This book is very child friendly and covers topics that may be hard to talk in the classroom about like disabilities. I think this book can be used to start that conversation in the classroom and share what autism is and what people who have autism may go through. This also helps to begin the conversation about never judging people based on our differences which is a very important topic at school especially starting in younger grades.

“Be KIND to our creatures. They have FEELINGS!‘ She knew it.”

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures about Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca was published in 2017. This biography was also turned into a movie. This book is about Temple Grandin, a girl who had autism, and how she conquered the world! This book has a riming flow and the illustrations are drawn in a childlike way.

This book pays great attention to detail in the illustrations, and teaches children about an important period in time in a kid friendly way.

“Nicky was the guest on a television show. He didn‘t know it, but the old friends he had been invited to meet were some of the children. Vera was one of them. She sat next to Nicky. When the host told her story, she stood up.”

Published in 2021. At the end of 1938, when the Germans invaded the border region of Czechoslovakia, a young Englishman named Nicky arranged for the transport of 669 children from there to England. The author weaves Nicky‘s story with Vera‘s, a Czech child who was one of those Nicky saved. This is a story told with a powerful combination of words and pictures to engage both those who know some history of the Holocaust and those new to the topic.

Published in 2020. Has won many awards. Biography about Ella Baker. Ella Baker was an activist fighting for freedom for black people. Throughout the storyline, it talks about the way she grew up hearing the inequality she was faced to live with. She fought with major known people, like Martin Luther King. She worked from the bottom to the top to find people to support and join her in fighting for freedom.

This would be a great book for the older kids, such as third through fifth grade. This would be a great book to use to introduce the civil right movement. It can highlight separate ideas that might not always be talked about in the history books. I think that the images used were really empowering and would be beneficial for children to see.

“What do you hope to accomplish?”

Biography: Women In Science Temple Grandin was written by Ruby Cardona. Published in 2019. There are currently no awards.
Based On Temple Grandin who was involved in progressing science and technology. She invented farm technology that has changed the way live stock was treated all over the world. Along side of changing the way live stock is treated, Temple also has autism. She supports autism awareness, she has impacted that community immensely.

This book does a great job with its illustrations. It provides an easy journey for children to learn about Temple's life.
The way that the text is spread out makes it easy for children to read. This would be great for any grade level as a read aloud. This would be a great book to do a flip chart activity with.

"Temple has made a lasting impact to the way that livestock are treated."

Comics: Easy as ABC! By Ivan Brunetti published in 2019 is the ultimate guide to comics for kids. This book provides kids with the tools that they need to be a cartoonist. Kids can read this book and learn how to draw people, animals, movements and comic language. This book also explores parts of a comic like scale and setting, perspective, point of view, etc. Want to be cartoonist should read this!

This book is a step by step guide to drawing cartoons and characters! This could be fun to incorporate in the classroom and do some of these as a class during a free moment.

“Make Your Marks!”

The Grizzly Mother was published in 2019. Won the award for animal behavior society‘s children‘s book award. Also won an award for design and illustration. Highlights the importance of the Gitxsan people of British Columbia. Focuses on how together they share the land and the forest and how the grizzly bear is an important aspect of their landscape. Focuses on how the bear teachers their cubs to live on their own.

Boots on the Ground: America‘s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge explores personal true stories of eight people in the Vietnam War. The stories include six soldiers, one military nurse, and a refugee. This book also includes stories from what was happening back in America as the war was fought. This book captures the intensity, hardships, and impacts of the Vietnam War.

“President Johnson agonized every time he had to send more men to fight in Vietnam…”

This book would be useful for the older grades. This book does a great job with its illustrations that allow children to stay focused and attentive throughout. This book also does a great job at vocabulary. Throughout the book there are blurbs explaining the word, so it would allow for a great vocabulary lesson.

Nonfiction- If Sharks Disappeared, written by Lily Williams. This book is a beautiful book with bright illustrations that describe sharks. This book discusses the environment, how long they have been on Earth, the predators they are, and what would happen if they were extinct. This book is beautifully illustrated and written and helps explain to students in a friendly manner.

“If sharks disappeared…the ocean would no longer be balanced. Although different species have different diets, most sharks typically eat sick, slow, or weak prey, leaving the healthy animals to reproduce.”

This book is beautifully illustrated and written to describe the world if sharks suddenly disappeared. If students were expressing their fear of sharks, then this is a beautiful book to tell about the wonders of how they disappeared.

This book is appropriate for older elementary grades, and middle school grades. It tells accurate and true stories from the war in a kid friendly way, but also captures the seriousness of the war.

“The scents of huckleberries, pine, and cedar imprint on the cubs. While their eyes come to know the mountains, their noses explore miles beyond what they can see.”

Non-Fiction: The book breaks down how an insect is build piece by piece and comparing it to a human and our bodies along the way. The book uses vocabulary words that help the reader learn about parts of bugs and also talks about the different types of bugs that there are. There is comparison built into the story about how bugs and humans are alike, but also different!

“Below our head, we have shoulders and a chest. An insect‘s chest is called a thorax. Let‘s add a thorax.”

This book would be a great book to use with young readers because there is vocabulary embedded that they are able to tap out to help them learn about bugs and their different body parts. It would be awesome to use this in a unit about insects because there is also a glossary in the back along with an activity for the student to do! I would definitely use this with younger grace levels!

“dance, little baby, dance up high.”

The story is very visually appealing. The father is a fisherman and owns his own boat. He is excited for his child to see their first fish. This is a good family story for all ages.

Over the Hills and Far Away is a story with a good message of a mother and father playing with their newborn child outside. It gives a representation of the families love for their child. While introducing their child to the world around them.

“If you know how to read, you can never be lonely.”

The style of these poems are all warm welcoming and inclusive. This book can be understood by a wide variety of people because of its use of everyday images and themes.

Everything Comes Next written by Naomi Shihab Nye was published in 2020. Is a collection of poems that explores human connection, childhood, conflict, and connectivity. The book includes new and old poems and is divided into 3 sections of poetry.

“In the face of the sun, dance! Twirl! Whirl!”

The illustrations added to Langston Hughes “Dream Variation” in That Is My Dream! is a great addition to the words and help create a better picture of what Langston is saying. 

That Is My Dream! by Langston Hughes (2017) is one of Langston‘s most celebrated poems, “Dream Variation”. It is a dream about a world free of discrimination and racism that was turned into a picture book with the help of illustrator Daniel Miyares. The illustrations bring the words to life and are a wonderful addition to the poem. 

“Im very, very smart and rather lucky, I would say”

This book would be great for younger readers as it uses rhyme and alliteration.

Cricket in the Thicket by Carol Murray contains a poem for every bug you can think of! It uses cute and inviting illustrations and fun poems that use fun rhymes that children will love. I would recommend this for the ages of 3-7.

“If I opened my classrooms wooden door not knowing how to read or speak English, imagine.”

This story creates an amazing visual for students to observe and think of when thinking of their future.

Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera is a poetic story that brings the reader through scenarios where they should imagine what they would feel like if they were put in that position. This story teaches readers of the different circumstances they could be in and what they would learn!

“Are you there God? It‘s me, Margaret.”

I read this book as a middle schooler and I remember it making me feel seen! It was a great read and I loved reading it again. There are more older child topics (preteen) older grades would love it.

Are You There God? It‘s Me, Margaret written by Judy Blume was originally published in 1970. It won many awards including Outstanding Book of the Year. The main basis of the book is a coming of age novel about a 6th grader named Margaret Simon who is navigating the challenges of growing up. This book is easily relatable to children and a book that creates a sense of “you are not alone”!

“It is always brave to be kind, but in those days, such kindness could cost you your life.”

Auggie and Me written by R. J. Palacio is a great story that will teach readers to be inclusive and kind to everyone no matter how different they may be!

This story is from three different perspective, which helps readers see different sides and views of Auggie who is the main character of the book. Helps readers learn to be mindful and inclusive with students who may be different from them!

“Just a boring sandwich,” said the kid.

This story is about food but it dives deeper into race and culture, along with accepting and including everyone!