Grandparents and Elders

Teaching for Change carefully selects the best multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators. Learn about our criteria for selecting titles. 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 Powells, an independent, union labor bookstore. Titles with reviews on this site are noted with an asterisk(*).

Abuela's Weave *

By Omar S. Casteneda, Enrique O. Sanchez (Illustrator)
Recommended with caveat. See review: Abuela's Weave Review

Abuelita and I Make Flan

By Adriana Hernández Bergstrom

Abuelita and Me

By Leonarda Carranza and Rafael Mayani (Illustrator)

All Around Us*

By Xelena Gonzalez

All from a Walnut

By Ammi-Joan Paquette and Felicita Sala (Illustrator)

A-Train Allen *

By Lesley Younge and Lonnie Ollivierre (Illustrator)

Berry Song

By Michaela Goade

As Brave As You

By Jason Reynolds

Babu's Song

By Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, Aaron Boyd

The Beeman

By Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis (Illustrator)

Being Mindful Like Grandpa

By Sheri Mabry and Ilaria Urbinati (Illustrator)

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border *

By Mitali Perkins and Sara Palacios (Illustrator)

Bindu's Bindis

By Supriya Kelkar and Parvati Pillai (Illustrator)

Bird

By Zetta Eliot

Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? *

By Junauda Petrus and Kristen Uroda (Illustrator)

A Cup of Quiet

By Nikki Grimes and Cathy Ann Johnson (Illustrator)

Dance Like a Leaf

By AJ Irving and Claudia Navarro (Illustrator)

Dancing in Thatha's Footsteps

By Srividhya Venkat and Kavita Ramchandran (Illustrator)

Darius the Great Is Not Okay*

By Adib Khorram

A Day with Yayah *

By Nicola I. Campbell and Julie Flett (Illustrator)

Demetri Makes a Memory Quilt

By Renee Menart and Candice Bradley (Illustrator)

Don't Call Me Grandma

By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Drawn Together

By Minh Le, Dan Santat

Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon

By Simran Jeet Singh, Baljinder Kaur

Finding Junie Kim

By Ellen Oh

The First Blade of Sweetgrass

By Suzanne Greenlaw, Gabriel Frey, and Nancy Baker (Illustrator)

Freedom Soup

By Tami Charles

A Gift from Abuela

By Cecilia Ruiz

A Gift from Papa Diego: Un Regalo de Papa Diego

By Benjamin Alire Saenz, Geronimo Garcia (Illustrator)

Going Down Home with Daddy

By Kelly Starling Lyons

Goodnight Ganesha

By Nadia Salomon and Poonam Mistry (Illustrator)

Grandfather's Journey

By Allen Say

Grandma's Gift

By Eric Velasquez

Grandma and Me at the Flea / Los Meros Meros Remateros

By Juan Felipe Herrera

Grandma's Purple Flowers

By Adjoa J. Burrowes

Grandma's Records

By Eric Velasquez

Grandmama's Pride

By Becky Birtha and Colin Bootman (Illustrator)

Grandmother's Visit

By Betty Quan

Grandpa Across the Ocean

By Hyewon Yum

Grandpa

By Debbie Bailey, Susan Huszar (Photographer)

Grandad's Camper

By Harry Woodgate

Grandpa's Corner Store

By DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan

Grandpa's Scroll

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

Granny's Kitchen: A Jamaican Story of Food and Family

By Sadé Smith and Ken Daley (Illustrator)

Heart Berry Bling

By Jenny Kay Dupuis and Eva Campbell (Illustrator)

Hundred Years of Happiness

By Thanhhà Lai and Nguyen Quang (Illustrator)  Kim Lien (Illustrator)

Jayden's Impossible Garden

By Mélina Mangal and Ken Daley (Illustrator)

I Dream of Popo

By Livia Blackburne and Julia Kuo (Illustrator)

I'll Go and Come Back

By Rajani Larocca and Sara Palacios (Illustrator)

Indian Shoes

By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Jim Madsen (Illustrator)

Johnny's Pheasant*

By Cheryl Minnema

Joy Takes Root

By Gwendolyn Wallace and Ashleigh Corrin (Illustrator)

Just a Minute!: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book *

By Yuyi Morales

Just Like Grandma *

By Kim Rogers and Julie Flett (Illustrator)

The Katha Chest

By Radhiah Chowdhury and Lavanya Naidu (Illustrator)

Kiyoshi’s Walk *

By Mark Karlins and Nicole Wong (Illustrator)

Ladder to the Moon

By Maya Soetoro-Ng and Yuyi Morales (Illustrator)

Last Stop on Market Street*

By Matt De La Pena, Christian Robinson (Illustrator)

 

Leila in Saffron

By Rukhsanna Guidroz and Dinara Mirtalipova (Illustrator)

Like So

By Ruth Forman and Raissa Figueroa (Illustrator)

Mango, Abuela, and Me *

By Meg Medina, Angela Dominguez (Illustrator)

Mariana and Her Familia

By Mónica Mancillas and Erika Meza (Illustrator)

Memory Garden

By Zohreh Ghahremani and Susie Ghahremani (Illustrator)

Miss Tizzy

By Libba Moore Gray, Jada Rowland (Illustrator)

A Morning with Grandpa*

By Sylvia Liu, Christina Forshay (Illustrator)

My Abuelita

By Tony Johnston, Yuyi Morales (Illustrator)

My Baba's Garden

By Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith (Illustrator)

My Dadima Wears A Sari

By Kashmira Sheth

My Grandma and Me *

By Mina Javaherbin

My Grandma's Photos

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

My Hands Tell a Story *

By Kelly Starling Lyons and Tonya Engel (Illustrator)

Mystery Bottle

By Kristen Balouch

nipehon / I Wait*

By Caitlin Nicholson, Leona Morin-Nelson (Translator)

No Mirrors in My Nana's House [With CD]

By Ysaye M. Barnwell, Synthia Saint James (Illustrator)

Nothing Special

By Desiree Cooper and Bec Sloane (Illustrator)

Octopus Stew

By Eric Velasquez

Ojiichan's Gift

By Chieri Uegaki, Genevieve Simms (Illustrator)

The One Day House

By Julia Durango and Bianca Diaz (Illustrator)
Also available in Spanish: La Casa de Algún Día

Our Favorite Day

By Joowon Oh

Our Granny

By Margaret Wild, Julie Vivas (Illustrator)

The Pie Reports

By Hayley Lowe

Plátanos Are Love

By Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and Mariyah Rahman (Illustrator)

Playing Loteria /El Juego de La Loteria (Bilingual)

By Rene Colato Lainez, Jill Arena (Illustrator)

Punky Aloha

Written and illustrated by Shar Tuiasoa

Raaga's Song: A Diwali Story

By Navina Chhabria

The Remember Balloons

By Jessie Oliveros and Dana Wulfekotte (Illustrator)

Saltypie a Choctaw Journey from Darkness Into Light *

By Tim Tingle, Karen Clarkson

The Secret of the Jade Bangle

By Linda Trinh and Clayton Nguyen (Illustrator)

Singin' with Momma Lou

By Linda Jacobs Altman, Larry Johnson

Singing with Elephants

By Margarita Engle

Sofia Valdez Future Prez

By Andrea Beaty and David Roberts

A Song of Frutas

By Margarita Engle and Sara Palacios (Illustrator)

Soul Food Sunday

By Winsome Bingham and C. G. Esperanza (Illustrator)

Spanish Is the Language of My Family

By Michael Genhart and John Parra (Illustrator)

Swashby and the Sea *

By Beth Ferry and Juana Martinez-Neal (Illustrator)

Tea Cakes for Tosh*

By Kelly Starling Lyons

 

Ten Beautiful Things *

By Molly Griffin and Maribel Lechuga (Illustrator)

Ten Ways to Hear Snow

By Cathy Camper and  Kenard Pak (Illustrator)
Spanish edition available: Diez maneras de escuchar la nieve

 

These Hands

By Margaret H. Mason, Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)

Time for Bed, Old House

By Janet Costa Bates and A. G. Ford (Illustrator)

Tofu Takes Time

By Helen H. Wu and Julie Jarema (Illustrator)

The Turtle of Oman

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Violet the Snowgirl: A Story of Loss and Healing

By Lisa L. Walsh and Wendy Leach (Illustrator)

The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll)

By Winsome Bingham and E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

We Dream Medicine Dreams

By Lisa Boivin

When Lola Visits

By Michelle Sterling and Aaron Asis (Illustrator)

When Spring Comes to the DMZ

By Uk-Bae Lee

Where Three Oceans Meet *

By Rajani Larocca and Archana Sreenivasan (Illustrator)

Where Wonder Grows

By Xelena Gonzalez

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

By Mem Fox, Julie Vivas (Illustrator)

The Witch of the Woods

By Zetta Elliott and Purple Wong (Illustrator)

With Lots of Love *

By Jenny Torres Sanchez and André Ceolin (Illustrator)

The Year We Learned to Fly *

By Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López (Illustrator)

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