Authentic Voices BookRoom

All Students Deserve to See Themselves in a Book

Do you have enough texts that reflect the lives and backgrounds of your entire student population? How can you ensure equity and cultural relevance in the classroom?>

Authentic Voices BookRoom features hundreds of original, culturally inclusive books that ensure that all students see their stories and perspectives represented in the books they read—and open their minds to worlds and people outside of their own experiences.

Click here to view our Spanish language series, Authentic Voices en español.

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Ideal for teachers, reading specialists, and districts looking to add more culturally responsive texts to their BookRooms or classroom libraries
1,100 nonfiction and fiction titles—550 in English, 550 in Spanish
Texts are precisely leveled for students in Grades K-5
All titles written by a diverse team of respected and acclaimed authors who craft truly authentic texts that reflect students’ real-world experiences and feature underrepresented groups
A 50/50 balance of literary and informational texts, to give students experience with different types of reading content
Robust teacher support, including a comprehensive Teacher’s Guide for every title, with flexible lesson plans and suggested teaching strategies
All titles grouped into 10 topics that support science and social studies standards

TOPICS

Literature	Character Matters Perspectives in Literature Themes Across Cultures
Science and Technology	Earth Science Life Science Physical Science Science and Technology
Social Studies	Government and Citizenship History, Culture, and Geography Economics

Digital access to all eBooks and teacher materials is available at Benchmark Universe!

Authentic Voices BookRoom features work by renowned, award-winning authors, including:

Derrick Barnes wrote the New York Times best sellers The King of Kindergarten and I Am Every Good Thing. In 2018, his work on the picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut was celebrated with a Newbery Honor, the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers.

Joseph Bruchac is the author of more than 120 books for children and adults. His work includes poetry, short stories, novels, anthologies, and music, all reflecting his Native American heritage. Bruchac has received numerous awards for his writing, including the American Library Association Young Adult Fiction Award and the Western Writers of America Spur Award.

Jane Yolen, often called the “Hans Christian Andersen of America,” is the author of 386 books for children and adults. She has won many awards for her writing, including the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, and both the Association of Jewish Libraries Award and the Catholic Libraries Medal. Yolen also has six honorary doctorates for her body of work.

Gwendolyn Zepeda was among the first Latina bloggers and began her writing career on the Web in 1997 as one of the founding writers of the entertainment site Television Without Pity. Since then, she has published acclaimed novels, award-winning children’s books, a short-story collection, and books of poems.

Authentic Voices BookRoom showcases enchanting original and classic tales, beautifully brought to life by talented illustrators, including:

Joel Christian Gill is an American cartoonist, comic artist, and historian who speaks nationally on the importance of sharing stories. He is the creator of an award-winning series of graphic novels that highlight little-known and uncelebrated African Americans who made important contributions to American history.

Chuck Gonzales is an author and artist who illustrated the OMG column in Tiger Beat magazine for more than a decade, designed the characters for an animated pilot for Nickelodeon called Swoosh, and created artwork for the Worst-Case Scenario Junior Edition series. He also wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Oscar the Mighty.

Monica Mici is a New York-based comic book illustrator and storyboard artist who is always doodling when she’s not snacking or sleeping. She loves drawing animals, creatures, and fun characters that go on exciting adventures.

Comprehensive full-color 4-page Teacher’s Guides for every title, including flexible mini-lessons, point-of-use PD tips from renowned thought leaders, guided practice with assessment, writing activities, SEL connections, and EL support.

DOK-leveled Text Evidence Question Cards for every title, keeping rigor high by ensuring teachers are asking high-level questions, with tips for guided, independent, or partner practice.

Fully interactive and customizable eBooks engage students for digital or in-person instruction.

Digital texts provide opportunities for all students to experience deep, meaningful reading experiences.

A library of 500+ interactive eBooks offers a wide variety of texts in English and Spanish.
Annotation tools empower students to highlight and underline text, add virtual sticky notes, and write in margins, increasing comprehension and building the reading/writing connection.
eBooks feature audio narration accompanied by word-by-word highlighted text, to assist striving readers.
Customizable pages enable teachers to embed videos, create graphic organizers, and track student progress.