From the Bookshelf—Core Knowledge Free Library is an exciting new initiative that has been created to further support and enhance CK curriculum materials. The library will launch in March 2025 with Voices in History, a highly engaging biography series, and Tales from Latin America and the Caribbean—the first in a series of collections of tales from around the world.
The vision for the website began with Don Hirsch’s desire for the Core Knowledge Foundation to create and provide free access to high quality children’s literature written by acclaimed children’s book authors.
In this early phase of development, 26 diverse Voices in History biography titles have been published. These titles connect to the Core Knowledge Sequence, and to one or more of the following curriculum programs—CKLA, CKHG, CKSci, and the Arts. For example, titles such as Anne Hutchinson: Banished, or Benjamin Franklin: Let the Experiment Be Made, can be used alongside the Grade 3 CKLA Colonial America unit, or the Grade 3 CKHG unit The Thirteen Colonies. In the same way, Abraham Lincoln: Defender of a Nation, and Federico Fernández Cavada: The Spy in the Hot-Air Balloon, can be enjoyed when teaching the Grade 5 CKHG unit about the Civil War. These titles can therefore be integrated into lesson time by reading them aloud, or by using them as a resource for independent reading. The biographies are suitable for strong independent readers aged eight and up.
In addition, it’s important to remember that biographies teach invaluable lessons by providing insight into the lives and events of some of the most extraordinary people who ever lived. We hope you will use this free resource in the classroom.
As well as the biography series, From the Bookshelf also offers beautifully written and illustrated Tales from Latin America and the Caribbean. This title, the first in a new series, was written by children’s book author Silvia López whose writings reflect her interest in animals, history, folklore. The book was illustrated by the talented artist Ivan Pesic.
Tales from Latin America and the Caribbean is an extension of CKLA K-2 units such as Grade K Nursery Rhymes and Fables, Grade K Stories, Grade 1 Fables and Stories, Grade1 Different Lands, Similar Stories, and Grade 2 Fairy Tales and Tall Tales. It can therefore be read aloud in a classroom setting, and later, be used for independent reading as students develop their skills.
From the Bookshelf is an ongoing initiative. More titles will be announced later in 2025. We invite you to explore this exciting new website.