Celebrating Teachers—The Heart of Literacy and Lifelong Readers
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week—a time to pause, reflect, and thank the educators who shape not only the future of individual students, but the future of our society. Among their many roles, teachers are literacy champions. They are the quiet heroes behind every fluent reader, every inspired writer, and every child who learns to lose themselves in a book.
From the first day of school, teachers lay the foundation for literacy. They do more than teach the alphabet or explain punctuation—they spark curiosity, build confidence, and encourage persistence. They notice when a student is struggling and adapt instruction to meet them where they are.
Teachers create cozy reading corners, entertain and inspire with read-alouds, recommend books—and sometimes even buy them with their own money. They build text sets around students’ interests, encourage journaling, organize book clubs, and celebrate every breakthrough, big or small.
Teachers know that literacy is liberation. It’s how we communicate, advocate, and imagine. And they dedicate themselves to ensuring every student has access to that power.
This week, and every week, we honor and appreciate teachers for all they do.
Books that Celebrate Teachers
Interest Level: Preschool - Grade 1
Teachers are very special community helpers. They help us learn new things, like how to read and write. Learn more about what makes the job of a teacher so important in this nonfiction text.
Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 2
Teachers are very special community helpers. They help us learn new things, like how to read and write. Learn more about what makes the job of a teacher so important in this nonfiction text.
Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 3
In Xavier’s neighborhood, tattoos represent gang membership. After Xavier catches an unexpected glimpse of his new teacher’s tattoos, he learns that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the cultural significance of tattoos.
Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 3
In the pueblo of Palenque in Colombia, hardly anybody knows how to read. Curious about the letters her older sister Gina receives from a young doctor each month—letters that she is sure contain promises of love—one young girl makes a decision that will change her life, and the lives of every child in the pueblo, forever.
Interest Level: Kindergarten - Grade 4
Shirley Chisholm was a natural-born fighter. She didn’t like to be bossed and she wanted things to be fair.
Brooklyn-born Shirley Chisholm was smart and ambitious. She poured her energy into whatever she did—from teaching young children to becoming Brooklyn’s first Black assemblywoman. Not afraid to blaze a trail, she became the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman to seriously run for US president. With a vision of liberty and justice for all, she worked for equal rights, for the environment, for children, and for health care. Even now, her legacy lives on and inspires others to continue her work . . . which is not done yet.
Interest Level: Grade 2 - Grade 5
On November 14, 1960, first graders Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne stepped into history by going to school.
Escorted by U.S. Marshals and facing swarms of shouting protestors, they became the first children in New Orleans to integrate a previously all-white school, just ten minutes before Ruby Bridges. Like Ruby, the trio faced crowds of protestors fighting against public school desegregation efforts and relied on US Marshals to keep them safe. That day was just the beginning of their journey.
Mae Jemison
From the Series Boss Lady Bios (Alternator Books ®)
Interest Level: Grade 3 - Grade 6
Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, is an engineer, physician, teacher, Peace Corps volunteer, and founder of multiple technology companies. This fascinating bio tells about her inspiring story on Earth and beyond.
This Week—and Every Week
As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, let’s honor the educators who plant the seeds of literacy every day. Their work reverberates far beyond the classroom walls—into homes, communities, and future generations.
To all the teachers: thank you for turning sounds into syllables, words into meaning, and books into lifelong companions. You don’t just teach reading—you open doors to the world.
For more book recommendations or teacher resources, reach out to our literary specialists using the form below!
