Common Read
2026 Common Read
The Thomas College Common Read is our invitation to join our academic community of individuals who share and explore ideas with each other.
Josh Tuininga is known as an author and artist. He received the National EGLA Award for Best Young Adult Non-Fiction Graphic Novel and was the Sophie Brady Medal Honoree by the American Library Association, both in 2024.
He describes himself as “an author, designer, and cartoonist who moonlights as an art teacher.”
In We Are Not Strangers, Tuininga retells the story of his family member’s courage and care for his community during World War II. Tuininga reveals that he was unaware of his family member’s selfless acts and their far-reaching impacts until his funeral.
Common Read Instructions
We Are Not Strangers is available through the Thomas College virtual bookstore, local libraries, or wherever you get your print or digital books.
After reading and reflecting on this year’s selection, We Are Not Strangers by Josh Tuininga, create a written, video, or graphic panel response to one of the options listed in the assignment. During New Terrier Orientation in September, you will have an opportunity to discuss what you have produced along with other students in your class.
Your response is due through the Onboarding Checklist in Canvas by Monday, September 7.
Previous Common Reads
- The Book of Delights, Ross Gay
- “Starlings in Winter,” Mary Oliver
- “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman
- “Still We Rise” and “On the Pulse of Morning,” Maya Angelou
- We Should All Be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
- A Hope in the Unseen, Ron Suskind
- I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
- Dear Marcus, Jerry McGill
- An Invisible Thread, Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
- The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore
- Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
- The Pact, Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt
- The Last Lecture, Jeffrey Zaslow and Randy Pausch
- Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
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