This collection of children's books is intended for educators, parents and other caregivers of early childhood and elementary aged children. Reading the children's books listed on this site with your children and incorporating them into classroom instruction is an excellent way to promote respect for diversity, reduce prejudice and reinforce the themes addressed in A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, ADL's international anti-bias education and diversity training provider. Click on the topics below to learn more about the bibliography and how it is organized.
Book Selection
This selected bibliography of books is not all-encompassing, but is representative of the excellent multicultural and anti-bias literature available today for early childhood and elementary aged children. All titles in the bibliography have been reviewed by ADL staff or a team of reviewers that include educators and parents. This booklist is frequently updated with new and noteworthy books, so you may want to bookmark this site and visit it regularly. Click here if you would like to recommend a title for the bibliography.
Book Entries Each entry on ADL's booklist includes the book title and author, a brief annotation, ISBN, publication date, publisher, and a suggested reading level. The reading levels are only suggestions for adults to use when choosing books for children. Many of the books lend themselves to being read aloud to children of any age. We strongly suggest reviewing books carefully before selecting them to determine age or grade level and content appropriateness.
Featured Books Each month ADL features between one and three books related to a particular diversity or anti-bias theme. These books are reviewed by ADL staff and reflect some of the most excellent literature available on various topics. Featured books are displayed on the bibliography homepage and monthly announcements are sent via e-mail. Click here to sign up for the monthly Featured Books Announcements.
FindingBooks
There are two ways to find titles in the bibliography:
1. Search Window:
Enter a title, author, ISBN number or key word in the search window on the left hand side of the bibliography homepage to find a specific title or a list of titles on a particular subject.
2. Book Categories:
Click on the book categories and sub-categories on the left hand side of the bibliography homepage to view a list of books related to a particular theme. Many books in the bibliography are listed in more than one category. The six book categories are summarized below.
Biography: The books in this category tell the life stories of real people, some famous and others less well known. In many of these books the focus of the biography is the person's contribution to making a better world; in many there is also the theme of obstacles that had to be overcome in order for the person to succeed.
Cultural & Religious Groups: Books in this category reflect the people of the world's nations, religions, and cultures, sometimes as a central feature of the story and other times as part of the story's background.
Customs & Traditions: Books in this category include customs and traditions of people around the world. In some books the emphasis is on commonalties among people; in others, the focus is on the ways that people and groups of people can be different from one another.
Families & Friends: Books in this category include stories about kinds of families and activities that families do, such as celebrating holidays, adopting children and communicating across generations.
Folktales, Legends & Poems: Books in this category include some traditional and some non-traditional versions of stories and poems from around the world. Some of these tales convey life lessons; others are intended to delight and amuse the reader or listener. Some of the poems were written by children.
Prejudice & Discrimination: Books in this category address a wide range of historical and current forms of bigotry, prejudice that is both intentional and systemic and prejudice that is unintentional, but just as hurtful. In some books prejudice is the primary focus of the story; in others it is part of the fabric of the book but not its central theme.
