Book of the Month

This book/poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes.

Being born during a hurricane is unlucky, and twelve-year-old Caroline, who lives on Water Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has had her share of bad luck lately. But when a new student arrives, Caroline believes her luck is turning around. 

Paj Ntaub, a young Hmong girl, moves into a new home with her family. As the seasons change, so too does her world as she encounters both birth and death.

From the joyous to the poignant, poems by a group of diverse and award-winning poets are paired with images by celebrated illustrators from similar backgrounds to pay homage to what is both unique and universal about growing up in the United States.

Instead of sending Jordan Banks to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one.

Sulwe is darker than everyone in her family and wishes she was “beautiful and bright” like her sister and mother. This picture book creates a whimsical and poignant story to inspire children to see their own unique beauty.

It all starts when six young people have to meet for a weekly chat--by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for "A Room to Talk"), they discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them.

When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. After he realized he was a boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of his life that didn't fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life. Then Mom and Dad announced they're going to have another baby and Aidan wants to do everything he can to make things right for his new sibling from the beginning.

This book is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference—telling the story of a modern Native American family.

This story about the refugee crisis highlights the community-changing potential of standing as an ally and reminds readers that everyone deserves a place to call home.

Juan grew up in Mexico working in the fields to help provide for his family. Struggling for money, he crosses over into the U.S. and becomes an undocumented worker, living in a poor neighborhood, working hard to survive.

Learn about the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today's world.

It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao and go for her dreams?

In this dynamic picture book, stand alongside the nation's most iconic civil and human rights leaders, whose brave actions rewrote history. 

As a young girl observes six very different women in her life who each wear the hijab in a unique way, she also dreams of the rich possibilities of her own future, and how she will express her own personality through her hijab.

This book recalls America’s battle for civil rights in an account of one woman’s fierce determination to make it up the hill and make her voice heard.

Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud all go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. Although they are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.

This book is an exploration of what people who are immigrants bring with them when they leave their homes.

There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat or something else just as random.

A disaster leads Kaori, Gen and Valencia on an epic quest to find missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, bullying behavior is put in its place and friendship blooms.

If you ask her, Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela has way too many names: six!

When a tornado rips through town, Ivy Aberdeen's house is destroyed and her family displaced. Ivy feels invisible and ignored in the aftermath of the storm—and what's worse, her notebook filled with secret drawings of girls holding hands has gone missing.

When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, her normally attentive parents and neighbors are suddenly exhausted and distracted.

This collection of original poems brings together fourteen selections that celebrate through poetic imagery some of the amazingly diverse people and places in our nation.

Throughout U.S. history, there have always been women who have spoken out for what's right, even when they have to fight to be heard.

The uneasy balance between two worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer.

This simple yet powerful wordless picture book tells the story of one girl who inspires a community to stand up to bullying.

Jacob has a brother, Nathan, who has autism. His unusual behaviors get on Jacob’s nerves but when his new friend makes fun of Nathan, Jacob comes to his brother’s defense.

This book tells the story about a difficult time in history and one of empowerment and strength.

When cell phones are banned at school, Frost and his friends come up with a new way to communicate: leaving sticky notes for each other all around the school. Soon all the kids are leaving notes—though for every kind and friendly one, there is a cutting and cruel one as well.

Pablo Neruda wrote poems about the things he loved―things made by his friends in the café, things found at the marketplace, things he saw in nature, and the people of Chile and their stories of struggle.

The book recounts Archer Magill's span from first grade to sixth, navigating family ties, school, bullying, homophobia, death and marriage. Educator and Parent/Family Discussion Guides are available.

While Amina, a Pakistani-American middle school student, grapples with questions of friendship and identity, she is devastated when her local mosque is vandalized. This book highlights the many ways in which one girl’s voice can help bring a diverse community together.

This book is told from the perspective of a young child and explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape the turmoil and tragedy brought by war.

This book tells the true story of Clara Lemlich, a young Ukrainian immigrant who led the largest strike of women workers in U.S. history.

In her debut picture book, Misty Copeland tells the story of a young girl whose confidence is fragile and who is questioning her own ability to reach the heights that Misty has reached.

When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Deja sets off on a journey of discovery.

Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment and standing up for what’s right for people everywhere.

Thunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that's all his own.

Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy and she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.

Mia's Abuela has left her sunny house with parrots and palm trees to live with Mia and her parents in the city.

After Saya's mother is sent to an immigration detention center, Saya finds comfort in listening to her mother's warm greeting on their answering machine.

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl.

Determined to find her friend Hector who unexpectedly moved away, Juna turns to her special kimchi jar for help each night, plunging into the depths of the ocean in search of her friend.

Violet is smart, funny and biracial. But her African-American father died before she was born and she has grown up with just her white mother and white older sister.

Rosie may seem quiet during the day, but at night she's a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets who dreams of becoming a great engineer.

Book One of this graphic novel trilogy spans Congressman John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.

This story is based on real-life experiences of a band of approximately 30,000 southern Sudanese boys who walked nearly 1000 miles searching for a safe refuge.

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life, which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability.

When Ramadan begins, Lailah is excited that she is finally old enough to participate in the fasting but worries that her classmates won't understand why she doesn't join them in the lunchroom.

When Sally takes a chance and stands up to the bullying, she finds that one small girl can make a big difference.

When Gaby Ramirez Howard starts volunteering at the local animal shelter, she takes special pride in writing adoption advertisements. Gaby is in need of a forever home herself because her mother recently was deported to Honduras.

Best friends Sofia and Maddi live in the same neighborhood, go to the same school, and play in the same park, but while Sofia’s fridge at home is full of nutritious food, the fridge at Maddi’s house is empty.

Grayson Sender has been holding onto a secret for what seems like forever: "he" is a girl on the inside.

Stella's class is having a Mother's Day celebration, but what's a girl with two Daddies to do?

For two brothers in a Japanese-American family, everything changed when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States went to war.

The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear—sometimes things she shouldn’t—but also isolates her from her classmates.

Before Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor took her seat in our nation's highest court, she was a little girl in the South Bronx.

Melba Doretta Listons loved the sounds of music as far back and she could remember; she overcame race and gender obstacles to become a famed trombone player, composer and arranger.

The Year of the Rat brings many changes for Pacy: her best friend moving away, dealing with the prejudice directed toward a new student from China and learning to face some of her own flaws.

At the dreidel-making workshop, Jeremy's friends think he is molding a secret code on his clay dreidel but he is making a special gift for his father, who is blind.

When Shi-shi-etko and Shin-chi arrive at the Indian Residential School, Shi-shi-etko reminds her younger brother that they can only use their English names and that they are not allowed to speak to each other.

After Katie gets caught teasing a schoolmate, she's told to meet with Mrs. Petrowski, the school counselor, so she can make right her wrong and learn to be a better friend.

When ten-year-old Miguel moves to Vermont with his mami after his parents' divorce, guess who flies up from the Island to help take care of him and his little sister, Juanita?

Chloe doesn't really know why she turns away from the new girl, Maya, when Maya tries to befriend her and every time Maya asks if she can play with Chloe and the other girls, the answer is always no.

This heartwarming story speaks to the unique challenges faced by boys who don’t identify with traditional gender roles and promises to spark discussions of gender, identity and self-confidence.

With honesty and humor and narrated in two voices, Meena and River bridge the miles between them, creating a friendship that inspires bravery and defeats cultural misconceptions.

Sylvia Mendez and her brothers are excited to attend the neighborhood schools but are turned away and told they have to attend the Mexican school instead.

August (Auggie) Pullmanwas born with a facial deformity that has prevented him from attending a mainstream school—until now.

When Grace’s teacher reveals that the United States has never had a female president, Grace decides to be the first.