The NCBLA believes that outside of parents and guardians, you are the most influential person in a child’s life. Never underestimate the impact you have on the kids you work with, no matter what their age or personal reality. And when children come from homes where parents and guardians, for whatever reason, cannot fulfill their responsibilities, your influence is invaluable.

With the Common Core curriculum and similar liberal arts efforts being implanted across the country, there is a renewed emphasis on using both fiction and nonfiction literature in the classroom to enhance and complement textbooks and classroom activities. We understand how hard it is to keep current on young people’s literature. We are committed to helping you find the books you need to broaden and deepen your students’ learning experience and knowledge base.

We know that you are not only educating our children, you are educating parents, too, so please feel free to download, copy, and share information in the Parent and Guardian Handbook with your students’ parents.

We care about you and honor your commitment and passion. We want to do everything we can to support you in your efforts to educate all of our children and have created the Teacher Handbook with that goal in mind. Please do not hesitate to contact us by email (info@thencbla.org) if you have ideas or suggestions on how we can be more helpful.

Click on a category or scroll down to discover all our Teacher Handbook resources.

Reading and Writing
Suggested Reading for Kids


Reading and Writing

Teacher Basics

Give Your Students the World: Take Your Class to the Local Library

Set the Stage for Great Writing

Create a Language-Rich Environment for Your Students

Motivate Your Students to Write

On ReadingRockets.org: FAQs from Real Parents and Teachers About Reading

Great Research and Reference Sources for Tweens and Teens

“Read to Our Own Heroes” Helps School Children Celebrate Local Heroes

Graphic Novels and Comic Book Resources


Suggested Reading for Kids

Great Books for Boys

American Heroes: Folklore Legends

American Heroes: Historic and Cultural Heroes

Great Reads Author and Illustrator Recommendations