Here are some children’s books we have enjoyed that revolve around issues of identity, race, gender and inclusion.
For even more ideas, check out the Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners.
‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ by Lesléa Newman (3-7)
‘Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills’ by Renee Watson (4-7)
‘Spork’ by Kyo Maclear (4-7)
‘Julian is a Mermaid’ by Jessica Love (4-8)
‘Red’ by Michael Hall (4-8)
‘Not Quite Narwhal’ by Jessie Sima (4-8)
‘The Colors of Us’ by Karen Katz (4-8)
‘The Skin You Live In’ by Michael Tyler (4-8)
‘I Like Me’ by Nancy Carlson (3-6)
‘We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga’ by Traci Sorell (3-7)
‘Happy in Our Skin’ by Fran Manushkin (4-6)
‘Little Sweet Potato’ by Amy Beth Bloom (4-8)
‘Sulwe’ by Lupita Nyong’o (4-8)
‘I Am Enough’ by Grace Beyers (4-8)
‘The Story of Ruby Bridges’ by Robert Coles (4-8)
‘Shades of People’ by Shelley Rotner and Shiela M. Kelly (4-8)
‘Mixed’ by Arree Chung (4-8)
‘Henry's Freedom Box’ by Ellen Levine (4-8)
‘One Family’ by George Shannon (4-8)
‘Last Stop on Market Street’ by Matt de la Pena (4-8)
‘Emmanuel’s Dream’ by Laurie Ann Thompson and Sean Qualls (4-8)
‘Mary Wears What She Wants’ by Keith Negley (4-8)
‘Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too)’ by Keith Negley (4-8)
‘Rosa’ by Nikki Giovanni (4-8)
‘The Whispering Town’ by Jennifer Elvgren (4-8)
‘I Am Human’ by Susan Verde (4-8)
‘Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story’ by Reem Faruqi (5-8)
‘The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale’ by Grace Lin (4-8)
‘Each Kindness’ by Jacqueline Woodson (5-8)
‘Malala’s Magic Pencil’ by Malala Yousafzai (5-8)
‘The Other Side’ by Jacqueline Woodson (5-8)
‘Mango, Abuela, and Me’ by Meg Medina (5-8)
‘I’m New Here’ by Anne Sibley O’Brien (5-8)
‘The Day You Begin’ by Jacqueline Woodson (5-8)
‘This is How We Do It’ by Matt Lamothe (5-8)
‘Grace for President’ by Kelly DiPucchio (5-9)
‘They He She Me: Free to Be!’ by Maya Christina Gonzalez and Matthew SG (6-9)
‘Let the Children March’ by Monica Clark-Robinson (6-9)
‘Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice’ by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard (5-9)
‘Separate is Never Equal’ by Duncan Tonatiuh (6-9)
‘Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History’ by Vashti Harrison (6-12)
‘Intersection Allies: We Make Room for All’ by Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, Carolyn Choi, and Ashley Seil Smith (6-12)
‘When I Was Eight’ by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak- Fenton (6-9)
‘In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers’ by Folami Abiade (8-11)
‘Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation’ by Edwidge Danticat (8-12)
‘Gone Crazy in Alabama’ by Rita Williams-Garcia (8-12)
‘George’ by Alex Gino (8-12)
‘Listen, Slowly’ by Thanhha Lai (8-12)
‘Full Cicada Moon’ by Marilyn Hilton (8-12)
‘Blended’ by Sharon M. Draper (8-12)
‘Schomburg, The Man Who Built a Library’ by Carole Boston Weatherford (8-12)
‘Young Water Protectors...A Story About Standing Rock’ by Aslan Tudor (9-12)
‘Fatty Legs’ by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak- Fenton (9-11)
‘Black Women in Science’ by Kimberly Brown Pellum Phd (9-12)
‘Voice of Freedom, Fannie Lou Hamer’ by Carole Boston Weatherford (10+)
‘The 57 Bus’ by Dashka Slater (13+)
Read-Alouds with Diverse Readers:
Michelle Obama reads ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’ and ‘Can I Be Your Dog?’
Jaime Camil reads ‘Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies,’ available in Spanish and English
Oprah Winfrey reads ‘The Hoola-Hoopin’ Queen’
Karan Brar reads ‘The Kiss that Missed’
Molly Ephraim reads “Hanukkah in Alaska’
Angela Bassett reads ‘Trombone Shorty’
Rami Malek reads ‘The Empty Pot’
Vanessa Marano & Katie Leclerc read ‘Chester’s Way’
Dulé Hill reads ‘As Fast as Words Could Fly’
Michelle Yeoh reads ‘Lotus & Feather’
Michelle and Barack Obama read ‘The Word Collector’
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center reads ‘Something Happened in our Town’ (this book discusses sensitive material, you may want to view it privately before sharing with your child)