Commissioner's Book of the Month

Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. launched the Commissioner’s Book of the Month, a monthly reading challenge to promote literacy and reading engagement in K-12 schools. Literacy skills developed during formative years are essential for students to succeed both academically and in life, and reading comprehension develops as students engage with interesting and meaningful books. Teachers and parents are encouraged to recommend these books to students.

“The Commissioner’s Book of the Month will be an opportunity to highlight authors and titles, offering students rewarding opportunities for classroom and at-home discussion. This new initiative will add to Florida’s ever-present focus on providing students access to challenging books that increase critical thinking skills and deepen understanding.” ~ Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr.

November 2024

PreK – Five Little Thank-Yous by Cindy Jin
K-2 – How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace
3-5 – In November by Cynthia Rylant
6-8 – The Boy Who Fell off the Mayflower, or John Howland’s Good Fortune by P.J. Lynch
9-12 – Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick

October 2024

PreK – The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
K-2 – The Little Butterfly That Could by Ross Burach
3-5 – Who Was Amelia Earhart? by Kate Boehm Jerome
6-8 – The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois
9-12 – Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Laura Hillenbrand

September 2024

PreK – Good Night America by Adam Gamble
K-2 – The Man in the Red Bandanna by Honor Crowther Fagan
3-5 – America Is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fell by Don Brown
6-8 – The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story by Cheryl Somers Aubin
9-12 – The Red Bandanna (Young Readers Adaptation) by Tom Rinaldi

August 2024

PreK – I Am Too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Child
K-2 – Give Bees a Chance by Bethany Barton
3-5 – Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
6-8 – Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
9-12 – The Life of Julius Caesar by Plutarch

July 2024

PreK – Proud Little Patriot by Alla Belousov
K-2 – F is for Flag by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
3-5 – The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh
6-8 – And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
9-12 – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

June 2024

PreK – What is America? by Michelle Medlock Adams
K-2 – The Star-Spangled Banner by Peter Spier
3-5 – Proud to Be an American by Lee Greenwood
6-8 – Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? By Jean Fritz
9-12 – Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson by Katherine Johnson

May 2024

PreK – Why Do We Celebrate Memorial Day by Kristen Lake
K-2 – Celebrating Holidays: Memorial Day by Rachel Grack
3-5 – Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld
6-8 – Who Were the Navajo Code Talkers? by James Buckley Jr.
9-12 – “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

April 2024

PreK – Hero Dad, by Melinda Hardin
K-2 – H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet by Devin Scillian
3-5 – Brave for My Family by Davidson Whetstone
6-8 – A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazar
9-12 – Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen

March 2024

PreK – Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Curious George by H.A. Rey
K-2 – Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating
3-5 – Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story by S.D. Nelson
6-8 – Out of Hiding by Ruth Gruener
9-12 – The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron

February 2024

PreK - I Am Me by Tristan Towns and Lacey Howard
K-2 - An Apple for Harriet Tubman by Glennette Tilley Turner
3-5 - Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Shetterly
6-8 - Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
9-12 - Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

January 2024

PreK – Moon: A Peek-Through Board Book by Britta Teckentrup
K-2 – My Magical Foods by Becky Cummings
3-5 – Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
6-8 – Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
9-12 – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen