5 Books to Read With Your Family to Celebrate World Book and Copyright Day

Did you know that World Book and Copyright Day falls on Thursday, April 23? Hosted by the United Nations, World Book and Copyright Day celebrates the joys and connections of reading and literacy. Here are five books to read with your family to join in on the worldwide celebration:

1. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

Written by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson, Last Stop on Market Street chronicles a bus ride through the city with CJ and his grandmother. It’s a rainy Sunday. CJ is inquisitive; no question is too big or too small for him. “How come we gotta wait for the bus in all this wet?” he asks Nana. “How come we don’t got a car?” Wise and imaginative Nana gives us a priceless perspective in this book about appreciating beauty. In Last Stop on Market Street, however, the world isn’t a simple place of joys—the book also walks the more difficult and authentic line of acknowledging inequality while celebrating diversity. 

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2. Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth

In the preface of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, poet Kwame Alexander writes, “I believe that by reading other poets we can discover our own wonder.” This collection of poems—written by Alexander, Colderley, and Wentworth—takes important new and old poets as its inspiration for new poems. Each of these poems is a tribute, an homage, an act of gratitude, as well as a gateway to imagination and a style manual. These poems make clear the possibilities of language and the observant eye of a writer. Read this book with your family to celebrate the potential of poetry.    

3. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Stevenson’s Nimona is a graphic novel that was born out of her critically acclaimed web comic. Starring Nimona, a shapeshifter, and Lord Ballister Blackheart, the ultimate villain, the pair take on Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin to prove that he and his team are not the good guys they’re believed to be. Set in a medieval-like society, Stevenson blends together past and present, science and technology, fantasy and superheroes. Nimona explores the complexity of identity in Nimona as a shapeshifter and culminates in a battle that reverses typical superhero narratives. 

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4. The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

In The Night Diary, twelve-year-old Nisha navigates a newly divided India that has separated into Pakistan and India, further intensifying the violence between Hindus and Muslims. It’s 1947. India is freed from British rule. The religious and cultural clash is made manifest in Nisha’s own experience as half Hindu, half Muslim. A series of letters to her mother, The Night Diary follows along as Nisha and her family become refugees and journey to a place they can call home. 

5. Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton

Blessing the Boats is a collection of new and selected poems (1988-2000) from acclaimed poet Lucille Clifton. Clifton’s oeuvre explores the complexities of identity, the body, race, racism, womanhood, and more. A celebration of life and its difficulties, Clifton’s lens as a black woman centers a marginalized experience while reminding readers of the vulnerabilities we all share. This poetry collection will speak to young and old alike. 

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These titles are five books that pay tribute to the human connections that books make within their covers. This World Book and Copyright Day, check out one, some, or all of these titles to celebrate the impact of books, language, writers, publishers, and the wide-ranging writing community on our lives.

 

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