Resource Lists: Diversity - General

This is a non-comprehensive list of recommended books, documentaries, and movies for self-learning or for teachers to use in the classroom. It includes resources that directly address social justice topics as well as books with main characters from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds.

Elementary School

Mental Health

  • My Emotions by Isabelle Filiozat and Virginie Limousin
  • Nobody’s Perfect: A Story for Children about Perfectionism by Ellen Flanagan Burns
  • Mind OVer Basketball: Coach Yourself to Handle Stress by Jane Weierbach and Elizabeth Phillips-Hershey
  • 1-2-3 A Calmer Me: Helping Children Cope When Emotions Get Out of Control by Colleen Patterson and Brenda Miles
  • My Fears by Isabelle Filiozat
  • Find more books about mental health at: https://www.apa.org/pubs/magination/browse?query=subject:Resilience

Race and Ethnicity

  • Hair Love by Matthew Cherry and Vashti Harrison
  • Lulu the One and Only by Lynette Mawhinney
  • Marvelous Maravilloso: Me And My Beautiful Family by Carrie Lara
  • Something Happened In Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzar
  • There’s a Cat in Our Class! A Tale About Getting Along by Jeanie Franz Ransom
  • The Heart of Mi Familia by Carrie Lara
  • Abuelo and Opa Make Music by Michael Genhart
  • My Singing Nana by Pat Mora
  • Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz
  • Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • My Hair is a Garden by Cozbi A. Cabrera
  • Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
  • Young Water Protectors… A Story About Standing Rock by Aslan Tudor
  • My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero
  • We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
  • Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford
  • The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
  • Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin
  • Chocolate Milk, Por Favor: Celebrating Diversity with Empathy by Maria Dismondy
  • Voice of Freedom Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford
  • When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson
  • Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo and Lin Wang
  • Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
  • Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin
  • White Water by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein
  • CJ’s Big Dream by C.J. Watson
  • CJ’s Big Project by C.J. Watson
  • CJ’s Big Moment by C.J. Watson
  • Son, You Are a King by Jasmine Hatcher
  • Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices on Netflix
  • Bee-bim Bop by Linda Sue Park
  • Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin
  • Dear Juno by Soyung Park
  • Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji
  • The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
  • In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
  • Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
  • The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
  • Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk Board
  • At the Mountain’s Base by Traci Sorell
  • Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes by Wab Kinew
  • Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp
  • Where Are You From? By Yamile Saied Méndez
  • Maria Had a Little Llama by Angela Dominguez
  • Gracias/Thanks by Pat Mora
  • Niño wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales
  • Mango, Abuela, and Me
  • From Far Away by Robert Munsch and Saqoussan Askar
  • Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
  • Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
  • Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins
  • We Shall Overcome by Debbie Levy
  • Ellray Jakes by Sally Warner
  • Alvin Ho by Lenore Look
  • Stella Díaz Never Gives Up by Angela Dominguez
  • Key Hunters by Eric Luper
  • Shai & Emmie by Quvenzhané Wallis
  • Sofia Martinez by Jacqueline Jules
  • King and Kayla by Dori Hillestad Butler
  • Zoe Ann Sassafras by Asia Citro

Religion

  • Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story by Reem Faruqi
  • The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad
  • Hats of Faith by Medeia Cohan
  • My Religion, Your Religion by Lisa Bullard
  • Who Believes What? by Wills
  • Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
  • Under My Hijab by Hena Khan
  • Sadiq and the… by Siman Nuurali
  • The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
  • Meet Yasmin! By Saadia Faruqi
  • Lost and Found Cat by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes
  • Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian

LGBTQ+

  • Papa, Daddy, and Riley by Seamus Kirst
  • My Maddy by Gayle E. Pitman
  • Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart
  • Sewing the Rainbow by Gayle E. Pitman
  • When You Look Out the Window: How Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Built A Community by Gayle E. Pitman
  • This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
  • Jacob’s Room to Choose by Sarah Hoffman and Ian Hoffman
  • Either Way: Story of A Gay Kid
  • Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders
  • What Was Stonewall? by Nico Medina
  • Love, Penelope by Joanne Rocklin

Gender Roles and Stereotypes

  • Cinderstella: A Tale of Planets Not Princes by Brenda Miles
  • Not Every Princess by Jeffery Bone and Lisa Bone
  • Too Nice by Marjorie White Pellegrino
  • Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty
  • I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy
  • Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
  • Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
  • Shaking Things Up by Susan Hood
  • This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer by Joan Holub
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
  • The Twelve by Cindy Lin
  • The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
  • Want to Play Trucks? By Ann Stott
  • Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
  • Pink is for Boys by Robb Peralman
  • Ho’onani Hula Warrior by Heather Gale

Other

  • Yes I Can! A Girl and Her Wheelchair by Kendra Barrett, Jacqueline B. Toner, and Claire A. B. Freeland
  • All Kinds of Families by Suzanne Lang
  • Wonder by R. J. Palacio
  • The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
  • All Ways Family by Noemi Fernandez Selva
  • Hair Love - Oscar Winning Short Film directed by Matthew A. Cherry
  • A Family is A Family is A Family by Sara O’Leary
  • My Body Belongs to Me from My Head to My Toes by pro familia
  • Find more books about bullying, adoption, divorce, friendship, grief, and more at: https://www.apa.org/pubs/magination/browse?query=subject:Resilience

Middle School

Mental Health

  • The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller
  • Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
  • The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
  • Many Ways to Learn, Second Edition: A Kid’s Guide to LD by Uzi Ben-Ami and Judith M. Stern
  • The Madman of Piney Woods by Christopher Paul Curtis

Race and Ethnicity

  • Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
  • The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
  • Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall’s
  • Ghost by Jason Reynolds
  • American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
  • Tight by Torrey Maldonado
  • Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya
  • The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio
  • Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
  • Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods
  • Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
  • Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
  • Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
  • Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson
  • Front Desk by Kelly Yang
  • The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition by Reyna Grande
  • 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
  • Star Cursed by Nandini Bajpai
  • Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
  • Written in the Stars by Asisha Saeed
  • A Time to Dance by Padma Venkataraman
  • Island’s End by by Padma Venkataraman
  • The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Religion

  • Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
  • Does My Head Look Big in This? By Randa Abdel-Fattah
  • More to the Story by Hena Khan
  • Sadia by Colleen Nelson
  • Broken Strings by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer
  • This is Just a Test by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang
  • All Three Stooges by Erica S. Perl
  • My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman
  • The Whole Story of Half A Girl by Veera Hiranandani
  • Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
  • Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
  • The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
  • Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
  • All-of-a-Kind-Family by Sydney Taylor

LGBTQ+

  • Either Way: Story of A Gay Kid
  • George by Alex Gino
  • Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
  • Rick by Alex Gino
  • Kenzie Kickstarts a Team by Kit Rosewater
  • King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
  • The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
  • A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor
  • Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker
  • What Was Stonewall? by Nico Medina
  • The Whispers by Greg Howard
  • My Life as A Diamond by Jenny Manzer
  • Nate Expectations by Tim Federle
  • Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow
  • Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

Gender Roles and Stereotypes

  • Feminism From A to Z
  • Tight by Torrey Maldonado
  • The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
  • The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio
  • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
  • Star Cursed by Nandini Bajpai
  • A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor
  • No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg

Other

  • Wonder by R. J. Palacio
  • Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

High School

Mental Health

  • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
  • Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
  • Mosquitoland by David Arnold
  • I Don’t Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
  • All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
  • Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Race and Ethnicity

  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  • The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  • Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
  • The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
  • The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisnero
  • The Namesake by Jhumpa Lajiri
  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  • In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story by Ghada Karmi
  • Written in the Stars by Asisha Saeed
  • American Street by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
  • Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
  • Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
  • March by John Lewis
  • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
  • Racial Profiling by Alison Behnke
  • The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
  • This Side of Home by Renée Watson
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
  • The Wrong End of the Table by Ayser Salman

Religion

  • The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  • Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
  • The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf
  • A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
  • Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry
  • That Thing We Call A Heart by Sheba Karim
  • You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman
  • A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

LGBTQ+

  • Trans+: Love, Sex, Romance, And Being You by Karen Rayne and Kathryn Gonzales
  • They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
  • Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
  • The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
  • Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager
  • Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights by Ann Bausum
  • The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis
  • Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens
  • You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman
  • SImon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Gender Roles and Stereotypes

  • I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
  • Fight Like A Girl by Laura Barcella
  • Girl Rising by Tanya Lee Stone
  • On the Basis of Sex directed by Mimi Leder
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  • No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg
  • Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky
  • Women, Culture, and Politics by Angela Davis

Other

  • Animal Farm

College and University

Mental Health

  • AD/HD And The College Student: The Everything Guide to Your Most Urgent Questions by Patricia O. Quinn
  • On Your Own: A College Readiness Guide For Teens with ADHD/LD
  • Survival Guide for College Students with ADHD or LD, Second Edition by Kathleen G. Nadeau
  • A Freshman Survival Guide for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Haley Moss & Susan J. Moreno
  • U Thrive by Dan Lerner & Alan Daniel Schlechter
  • The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
  • Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
  • Rising Strong by Brene Brown

Race and Ethnicity

  • 13th (film directed by Ava DuVernay) on Netflix
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  • How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
  • American Street by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
  • Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
  • Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
  • How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
  • March by John Lewis
  • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
  • Just Mercy (film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton)
  • How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alverez
  • No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin
  • Racial Profiling by Alison Behnke
  • The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
  • This Side of Home by Renée Watson
  • X by Ilyasah Shabazz
  • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo
  • The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole
  • So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • Solitary: Unbroken by four decades in solitary confinement. My story of transformation and hope by Albert Woodfox
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy, and Premature Birth by Dána-Ain Davis
  • Everyday Anti Racism: Getting Real About Race in School edited by Mica Pollock
  • Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the US by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
  • How to Be Black by Barathunde Thurston
  • Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
  • Yellow - Race in America Beyond Black and White by Frank H. Wu
  • The Wrong End of the Table by Ayser Salman
  • Women, Culture, and Politics by Angela Davis

Religion

  • The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  • How to Be A Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People’s Religious Ceremonies edited by Arthur J. Magida
  • Generation M by Shelina Jammohamed
  • 1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilizations by Salim Al-Hassanni
  • The Fear of Islam: An Introduction of Islamophobia in the West by Todd H. Green
  • Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs and Rituals by George Robinson
  • Ramayana, translated by Kamala Subramaniam
  • Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion by Stephen P. Huyler
  • An Introduction to Hinduism by Gavin Flood
  • Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists edited by Sumi Loundon Kim
  • What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula
  • The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations: Understanding the History, Beliefs, and Differences by Ron Rhodes
  • So What’s the Difference? A Look at 20 Worldviews, Faiths and Religions and How They Compare to Christianity by Fritz Ridenour
  • The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power Over Christian Values by Ben Howe

LGBTQ+

  • Trans+: Love, Sex, Romance, And Being You by Karen Rayne and Kathryn Gonzales
  • The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
  • Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights by Ann Bausum
  • Becoming A Visible Man by Jamison Green
  • Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein
  • Last Time I Wore A Dress by Daphne Scholinski
  • Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-Noncomforming Children
  • Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son by Lori Duron
  • The Right to Be Out: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in America’s Public Schools by Stuart Biegel
  • The Social Justice Advocate’s Handbook: A Guide to Gender by Sam Killerman
  • The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle by Lillian Faderman
  • Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality
  • Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
  • The Men with the Pink Triangle by Heinz Heger
  • Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution by Susan Stryker

Gender Roles and Stereotypes

  • On the Basis of Sex directed by Mimi Leder
  • Know My Name by Chanel Miller
  • Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
  • The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
  • Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
  • I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Jane Sherron De Hart
  • Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World edited by Kelly Jensen
  • Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine
  • Fight Like A Girl by Laura Barcella
  • Jane Addams: Spirit in Action by Louise W. Knight
  • Girl Rising by Tanya Lee Stone
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  • Bossypants by Tina Fey
  • Know My Name by Chanel Miller
  • D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose
  • No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg
  • In Pursuit of Disobedient Women by Dionne Searcey
  • Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky
  • Women, Culture, and Politics by Angela Davis

Other

  • Check Your Privilege: Live into the Work by Myisha T. Hill, Brandy Varnado, and Jennifer Kinney
  • Whistling Vivaldi And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us by Claude M. Steele
  • The Diversity and Inclusion Handbook by Sondra Thiederman