Grades 6 and 7
Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter by Yohuru R. Williams
An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier- breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights.
Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963 by Sharon Robinson
In January of 1963, Sharon Robinson turned thirteen the night before George Wallace declared on national television 'segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever' in his inauguration for governor of Alabama. That was the start of a year that would become one of the most pivotal years in the history of America. As the daughter of Jackie Robinson, Sharon had incredible access to some of the most important events of the era, including her family hosting several fundraisers for Martin Luther King Jr. at their home in Connecticut, other Civil Rights heroes of the day calling Jackie Robinson for advice and support, and even attending the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs. But Sharon was also dealing with her own personal problems like going through puberty, being one of the only black children in her wealthy Connecticut neighborhood, and figuring out her own role in the fight for equality. This memoir follows Sharon as she goes through that incredible year of her life.
Mexikid by Pedro MartĂn
Pedro Martin's grown up in the U.S. hearing stories about his legendary abuelito, but during a family road trip to Mexico, he connects with his grandfather and learns more about his own Mexican identity in this moving and hilarious graphic memoir.
Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estalla Butler by Ibi Zoboi
Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler experienced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death.
The Sun Does Shine: an Innocent man, a Wrongful Conviction, and the Long Path to Justice by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit, now adapted for younger readers. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested, charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama, and sentenced to death. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that he was innocent and that the truth would prove this and ultimately set him free. He spent his first three years on Death Row in silence-angry and full of hatred for all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. Slowly, Hinton resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon-transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, and with the help of attorney Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.
We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson
This is a memoir of George's boyhood in New Jersey, growing up with their brother and two cousins, all under the supervision of their larger-than-life grandmother.
We're in This Together: A Young Readers Edition of We Are Not Here to be Bystanders by Linda Sarsour
An inspiring and empowering young readers edition of We Are Not Here to be Bystanders, the memoir by Women's March coorganizer and activist Linda Sarsour. In this middle grade edition of We Are Not Here to be Bystanders, Linda Sarsour shares the memories that shaped her into the activist she is today, and how these pivotal moments in her life led her to being an organizer in one of the largest single-day protests in US history. From the Brooklyn bodega her father owned to the streets of Washington, DC, Linda's story as a daughter of Palestinian immigrants is a moving portrayal of what it means to find your voice in your youth and use it for the good of others as an adult.
Grades 7 and 8
Apple Skin to the Core by Eric Gainsworth
The term "Apple" is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly "red on the outside, white on the inside." Eric Gansworth is telling his story in Apple (Skin to the Core). The story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds. Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking.
Being Jazz: My life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings
Teen activist and trailblazer Jazz Jennings--named one of "The 25 most influential teens" of the year by Time--shares her very public transgender journey, as she inspires people to accept the differences in others while they embrace their own truths.
Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen
Born into the middle of World War II, Gary Paulsen's turbulent childhood provided plenty of subject matter for his bestselling novels, and the librarians in his life gave him the inspiration and support to explore the world through books. As a soldier himself, his storytelling technique developed, and for the first time he shares his own.
How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson
The author reflects on her childhood in the 1950s and her development as an artist and young woman through fifty poems that consider such influences as the Civil Rights Movement, the "Red Scare" era, and the feminist movement.
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
The autobiography of Mamala Yousafzai. When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price. I Am Malala is the remarkable true story of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.