The House That Jane Built: A Story about Jane Addams


Tanya Lee Stone - 2015
    She wanted to live right in the middle of the roughest, poorest communities and create a place where people could go to find food, work, and help. In 1889, she bought a house in a run-down Chicago neighborhood and turned it into a settlement home, adding on playgrounds, kindergartens, and a public bath. By 1907, Hull House included thirteen buildings. And by the early 1920s, more than 9,000 people visited Jane's home each week. An inspiration to all, Jane Addams continues to be a role model to girls and women of all ages.This title has Common Core connections.

Juneteenth for Mazie


Floyd Cooper - 2015
    She is ready to celebrate freedom. She is ready to celebrate a great day in American history — the day her ancestors were no longer slaves. Mazie remembers the struggles and the triumph, as she gets ready to celebrate Juneteenth.This beautiful story by award-winning author and illustrator Floyd Cooper will captivate both children and adults.

Love Makes a Family


Sophie Beer - 2018
    and that's love. A book for EVERY family by dazzling illustrator Sophie Beer.

Pomelo Explores Color


Ramona Badescu - 2012
    He encounters the infinite white of falling snow, the hypnotizing red of love, and the shadowy blue of the unknown. The colors describe our concrete world, but also reflect emotional states, as well as the curious, oddball sensibility of our dear Pomelo.Ramona Badescu was born in 1980 in southern Romania. She arrived in France at the age of eleven and started to write for children ten years later. She lives in the wonderfully diverse French city of Marseille.Benjamin Chaud lives and works in Paris, France. He has illustrated an impressive number of picture books and has written at least one as well.

Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You


Sonia Sotomayor - 2019
    But in the same way that different types of plants and flowers make a garden more beautiful and enjoyable, different types of people make our world more vibrant and wonderful.In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges—and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same: When we come across someone who is different from us but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.

Missing Daddy


Mariame Kaba - 2019
    In this story, a little girl who misses her father because he's away in prison shares how his absence affects different parts of her life. Her greatest excitement is the days when she gets to visit her beloved father. With gorgeous illustrations, this book depicts a little girl's love for her father from whom she is separated because of incarceration.Includes author's note and discussion guide.

The Thingumajig Book of Manners


Irene Keller - 1981
    They never say "Thank you" and they never say "Please." They are a hilarious study in bad manners, but while children are laughing at the Thingumajigs' antics, they are also learning good manners from each page's contrasting example.

The Anne Frank Case: Simon Wiesenthal's Search for the Truth


Susan Goldman Rubin - 2009
    This inspiring and suspenseful account testifies to the difference that one person's dedication can make.

Marvelous Maravilloso: Me and My Beautiful Family


Carrie Lara - 2018
    Marvelous Maravilloso is a story from the point of view of a young interracial child about what color means within the dynamics of race, ethnicity, and culture.

Introducing Teddy: A Gentle Story About Gender and Friendship


Jessica Walton - 2016
    Then Thomas the Teddy finally tells Errol what Teddy has been afraid to say: 'In my heart, I've always known that I'm a girl Teddy, not a boy Teddy. I wish my name was Tilly.' And Errol says, 'I don't care if you're a girl teddy or a boy teddy! What matters is that you are my friend.'

IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All


Chelsea Johnson - 2019
    The nine interconnected characters proudly describe themselves and their backgrounds, involving topics that range from a physical disability to language brokering, offering an opportunity to take pride in a personal storyand connect to collective struggle for justice.The group bond grounds the message of allyship and equality. When things get hard, the kids support each other for who they are: Parker defends Kate, a genderfluid character who eschews skirts for a superhero cape; Heejung welcomes Yuri, a refugee escaping war, into their community; and Alejandra’s family cares for Parker after school while her mother works. Advocating respect and inclusion, IntersectionAllies is a necessary tool for learning to embrace, rather than shy away from, difference.Featuring gorgeous illustrations on every page by Ashley Seil Smith, as well as powerful introductions by activist and law professor Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw, who coined the term “intersectionality,” and Dr. Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, author of Intersectionality: An Intellectual History.

The Last Wild Witch: An Eco-Fable for Kids and Other Free Spirits


Starhawk - 2009
    The first children's book by visionary author and Earth activist Starhawk, 'The Last Wild Witch' is a tale of how the children of the perfect town save the last magic forest from disappearing.

The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra: The Sound of Joy is Enlightening


Chris Raschka - 2014
    Jazz musician Sun Ra (1914–1993) always said that he came from Saturn. Being from another planet, he was naturally intrigued by everything earthly — especially music, because music is the one thing on Earth most like the stars. Earthlings themselves confused Sun Ra, the way they sorted themselves by color and fought wars against one another. So he made music. And he traveled with other musicians and singers, calling themselves the Sun Ra Arkestra, playing, singing, and dancing for people all over the planet. Because music, he said, is what holds us all together. Join acclaimed author-illustrator Chris Raschka in celebrating a legend of the jazz world who was truly one of a kind.

Big Al


Andrew Clements - 1988
    And in the whole wide blue sea you can't find a nicer fish. But because Big Al is large and scary-looking, the little fish are afraid to get to know him. What can he do? He tries everything he can think of -- from disguising himself with seaweed to burrowing under the ocean floor so he'll look smaller. But something always goes wrong, and lonely Big Al wonders if he'll ever have a single friend. Then one frightening day, when a fishing net captures the other fish, Big Al gets the chance to prove what a wonderful friend he can be!

Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World


Susan HoodSara Palacios - 2018
    From the award-winning author of Ada’s Violin, Susan Hood, this is a poetic and visual picture book that celebrates persistent women throughout history. Among the powerful pairings: Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall takes on heroic World War II spies Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne; Selina Alko is matched with the brave Malala Yousafzai; New York Times bestselling illustrator Emily Winfield Martin is paired with the inventor of the controversial one-piece bathing suit, Annette Kellerman; and Shadra Strickland introduces America’s first known female firefighter, Molly Williams. While women make up over half of the U.S. population, they face discrimination, have less representation in government and other fields, and struggle every day for their human rights. It is more important now than ever to raise a generation of girls who, in the face of adversity, persevere. This book was written, illustrated, edited, and designed by women. Includes a foreword by a prominent female activist, an author’s note, a timeline, and additional resources. This book features: Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Hadley Hooper, Emily Winfield Martin, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Sara Palacios, LeUyen Pham, Erin Robinson, Isabel Roxas, Shadra Strickland, and Melissa Sweet.