PBS
Looking for Alaska
Looking for Alaska is the subject of a short PBS video that encourages viewers to read John Green's award-winning young adult novel about first love.
PBS
Relatable Characters in Dark Tales and The Book Thief
Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is another novel high on the list of must-reads from The Great American Read collection. Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, and John Green of Crash Course series fame share...
PBS
Frankenstein | The Great American Read
A top vote-getter for the Great American Read program is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Find out why the classic tale, adapted into over 50 films and numerous TV shows, has earned its spot on the favorites list.
PBS
The Handmaid's Tale | The Great American Read
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is the focus of a Great American Read video that urges viewers to read this dystopian novel about a villainous society that oppresses women and minority groups.
PBS
George R.R. Martin Discusses Lord of the Rings
George R.R. Martin, famous in his own right for heroes, villains, dragons, and direwolves, offers his rationale for why viewers should vote for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings with its elves, wizards, and hobbits as part of the Great...
PBS
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Created for the Great American Read series, a short video encourages viewers to vote for Invisible Man. Musician Wynton Marsalis and Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, among others, share their rationale for why Ralph...
PBS
The Catcher in the Rye and First-Person Narrative
Testimonials for The Catcher in the Rye demonstrate the power of J.D. Salinger's story of a young man who wants to protect innocent children from the phonies in the adult world. Part of the Great American Read series, speakers urge...
PBS
Ready Player One
Ready Player One has been praised as a novel that captures the vitality, the allure, and the essence of the virtual reality experience. Speakers in a short video share their rationale for why Ernest Clines' dystopian novel should be...
PBS
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Narrators of a short video offer their rationale for why Catch 22 should be included in the Great American Read program. They touch on the key themes in Heller's satirical and sobering novel about Captain John Yossarian and the catch-22s...
PBS
Dune
Dune remains one of the most popular science fiction tales ever written. Find out why with a short video that argues for including Frank Herbert's tale of sandworms and Fremen, Mentats and witches, villains and heroes in the Great...
PBS
The Symbolism of Sunflower Seeds in Ghost
Ghost by Jason Reynolds is a coming-of-age book that resonates with teenagers who have experienced childhood trauma. Explore the novel with an interactive resource that focuses on the author's use of symbolism, particularly with...
PBS
The Continuing Fight for Tom Robinson and To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, but its messages remain just as true today as they were in Harper Lee's novel. Learners watch a video that details the story of Anthony Ray Hinton, who was sent to prison for a crime he...
PBS
Family and Identity through To Kill a Mockingbird
How does the Finch family structure set it apart from their community, even before Atticus begins defending Tom Robinson? Watch a video that discusses how Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird establishes a distinctly American world...
PBS
Chosen Family and The Outsiders
Can you choose your family after all? The greasers in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders are as close as family, even though only Pony Boy and his brothers are related. A short video features commentary by hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor...
PBS
The Call of the Wild
Jack London's books feature male characters, but that doesn't mean they're just for boys! Chelsea Clinton and Shanna Peeples discuss the underlying messages of love and sacrifice in The Call of the Wild, as well as the conflict of man...
PBS
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Is the Queen of Hearts a misunderstood monarch or an unchecked tyrant? A video from a series on villainous characters examines how Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland paints the Queen of Hearts as the ultimate...
PBS
Defying Convention | Little Women
Jo's decision not to marry her childhood friend Laurie broke the hearts of many readers—but it also represented Little Women's successful break from traditional nineteenth-century gender roles. A short clip illustrates Jo's desire to...
Lit2Go
The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble
Aesop's fable about two trees that disagree demonstrates how to handle conflict among an audience. After listening to an audio retelling of "The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble," writers complete an analysis activity to identify the...
Lit2Go
The Peacock and Juno
Why wouldn't Juno want to give a peacock the voice of a nightingale? After reading Aesop's fable "The Peacock and Juno," individuals learn to be content with what they have because perfection is unattainable. The passage comes with an...
Lit2Go
The Kingdom of the Lion
If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. After listening to an audio recording of Aesop's "The Kingdom of the Lion," readers discuss the moral and new vocabulary with a series of comprehension questions.
Lit2Go
The Two Pots
Do friends impact our identities? Part of a comprehensive series of fables, Aesop's "The Two Pots" teaches readers that the strong and the weak cannot keep company. Only 98 words and registering a 4.1 on the Flesch-Kincaid readability...
Lit2Go
The Jay and the Peacock
What determines the worth of a person? Challenge pupils to identify theme and analyze characterization with Aesop's fable "The Jay and the Peacock." Readers answer a series of comprehension questions after listening to an audio version...
Lit2Go
The Herdsman and the Lost Bull
Can ignorance sometimes be a blessing? See what your class thinks as they identify the theme of Aesop's fable "The Herdsman and the Lost Bull" and analyze character motivations within the text. The resource comes with an audiobook...
Lit2Go
The Fox and the Mosquitoes
A trapped fox prefers the full mosquitoes swarming him to the hungry ones who would replace them in Aesop’s fable “The Fox and the Mosquitoes.” Class members listen to an audio version of the tale before completing a graphic organizer...