The Power of Story: Diverse Books for Grades 3-7

Feng-Li can't wait to discover America with her family! But after an action-packed vacation, her parents deliver shocking news: They are returning to Taiwan and leaving Feng-Li and her older siblings in California on their own.

Suddenly, the three kids must fend for themselves in a strange new world-and get along. Starting a new school, learning a new language, and trying to make new friends while managing a household is hard enough, but Bro and Sis's constant bickering makes everything worse. Thankfully, there are some hilarious moments to balance the stress and loneliness. But as tensions escalate-and all three kids get tangled in a web of bad choices-can Feng-Li keep her family together?

Akim Aliu - also known as "Dreamer" - is a Nigerian born, Ukrainian Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the world and who experienced systemic racism at everyone turn. This graphic novel tells Akim's incredible story, from being the only black child in his Ukrainian school, to having his teeth bashed in by a racist teammate in the Ontario junior league. A gut-wrenching and riveting graphic novel memoir that reminds us to never stop dreaming, this story is sure to inspire young readers everywhere.

From National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson, a kaleidoscopic middle-grade adventure that mixes the anxieties, friendships, and wonders of a Cherokee boy's life with Cherokee history and lore.
Ziggy has ANXIETY. Partly this is because of the way his mind works, and how overwhelmed he can get when other people (especially his classmate Alice) are in the room. And partly it's because his mother disappeared when he was very young, making her one of many Native women who've gone mysteriously missing. Ziggy and his sister, Moon, want answers, but nobody around can give them.

Twelve-year-old Jude struggles with some things: focusing at school, feeling like everything rests on their shoulders, not being able to come out as nonbinary to their old-fashioned grandparents. But Jude doesn't struggle with Dallas, their best friend in the whole world. Their person.

Jude and Dallas's world changes when they learn Stevie, a girl in their class, has been ousted from the popular clique at school. Worried it had something to do with Stevie's rumored crush on another girl, Jude reaches out to see if Stevie is okay. Stevie quickly becomes an important friend to Jude and Dallas, whose unwavering acceptance of her is a stark contrast to the tests and dysfunction she experienced with her former friend group.

As their friendship deepens and the three open up to each other, Stevie's unconditional and open acceptance when Jude comes out to her motivates them to create a queer safe space in their community. Jude has the courage and determination it takes to create the first Diversity Club in their community, but will they be able to find the support they need to make it happen?

Full of humor and heartbreak, this story about a nonbinary character navigating a binary world is perfect for fans of Alex Gino and Kyle Lukoff.

From rising star Shakirah Bourne, author of Josephine Against the Sea, comes a mysterious adventure that explores one of the most chilling tales in Caribbean mythology: the faceless douen children.

Everything is connected to everything, and it's up to twins Kiya and Kinjal to save it all. 

When Astrid Xu stumbles upon an ancient scroll with Chinese characters, she just knows it's the key to saving her mom from the "fog"-the depression that keeps her mom bedridden for days at a time. What Astrid doesn't expect, though, is to be transported-along with her younger sister, Marilla-to Zhen, a realm where the Chinese legends of old are real!

Lila is trying to find her way in the world―to figure out her thing. Her talented sister, Parisa, and athletic best friend, Melanie, both seem to have found theirs... and Lila can't help feeling left behind.

But just when she thinks she might have it in her school's new band program, the floor falls out from beneath Lila. The program may have its funding cut!

Susannah Mikami dreams of becoming a famous sushi chef like her dad. And this summer, she plans to learn everything about his traditional kitchen. Only he refuses to teach her, and won't tell her why. Is it because he doesn't want her to embarrass him in front of the documentary crew filming at his restaurant? Or worse, because she's a girl? Either way, Sana decides he's not the only one who can keep secrets.

Rick's never questioned much. He's gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff's acted like a bully and a jerk. He's let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn't given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.

Mary Lambert has always felt safe and protected on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard. Her great-great-grandfather was an early English settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there -- including Mary -- are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. Mary has never felt isolated. She is proud of her lineage. But recent events have delivered winds of change. Mary's brother died, leaving her family shattered. Tensions over land disputes are mounting between English settlers and the Wampanoag people. And a cunning young scientist has arrived, hoping to discover the origin of the island's prevalent deafness. His maniacal drive to find answers soon renders Mary a "live specimen" in a cruel experiment. Her struggle to save herself is at the core of this penetrating and poignant novel that probes our perceptions of ability and disability. It will make you forever question your own ideas about what is normal.

When an avalanche strands diabetic Emily and her alert dog Molly, faith in one another is the key to their survival. A gripping blend of overcoming obstacles and environmental fiction.

Sixth grade is not everything he expected, but Tyrell makes the most of it by hosting his own imaginary podcast in this highly illustrated new series.

On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey, until her parents mysteriously vanish and a drooling rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. It turns out that there might be some truth to her parents' fantastical stories - for example, that Kiranmala is a real Indian princess who comes from a secret place not of this world.

Secrets are always a gamble. Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! This means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth-grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table.

As it turns out, sixth grade is no picnic...
1. Mia's new teacher doesn't think her writing is all that great. And her entire class finds out she lives and works in a motel!
2. The motel is struggling, and Mia has to answer to the Calivista's many, many worried investors.
3. A new immigration law is looming and if it passes, it will threaten everything—and everyone—in Mia's life.

Selah knows her rules for being normal. She always, always sticks to them. This means keeping her feelings locked tightly inside, despite the way they build up inside her as each school day goes on, so that she has to run to the bathroom and hide in the stall until she can calm down. So that she has to tear off her normal-person mask the second she gets home from school, and listen to her favorite pop song on repeat, trying to recharge. Selah feels like a dragon stuck in a world of humans, but she knows how to hide it. Until the day she explodes and hits a fellow student.

Everything seemed set against Chaunte Lowe. Growing up with a single mother in Paso Robles, California, where she experienced food insecurity, homelessness, and domestic abuse, Chaunte couldn't imagine a future that offered a different sort of life. But then, one day, she turned on the TV and there was Flo Jo, competing in the Olympics and shattering records in track and field. Almost immediately, Chaunte knew what she wanted to do. She started running.

Eleven-year-old Avery Lee loves living in Hickory Valley, Maryland. She loves her neighborhood, school, and the end-of-summer fair she always goes to with her two best friends. But she's tired of feeling squished by her six siblings! They're noisy and chaotic and the younger kids love her a little too much. All Avery wants is her own room-her own space to be alone and make art. So she's furious when Theo, her grumpy older brother, gets his own room instead, and her wild baby brother, Max, moves into the room she already shares with her clinging sister Pearl! Avery hatches a plan to finally get her own room, all while trying to get Max to sleep at night, navigating changes in her friendships, and working on an art entry for the fair. And when Avery finds out that her family might move across the country, things get even more complicated.

The heartfelt story of a girl who refuses to let her brittle bone disease interfere with adventure. “A must-have for any elementary school or middle school library.”-SLJ, starred review

Spring semester is here and Maggie is killing it! Her grades are up, she's loving outdoor track and field, and being a seventh grader means the awesome spring break trip to St. Augustine is almost here. She can't wait for her first overnight trip away from her overprotective parents, lovesick sister, and busybody abuela. Nothing will get in the way of Maggie having the best time ever with her two best friends, Zoey and Julian! Or will it? 

Sixth grade isn't as great as Rex thought it would be. He's the only kid who hasn't had a growth spurt, and the bullies won't let him forget it. His closest friend is unreliable, at best. And there's a cute girl in his class who he can't stop thinking about. With so much going on, everything is a blur -- including Rex's vision! So when he discovers that he needs glasses, and his family can only afford the ugliest pair in the store, any hope Rex had of fitting in goes completely out of focus.

An adorable fainting goat provides emotional support for a girl struggling with anxiety. “Tweens will love Marvel"s candid narration as she slowly transforms into a healthier version of herself.” -Kirkus

Abandoned on the Mumbai railways, Ajay has grown up with nothing but a burning wish to be a journalist. And after finding an abandoned printing press, his dreams might just come true. But when he and his friends Saif, Vinod, Yasmin and Jai create their own newspaper, The Mumbai Sun, and begin to hunt down stories to fill their pages, the children uncover a plan to tear down their slum-which will leave hundreds of more people homeless.

Discover everything you ever wanted to know about how the government really works with this handbook from Marjory Stoneman Douglas AP teacher Jeff Foster.

First-generation Filipino siblings JJ and Althea struggle to belong at school. JJ wants to fit in with the crowd, while Althea wants to be accepted as she is. But that hope seems like a long shot, for both of them. To make matters worse, they have to help their parents run the family food truck by dressing up as a dancing pig and passing out samples. Ugh! And their mom is always pointing out lessons from Filipino folklore -- annoying tales they've heard again and again. But when witches, ogres, and other creatures from those same stories threaten their family, JJ and Althea realize that the folklore may be more real that they'd suspected. Can they embrace who they really are and save their family?

The Mendoza family is growing!After a rocky beginning getting to know each other while quarantining together in a pandemic, Raquel, Lucinda, and Juliette are finally getting along as stepsisters--and actually liking it! Now they get to make it official. Their parents are getting married... in Mexico! But, when they arrive they find bringing together the two families won't be as easy as they had hoped. Sylvia's favorite aunt does not approve of the match.Lucinda, Raquel, and Juliette know just what to do. If they can show Tia Enriqueta that their parents are meant to be together, they'll have to support the wedding! But in all their scheming, doubt starts to creep in. The sisters start wonder if they can really trust each other at all. Suddenly they have to ask themselves...are they better off apart after all?

When Dona Josepha gives Carmen Teresa a blank notebook as a present, the guests suggest that she fill it with stories that they remember from their own childhoods. And from there, everyone from this charming cast of characters has a unique story to tell.

The astonishing true story of a girl who survived the Holocaust thanks to Oskar Schindler, of Schindler's List fame.

This is the story of a pivotal event in history as Ruby Bridges saw it unfold around her. Ruby's poignant words, quotations from writers and from other adults who observed her, and dramatic photographs recreate an amazing story of innocence, courage, and forgiveness. Ruby Bridges' story is an inspiration to us all.

Twin sisters Maureen and Francine are best friends, but with the approach of middle school they are growing apart, and Maureen doesn't know how to stop it.

This award-winning, multicultural series offers compelling narratives that reveal American history through the personal diaries of vibrant, determined, believable young women. Celebrated authors contribute unforgettable stories that recall the adventure, growth, struggle, hardship and celebration of America's past, seen through the eyes of fictitious heroines. Historical notes provide contextual details.

The author introduces her battle with chronic anxiety as a teen as well as her ongoing coping strategies in this honest, often funny graphic novel.

An incredible memoir from Sharon Robinson about one of the most important years of the civil rights movement.

Born with a physical defect, a nine-year-old Rwandan girl bravely travels to Texas on her own for surgery.

A stunning reflection in prose and pictures of the last months of Dr. King and how in death he remains a constant source of inspiration.

Hoping to unlock memories of her deceased father, eleven-year-old Paloma travels to Mexico City where she searches for Frida Kahlo's lost jewelry.

When Iris and Daniel inadvertantly disturb a child's grave, they set in motion a spine-tingling ghost story that illuminates the history of segregated cemeteries.

Written in Southern patois, this historical adventure about runaway slaves in the Great Dismal Swamp reads like a testimony.

In this accessible "keep-it-real" guide, Marley explores activism, social justice, volunteerism, equity and inclusion, and using social media for good. Drawing from her experience, Marley shows kids how they can galvanize their strengths to make positive changes in their communities, while getting support from parents, teachers, and friends to turn dreams into reality.

Best-selling author Alan Gratz explores the teamwork and heroism in dismantling tyranny in this epic, yet personal, look at D-Day.

Jarrett doesn't trust Kevon. But he has to share a room with him anyway. It was one thing when Jarrett's mom took care of foster babies who needed help. But this time it's different. This time the baby who needs help has an older brother, a kid Jarrett's age named Kevon. Jarrett doesn't think it's fair that he has to share his room, his friends, and his life with some stranger. He has to do something about it, but what?

A young Latina learns to hold onto hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees.

When superstitious Sab sees a giant black butterfly, an omen of death, she knows that she's doomed! According to legend, she has one week before her fate catches up with her, on her 11th birthday. With her time running out, all she wants is to celebrate her birthday with her entire family. But her sister, Ate Nadine, stopped speaking to their father one year ago, and Sab doesn't even know why.

The discovery of a lost letter vaults Candice into a mystery and a multigenerational truth about a contemporary Southern town's racist past.

To keep food on the table, Charlie takes a job tracking down fugitives in Possum Moan, SC. The novel takes on themes of slavery, injustice, and courage.

Benji and Red couldn't be more different. They aren't friends. They don't even live in the same town. But their fates are entwined. A chance meeting leads the boys to discover that they have more in common than meets the eye. Both of them have encountered a strange presence in the forest, watching them, tracking them. Could the Madman of Piney Woods be real?

In this remarkable tale of daring and danger, debut novelist Natasha Tarpley explores the way a community defines itself, the power of art to show truth, and what it really means to be home.

Exciting, yet evocative, heart-wrenching, yet hilarious, Elijah of Buxton is Christopher Paul Curtis at his very best - and it's an unforgettable testament to the power of hope.