13 Books for Constitution Day

Looking for books for Constitution Day? You probably should be! Here’s why…

Did you know that observing Constitution Day is more than a school tradition? It’s literally required by federal law.

The law passed in 2004 and states: “Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17.” If September 17 falls on a weekend or holiday, the program may be held during the preceding or following week.

You can read the full requirement in 36 U.S.C. § 106. You can find more information and teaching resources on the US Department of Education webpage for Constitution Day.

I did not know any of this until just a few years ago! My middle school’s social studies teachers gave us Constitution Day lessons to use during advisory, and I assumed it was simply a district requirement. Maybe the federal requirement part was buried in an email somewhere? I was a librarian with an advisory class of my own, but for me at least, it was just something else we had to do during advisory with little notice or context. I can’t imagine I was alone in that sentiment.

In retrospect, I would have done a lot better if I could just do a read-aloud and discussion with my advisory students. I have never done well with lessons I didn’t have a hand in creating, but read-alouds are my jam!

So, if you’re looking for a Constitution Day read-aloud, this list offers options for readers of all ages. I also have some Constitution Day Checkout Challenges if you are looking for a no-prep activity to go with it.

See these titles in my Amazon lists.

This is my #1 pick for a Constitution Day read-aloud for all ages! This is illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, one of my favorite picture book illustrators. This picture book focuses on equality, justice, and civil rights and how the Constitution protects everyone regardless of race, color, religion, gender, age, social class, and identity. The illustrations feature a wide variety of people with different skin tones, abilities, ages, clothing, and body types. Just lovely!

I learned about this case when I was studying for my ESL teaching endorsement in Texas. In 1977, nine-year-old Alfredo Lopez and his family challenged discrimination and laws that kept immigrant children out of public school. Their Texas court case ultimately went to the Supreme Court in 1982 in Plyler v. Doe. This case illuminates the Fourteenth Amendment and the principle that every child deserves access to a free education.

This picture-book biography follows a determined girl from Montana as she grows into a political trailblazer. Jeanette Rankin was the first woman elected to US Congress. Incredibly, she was elected in 1916, before women could even vote in US elections. Her work in Congress was instrumental in the passing of the 19th Amendment.

This picture-book biography follows Thurgood Marshall’s work as an NAACP attorney and Supreme Court justice. It connects his fight against segregation and racial prejudice to civil rights, the Constitution, and Brown v. Board of Education.

Equality’s Call introduces lots of civics vocabulary, particularly around voting rights. This is a also a great choice around Election Day in the US. The book traces the long struggle to expand voting rights in the United States. It introduces young readers to suffrage, equality, civil rights, and the constitutional amendments that shaped access to the ballot.

This colorful and engaging nonfiction book revisits familiar stories about America’s founding and compares the myths with the historical record. It encourages critical thinking about Native peoples, slavery, equality, civil rights, women’s suffrage, and the nation’s founding documents. America’s Founding Myths is easy-to-browse and has bright, colorful illustrations on every page. Use it to introduce what primary sources are and why they are important. You can also discuss the importance of being able to read cursive handwriting, as many primary sources are written in cursive.

This nonfiction account tells how Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and other activists organized the 1913 women’s march in Washington, D.C. It introduces the protests and persistence that helped lead to the Nineteenth Amendment.

This accessible nonfiction book breaks down the United States Constitution and all 27 amendments, the three branches of government, checks and balances, political parties, and court cases. The pages have ample white space and are illustrated with colorful drawings, textboxes, graphs, charts, and callouts.

This guide uses legal cases and real-world issues to explain the rights protected by the First Amendment. Young readers learn how freedom of speech, protest, censorship, and activism connect to their own lives and civic power. An excellent choice for students interested in law or politics as a future career.

This nonfiction history surveys more than two centuries of struggles over voting rights in the United States. It connects suffrage movements, constitutional amendments, the Civil Rights Act, and continuing debates about democracy and access to the ballot. This title is quite relevant even today as voting rights are being debated as we head into the 2026 mid-term elections.

This updated history examines the compromises, conflicts, and structural weaknesses embedded in the Constitution. It connects debates from the 1770s to current questions about presidential power, impeachment, corruption, and American government. Timely indeed.

I recently read Paper Girl by Beth Macy, and an important premise in that book is the decline of local news and involvement in local politics as one reason for extreme political polarization. This nonfiction book explores freedom of the press and its importance in a democracy. It connects the First Amendment to journalism, politics, elections, free speech, fake news, and the responsibilities involved in producing and evaluating news.

This narrative nonfiction account examines the false accusations and deeply unjust trials of the Scottsboro Boys. It places the case within Jim Crow America and explores racism, criminal justice, civil rights, and Fourteenth Amendment protections. The story is especially heartbreaking because three of the young men—Haywood Patterson, Charles Weems, and Andy Wright—did not receive posthumous pardons until 2013, more than 80 years after their wrongful convictions.