~ Books with a Message ~
These are books suitable for experienced readers to read on their own or to be used in the classroom as read-alouds and resource books.
Key to suggested levels: U= upper elementary M=middle school H=high school or YA for Young Adult C=college & adult
Anti-Racism/Anti-Bias
–Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin H/C/A
-Day of Tears by Julius Lester U/M/H
-Cashay by Margaret McMullen (teen) H
–Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo M/H
–Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac U/M
-Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper M/H
-Eagle Song by Joseph Bruchac U/M
–Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis U/M/H
–Face Relations: Eleven Stories About Seeing Beyond Color by Marilyn Singer
-Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar Cortez
-Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli U/M
–Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor U/M/H
-Nightjohn by Gary Paulson M/H
–Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay H
-Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor U/M/H
–Second Daughter by Mildred Pitts Walter U/M/H
–She Stood for Freedom by Loki Mulholland (biography) U/M
–The Silence that Binds Us by Johanna Ho H
To Be Slave by Julius Lester U/M/H
Addressing Bullying
–The Beckoners by Carrie Mac H
–Blubber by Judy Blume U/M
– Bullied by Jeff Erno H/C [Note: This is an anthology of short stories addressing gay issues]
–Bullyville by Francine Prose M
–Carlos is Gonna to Get It by Kevin Emerson M
–Don’t Call me Ishmael by Michael Bauer H
–Drowning Anna by Sue Mayfield H
-Eagle’s Song by Joseph Bruchac U/M
–The Hate List by Jennifer Brown H
-Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain M/H/C
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli U/M
–Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor M/H/C
-Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult H
-Quad by C. J. Watson H
–The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm M
–The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne H/C
–Slob by Ellen Potter M
-The Shooter by Walter Dean Myers
–Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Halm M
Books to Inspire Action
Greta’s Story by Valentina Cameri M
-Heart of a Chief by Joseph Bruchac U/M
Mayfield Crossing by Vaunda Nelson U
–No One is Too Small by Greta Thunberg M/H
–Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr. H/C
–Where Do We Go From Here by Martin Luther King, Jr. H/C
Gender Issues
Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings M
Headstrong Women: 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World by Rachel Swaby. M/H
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly. M/H
I‘ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson H/A novel about secrets and gender identity
The Inside of Out by Jenn Marie Thorn
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
The Other Boy by M. G. Hennessey
Pharmacy Girl: The Great War, Spanish Influenza, and the Truth about Billy Detwiller by Kate Szegda
Phillis Wheatley: Complete Writings
–Rejected Princesses: Tales of History’s Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath H/C
Peace and Non-Violence Books
The Doomsday Machine by Daniel Ellsworth C
Hiroshima by John Hersey H/C
Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky H/C
On the Beach by Neville Shute H/C
–Strength To Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. H/C
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Eleanor Coerr (biography) U/M/H
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds H
Warriors by Joseph Bruchac U/M coming soon
People who Inspire: Biographies
–The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. edited by Claybourne Carson H/C/A
-Dalai Lama by Demi I/M
-Martin Luther King, Jr. by Amy Pastan M/H
-Oscar Arias Sanchez by Vickie Cox M/H
-Paths to Peace by Jane Zalben I/M
-Rebels Against Slavery: American Slave Revolts by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick L, McKissack M/H
–Warrior Princess by Princess Kasune Zulu H/C
-The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis H/C
-Parting of the Waters by Taylor Branch H/C
