Book picks similar to
We Move the World by Kari Lavelle


picture-books
picture-book
non-fiction
history

Dorothea Lange: The Photographer Who Found the Faces of the Depression


Carole Boston Weatherford - 2017
    A case of polio had left her with a limp and sympathetic to those less fortunate. Traveling across the United States, documenting with her camera and her fieldbook those most affected by the stock market crash, she found the face of the Great Depression. In this picture book biography, Carole Boston Weatherford with her lyrical prose captures the spirit of the influential photographer.

Stand Up and Sing!: Pete Seeger, Folk Music, and the Path to Justice


Susanna Reich - 2017
    Coming of age during the Great Depression, Pete saw poverty and adversity that would forever shape his worldview, but it wasn't until he received his first banjo that he found his way to change the world. It was plucking banjo strings and singing folk songs that showed Pete how music had the incredible power to bring people together.Using this gift throughout his life, Pete encouraged others to rally behind causes that mattered--fighting for Civil Rights, ending the Vietnam War, or cleaning up the Hudson River. For Pete, no challenge was too great, and what started out as a love for music turned into a lifetime of activism and change. His greatest talent--and greatest passion--would become an unforgettable part of American history.

Charlie Takes His Shot: How Charlie Sifford Broke the Color Barrier in Golf


Nancy Churnin - 2018
    Sifford had won plenty of black tournaments, but he was determined to break the color barrier in the PGA. In 1960 he did, only to face discrimination from hotels that wouldn’t rent him rooms and clubs that wouldn’t let him use the same locker as the white players. But Sifford kept playing, becoming the first black golfer to win a PGA tournament and eventually ranking among the greats in golf.

Three Lines in a Circle : The Exciting Life of the Peace Symbol


Michael G. Long - 2021
    One line to the right. One line to the left, then a circle. That was all—just three lines in a circle.This bold picture book tells the story of the peace symbol—designed in 1958 by a London activist protesting nuclear weapons—and how it inspired people all over the world. Depicting the symbol's travels from peace marches and liberation movements to the end of apartheid and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Three Lines in a Circle offers a message of inspiration to today's children and adults who are working to create social change. An author’s note provides historical background and a time line of late twentieth-century peace movements.One line straight down. One line to the right. One line to the left, then a circle. That was all—just three lines in a circle.This bold picture book tells the story of the peace symbol—designed in 1958 by a London activist protesting nuclear weapons—and how it inspired people all over the world. Depicting the symbol's travels from peace marches and liberation movements to the end of apartheid and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Three Lines in a Circle offers a message of inspiration to today's children and adults who are working to create social change. An author’s note provides historical background and a time line of late twentieth-century peace movements.

Dark Was the Night: Blind Willie Johnson's Journey to the Stars


Gary Golio - 2020
    But his childhood was interrupted when he lost his mother and his sight. How does a blind boy make his way in the world? Fortunately for Willie, the music saved him and brought him back into the light. His powerful voice, combined with the wailing of his slide guitar, moved people. Willie made a name for himself performing on street corners all over Texas. And one day he hit it big when he got a record deal and his songs were played on the radio. Then in 1977, his song--Dark Was the Night--was chosen to light up the darkness when it was launched into space on the Voyager I space probe's famous Golden Record. His immortal song was selected for the way it expresses the loneliness humans all feel, while reminding us we're not alone.

A Brief History of Underpants


Christine Van Zandt - 2021
     Gain a whole new understanding of underthings as you:Learn which ruler was buried with over 100 pairs of underwear.Discover how people kept their underclothes from falling off before elastic was invented.Find out why some underwear was made from feathers.And much, much more!Zany illustrations add to the humor, and step-by-step instructions teach real dyeing and washing techniques used hundreds of years ago. Interact with the topic directly by turning the reveal wheel on the front cover to see underwear evolve through the ages.

Saving American Beach: The Biography of African American Environmentalist Mavynee Betsch


Heidi Tyline King - 2021
    

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know


Traci Sorell - 2021
    This companion book to the award-winning We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga offers readers everything they never learned in school about Native American people's past, present, and future. Precise, lyrical writing presents topics including: forced assimilation (such as boarding schools), land allotment and Native tribal reorganization, termination (the US government not recognizing tribes as nations), Native urban relocation (from reservations), self-determination (tribal self-empowerment), Native civil rights, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), religious freedom, economic development (including casino development), Native language revival efforts, cultural persistence, and nationhood.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia


Miranda Paul - 2015
    But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.

Shaped by Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez


Anna Harber Freeman - 2021
    She grew up to discover a new firing technique that turned her pots black and shiny, and made them--and Maria--famous. This inspiring story of family and creativity illuminates how Maria's belief in sharing her love of clay brought success and joy from her New Mexico Pueblo to people all across the country.

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage


Selina Alko - 2015
    That was the year that the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving v. Virginia.This is the story of one brave family: Mildred Loving, Richard Perry Loving, and their three children. It is the story of how Mildred and Richard fell in love, and got married in Washington, D.C. But when they moved back to their hometown in Virginia, they were arrested (in dramatic fashion) for violating that state's laws against interracial marriage. The Lovings refused to allow their children to get the message that their parents' love was wrong and so they fought the unfair law, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court - and won!

Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice


Nikki Grimes - 2020
    From fighting for the use of a soccer field in middle school to fighting for the people of her home state in Congress, Senator Harris used her voice to speak up for what she believed in and for those who were otherwise unheard. And now this dedication has led her all the way to being elected Vice President of the United States.

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors


Hena Khan - 2012
    From a red prayer rug to a blue hijab, everyday colors are given special meaning as young readers learn about clothing, food, and other important elements of Islamic culture, with a young Muslim girl as a guide. Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns is equally at home in a classroom reading circle as it is being read to a child on a parent's lap.

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist


Cynthia Levinson - 2017
    As she listened to the preacher’s words, smooth as glass, she sat up tall. And when she heard the plan—picket those white stores! March to protest those unfair laws! Fill the jails!—she stepped right up and said, I’ll do it! She was going to j-a-a-il!Audrey Faye Hendricks was confident and bold and brave as can be, and hers is the remarkable and inspiring story of one child’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.

Malala, a Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal, a Brave Boy from Pakistan: Two Stories of Bravery


Jeanette Winter - 2014
    Two stories of bravery in one beautiful book!Meet two brave young heroes of Pakistan who stood up for the right to freedom and education in this inspirational nonfiction picture book from acclaimed author-illustrator Jeanette Winter.One country: Pakistan. Two children: Iqbal Masih and Malala Yousafzai. Each was unafraid to speak out. He, against inhumane child slavery in the carpet trade. She, for the right of girls to attend school. Both were shot by those who disagreed with them—he in 1995, she in 2012. Iqbal was killed instantly; Malala miraculously survived and continues to speak out around the world.The stories of these two courageous children whose bravery transcended their youth are an inspiration to all.