said Chancellor Richard Carranza regarding the releases of our updated NYC Reads 365 lists. “I know firsthand that when our students see themselves reflected in the books they read, they’re more engaged in learning.”

The new lists add over 250 books to the DOE’s NYC Reads 365 catalog, and include characters, authors, and topics that represent diversity of gender, ethnicity, orientation, religion, socio-economic status, abilities and health—in line with the DOE’s citywide commitment to culturally responsive-sustaining education. Overall, about 68 percent of the recommended books now feature characters of color—up from 9 percent in previous NYC Reads 365 lists.

Some of the titles included in our new lists include:

• The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh, by Surpriya Kelkar, illustrated by Alea Marley (Pre-K)
• Don’t Touch My Hair, by Sharee Miller (Pre-K)
• My Papi Has a Motorcycle, by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeka Peña (Pre-K)
• Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña (Grades K–2)
• Sugar Hill: Harlem’s Historic Neighborhood, by Carole Boston Weatherford (Grades K–2)
• Under My Hijab, by Hena Khan (Grades K–2)
• Drawn Together, by Minh Lê (Grades 3–5)
• Our House is on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet, by Jeanette Winter (Grades 3–5)
• Gaawin Gindaaswin Ndaawsi (I Am Not a Number), by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer (Grades 6–8)
• One Last Word, by Nikki Grimes (Grades 6–8)
• Internment, by Samira Ahmed (Grades 9–12)
• Him Standing, by Richard Wagamese (Grades 9–12)
• It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers), by Trevor Noah (Grades 9–12)

To learn more about NYC Reads 365 and to see our updated book lists, check out our NYC Reads 365 webpage.

Remember: together, we can make New York City a community of readers — all year long!