While it is important to read children’s books so that you are providing your students with quality literature, I find it equally important to read professional books to grow my teaching expertise. So much of what I know comes from my teaching mentors. Many of those mentors do not know me, but I have read their books from cover to cover, reread their books again, and still refer to many of them to this day.

Since it can be hard to find time to read and process professional books about teaching in the middle of a busy school year, I often dedicate time during the summer for professional reading. Check out some of my all-time favorite professional books, as well as some great book recommendations from teachers who read Scholastic's Top Teaching blog.