Celebrate Diverse Voices and Perspectives

Celebrate Diversity with Books from Lerner

Books have the power to affirm our identities, to build understanding with people unlike ourselves, to challenge our misconceptions, and to broaden our awareness of the world. Click one of the categories below to browse an online collection of diverse titles for grades PreK-12, or browse all our diverse books.


Category Definitions

Social Justice
Books with themes, plots, or information about using civil disobedience, advocacy, or other tactics to seek justice for disenfranchised or oppressed groups of people
Race & Ethnicity
Books with primary character(s) or subjects from racial or ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented or marginalized in children's literature.
#OwnVoices
Books where the protagonist and the author share an underrepresented or marginalized identity; Lerner Books are labeled #OwnVoices only when the author openly shares the same characteristics as their protagonist and agrees with this designation; learn more about the author and the book lernerbooks.com.
Physical Disability/Illness
Books featuring characters or providing information about people who have illnesses or impairments that limit their physical functioning.
Immigration/Refugees
Books featuring characters or providing information about immigrant, emigrant, or refugee experiences.
LGBTQIA+
Books featuring characters or providing information about people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or any identification within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
Mental Health & Neurodiversity
Books featuring characters or providing information about people who have neurological variances and differences (autism, dyslexia, ADHD, etc.) or who have mental illnesses or other mental health struggles.
Feminism
Books with themes, plots, or information about women's rights on the basis of equality of the sexes.
#MeToo
Books with themes, plots, or information pertaining to sexual harrassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, primarily against women by men.
Social Class
Books with themes, plots, or information about social class, wealth, or poverty, especially focusing on inequalities.
Celebrating Differences
Books with themes, plots, or information specifically about diversity, celebrating differences, inclusion, equality, or acceptance; can include non-human characters.

Additional Resources

Read Woke™ Books from Lerner

Read Woke Books is a new brand created in collaboration with Cicely Lewis, the #ReadWoke librarian. Learn more at lernerbooks.com/readwoke.

Webinar with #ReadWoke Librarian Cicely Lewis

What is a #ReadWoke Book and how can having more of them benefit your library program? Learn how diversifying your collections will make a difference in your library. Watch the webinar recording here.

Resources for Finding Diverse Books

Resources for Performing a Library Diversity Audit

Reframing Classic Literature

Read for a Better World: Inclusive Classroom Libraries and More

Read for a Better World is a new kind of inclusive literacy collection, designed to help students think, create, share, and grow along the themes of identity, diversity, justice, and action. Explore classroom libraries, take-home book packs, student and educator guides, and more materials designed to help students grow as readers and as people. Learn more at ReadforaBetterWorld.com.

Additional Diverse Books and Social Justice Resources

Download Our Diverse Books Catalog

Browse our PDF catalog identifying books across eleven categories: Social Justice, Race and Ethnicity, #OwnVoices, Immigration and Refugees, LGBTQIA+, Mental Health and Neurodiversity, Physical Disability and Illness, Social Class, Celebrating Differences, Feminism, and #MeToo.

Browse or download now →

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On our site, you can purchase books directly or export a list to order from your vendor of choice. Click the "Add to Cart" button to add products to your list. Once you've finished, select the cart in the upper right-hand corner and click "View Cart." From there, you can choose to export your cart as an Excel spreadsheet or PDF.

Interested in Books to Support SEL?

Explore our social and emotional learning hub:
LernerBooks.com/SEL.

Updated 2024-02-07 09:25:05 -0800. MK610-0520.