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40 Diverse Book Recommendations

"We Need Diverse Books" is an organization that strives to put diverse books into the hands of young minds.

Dana Rector

Feb 07, 2017

Storytellers of New Jersey

Susan P Baker

"We Need Diverse Books" is an organization that recognizes the importance of diverse reading materials for children and young adults. Representation matters and the more well rounded a child's reading is, the more likely they are to grow into a compassionate adult. For any and all diverse readers, seeing someone similar in a book gives the confidence needed to become successful. Finding diversity in books is important to me as an educator and I can always use more educating myself. So I compiled a list (it may seem long but there are so so so many I had to leave out for the sake of brevity) of my favorite diverse books in several categories. This is by no means exhaustive; these are simply books that I have been able to read so far or of which I have heard excellent reviews. Check out the AMAZING work of "We Need Diverse Books (TM)" to become better educated on books with diverse characters.

Books About People with Physical or Learning Disabilities:

1. Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant- Daniel Tammet

2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon

3. Rules- Cynthia Lord

4. Laughing at My Nightmare- Shane Burcaw

5. The Christmasaurus- Tom Fletcher

6. Out of My Mind- Sharon M. Draper

7. When Mr. Dog Bites- Brian Conaghan

8. Old Before My Time: Hayley Okines' Life with Progeria- Hayley and Kerry Okines

9. El Deafo- Cece Bell, David Lasky (Colorist)

10. Wonderstruck- Brian Selznick

11. A Blind Guide to Normal- Beth Vrabel

12. Fish in a Tree- Lynda Mullaly Hunt

13. Wonder- R.J. Palacio

14. Ugly- Robert Hoge

15. This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl- Esther Earl, Lori and Wayne Earl

Books with Persons of Color as Protagonists

1. The Devil's Arithmetic- Jane Yolen

2. Night- Elie Wiesel

3. Farewell to Manzanar- Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

4. The Name Jar- Yangsook Choi

5. Nine, Ten- Nora Raleigh Baskin

6. Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey- Ozge Samanci

7. Before We Were Free- Julia Alvarez

8. Serafina's Promise- Ann E. Burg

9. Bintou's Braids- Sylviane A. Diouf

10. The Red Pencil- Andrea Davis Pinkney

11. Ms. Marvel series- G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona (Artist)

12. Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome- Robby Novak and Brad Montague

13. Hidden Figures- Margot Lee Shetterly

14. Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off- Jacqueline Jules

15.The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie

Books with LGBTQ+ Themes

1. George- Alex Gino

2. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda- Becky Albertalli

3. Honor Girl- Maggie Thrash

4. 10,000 Dresses- Marcus Ewert

5. None of the Above- I.W. Gregorio

Books with Fierce Female Leads

1. The Princess in Black- Shannon and Dean Hale

2. Ruby Redfort series- Lauren Child

3. Rosie Revere, Engineer- Andrea Beaty

4. Ada Twist, Scientist- Andrea Beaty

5. Nick and Tesla series- Bob Pflugfelder, Steve Hockensmith

I hope this list has put some books in your to-read pile! Any suggestions are welcome!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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40 Diverse Book Recommendations

"We Need Diverse Books" is an organization that strives to put diverse books into the hands of young minds.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

The transition into adulthood is never easy

1. "Unlimited Freedom!"

2. "Dorm Life!"

3. "Never mind, where is my apartment?"

4. "Whose idea was this 8 AM?"

5. I'm so looking forward to that nap."

6. "I don't have the brain capacity for this"

7. "Wow, college is great"

It's easier than you think.

1. Look into Housing and Dining.

2. Pay attention to campus postings.

3. Find common interest groups.

4. Join an intramural sports team.

5. Work on a cause that you care about.

6. Join a club related to your major.

7. Get an on-campus job.

8. Volunteer.

College without friends is like peanut butter without jelly.

1. You need people to hang out with.

2. You don’t want to be stuck alone eating lunch or dinner.

3. Weekends suck without anyone to share them with.

4. College will be miserable for you.

5. Finding a roommate for the following year will be impossible.

6. You need someone to talk to about personal stuff or homework that isn’t your mom.

7. Classes will be boring and quiet for you if you don’t know anyone.

8. Walking around campus is just awkward.

9. Homework help and study buddies do not exist.

Why it pays to leave the hoodie at home.

1. Comfort

2. Confidence

3. Surprises

4. Self Esteem

A few signs that you may live in the library whether you'd like to admit it or not.

1. You dress for the temperature of the library, not the weather outside.

2. You say hello to the security guard when he or she walks by.

3. The employees at Starbucks know your name and order.

4. You eat all your meals at a library cubby, not at your own house.

5. You take the quiet floors very seriously.

6. Any night you are not at the library is a special occasion.

7. You have shown up to the library hungover on more than one occasion.

8. Your friends always text you when they are going to the library because they know you will be there.

9. You have taken a nap in the library at some point.

10. You know all the cold and hot spots in the library.

11. You've seen your studying pay off.

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