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Summer is a time for many of us to relax, reflect, and recalibrate after a demanding school year. Reading for pleasure or for your own professional development is a welcome respite for many educators. We asked some of our regional civics instructional coaches for their reading recommendations, including both civics and non-civics-related themes. Here are some of their picks:
Jason Artman (LaSalle, Putnam, Marshall, Woodford, Peoria, Tazewell, and Mason Counties): Star Wars From a Certain Point of View 40 stories by 40 authors celebrating lesser known characters who make brief appearances in the original Star Wars film.
Tracy Freeman (Livingston, McClean, Ford, Champaign, Vermilion, Piatt, Macon, Dewitt, and Logan Counties): Finding Me (Viola Davis biography) is riveting! I listened to this on Audible and could not stop. The author reads this book that will break your heart and make her even more inspiring!
Chris Johnson (Mercer, Warren, Henderson, Knox, Fulton, McDonough, Schuyler, Cass, Morgan, Scott, Brown, Pike, Adams, and Hancock Counties):
Just Mercy looks at the story of several wrongfully imprisoned inmates and examines the efforts to bring them justice. This book is available in both adult and young adult versions and will give you a new perspective on some of the cases and rulings we all know.
Parable of the Sower is a story written in the early 1990s about about an Earth that is dealing with the effects of extreme climate change and massive socio-economic inequities. It follows a group of refugees as they escape their home and go on a journey to make a new one.
Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz (Pre-Service Liaison): Heather McGhee The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together is a
really interesting read. It is a mix of history and political science, looking at how racist practice and beliefs hurt American society and suggesting alternative ways to move forward.
Clint Smith, Above Ground and Maggie Smith, Goldenrod are two collections of poems by talented writers. Clint Smith reflects on history (he also wrote How the Word is Passed). Maggie Smith is famous for her earlier poem “Good Bones” and this collection is a pleasure to read.
Heather Monson (Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, Ogle, Lee, Whiteside, Bureau, Henry, Stark, and Rock Island Counties): Lessons in Chemistry Meet Elizabeth Zott: “a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show.
Matthew Wood ( (West Cook, DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties): Just Us: an American Conversation by Claudia Rankine explores tough cultural and social conversations using photographs, poetry, and personal reflections. Her book is a great exploration in how she engages in difficult conversations with the goal of challenging norms and building understanding when differences appear.
Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is the first book of The Stormlight Archive. Sanderson is an amazing world builder in this fantasy series. The story follows a set of characters who are existing in a world that has lost what made them, and now face an impending armageddon. If you enjoy books that make deep characters with rich back stories, this read is for you and a hard one to put down.
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