Books and stories are great tools to help kids understand big issues going on in our country today. These titles, ranging from picture books to chapter books, can be great conversation starters about diversity, racism, activism, and empathy.
Picture Books
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
We March by Shane Evans
I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoët
The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman
Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds
Shades of People by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Earl B. Lewis
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López
Illustrated Non-Fiction Books
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian J. Pinkney
Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh
Chapter Books & Graphic Novels
The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert
New Kid by Jerry Craft
Blended by Sharon Draper
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
Harbor Me by Jacquline Woodson
Front Desk by Kelly Yang