Talking Trash: Climate Action Days are Back!
The first Climate Action Day of the school year is coming up on Tuesday, October 20! Find out how you can take action in your school community to protect our environment in ways related to this month's theme: reducing waste.
It’s officially spooky season! Whether it’s scary ghost stories or cozy adventures with witches and pumpkins, these books are helping us get into the Halloween spirit! We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Early Readers (3-K–Grade 2)
- 10 Spooky Pumpkins, by Gris Grimley
- The Ghostly Carousel, by Calef Brown
- The Ofrenda We Built, by Jolene Gutierrez and Shaian Guiterrez; illustrated by Gabby Zapata
- Trick-or-Treating in the City, by Tiffany D. Jackson; illustrated by Sawyer Cloud
- Vlad the Rad, by Brigitte Barrager
Elementary (Grades 3–5)
- A Bite Above the Rest, by Christine Virnig
- Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery, by Kacy Ritter
- Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave, by Ally Russell
- The Witch Boy, by Molly Knox Ostertag
- Witches of Brooklyn, by Sophie Escabasse
Middle School (Grades 6–8)
- More Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World, by Arielle North Olson and Howard Scwartz
- The Ojja-Wojja, by Magdalene Visaggio
- Pumpkinheads, by Rainbow Rowell; illustrated by Faith Evan Hicks
- The Skeleton Flute, by Damara Allen
- Spirit Hunters, by Ellen Oh
Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)
- Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas
- The Dark Becomes Her, by Judy I. Lin
- The Ghosts of Rose Hill, by R.M. Romero
- Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories, edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz
- The Taking of Jake Livingston, by Ryan Douglass
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. You can also find even more recommendations in the Carve Out Time with a Good Book Collection on Sora. Happy Halloween!
Missed our previous book recommendations?
Check them out in the "What We're Reading" Archive!
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS
The first week of the 2026–27 school year was certainly one for the books! From the debut of our City's new 2-K program, the implementation of our guidelines concerning the use of student-facing generative artificial intelligence, and the grand opening of the world's first-ever non-charter high school dedicated to hip hop, NYC Public Schools are already making plenty of history—and we're not even done with September!
Check out some of our photos from the first days of the new school year—and join us in welcoming everyone back to school!
