Fiction
- Balouch, Kristen. Mystery Bottle – A young boy receives a bottle in the mail that sends him on an imaginary journey to visit his grandfather in Iran. They share tea, conversation, and the love of family.
- Barnes, Derrick. I Am Every Good Thing – The narrator of this book is proud of everything that makes him who he is – he’s creative, smart, funny and a good friend. He’s got big plans, and no doubt he’ll see them through.
- Beyers, Grace. I Believe I Can – I Believe I Can is an affirmation for boys and girls of every background to love and believe in themselves.
- Bryan, Sean. A Bear and His Boy – Mack the bear tries to complete a schedule that is “jam-packed” while a boy named Zack suggests that he relax.
- Diaz, Lucky. Paletero Man – A little boy searches through town on a hot day for the paletero man so he can have a frozen treat to cool off.
- Donnio, Sylviane. I’d Really Like to Eat a Child – A young crocodile insists he will eat a child—but when he finally comes across a little girl, she puts him in his place.
- Fox, Mem. Whoever You Are – This book is a celebration of the world’s diverse cultures, both our similarities and differences.
- Fredrickson, Lane. Monster Trouble! – A little girl just wants to go to sleep, so she learns the one thing monsters don’t like so that she can get rid of them!
- French Jackie. Diary of a Wombat – Wombats are cuddly-looking, slow-moving Australian animals. Here, in the words of one unusually articulate wombat, is the account of a busy week: eating, sleeping, digging holes…and training a family of humans to produce treats on demand.
- Gues, Patrick. Windows – Perfect for children of all ages, this heartfelt story opens the curtains on the story of how we can all feel together even when we are far apart.
- Harris, Meena. Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea – Inspired by a true story, this beautiful, empowering picture book follows two sisters as they work with their community to make change happen.
- Higgins, Ryan. Mother Bruce – Bruce the bear likes to keep to himself. That, and eat eggs. But when his hard-boiled goose eggs turn out to be real, live goslings, what’s a bear to do?
- Ho, Joanna. Eyes that Kiss in the Corners – A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers and have eyes that kiss in the corners. She learns to recognize her own beauty, and her story inspires readers to feel empowered to do the same.
- James, LeBron. I Promise – NBA champion and superstar LeBron James pens a slam-dunk picture book inspired by his foundation’s I PROMISE program that motivates children everywhere to always #StriveForGreatness.
- Kelkar, Supriya. The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh – Harpreet loves to express himself through colors, especially with which color patka he wears. When he moves to a new city, he wonders if he’ll ever feel happy yellow again.
- Kranz, Linda. Only One You – There is only one you in the world. Make it a better place. This exquisitely illustrated book explodes with color and honest insights.
- Maillard, Kevin Noble. Fry Bread – Fry bread is a Native American flat, dough bread that is fried in oil. This story centers on a family and all that fry bread means to them–food, history, culture, community, and family.
- Martinez-Neal, Juana. Alma and How She Got Her Name – Alma has six names and feels like it is way too many until she hears the story of her name and the people who inspired it. Alma realizes that her name is a special part of her and that one day she will have her own story to tell.
- Martinez-Neal, Juana. Zonia’s Rainforest – Zonia lives in the Amazon rainforest and loves visiting animal friends. One morning, Zonia learns that the rainforest needs her help.
- Miller, Pat Zietlow. Wherever You Go – Join an adventurous rabbit and his animal friends on a journey of new experiences.
- Mitchell, Malcolm. My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World – When Henley’s new teacher asks the class to share their favorite book, he discovers that the best stories are sometimes inside of us!
- Pham, LeUyen. Outside, Inside – Outside, Inside is a moving picture book celebrating essential workers and the community coming together to face the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
- Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. I Wish You More – Enjoy this happy book of exuberant good wishes.
- Rubin, Adam. Dragons Love Tacos – Dragons love tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa…oh boy. You’re in red-hot trouble.
- Saeed, Aisha. Bilal Cooks Daal – Bilal is so excited to help his dad make daal! This is a wonderful story about how food can be a way to share other’s family traditions.
- Stevens, Janet. The Great Fuzz Frenzy – Deep, deep down in their underground town, the prairie dogs live in harmony – until a mysterious fuzzy thing (otherwise known as a tennis ball) rolls down their hole.
- Tallac, Olivier. Who Done It? and Who Was That? – These two books are great for engaging readers with using their memory and the detailed illustrations to figure out “who done it?” And “who was that?”
- Thompkins-Bigelow, Jamilah. Mommy’s Khimar – A young Muslim girl spends a busy day wrapped up in her mother’s colorful headscarf in this sweet and fanciful picture book.
- Uegaki, Chieri. Suki’s Kimono – Suki’s favorite possession is her blue cotton kimono. It holds special memories of her grandmother’s visit last summer so she wants to wear it on her first day back to school.
- Whybrow, Ian. Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs – Harry finds some old dinosaurs in his Grandma’s attic. He cleans them up and makes them his own.
- Wong, Liz. Quackers – This quirky funny book is about standing, fitting in, and building a life with room for all.
- Yim, Natasha. Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas – It’s Chinese New Year, and Goldy’s mother wants her to take a plate of turnip cakes to the neighbors. This is another version of Goldilocks—with funny and disastrous results.
Nonfiction
- Allen, Judy. Are You A Bee? – Share the story from the perspective of a honeybee and the challenges it faces in the backyard.
- Bradley, Kimberly. Pop! A Book About Bubbles – What are bubbles made of? Why are they always round? Read and find out about the science behind soap bubbles.
- Dorling Kindersley Readers – Learn about real animals, bugs, people and places.
- Fliess, Sue. The Bug Book – This fun rhyming story lists all the bugs you can imagine – creep bugs, climb bugs, sticky-slime bugs!
- Jenkins, Steve. Actual Size – How big is a crocodile? What about a tiger? Sometimes facts and figures don’t tell the whole story. Sometimes you need to see things for yourself – at their actual size.
- Jenkins, Steve. Creature Features – Twenty-five animals explain why they look the way they do.
- Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? – A nose for digging? Eyes that squirt blood? Explore the many amazing things animals can do in the interactive guessing book.
- National Geographic Kids Readers – Learn all about fascinating people, amazing places, and interesting animals in the National Geographic readers.
- Parr, Todd. The Earth Book – “I take care of the earth because I know I can do better things everyday to make a BIG difference…”
- Schaeffer, Lola M. Because Of An Acorn – Because of an acorn, a tree grows, a bird nests, a seed becomes a flower.
- Vegara, Maria Isabel Sanchez. Little People, Big Dreams (Series) – This series features biographies that celebrate the lives of amazing dreamers throughout history.
*The above suggested texts cover a wide variety of topics and genres. Another good place to find quality text is at your local library so consider visiting often! As we know, student choice and interest drive a passion for the love of reading.
