Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library

Where Literacy Meets Life Skills

Set your students on the path to personal and academic success with an empowering life skills collection curated by educator and advocate Byron V. Garrett.

Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library

Where Literacy Meets Life Skills

Set your students on the path to personal and academic success with an empowering life skills collection curated by educator and advocate Byron V. Garrett.

Build Skills That Last a Lifetime

Improve students’ well-being and academic performance with inspiring read-aloud and take-home books that nurture persistence, collaboration, problem-solving, and more.

“Survey employers and they will tell you that while technical skills are necessary, employability skills—including responsible behavior, interpersonal skills, and communication skills—are what they struggle to find, particularly in young workers.”

Byron V. Garrett

Our 5 to Thrive Framework

We use hundreds of skills to lead happy, successful lives. The Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library organizes the most important ones into five easy-to-understand themes.

Understanding Myself

Identify what we're good at and what we need to improve.

Managing Myself

Learn to manage behaviors and emotions in a productive way.

Respecting Others

Learn to accept others even when they disagree with us.

Building Relationships

Develop the ability to communicate and work together.

Making Decisions

Learn to make good decisions and improve critical thinking.

Research & Validation

Home Libraries Topic Paper

With the Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library, every student receives one take-home book for their home library. Learn about the importance of home libraries in this eye-opening research paper.

Reading for Life: The Impact of Youth Literacy on Health Outcomes Topic Paper

Discover the powerful connection between literacy rates and physical, mental, and emotional health.

About the Curator

Byron V. Garrett is the Executive Vice President of Government Partnerships at United Way Worldwide.

 

He's an Ed.D. candidate in Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy at Pepperdine University and holds an M.A. in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix and a B.A. in Human Relations from High Point University. He has served as a subject matter expert for national news outlets, and he has been recognized as one of Ebony’s Power 150 Most Influential Black Americans and one of Black Enterprise’s 100 Modern Men of Distinction.

 

Garrett is the creative force behind Scholastic’s Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library.

Life Skills for Your Literacy Block

How do you fit life skills into an already busy school day? Our grade-level libraries for PreK–5 integrate life skills into whole-class, paired, and independent reading for you!

40 Age-Appropriate Books

Each grade-level library includes 20 titles (2 copies each) for read-alouds and paired reading.

Take-Home Books

Every student receives one take-home book and a family engagement letter to spark learning at home.

Teacher's Guide

Learn all about your new collection and how to make life skills relevant to your students' lives.

The ABCs of Life

Get inspired with a copy of Byron V. Garrett's professional book about resilience and success.

Digital Resource Site

Watch empowering Byron V. Garrett videos and download step-by-step read-aloud lessons.

Book Bins & Labels

Easily organize your new books by theme!

More Resources for Life & Literacy Skills

Enhance your Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library with these teacher-recommended resources.

School Readiness Kits

Help families prepare their children for kindergarten with bilingual books and activities that introduce the reading, math, and life skills students will be learning in school.

School Success Kits

Prepare students for success in the elementary grades with bilingual books and activities that strengthen the home-school connection and reinforce the themes of the Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library.

Ready to Set Your Students Up for Success?