Preschool - 1st Grade

Berkeley Unified School Libraries, in partnership with the Special Education Department and Mental Health Services, proudly recognizes Neurodiversity Celebration Week (the 3rd week in March). The term neurodiversity is often used to describe alternative thinking and learning styles such as Autism, ADHD and Dyslexia; neurodiversity also describes the varied ways that people think, move, process information and communicate. Everyone’s brain is unique and should be celebrated; there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving.

These reading lists, organized by grade level, represent recently published books that celebrate the strengths and talents of our neurodivergent community.

How do I read these books?

Many of these books are available through Berkeley school libraries as a physical and/or ebook. For more information about any of these books, or to check one of them out, ask your school librarian.

• 3rd-12th graders can find hundreds of great options on Sora. For Sora ebooks, you will be prompted to log in through Clever. More information on how to access Sora is available here.

• TK-2nd graders can find great ebooks and read-alouds through Tumblebooks or the Berkeley Public Library.

• You will need a Berkeley Public Library card to order books through the Berkeley Public Library catalog. If you need a Berkeley Public Library card, click here. 

For more information and instructions on accessing ebooks and audiobooks, visit our Digital Books page.

At a time when so many small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open, we also encourage folks to support our local bookstores: 

Ashay by the Bay, Bandung Books, Eastwind Books, Marcus Books, Moe’s Books, Mr. Mopps, Books Inc., Pegasus Books and Mrs. Dalloways.