NYC Public Schools Distributes Two Millionth Comic Book with Latest Releases

Watch out, Marvel and DC—NYC Public Schools have just entered the "Big Comic Book Distributor" chat!

GIF featuring covers of the comic books that the NYC Department of Education has distributed to its students since 2020. This month, we're celebrating the releases of Patsy Takemoto Mink and A Story in Every Object! An Asian American Comics Anthology, the two newest free comic book titles from our in-house Civics for All Comics Group. These outstanding works, available both online to everyone and in print form for free at City public schools across the five boroughs, are the latest in the unique literary series featuring work by renown writers and artists who have won their fair share of prestigious literary awards, including the National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Book Award, the Eisner Award, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, and the Michael L. Printz Award.

Since 2020, the Civics for All Comics Group has produced and distributed 25 free comic book titles for NYC Public School students of all ages, and with this month's releases, we're incredibly proud to announce that our Comics Group imprint has just distributed its two millionth comic book in just five years! This milestone is especially notable, as it means that NYC Public Schools are now one of the 10 largest comic book distributors in the country!

Our Newest Comics

Cover for the comic book, Patsy Takemoto Mink tells the story of a third-generation Japanese American woman from Hawai'i who fought for Title IX and was an advocate for peace, civil rights, and environmental justice. To tell Ms. Mink's story, we collaborated with her daughter, Gwendolyn Mink, as well as writers Judy Tzu-Chun and Abigail Chun, illustrator Vian Nguyen, and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.

Cover for the comic book, A Story in Every Object! An Asian American Comics Anthology includes six short personal stories from six different outstanding, award-winning Asian American artists whose works were inspired by everyday objects in their lives. The six stories in this anthology include:

"Cleave" by Greg Pak
"Woodworking" by Trung "Trungles" Le Nguyen
"Cookbook" by Shing Yin Khor
"Wedding Dolls" by Nidhi Chanani
"Dearly Departed" by MariNaomi
"Name Plate" by Kolbe and Gene Luen Yang

Where You Can Read More

Missed out on our prior releases? No worries; all 25 of our Civics for All Comics Group releases, including our two latest works, are available online through WeTeach . There's also a convenient webpage created by the Comics Group that puts all of their releases on one page for easy reviewing/downloading—check it out; you might just find you new favorite comic book!

___

On behalf of NYC Public Schools, we thank all of our partners who have helped make our Comics Group a success!

Pride Month Hidden Voices Spotlight: Edie Windsor

In celebration of Pride Month, we’re sharing the story of Edie Windsor, a computer programmer and pioneering LGBTQ+ activist best known for her role in the landmark 2013 Supreme Court case, United States v. Windsor, that helped lead towards the eventual legalization of gay marriage in the United States.

Learn about Edie Windsor on Hidden Voices

Thea Spyer (left) sitting with her arm around Edie Windsor (right) outside on some rocks with bare trees in the background.

Caribbean American Heritage Month Hidden Voices Spotlight: Dr. Antonia Pantoja

June is Caribbean American Heritage Month! To celebrate, we're sharing the story of Antonia Pantoja, a Puerto Rican activist and educator known for fighting for the rights of her community, especially in New York City.

Learn more about Antonia Pantoja on Hidden Voices

Black and white photograph of Antonia Pantoja in a classroom. The background is tinted green.

Books of the Week

June is National Immigrant Heritage Month, and June 20 is World Refugee Day! To celebrate New York’s large immigrant population, we’re sharing some of our favorite stories that feature both real and fictional stories by and about immigrants and refugees. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)

Areli is a Dreamer: A True Story, by Areli Morales; illustrated by Luisa Aribe
The Cot in the Living Room, by Hilda Eunice Burgos; illustrated by Gaby D'Alessandro
Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales
Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story, by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Amy June Bates
Home is in Between, by Mitali Perkins; illustrated by Lavanya Naidu
Maribel's Year, by Michelle Sterling; illustrated by Sarah Gonzales

Elementary (Grades 3–5)

Becoming Kid Quixote: A True Story of Belonging in America (A Young Readers' Companion), by Sarah Sierra and Stephen Haff
First Generation: 36 Trailblazing Immigrants and Refugees Who Make America Great, by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace; illustrated by Agata Nowicka
Front Desk, by Kelly Yang
Land of the Cranes, by Aida Salazar
Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist, by Julie Leung; illustrated by Chris Sasaki
Sugar in Milk, by Thrity Umrigar; illustrated by Khoa Le

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

Dear America: The Story of an Undocumented Citizen (Young Readers' Edition), by Jose Antonio Vargas
Efrén Divided, by Ernesto Cisneros
Everything Sad is Untrue, by Daniel Nayeri
In the Beautiful Country, by Jane Kuo
Santiago's Road Home, by Alexandra Diaz
When Clouds Touch Us, by Thanhhà Lại

Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)

Almost American Girl, by Robin Ha
Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card, by Sara Saedi
Come On In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home, edited by Adi Alsaid
Dream Country, by Shannon Gibney
Sanctuary, by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything, by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

You can find these books, and many more great reads, on Sora, our Citywide Digital Library, which provides free access to thousands of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students!

Missed our previous books of the week?

Check out all of our past recommendations in the Books of the Week Archive!

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS

With the end of the 2023–24 school year comes the end of the Public Schools Athletic League's (PSAL) spring season across several sports. Check out the following photos to see some of our newest PSAL champions, and let's give a huge round of applause to all of our City's student athletes!

1 / 10