Titles that we recommend are featured below. The ones with reviews are noted with an asterisk (*). Some titles are recommended with a caveat.

Elementary | Middle School | Young Adult / Adult

All from a Walnut

By Ammi-Joan Paquette and Felicita Sala (Illustrator)

Belinda Lifts Her Voice / Belinda eleva su voz

By Luisa Orellana-Castillo, Camila de la Luz Villegas, Brizel Martinez Cruz, and Romeo Montero (Illustrator)

Bird

By Zetta Eliot

Dance Like a Leaf

By AJ Irving and Claudia Navarro (Illustrator)

Empty and Me: A Tale of Friendship and Loss *

By Azam Mahdavi and Maryam Tahmasebi (Illustrator)

Georgia in the Jungle: A Story of Grief and Healing

By Victoria Johnson, Jesse Holmes, and India Valle (Illustrator)

Goodbye: A First Conversation About Grief

By Megan Madison,  Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas (Illustrator)

Grandad's Camper

By Harry Woodgate

Grandpa's Scroll

By Ginger Park,  Frances Park, and Kim Dong Hoon (Illustrator)

The Language of Flowers

By Shyala Smith and Aaron Asis (Illustrator)

A Letter for Bob *

By Kim Rogers and Jonathan Nelson

The Longest Storm

By Dan Yaccarino

Malaika, Carnival Queen

By Nadia L. Hohn and Irene Luxbacher (Illustrator)

A Map into the World

By Kao Kalia Yang

My Grandma's Photos

By Özge Bahar Sunar, Senta Urgan (Illustrator), and Amy Marie Spangler (Translator)

Pockets of Love *

By Yamile Saied Méndez and Sara Palacios (Illustrator)

Remember *

By Joy Harjo and Michaela Goade (Illustrator)

The Remember Balloons

By Jessie Oliveros and Dana Wulfekotte (Illustrator)

Singing with Elephants

By Margarita Engle

Ten Beautiful Things *

By Molly Griffin and Maribel Lechuga (Illustrator)

Violet the Snowgirl: A Story of Loss and Healing

By Lisa L. Walsh and Wendy Leach (Illustrator)

A Walk in the Woods

By Nikki Grimes, Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator), and Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)

We Dream Medicine Dreams

By Lisa Boivin

The Order of Things

By Kaija Langley

Samira Surfs

By Rukhsanna Guidroz and Fahmida Azim (Illustrator)

All My Rage *

By Sabaa Tahir

I Am Alfonso Jones *

By Tony Medina, Stacey Robinson (Illustrator), and John Jennings (Illustrator), foreword by Bryan Stevenson

I Will See You Again

By Lisa Boivin
Free PDF: Reader's Guide to I Will See You Again

 

When a Brown Girl
Flees *

By Aamna Qureshi

When the Vibe Is Right

By Sarah Dass

 

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Learn about our criteria for selecting titles at Social Justice Books. Feedback on these lists and suggestions for additional titles are welcome.

Most of the books on these lists are linked for more information or purchase to Bookshop (an indie bookstore platform) and / or Powells.com (an independent, unionized bookstore). A small percentage from book sales through these links goes to Teaching for Change.

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