900-1000
PICTURE BOOKS
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
by Jamie Lee Curtis / Laura Cornell
AD 1080L, PreK-3
Realistic picture book featuring a girl asking about the night she was adopted.
The Day You Begin
by Jacqueline Woodson / Rafael López
AD 980L, K-3
Realistic picture book about sharing stories and overcoming the fear of not fitting in.
The Seed of Compassion: Lessons From the Life and Teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama / Bao Luu
AD 960L, PreK-3
Autobiographical picture book about the life of the 14th Dalai Lama and the importance of compassion.
CHAPTER BOOKS
Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court
by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld
990L, 5+
Series of autobiographical memoirs about the life of famous basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Beyond the Gender Binary
by Alok Vaid-Menon / Ashley Lukashevsky
990L, 7-9
Nonfiction pocketbook about the full spectrum of possible genders.
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
990L, 5-6
Historical narrative in poetic form about being Black in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement.
Breathe and Count Back From Ten
by Natalia Sylvester
n/a, 8-9
Realistic fiction about a Peruvian-American teen with hip dysplasia who wants to work as a mermaid at a theme park in the summer.
Color Me In
by Natasha Díaz
950L, 7-9
Realistic fiction about racism and religion, following a girl beginning to understand her biracial (Black and white) identity.
Far From Home
by Na'ima B. Robert
No lexile, 7-11
Historical and realistic fiction about colonialism in Zimbabwe, told from the perspective of two different girls.
First Person Fiction: Call Me Maria
by Judith Ortiz Cofer
970L, 3-7
Realistic book about a girl who tries to adapt to her surroundings after moving from Puerto Rico to New York.
Hurricane Child
by Kacen Callender
1010L, 3-7
Realistic novel set in the US Virgin Islands about a girl who looks for her missing mother with her crush, a girl who just moved schools.
Lost Boy, Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan
by John Bul Dau, Martha Arual Akech
900L, 7-12
Autobiography following two of "Sudan's lost children" who fled to the US during the famine and civil war.
Raybearer
by Jordan Ifueko
No lexile, 7+
Fantasy novel about a girl who competes to be chosen as one of the Prince's Council of 11.
The Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
970L, 3-7
Historical novel about the life of a girl of Ojibwa descent living near Lake Superior in 1847.
The Boy Who Steals Houses
by C. G. Drews
No lexile, 7-12
Realistic fiction about two brothers, one of whom is autistic, who were abandoned by their family.
The Henna Wars
by Adiba Jaigirdar
No lexile, 9-12
Realistic novel about two girls who like each other and end up competing in a henna-business competition.
The Moon Within
by Aida Salazar
960L, 3-7
Realistic fiction exploring gender identity about a girl who doesn't want to have a moon ceremony (a celebration of her first period).
This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work
by Tiffany Jewell / Aurelia Durand
Nonfiction book with activities to help readers understand and take action against systemic racism.
Urban Tribes: Native Americans in the City
Edited by Lisa Charleyboy, Mary Beth Leatherdale
No lexile, 6-12
Collection of stories featuring a variety of young people of American Indian descent living in cities across America.
When Morning Comes
by Arushi Raina
No lexile, 8-12
Historical fiction about the Soweto Uprising, featuring 4 people living under apartheid in South Africa circa 1976.