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.

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

• Social Justice Booklists
• Social Justice Books: Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books
• American Indians in Children’s Literature
• Asian/Pacific Americans Librarians Association‘s Talk Story Resources
• The Brown Bookshelf
• Latinxs in Kid Lit
• Rich in Color
• Disability in Kidlit
• De Colores
• Hijabi Librarians
• Booklists from the Conscious Kid
• Diverse Books Finder
• Cooperative Children's Book Center Diversity Statistics Book Search
• TeachingBooks.net Diverse Books Toolkit
• Pura Belpré Award
• Coretta Scott King Awards
• Schneider Family Book Award
• Stonewall Book Awards
• Rainbow Project Book List

Resources for Performing a Library Diversity Audit

• Baker and Taylor Diversity Analysis Tool
• Follett: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Ingram iCurate inClusive Assessment Service
• Overdrive Diverse Reading Resource Center

Reframing Classic Literature

• DisruptTexts.org
• Conversation with Dr. Kimberly Parker, Cofounder of #DisruptTexts

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

• Talking to Kids about Race: Resources from Rebekah Gienapp
• We Need Diverse Books
• Blog from Philip Nel: Seuss, Racism, and Resources for Anti-Racist Children’s Literature

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.

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