Diverse Books for Elementary Students

The school year might be ending but learning should never stop! Here’s a great list of diverse books for Elementary School readers.


A Ride to Remember
By Sharon Langley

This book reveals how in 1963, demonstrations and public protests lead the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park to became desegregated. Learn how tells how a community came together—both black and white—to make a change.

Book | eBook | eAudio

A Girl Like Me
By Angela Johnson

Empower young readers to embrace their individuality, reject societal limitations, and follow their dreams. This inspiring picture book brings together a poem by acclaimed author Angela Johnson and Nina Crews’s distinctive photocollage illustrations to celebrate girls of color.

Book | eBook

The Undefeated
By Kwame Alexander

Originally performed for ESPN’s The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes. 

Book | eBook

Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice
By Mahogany Browne

Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.

Book | eBook

Hidden Figures
By Margot Lee Sheterly

Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden were good at math…really good. They participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes, like providing the calculations for America’s first journeys into space. And they did so during a time when being black and a woman limited what they could do.

Book | eBook


Get Up, Stand Up
By Cedella Marley
Book | eBook
Radiant Child
By Javaka Steptoe

Book | eBook
Josephine
By Patricia Hruby Powell
Book | eBook
Let the Children March
By Monica-Clark Robinson

Book | eBook
This is the Rope
By Jacqueline Woodson

Book | eBook
The First Step
By Susan Goodman

Book | eBook

Preaching to the Chickens
By Jabari Asim
Book
Freedom Over Me
By Ashley Bryan
Book | eBook
Whoosh!
By Chris Barton

Book | eBook
Before She was Harriet
By Lesa Cline-Ransome
Book | eBook


Looking for more diverse books? Check out the Pratt’s collection of Diverse Books for Elementary Students.