250 Influential Books for 250 Years of America

Most students DO read full books in school still, 250 influential books for 250 years of America, and more bookish news for the day.

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250 Influential Books for 250 Years of America

Most students DO read full books in school still, 250 influential books for 250 years of America, and more bookish news for the day.

Kelly Jensen

May 7, 2026

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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Today’s stories include a look at 250 influential books in honor of America’s 250th birthday, a study debunking the idea that students don’t read full books in class anymore, and more.

250 for 250 Booklist

Many an outlet-ourselves included-have embarked on "best of the century so far" style lists over the last year or two, but Brooklyn Public Library’s gone one step further. In honor of colonized America’s 250th anniversary, they’ve curated a list of 250 of the best books for 250 years. It’s a monster of a list, and it’s a damn good one, too. You can play around with various filters and genres, too. I dig the "beautiful covers" filter, and I appreciate how thoughtful the short reasons why the title was included are.

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Most Middle and High School Teachers Still Assign Full Books

There’s been so much hand-wringing about whether or not kids today read full books in school, and a new study has some answers. Yes, teachers are still assigning entire books to their classes , but there are many (quite predictable!) factors that influence how many books are being assigned. In schools with more students from higher need backgrounds, there are fewer books assigned. Or, to put it in more frank terms, students from more privileged backgrounds attend better-funded schools where they’re able to spend more time reading full books in their classes. Honestly, the average assignment load of four full books a year that this study found doesn’t seem like too much or too little. That’s a book each quarter, on top of every other assignment they’ll do in English classes. I’m going to be far more concerned about where and how students who are disadvantaged get everything they need in school-they tend to be the same students most impacted by book bans and funding cuts.

The 2026 Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards Shortlists

There’s been a lot of talk about children’s literature in the kid lit world this week, thanks in no small part to the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Mac Barnett, releasing a book about books for young people and why adults should be reading it. This piece is worth reading to catch up on that conversation.

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That preface is to say that it’s really nice to celebrate great children’s and young adult books. I always find the Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards shortlists to be really interesting, as they seem to highlight a range of really popular titles and those which have slipped under the radar. One of the YA books on the list this year, The Secret Astronomers, is one I heard nothing about when it released and then picked up early this year and fell head-over-heels for. It’s a really fresh story and unique format. I’m excited to check out the others, and I know my kid will be eager for all of these picture books. Winners will be announced before too long.

Check Out These Banned Episodes of Superhero Cartoons (If You Can)

Despite ample evidence to the contrary, both superheroes and cartoons are regarded as inherently childish. For that reason, superhero cartoons are often subject to censorship designed to keep the program nice and wholesome, however the censor chooses to interpret those words. Whether that censorship is justified or not is another matter entirely. Subscribe to All Access for the full list of banned superhero cartoons.

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