Diversity Resources for Kids and Youth

Elementary 

Coretta Scott King Award Books The award is given to outstanding African American authors and illustrators.

Belpré Medal Award Books. The Belpre Medal honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth

Stonewall Book Award for best books about LGBTQIA+

Carver and Hennepin County Libraries carry the award books linked above. 

24 Books that Teach about Social Justice 

25 Picture Books to Promote Kindness, Empathy, and Justice

Grades 5-9

 General Fiction

• Apple in the Middle (Contemporary Voices of Indigenous Peoples Book) - Dawn Quigley
• As Brave as You - Jason Reynolds
• Blended - Sharon Draper
• Out Of My Mind - Sharon Draper
• Clayton Byrd Goes Underground - Rita Williams-Garcia and Frank Morrison
• Darius the Great is NOT Ok – Adib Khorram
• Dear Martin – Nic Stone
• Dear Justyce – Nic Stone
• For Black Girls Like Me - Mariama J. Lockington
• Front Desk (series) - Kelly Yang
• Ghost - Jason Reynolds
• One Crazy Summer - Rita Williams-Garcia
• P.S. Be Eleven – Rita Williams Garcia
• Gone Crazy in Alabama – Rita Williams-Garcia
• Hidden Figures (Young Readers Edition) – Margot Lee Shetterly
• I am Alfonso Jones – Tony Medina
• I am Not a Number – Lisa Heathfield
• I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter - Erika L. Sánchez
• Internment – Samira Ahmed
• Let Me Hear A Rhyme - Tiffany Jackson
• Mercy Suarez Changes Gears – Meg Medina
• Mexican WhiteBoy – Matt de la Peña
• Monday's Not Coming – Tiffany D Jackson
• On the Come Up - Angie Thomas
• Poet X  - Elizabeth Acevedo
• Some Places More than Others – Renee Watson
• Benefits of Being an Octopus – Ann Braden
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• The Gift Giver – Joyce Hansen
• The Stars Beneath Our Feet – David Barclay Moore
• The Hate You Give – Angie Thomas
• The Stars and the Blackness Between Them (two girls fall in love, set in MPLS)
• Slay – Brittney Morris
• Tristan Strong (Series) – Kwame Mbalia
• Watch Us Rise - Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan
• With the Fire on High – Elizabeth Acevedo
• The Education of Margot Sanchez – Lilliam Rivera
• Clap When You Land - Elizabeth Acevedo

Non Fiction

• Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance - Simone Biles
• Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan and the Pursuit of a Dream – Deloris Jordan
• The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives - Dashka Slater
• The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family - Ibtihaj Muhammad , S. K. Ali , et al.
• America's Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle  - David A. Adler and Terry Widener

Graphic Novels

• A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel - Madeleine L’Engle and Hope Larson
• Black Panther comics
• Ironheart Series
• LaGuardia - Nnedi Okafor
• March (series of 3 books about Martin Luther King, Jr) - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, et al
• Miles Morales: Spider-Man - Jason Reynolds
• Monster: A Graphic Novel - Walter Dean Myers
• Secret Coders (series) - Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes
• Ms. Marvel (series) - G. Willow Wilson