NCTE’s members are readers—for themselves as they seek to grow their professional knowledge, and for their students as they seek to find texts that will inspire—because NCTE members know: the right book in the right hands can transform a life.
This is why we started Build Your Stack®, an initiative focused exclusively on helping teachers build their book knowledge and their classroom libraries.
Upcoming Build Your Stack® Virtual Events:
Please save the date for The Best of the 2022-2023 School Year event this June! Presenters are listed below. Registration is free and open to all, but you will be required to create or sign into an NCTE account.
Contact buildyourstack@ncte.org with any questions.
FEATURED GUESTS
Ainara Alleyne is a 13-year-old elementary student from Hamilton, Ontario. Ainara curates the Instagram page @ainarasbookshelf, where she highlights books for young people whose authors and main characters are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, differently abled and other underrepresented communities. She believes that by experiencing other cultures and perspectives through books, we can not only acknowledge our differences but be able to understand and embrace them. Ainara was Hamilton Public Library’s first Junior Librarian in residence and speaks to student teachers at various Universities and pedagogy symposiums, and has been featured in the New York Times, CBC, CTV and numerous podcasts. Her TV show, also called Ainara’s Bookshelf, which she created, co-wrote and produced, aired on TVOkids and is currently available on YouTube.
Seemi Aziz is a visiting and adjunct assistant professor in Global Cultures, Literacy, and Literature in the Department of Teaching and Learning and Sociocultural Studies in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. Her research interests include children’s and young adult literature, issues of representation and religious freedom, and arts and visual cultural analysis in education. She has published in renowned edited books and journals of Children’s Literature and School Library Journal and has been an active member of multiple book award committees. She is also on the Executive Board of World of Words at the College of Education at the University of Arizona. She is a current member of the Build Your Stack® Committee.
Raj Haldar Better known by his stage name Lushlife, RAJ HALDAR is an American rapper, composer, and producer from Philadelphia, PA. He’s also the #1 New York Times bestselling author ofP Is for Pterodactyl. Connect with him on Twitter @lushlifemedia.
Carol Jago has taught English in middle and high school in public schools for 32 years and is associate director of the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA. She served as president of the National Council of Teachers of English and as chair of the College Board’s English Academic Advisory committee. She has published many books including The Book in Question: Why and How Reading Is in Crisis. She is also author of With Rigor for All and Cohesive Writing: Why Concept Is Not Enough and published books on contemporary multicultural authors for NCTE. Carol was awarded the International Literacy Association’s Adolescent Literacy Thought Leader Award, the CEL Exemplary Leadership Award, and the NCTE James R. Squire Award. She has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Association of Teachers of English. Carol has served on the National Assessment Governing Board and currently serves on the International Literacy Association’s Board of Directors. She is a current member of the Build Your Stack® Committee.
Previous Build Your Stack® Virtual Events:
(Click on the dates below to watch videos of some of our previous events.)
April 27, 2023
Build Your Stack®: Poetic Possibilities
Many of the books shared by the presenters can be found on this list.*
NCTE members and presenters Kefah Ayesh and Darius Phelps wrote blog posts that tie in to this event’s theme and we encourage you to read them.
February 27, 2023
Build Your Stack® with Nonfiction Texts
Many of the books shared by the presenters can be found on this list.*
June 15, 2022
Build Your Stack® Best Books of the 2021-2022 School Year
Many of the books shared by the presenters can be found on this list.*
Author Meg Grehan also wrote a blog post specifically for this event that was posted on June 14, 2022.
April 25, 2022
Build Your Stack® A Rainbow of Pride Books
Books shared by the presenters can be found on this list.*
June 15, 2021
Build Your Stack® with the Best Books of the 2020-2021 School Year
Books shared by the presenters can be found on this list.*
May 3, 2021
Build Your Stack® with Award-Winning Authors
Books from these authors can be found on this list.*
April 15, 2021
Build Your Stack® with Multilingual Texts
To see a list of most of the books discussed, to browse or to purchase, please click through to our Bookshop page for this event.*
June 30, 2020
Elementary and Middle Grade Focus
To see a list of most of the books discussed, to browse or to purchase, please click through to our Bookshop page for this event.* A. B. Majmudar’s book, The Torchbearers, is currently available here. You may also contact her directly for more information about how to purchase copies at ami.majmudar@gmail.com.
August 10, 2020
Secondary Focus
To see a list of most of the books discussed, to browse or to purchase, please click through to our Bookshop page for this event.*
*NCTE and local bookstores receive a small commission when you purchase through these links.
TEACHER EXPERTISE + BOOK KNOWLEDGE
We’re building NCTE into the place where you go to meet authors of significance, paving the way for knowledge and relationships that transform students and schools.
Our members’ knowledge of books should be celebrated and recognized, and this initiative offers just the right platform.
But, you might say, there are so many books out there, and I have so little time to explore them all. We know! Build Your Stack® will reduce the guesswork that goes into building a classroom library by creating a trusted connection to the best books, recommended by colleagues with deep expertise.
WHAT IS BUILD YOUR STACK®?
1. See our current Build Your Stack® Committee roster.
2. A set of dozens of unique sessions in the Exhibit Hall at the NCTE Annual Convention. Each 20-minute session will feature authors and educators talking about their favorite books and how to use them in the classroom.
3. Booklists and recommendations all year long, curated by NCTE members and shared via our member communications.
4. Periodic professional learning experiences in sites across the country and virtually that bring NCTE members together with authors and dynamic educators.
5. Blog posts from fellow educators with information about diverse books for you and for your classroom.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS! SHARE WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA USING #BUILDYOURSTACK.
Build Your Stack
Blog Posts
Check out the most recent #BuildYourStack posts featuring book recommendations curated by NCTE members and submit your own recommendations today.
Read Now Submit a Blog PostWHAT KINDS OF BUILD YOUR STACK SESSIONS CAN I EXPECT AT NCTE’S ANNUAL CONVENTION?
Join us each year at the Annual Convention for more than 30 sessions, taking place on the Build Your Stack® stage in the exhibit hall. We were proud to host many amazing educator and author sessions in Anaheim, California in 2022. We look forward to the 2023 Annual Convention in Columbus, Ohio.
To get a taste of some of the sessions from our 2020 Virtual Annual Convention, please click through to the videos linked below:
- “Biographies and Memoirs: Meeting People While Socially Distancing” with Donalyn Miller
- “Unapologetically Me – Picture Books and Early Chapter Books/MG” with Jillian Heise and Aliza Riley Werner
- “HER-story, not History: Books that feature “Black and Brown” Females as Main Characters with Laura and Mary Haney
- “Imagining A Better World Through Stories of Love, Support, and Coming Together” with Kristine Schutz and Jen Vincent
- “New K-12 Indigenous Texts that Belong in Your Classroom” with Ricki Ginsberg
- “Notable Verse Novels and Poetry Books for K-8 Classrooms” with Excellence in Children’s Poetry Award Committee members Ted Kesler and Heidi Mordhorst
- “Undaunted Voices: BIPOC Novels-in-Verse” with David Bowles
- “Using Poetry to Explore Our Intersectionality” with Gary Gray, Jr. and Clare Landrigan
“Ever since I joined NCTE in 1991, the many ways in which our organization has connected me with books and authors have shaped me as a teacher. My knowledge of the content of our discipline is deeply intertwined with the powerful learning experiences NCTE has provided and this has had a huge impact on my students. This project serves to take those experiences and connections to a whole new level. Teachers who are readers have students who are readers.”
— FRANKI SIBBERSON
NCTE Past President and 2018 Program Chair
