BLOGS > JUNE 3, 2023
Started by Jillian Heise during the 2014-15 school year, #ClassroomBookADay was inspired by Donalyn Miller's (@donalynbooks) #bookaday challenge. With a goal to read aloud a picture book every day of the school year with her seventh and eighth grade students, 180 complete texts were shared that helped grow classroom community and reading engagement. After sharing it at #nErDcampMI that summer, other teachers wanted to try it. It was coined #ClassroomBookADay so there would be a hashtag specifically about these daily picture book read-alouds. Five years later, thousands of educators across the country are using #ClassroomBookADay to positively affect student learning in schools, classrooms, and libraries. Join in by learning more from Jillian Heise and commit to taking the challenge this school year!
Jillian helps you with your #ClassroomBookADay commitment by sharing picture book recommendations and a reflection below.
Add Jillian Heise's recommended #ClassroomBookADay books to your classroom library by visiting Titlewave #ClassroomBookADay Lists.
Jillian Heise, NBCT and MLIS, is currently an elementary Library Media Specialist in southeastern Wisconsin. She previously taught Grades 7 and 8 ELA in the Milwaukee area for 11 years. Jillian is the founder of #ClassroomBookADay and dedicated to supporting all student identities and lived experiences through access to inclusive literature. She brings her literacy expertise and knowledge of kidlit to her role as Chair of the USRA Children's Literature Committee. You can find Jillian online at Heise Reads & Recommends and @heisereads.
Get Ahead of the 2026 ALA YMAs with These 5 Must-Read Contender Titles
October 23, 2025
This month, we’re diving into the most buzzworthy books of the year – handpicked by our Curation Team from our ALA Youth Media Award Contenders book list. These standout titles are generating serious award chatter, and we’re reading them now to...
Read more
Celebrate holidays with 12 seasonal titles!
October 13, 2025
Motivate students to read with these seasonally themed books from Capstone Publishing! Spark their interest with books focusing on holidays they know and love and give them the chance to discover new ones they’ve never heard of.Three lucky educators will receive these...
Read more
Pippa Park Books Come to Life in Video Series!
September 19, 2025
Middle graders aren’t reading for pleasure like they used to, and educators, booksellers, and families want a solution to get them excited about reading and sharing stories with their peers again. One part of such a solution is to meet...
Read more
Preview exciting fall 2025 eGalleys from Capstone!
September 15, 2025
We’ve partnered with Capstone and NetGalley* to provide digital access to 15 upcoming nonfiction and fiction titles releasing January 1, 2026. You’ll want to take advantage of this early access so you can then preorder the titles you love on...
Read more
Why the Food Group Series Continues to Take the Cake
September 15, 2025
From The Bad Seed to The Smart Cookie, Jory John and Pete Oswald’s Food Group series has become a staple in classrooms and libraries across the country. With its clever characters, laugh-out-loud humor, heartfelt lessons, and captivating illustrations, the series has helped educators...
Read more
Fall Into Reading with Orca Book Publishers
September 15, 2025
Keep students reading all year long by sprucing up your classroom’s library with these top titles from Orca!All the Things We FoundBy Joanne LevyAudience: Upper ElementaryIn this story about loss, protagonist Ruthie finds herself in a park where she meets an...
Read more