Help More Children Become Confident, Curious Thinkers
Your gift to the Great Books Foundation can give the next generation of children a chance to read deeply, discuss openly, and grow in confidence. Your donation will help us:
- Train more teachers to implement Junior Great Books
- Build critical thinking skills for all students
- Create curriculum aligned to today’s educational needs
We are celebrating this giving season by sharing stories from adults who were Junior Great Books kids when they were younger. Read the beautiful testimonials we have gathered and please share your own story.
I participated in Junior Great Books as a pullout program in upper elementary school—fourth, fifth, or sixth grade. It was the first time I understood literature as something intentional: these weren’t just stories on a page, but works crafted to convey meaning. It was my earliest exposure to classic fiction, and it opened a door I hadn’t known existed.
What I appreciated about Junior Great Books—though it also made me a little nervous at first—was the expectation that we engage directly with one another’s ideas. It was the first environment where I was encouraged to question, respond, and genuinely debate. You couldn’t get away with a simple “I agree” or “I disagree.” You had to articulate why. The facilitator pushed us to think, to justify, to stretch. Over time, that discomfort became energizing; the process shifted from intimidating to deeply enjoyable.
It was also around this time that I decided I wanted to become a strong writer. I can’t credit Junior Great Books alone, but the combination of that program and later encounters with great literature made me realize how powerful writing can be. When you can express an idea clearly and concisely—so clearly that someone doesn’t even need to scroll once in your email—you can accomplish a remarkable amount.
Rob Coleman
Senior Vice President – Sales
Holland America Line® Seabourn®
The Junior Great Books program was the main factor in igniting my love of reading when I was in early elementary school. I recall that each book and the following discussions opened areas of knowledge or experience that I had not previously known. The small group chats about a common text were highlights of my early grades that I still remember today.
Jon Brammer, PhD
School of Liberal Arts and Education
CT State Community College, Three Rivers Campus
Junior Great Books delivered a powerful, engaging, and, enriching experience for my students. What stood out most was how well the program’s structure — grounded in rich texts and open-ended conversation — encouraged my kiddos to think deeply, consider multiple viewpoints, and have pride in their learning. The results far exceeded my expectations.
In my fourth grade class, Junior Great Books sparked genuine and constant engagement. Students who didn’t volunteer began offering insight; some even changed their initial ideas after hearing classmates’ perspectives during discussion. The open-ended nature of the questions led to a better understanding, of plot, facts, theme, character motivation, author’s purpose, and even broader range of ideas.
The program helped create a classroom community where every student’s voice mattered and was heard by all. Even quieter and less confident students contributed. They learned that there isn’t always a right answer but that multiple ideas can be valid if supported by evidence.
With my experience I think JGB offers educational value and I will continue to support the program. The program has made a lasting impact in my classroom.
Kelly Morton
3rd Grade Teacher
Don Steed Elementary
Laura Adelman-Cannon, a self-described “Junior Great Books baby,” has been involved with Junior Great Books since she was a young child, when her mother, Mary Beth Adelman, was a Junior Great Books volunteer at Central School in Glencoe, IL. Mary Beth Adelman brought JGB stories home in order to read and record them so that children with reading difficulties could access texts more equitably, an effort to increase inclusivity which was ahead of its time. Adelman-Cannon is now the principal at the International School of Louisiana and has brought Junior Great Books to her bilingual school to “teach children how to have meaningful and respectful conversations not only in school, but everywhere they go.”
Dr. Laura Adelman-Cannon
Principal, International School of Louisiana, New Orleans
I was surprised to see that Junior Great Books were still being used today. When I was in fifth grade, six students were chosen for this book club. I was extremely grateful. I still have my set to this day. I’m 64 years old and one day I will donate my books to a local children’s library. Thank you for starting my journey in the joy of reading.
Yvette Battle
Yesterday afternoon my eight year old daughter Bria came home from school, excitedly waving a permission slip that needed a signature. “Mom, I am SO excited! My school is doing a program for advanced readers where a few kids from my class get to meet with the principal and read! Can you believe it, I got picked! It starts tomorrow and is called Junior Great Books!” I couldn’t believe it! 20 years before, I remember being in her same position; finding out I was going to get to leave class to read (my favorite thing in the world!), and asking my mother to sign the slip. I am so thrilled Junior Great Books is alive and well.
Junior Great Books is one of my most treasured elementary school memories. I was always an avid reader, and this encouraged my passion and still impacts me today. It helped me read at a very advanced level, as it combined both challenging stories with comprehension exercises which help with retention and understanding. I write professionally now in the journalism field, and spend most of every day reading. When you instill the love of reading in a child early, they will carry it with them forever. I’m very thankful so see the tradition continue, now with my own daughter.
Thank you, Junior Great Books!
Laura Boyle
For a democracy to function you need an informed citizenry. I have been conducting an empirical study to determine whether life-long learning based on the Great Books is feasible. After graduation from college I led Junior Great Books in Oak Park, Illinois, and then formed an adult discussion group there as well. Then I moved to California and formed an adult Great Books group in Orange County. Then, at 74 years of age I joined a group in Boise, Idaho, where I was one of the new members of the group—it had been meeting for over 40 years. So far I’ve determined that life-long learning through reading and discussing Great Books seems to be possible.
Jack Harty
Conversation and free-wheeling aspect were memorable; the instructors allowed us the opportunity to speak our thoughts without condemnation and encouraged thinking “out-of-the-box” as we describe it today. I remember reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales quite well.
Carl Marcyan
I attended St. John Bosco catholic elementary school in Chicago and graduated in 1968. From 1964 to 1968, I attended a Junior Great Books club that met every Sunday after the children’s mass. I recall that the books came in a hard case with slim volumes, and there were a number of volumes of books. We learned a lot; analysis and presentation skills being the two that stand out in my memory. Read the book, give your analysis or opinion, engage in dialogue about it, and learn to be “wrong” in a good way. I was indeed very blessed that the adults around me were motivated to give us this exposure to these great books and to start us thinking about ourselves and the world with a strong foundation.
John McGing
I remember participating in the Junior Great Books program at Kirkmere Elementary School in Ohio in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Our group was led by a community volunteer. I thoroughly enjoyed getting out of my “regular class time” to discuss the books we were reading! I consider myself a lifelong learner and an avid reader. Hopefully I have instilled that in my children.
Cherie Kasch
In my youth I was seldom without a piece of music or a good book. I read but rarely had the opportunity to discuss with either friends or family what I’d read. Then I encountered Junior Great Books in high school, and made the delightful discovery that others my age took the same great solace and unbridled joy in reading as I did. It was a revelation that they wanted to talk about their feelings and impressions about what we had read. This development opened my entire world. From assuming I was very alone—yet firmly convinced of the worthiness of my interpretations—I discovered a window through which I could view not only the values and opinions of others but also their joys and celebrations! We took similar but also disparate journeys from the same pages. What a surprise . . . and what a comfort!
Michelle Darcy
I was pulled out of the ordinary class in second grade to participate in Junior Great Books. Reading was an amazing escape for me. . . . I have learned a lot about human nature through these stories. With these books I built myself into a strong heroine; smart, thoughtful, brave, and adventurous. I have lived an amazing life because I was given a small chance, and I took it. I raised my son on these books, and recently he told me he wants to read them again! There really was a secret door in the hedge for me, and it was through these books.
Tracy Johnson Thomas
Elisabeth P. Montgomery was pivotal in bringing Shared Inquiry and Junior Great Books to Shenzhen, China. She shared the following with us:
“In 2013, my role expanded to senior foreign advisor for internationalizing curricula, which led to the introduction of Junior General Business (Junior Great Books) within K–12 schools, further integrating Great Books into the fabric of Shenzhen’s education system. By 2019, we reached our district’s milestone: with the enlightened trainings of Great Books professional learning consultants Susan Galbraith and Michael Elsey, together we scaffolded 1,000 Great Books English teachers in China!
“In a heartwarming continuation of the Great Books legacy, my daughter, Mary Chase Montgomery-Tsui, embraced the Shared Inquiry method, completing her course training with Denise Ahlquist. With a decade of adult literacy instruction under her belt, Mary Chase found herself engaged and inspired with the Shared Inquiry approach. She says: ‘The Great Books methodology invigorated my discussions and connected me more intimately with finding textual evidence, not just my opinions. It provides a new perspective that connects and enhances effective listening, meaningful conversation, and continuous learning.’ “
When I was in fifth grade, I was selected to be in Junior Great Books. It was the first time I realized that I was a good reader. We met once a month on a Friday night. It was so exciting to be at school in the dark in our play clothes (it was a Catholic school, so no uniform was a big deal). Each grade level had a boxed set of books. Right away, I knew I wanted to collect all four sets. We had two parent volunteers who planned our meetings, and sometimes we even had treats. This was the 1964–65 school year, and I stayed in the program until I graduated from eighth grade.
Today I am a teacher. . . . I found eight wonderful volunteers to run four groups for grades 5–8. I wanted younger adults that would show the kids how cool reading is. We have just finished our second year. It has been a tremendous success . . . thank you Junior Great Books for the memories you gave to me, but also the new memories being created for my students today.
Rita E. Blickenstaff
My inner-city public school had few resources, and I remember a lucky few of us in third grade being chosen for the Junior Great books program. I clearly recall loving the contrasting literary styles in our collection, such as Xenophon’s “The Education of Cyrus” and Thackeray’s “The Rose and the Ring,” and the realization that I could go beyond children’s books. To this day I enjoy reading classics, and am a Proust-lover in particular. I am grateful for Junior Great books and happy to know they are available to today’s children.
Eia Radosavljevic
I was in a program called Project Excel in the early 1980s, and one of my favorite components was the Junior Great Books program. I still have my little red anthologies, filled with interpretive questions and notes. The selections were vastly different from those in our regular literature curriculum; they challenged me, fascinated me, and sometimes disturbed me because of their ambiguity and depth. I am convinced that my experience with JGB prepared me for upper level literary analysis and the critical thinking practices still inform the way I approach a text today.
Trina Routh