Diverse Book List: 6-8

The Birchbark House

Author: Louise Erdrich

Description: The first in a series of books about a Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe. This series is a great companion read to the Little House on the Prairie series, as it shows what is missing or mis-represented.

Crossover

Author: Kwame Alexander

Description: A coming-of-age tale about two twin brothers, Josh and Jordan, who must come to grips with growing up on and off the basketball court to realize breaking rules comes at a terrible price.

The Hate U Give

Author: Angie Thomas

Description: Starr Carter, a teenage Black girl, navigates two worlds: the urban neighborhood where she lives and the suburban prep school she attends, while also dealing with the trauma of witnessing the fatal police shooting of her unarmed childhood best friend, Khalil.

Journey of Dreams 

Author: Marge Pellegrino

Description: A book detailing a Central American refugee family’s flee for safety and their journey to the United States.

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

Author: Joseph Marshall III

Description: A contemporary Native American boy learns about the history of Crazy Horse in a journey with his grandfather.

One Crazy Summer

Author: Rita Williams-Garcia

Description: A novel about three sisters who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them. The sisters soon discover that their mother is nothing like they imagined.

Papers: Stories by Undocumented Youth

Editors: Anne Galisky, Jose Manuel, Cesar Pineda, Rebecca Shine

Description: A collection of 30 stories by undocumented youth (ages 10-32) born in countries throughout the world and raised in the United States.

A Raisin in the Sun

Author: Lorraine Hansberry

Description: A play that portrays a few weeks in the life of the Younger family, an African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s.

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano

Author: Sonia Manzano

Description: Set in 1969, Puerto Rican teenager Evelyn Serrano experiences two revolutions: the Young Lords coming to her community in East Harlem and her own coming of age.

Sugar

Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes

Description: Historical fiction about Reconstruction-era Louisiana through the eyes of a young girl who bridges the cultural and language divide between the long-time plantation workers and the Chinese indentured servants.

Sylvia & Aki

Author: Winifred Conkling

Description: Based on the true story of two girls who meet in 1940s California and the ground-breaking Mendez vs. Westminster School District desegregation lawsuit.

Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hammer:

Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Description: Stirring poems and stunning collage illustrations combine to celebrate the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, a champion of equal voting rights.

Yes! We Are Latinos!

Authors: Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy

Description: A non-fiction book featuring the rich diversity of the Latinx experience in the United States.

Zora and Me

Authors: Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon

Description: A coming-of-age story inspired by the early life of Zora Neale Hurston.