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Reading Without Walls Books that promote diversity, open readers' minds to new ideas and foster appreciation and understanding for others. |
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This is How We Play by Jessica SliceA jubilant, inclusive, luminously illustrated picture book that features families at play, each with a family member who has a disability.
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The House Without Lights by Reem FaruqiHouse watches as its neighbors' lights twinkle during the winter holidays, hoping it will one day shine too, and after new owners move in, House learns that families celebrate joy and togetherness in their own way.
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Being Home by Traci SorellOn a day filled with anticipation, a young Cherokee girl bids farewell to her familiar city life and documents the changing landscape through drawings as her family moves to their ancestral land and embraces their new home.
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Charlie Makes a Splash! by Holly Robinson PeeteCharlie, a boy with autism, describes what his life is like with his twin sister Callie, who does not have autism, and explains how water--whether in a pool, a tub, or in the aquarium--is like a warm hug, which settles him down and calms his mind, allowing him to focus and cope.
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The Coat by Severine VidalAfter receiving a perfect red coat from her sister, Elise gives her prized jacket to a child experiencing homelessness and discovers the joy of helping others.
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The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj MuhammadThe Muslim-American Olympic medalist and social justice activist presents a vibrantly illustrated story about two sisters who endure criticism and bullying when they begin school on the first day the elder wears her beautiful blue hijab.
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Sam's Super Seats by Keah BrownSam, who has cerebral palsy, goes back-to-school shopping with her best friends.
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Eyes That Speak to the Stars by Joanna HoA young Asian boy, who notices that his eyes look different from his friends', realizes that his eyes—like his father’s, grandfather’s, and younger brother’s—rise to the skies, speak to the stars, and are visionary.
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Ruby's Reunion Day Dinner by Angela DaltonOnce a year, each of Ruby's relatives prepares a special dish to share at their family reunion. Daddy calls it their signature dish and Ruby wants one of her own. She wanders through the bustling kitchen looking for inspiration. As she watches Pop-Pop's chicken sizzling in the skillet, Uncle G slicing onions, and Auntie Billie cooking corn on the hot grill, she wonders if she's just too young to have a signature dish. That's when she finds it the perfect solution!
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Gut Reaction by Kirby LarsonA moving and often funny story that explores what living with a chronic illness is like. Starting a new school after the loss of her father, Tess Medina assembles a ragtag team to taste-test her baked goods in preparation for a junior baking competition but is forced to confront everything she's been desperately trying to hide.
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Finally Seen by Kelly YangArriving in America to live with her parents and sister after five years apart, 10-year-old Lina Gao struggles to fit in with her family and at her new school until she learns about the power of friendship, family, and being finally seen.
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Sejal Sinha Battles Superstorms by Maya PrasadWhen a storm threatens Diwali celebrations, eight-year-old Sejal Sinha, a spunky Indian-American girl with an active imagination, tries to use science to save her family's beloved holiday.
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When Clouds Touch Us by Thanhháa LòaiThis breathtaking novel in verse, inspired by the author's experience, follows Hà and her family, refugees from the Vietnam War, as they move to Texas for a new job, and despite not wanting to start over again, Hà discovers unwanted change can bring a good opportunity.
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On Air with Zoe Washington by Janae MarksWhile building a relationship with her newly exonerated birth father, who is having a hard time re-entering society, Zoe starts a podcast to shed light on the struggles exonerees experience and fundraises for his lifelong dream of opening his own restaurant.
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The Witch of Woodland by Laurel SnyderWhile preparing for her bat mitzvah and trying to make sense of her own life, Zippy discovers she has magical abilities when she conjures up a beautiful girl with no memory and wings like an angel to whom she is connected.
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The Way I Say It by Nancy TandonRory Mitchell has always had an issue saying his Rs correctly (which is a real problem given his name); now in sixth grade his former best friend, Brent, suddenly sides with bullies against Rory; but then Brent is hit by a car and suffers a serious brain injury, which requires Rory to reevaluate everything.
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A Duet For Home by Karina Yan GlaserTwo children living in a homeless shelter whose friendship grows over a shared love of classical music, June and Tyree join forces to confront a new housing policy that puts homeless families in danger.
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Maizy Chen's Last Chanceby Lisa YeeEleven-year-old Maizy Chen visits her estranged grandparents, who own and run a Chinese restaurant in Last Chance, Minnesota; as her visit lengthens, she makes unexpected discoveries about her family's history and herself.
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The Sea in Winter by Christine DayAfter an injury sidelines her dreams of becoming a ballet star, Maisie is not excited for her blended family's midwinter road trip along the coast, near the Makah community where her mother grew up.
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The Cookie Crumbles by Tracy BaduaWhile competing in the Golden Cookie Competition for a full ride to the prestigious Sunderland boarding school, Laila gets mixed up in a mystery as she and her best friend, Lucy, search for the truth after one of the celebrity judges collapses after sampling her showpiece.
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Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi SafadiFrom failed football tryouts to helping the new Syrian refugee student, seventh-grader Kareem attempts to navigate the social complexities of seventh grade, which are further complicated when his mother is unable to return home from Syria due to an executive order.
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The Partition Project by Saadia FaruqiWhen her grandmother comes off the airplane in Houston from Pakistan, Mahnoor knows that having Dadi move in is going to disrupt everything about her life. She doesn't have time to be Dadi's unofficial babysitter-her journalism teacher has announced that their big assignment will be to film a documentary, which feels more like storytelling than what Maha would call "journalism." As Dadi starts to settle into life in Houston and Maha scrambles for a subject for her documentary, the two of them start talking. About Dadi's childhood in northern India-and about the Partition that forced her to leave her home and relocate to the newly created Pakistan. As details of Dadi's life are revealed, Dadi's personal story feels a lot more like the breaking news that Maha loves so much. And before she knows it, she has the subject of her documentary.
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Carry Me Home by Janet FoxTwelve-year-old Lulu, burdened with caring for her sister, Serena, since their father disappeared, must learn to trust her new friends and community when secrets and lies catch up with her.
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Farther Than the Moon by Lindsay LackeyFrom award-winning author Lindsay Lackey comes a heartfelt story about a boy who wants to become an astronaut, but wonders if his dreams can include his brother with disabilities, perfect for fans of We Dream of Space and Song for a Whale.
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Sanctuary by Paola MendozaIn 2032, when sixteen-year-old Vali's mother is detained by the Deportation Forces, Vali must flee Vermont with her little brother, Ernie, hoping to reach their Tâia Luna in the sanctuary state of California.
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The Truth As Told By Mason Buttle by Leslie ConnorAn oversized youth with challenging learning disabilities is wrongly suspected of having a hand in his best friend's death, a situation that compels him to create an underground haven for himself and a bullied new friend.
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Barakah Beats by Maleeha SiddiquiIt's Nimra Sharif's first time going to public school. Nimra's nervous, but as long as she has her best friend, Jenna, by her side, she figures she can take on just about anything. Unfortunately, middle school is hard. The teachers are mean, the schedule is confusing, and Jenna starts giving hijab-wearing Nimra the cold shoulder around the other kids. Desperate to fit in and save her friendship with Jenna, Nimra accepts an unlikely invitation to join Barakah Beats, a band mad up of popular eighth-grade boys. The only problem is, Nimra was taught that music isn't allowed in Islam, and she knows her parents would be disappointed in her. So she devises a plan: join the band just until she wins Jenna back, then quit before her parents find out. but Nimra's lies quickly start to unravel. And as she grows to care about her bandmates, Nimra has to decide whether to betray her new friends or herself.
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Free Lunch by Rex OgleA sixth grader from an economically disadvantaged family struggles in a new school where he is forced to endure humiliation over his secondhand clothing and public daily requests for his school’s free lunch program.
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Ash's Cabin by Jen WangLeaving modern society behind for the California wilderness, Ash searches for an escape from the miserable feeling of alienation that haunts their daily life but discovers that making the wilds their home isn't easy and wonders if they can really be happy and survive alone.
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The Glass Girl by Kathleen GlasgowWhen fifteen-year-old Bella's latest blackout lands her in the hospital, she enters rehab to confront her addiction to alcohol.
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Everything We Never Had by Randy RibaySet in the 1930s to today, this novel follows four generations of Filipino American boys who grapple with identity, masculinity, and father-son relationships.
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Where You See Yourself by Claire ForrestEffie Galanos' goals for her senior year include her navigating her way through her high school that is not really wheelchair-friendly, getting into the perfect college, and getting her crush Wilder to accompany her to the prom--but by spring she is beginning to see herself entirely differently.
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The Next New Syrian Girl by Ream ShukairyThe unlikely friendship between Syrian American boxer Khadija and Syrian refugee Leene reveals the pressures and expectations of the perfect Syrian daughter and the repercussions of the Syrian Revolution both at home and abroad.
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While You Were Dreaming by Alisha RaiWhen a video of her rescuing her crush James goes viral, Sonia, or rather a mysterious masked savior, is thrust into the spotlight and must protect her secret identity from TikTok and the world while dealing with her feelings for this awkwardly charming boy.
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Turning by Joy L. SmithBefore the accident Genie was an aspiring ballerina, a star pupil at her exclusive New York dance school, now she is a bitter teenager, permanently confined to a wheelchair, shutting herself off from her friends, her beloved teacher, and even her mother; but at physical therapy she meets Kyle, a gymnast whose traumatic brain injury has landed him in therapy--and through their growing friendship Genie realizes that she has to confront the things around her: like the booze her mother is hiding, or the fact that maybe her fall was not entirely accidental.
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Frankly in Love by David YoonTorn between his love for his white girlfriend and his sense of duty to the matchmaking parents who made hard sacrifices to move to the United States, a Korean American teen and his friend who has a similar problem come up with a scheme to solve both of their problems.
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An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh MafiIt's 2003, several months since the US officially declared war on Iraq, and the American political world has evolved. Tensions are high, hate crimes are on the rise, FBI agents are infiltrating local mosques, and the Muslim community is harassed and targeted more than ever. Shadi, who wears hijab, keeps her head down. She's too busy drowning in her own troubles to find the time to deal with bigots. Shadi is named for joy, but she's haunted by sorrow. Her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is falling apart, and her best friend has mysteriously dropped out of her life. And then, of course, there's the small matter of her heart-- it's broken. Shadi tries to navigate her crumbling world by soldiering through, saying nothing. She devours her own pain, each day retreating farther and farther inside herself until finally, one day, everything changes.
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Indivisible by Daniel AlemanAn American-born teen and his younger sister scramble to keep their family together when they return home from school one day to find that their undocumented parents have been arrested by ICE and are facing possible deportation.
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