Stories Matter

Stories Matter: Books with diverse themes and characters

Stories Matter picture books:

• “More More More” Said the Baby by Vera Williams
• Skin Again by Bell Hooks
• I Could Do That!: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote by Linda Arms White
• From Far Away by Robert Munsch
• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
• Mommy, Mama, and Me by Leslea Newman
• Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match = Marisol McDonald no combina by Monica Brown
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
• Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Cullerton Johnson
• Tough Boris by Mem Fox
• Salam Alaikum: A Message of Peace by Harris J.
• The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman
• Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel
• Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino
• The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland
• Annie’s Plaid Shirt by Stacy B. Davids
• I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel
• Nabeel’s New Pants by Fawzia Gilani-Williams
• Lala Salama by Patrica MacLachlan
• Peanut-Free Tea for Three by Heather Mehra
• Sports-tastic Birthday Party by Heather Mehra
• We All Sing with the Same Voice by J. Philip Miller
• Daddy, Papa, and Me by Leslea Newman
• All Kinds of Friends by Shelley Rotner
• Diego Rivera by Duncan Tonatiuh
• The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantah Vamos
• Isaac and His Amazing Asperger Superpowers by Melanie Walsh
• Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan
• Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter
• Midday Meals Around the World by Michele Zurakowski

Books for Middle Grades:

• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• Booked by Kwame Alexander
• One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
• The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly
• Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
• Caminar by Skila Brown
• Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes
• Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
• The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
• Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
• Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say
• The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
• I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín  
• Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth
• The Warriors by Joseph Bruchac
• The Heart of a Chief by Joseph Bruchac
• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
• The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
• This Would Make a Good Story Someday by Dana Alison Levy
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
• George by Alex Gino
• One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock
• Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
• Refugee by Alan Gratz
• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
• Hidden Figures: the true story of four black women and the space race by Margot Lee Shetterly
• Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner
• Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States by Lori Marie Carlson
• The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang
• Yes! We Are Latinos by Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy
• Rad American Women A-Z by Kate Schatz
• March Trilogy by John Lewis
• Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers edited by Arigon Starr
• The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
• Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Roxane Gay and Ta-Nahisi Coates
• Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, by Ta-Nahisi Coates
• Ms. Marvel, Volume 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

Books for Young Adults:

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• American Street by Ibi Zoboi
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
• Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
• All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Want to learn about why it is important to read diverse books to your children, check these out:

Stories Matter: Resources and Activities from Neighbors United – Undoing Racism

Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors from Reading is Fundamental

Building on Window and Mirrors from the Journal of Children’s Literature