Hashtag activism and the

importance of diversity in

children’s literature.

This talk for Waiver Day at Westerville

City Schools on 2/6/15.

Not all information presented is on these

slides, but if you would like to see the

resource links, this Power Point has been

uploaded to my blog:

http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com

BookCon 2014

“The initial list of invited speakers

included James Patterson, Lemony

Snicket (Daniel Handler) and even

Internet superstar Grumpy Cat. But for

author Grace Lin, the fact that there

were more cats than people of color

speaking at the industry's most high-

profile gathering was "disappointing

and incredibly insulting." But Lin says

it was also not surprising given the

publishing industry's disconnect with

the next generation of American

readers.”

NPR.Org

There were 18 white men, 12 white

women, and Grumpy Cat.

http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2

013/01/world-wednesday.html

Books can be mirrors of

who we are or windows

into the lives of others.

All of our students

should be able to see

themselves in literature,

or be able to learn

about other people who

might have different

ethnicities, abilities or

lifestyles from their

own.

In 2009, Bloomsbury

gave in to blogger

pressure to change the

cover of Liar.

Later that year, the same

publisher changed the

cover of Magic Under

Glass.

The #WeNeedDiverseBooks hashtag on

Tumblr was overwhelmed with pictures.

And awkward conversations STILL go on!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/20/dan

iel-handler-offensive-jokes_n_6193188.html

I'd rather continue to move the dialogue

forward in a positive light rather than a

negative one. This is a moment when our

country can grow and learn and better

understand each other. It would be nice to put

the energy back where it should be -- on the

books and what the books are saying and

doing -- ... Brown Girl Dreaming is about

writing and about the history of this country.

But more than that, it's about what this

conversation should be -- a coming to

understanding across lines of race.

Jaqueline Woodson

Publishers and awards

committees have

listened!

So where does this

leave teachers and

librarians?

How can we have

conversations with our

students? How do we

get them to read

diverse books?

We have to encourage

them to read books as

mirrors or windows.

A student in a hijab picked up

this book that was on display

and asked what it was about.

She was excited that the book

was about a girl who shared

her cousin’s name.

“Thirteen-year-old

Khadija,

a Somali refugee,

becomes a model for

a famous fashion

designer to help her

family back home, while

the designer's daughter

Freya and fourteen-

year-old Abdi, whose

family Khadija lives with

in London, try to protect

her.”

Middle grade students

are searching for

identity.

What they look like or

what there names are

might not be the way

they see themselves.

Ask students what kind

of mirror they want, and

go from there.

In February

In October

Do we need labels? Shouldn’t

we just be blind to differences?

Right now, it’s so hard to find

books to reflect all students

that we need to label them and

show publishers how few

diverse books there are.

We don’t need to share the

labels with students. We can

just show them diverse books

that relate to other topics that

they want.

How do I get good books to my

students? What should I look

for?

“To help her poverty-stricken

family, 13-year-old Lupita

enters California as an illegal

alien and starts to work while

constantly on the watch for "la

migra".”

Beatty, Patricia. Published in

1981.

When her father leaves their beloved

Mexico in search of work, Nora stays

behind. She fights to make sense of

her loss while living in poverty—

waiting for her father's return and a

better day. When the letters and

money stop coming, Nora decides that

she and her mother must look for him

in Texas. After a frightening

experience crossing the border, the

two are all alone in a strange place.

Now, Nora must find the strength to

survive while aching for small

comforts: friends, a new school, and

her precious quinceañera.

Restrepo, Bettina. Published in 2011.

http://weneeddiversebooks.org/where-to-find-diverse-books/

BOOK AWARDS

THE AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARDS

CHILDREN’S AFRICANA BOOK AWARDS

AMERICAS BOOK AWARDS

ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE

CORETTA SCOTT KING BOOK AWARDS

STONEWALL BOOK AWARDS

NAACP IMAGE AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

CARTER G. WOODSON BOOK AWARD

LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD (LGBTQI LITERATURE)

TOMAS RIVERA BOOK AWARD

SOUTH ASIA BOOK AWARD

NEW VOICES AWARD

THE SCHOLASTIC ASIAN BOOK AWARD

SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD

SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD

THE JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS

ARAB AMERICAN BOOK AWARD

PURA BELPRE AWARD

DISABILITIES

DISABILITY IN KIDLIT

ISLAM

SLJ’S ISLAM IN THE CLASSROOM

LGBTQIA

ALA’S RAINBOW LIST

LATINO

VAMOS A LEER

SLJ: LIBRO POR LIBRO

SLJ’S GATEWAY LATINO BOOKS

MAMIVERSE BOOKS

LATIN@S IN KID LIT

“The author's softly hewn pencil

drawings infuse life and authenticity

to her poetic, exquisitely wrought

narrative. Omakayas is an intense,

strong, likable character to whom

young readers will fully relate--from

her mixed emotions about her

siblings, to her discovery of her

unique talents, to her devotion to her

pet crow Andeg, to her budding

understanding of death, life, and her

role in the natural world. ”

Throughout World War II, in the conflict

fought against Japan, Navajo code

talkers were a crucial part of the U.S.

effort, sending messages back and forth

in an unbreakable code that used their

native language. They braved some of

the heaviest fighting of the war, and with

their code, they saved countless

American lives. Yet their story remained

classified for more than twenty years.

But now Joseph Bruchac brings their

stories to life for young adults through the

riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a

sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who

becomes a code talker. His grueling

journey is eye-opening and inspiring. This

deeply affecting novel honors all of those

young men, like Ned, who dared to serve,

and it honors the culture and language of

the Navajo Indians.

We need to have a variety of

books.

They need to be accurate.

They need to be interesting.

There are a zillion web sites and

a zillion titles out there but I don’t

have time to look through them!

http://thebrownbookshelf.com/

http://richincolor.com/

Reading in Color

http://twinjabookreviews.blogspot.com/

http://coebooth.com/about/

It was one thing when Jarrett's mom took care of foster

babies who needed help. But this time it's different. This

time the baby who needs help has an older brother -- a

kid Jarrett's age named Kevon. Everyone thinks Jarrett

and Kevon should be friends -- but that's not gonna

happen. Not when Kevon's acting like he's better than

Jarrett -- and not when Jarrett finds out Kevon's keeping

some major secrets. Jarrett doesn't think it's fair that he

has to share his room, his friends, and his life with some

stranger. He's gotta do something about it -- but

what? From award-winning author Coe Booth, KINDA

LIKE BROTHERS is the story of two boys who really

don't get along -- but have to find a way to figure it out.

http://www.varianjohnson.co

m

Jackson Greene swears he's given up scheming.

Then school bully Keith Sinclair announces he's

running for Student Council president, against

Jackson's former friend Gaby de la Cruz. Gaby wants

Jackson to stay out of it -- but he knows Keith has

"connections" to the principal, which could win him the

presidency no matter the vote count.

So Jackson assembles a crack team: Hashemi Larijani,

tech genius. Victor Cho, bankroll. Megan Feldman,

science goddess. Charlie de la Cruz, reporter. Together

they devise a plan that will take down Keith, win Gaby's

respect, and make sure the election is done right. If

they can pull it off, it will be remembered as the school's

greatest con ever -- one worthy of the name THE

GREAT GREENE HEIST

http://www.sharondraper.co

m

Sharon Draper is an active participant in the activities of

the YWCA of Cincinnati, a member of the National

Council of Teachers of English, the International

Reading Association, and Top Ladies of Distinction. Ms.

Draper travels extensively and has been a guest on

television and radio programs throughout the country,

discussing issues of literature, reading, and education.

She is an accomplished public speaker who addresses

educational and literary groups of all ages, both

nationally and internationally, with entertaining readings

of her poetry and novels, as well as enlightening

instructional presentations. She lives in Cincinnati,

Ohio, with her husband and a golden retriever named

Honey.

http://www.brendawoods.net

The Blossoming of Violet Diamond

Violet is a smart, funny, brown-eyed, brown-haired girl in a

family of blonds. Her mom is white, and her dad, who died

before she was born, was black. She attends a mostly

white school where she sometimes feels like a brown leaf

on a pile of snow. She’s tired of people asking if she’s

adopted. Now that Violet’s eleven, she decides it’s time to

learn about her African American heritage. And despite

getting off to a rocky start trying to reclaim her dad’s side of

the family, she can feel her confidence growing as the

puzzle pieces of her life finally start coming together.

Readers will cheer for Violet, sharing her joy as she

discovers her roots.

http://tanitasdavis.com http://www.gregneri.com/

http://jewellparkerrhodes.com

/http://www.sharongflake.com/

Rukhsana Khan- Writer/resource list

http://www.islamicfictionbooks.com/

http://www.pinterest.com/msyinglingreads/muslimmuslim-american-fiction/

http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2011/11/10/diversity-in-ya-literature-muslim-teens

http://www.randaabdelfattah.com

http://www.rukhsanakhan.co

m

Jameela and her family live in a poor, war-torn village in Afghanistan.

Even with her cleft lip and lack of educational opportunities, Jameela

feels relatively secure, sustained by her Muslim faith and the love of

her mother, Mor. But when Mor dies, Jameela’s father impulsively

decides to start a new life in Kabul. Jameela is appalled as he

succumbs to alcohol and drugs, then suddenly remarries, a situation

that soon has her a virtual slave to a demanding stepmother. After

she’s discovered trying to learn to read, Jameela is abandoned in a

busy market, eventually landing in an orphanage run by the same

army that killed so many members of her family. Throughout it all, the

memory of her mother sustains her, giving Jameela the strength to

face her father and stepmother when fate brings them together again.

Inspired by a true story, and set in a world far removed from that of

Western readers, this powerful novel reveals that the desire for

identity and self-understanding is universal.

http://www.fziastories.com/

Zulaikha hopes. She hopes for peace, now that the

Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan; a good

relationship with her hard stepmother; and one day

even to go to school, or to have her cleft palate fixed.

Zulaikha knows all will be provided for her--"Inshallah,"

God willing.

Then she meets Meena, who offers to teach her the

Afghan poetry she taught her late mother. And the

Americans come to her village, promising not just new

opportunities and dangers, but surgery to fix her face.

These changes could mean a whole new life for

Zulaikha--but can she dare to hope they'll come true?

http://www.fziastories.com/

Aliya already struggles with trying to fit in, feeling confident

enough to talk to the cute boy or stand up to mean kids the fact

that she’s Muslim is just another thing to deal with. When

Marwa, a Moroccan girl who shares her faith if not her culture,

comes to Aliya’s school, Aliya wonders even more about who

she is, what she believes, and where she fits in. Should she fast

for Ramadan? Should she wear the hijab? She’s old enough for

both, but does she really want to call attention to herself?

http://www.nhsenzai.com/

In the summer of 2001, twelve year old Fadi’s parents make the

difficult decision to illegally leave Afghanistan and move the

family to the United States. When their underground transport

arrives at the rendezvous point, chaos ensues, and Fadi is left

dragging his younger sister Mariam through the crush of people.

But Mariam accidentally lets go of his hand and becomes lost in

the crowd, just as Fadi is snatched up into the truck. With

Taliban soldiers closing in, the truck speeds away, leaving

Mariam behind.

http://www.justreadfamilies.org/Reading/HHM.asp

http://latinosinkidlit.com/tag/middle-grade-2/

http://thelatinoauthor.com/

http://tejanamade.wordpress.com/2012/10/04/

multicultural-middle-school-novels-for-hispanic-heritage-month/

http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/culturalhispanic/tp/hispanic_latino.htm

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal

http://almaflorada.com/

When Margie's cousin Lupe comes from

Mexico to live in California with Margie's family,

Lupe must adapt to America, while Margie, who

thought it would be fun to have her cousin

there, finds that she is embarrassed by her in

school and jealous of her at home.

http://www.juliaalvarez.com/

Moving to Vermont after his parents split,

Miguel has plenty to worry about! Tía Lola, his

quirky, carismática, and maybe magical aunt

makes his life even more unpredictable when

she arrives from the Dominican Republic to

help out his Mami.

http://www.garysoto.com/

Lincoln is in a jam when his basketball team at

his new school--where the students are rich

and mostly white--faces his old team from the

barrio on the boards. How can he play his best

against his friends? No matter who wins, it

looks like it will be lose-lose for Lincoln.

http://www.dianalopezbooks.co

m

Apolonia "Lina" Flores is a sock enthusiast, a

volleyball player, a science lover, and a girl who's just

looking for answers. Even though her house is

crammed full of books (her dad's a bibliophile), she's

having trouble figuring out some very big questions,

like why her dad seems to care about books more than

her, why her best friend's divorced mom is obsessed

with making cascarones (hollowed eggshells filled with

colorful confetti), and, most of all, why her mom died

last year. Like colors incascarones, Lina's life is a

rainbow of people, interests, and unexpected changes.

http://www.pammunozryan.c

om

When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to

claim her, Naomi runs away to Oaxaca, Mexico

with her great-grandmother and younger

brother in search of her father.

http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com/2011/07/honoring-asianasian-american-

themed-middle-grade-novels/

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/39537.Asian_Young_Adult_and_Middle_Gr

ade_Fiction

Oriental Rugs, Not People

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112465167

http://cynthiakadohata.com/

Just when twelve-year-old Summer thinks

nothing else can possibly go wrong in a year of

bad luck, an emergency takes her parents to

Japan, leaving Summer to care for her little

brother while helping her grandmother cook

and do laundry for harvest workers.

http://www.lindasuepark.co

m/

Julia, a Korean-American, and her friend

Patrick learn about tolerance, friendship, and

patience while working together on a project

about silkworms.

http://www.yingc.com/

Nine-year-old Ling is very comfortable with her life; her

parents are both dedicated doctors in the best hospital

in Wuhan. But when Comrade Li, one of Mao's political

officers, moves into a room in their apartment, Ling

begins to witness the gradual disintegration of her

world. In an atmosphere of increasing mistrust, Ling

fears for the safety of her neighbors, and soon for

herself and family. Over the course of four years, Ling

manages to blossom, even as she suffers more

horrors than many people face in a lifetime.

Cal and Barney, Chinese Americans, are

trapped in a world of racial prejudice in 1939

with no jobs and no future until the Dragons, a

barnstorming basketball team, invites them to

join the team.

http://www.harpercollins.com/cr-

100149/laurence-yep

http://www.daveyoo.com/

Sixth-grader Peter Lee, in a desperate attempt

to regain the popularity he had in elementary

school, discovers that serving detention can win

him important friends, much to the dismay of

his over-achieving eighth-grade sister, Sunny.

https://captainstupendous.wordpress.

com

Twelve-year-old Vincent and his fellow

members of the Captain Stupendous Fan Club

help out when someone new becomes Earth's

most famous superhero, without knowing

anything about him, just as evil Professor

Mayhem and his robot arrive in Copperplate

City..

Lee and Low Books

Charlotte’s Library

https://captainstupendous.wordpress.

com

Twelve-year-old Vincent and his fellow

members of the Captain Stupendous Fan Club

help out when someone new becomes Earth's

most famous superhero, without knowing

anything about him, just as evil Professor

Mayhem and his robot arrive in Copperplate

City..

Lee and Low Books

Charlotte’s Library

Marriott, Zoe. The Name of

the Blade.

When Mio sneaks the

family's katana--a priceless

ancestral sword--from her

parents' attic, she just

wants to spice up a

costume. Awakening the

power within the sword

unleashes a terrible,

ancient evil onto the streets

of unsuspecting London.

With creatures straight out

of Japanese myths stalking

her and her friends, Mio

realizes that if she cannot

keep the sword safe and

learn to control its

legendary powers, she will

lose not only her own life--

but the love of a lifetime.

Be very careful with literature about American Indians. It

is preferable if books state a particular tribal affliation

and are not generically Native.

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com

/http://www.slj.com/2013/11/collection-

development/focus-on-collection-

development/resources-and-kid-lit-about-american-

indians-focus-on/

Joseph

Bruchac has

Abenaki Indian

heritage.

http://josephbr

uchac.com/

Tim Tingle is

an Oklahoma

Choctaw.

http://www.tim

tingle.com/

Eric

Gansworth is

an enrolled

member of the

Onondaga

Nation.

http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com/2014/02/bollywood-south-asian-american-

middle-grade-fiction/

http://www.pragmaticmom.com/multicultural-books-for-children/

https://www.pinterest.com/msyinglingreads/

http://www.varshabajaj.com/

What thirteen-year-old Abby wants most is to

meet her father. She just never imagined he

would be a huge film star--in Bollywood! Now

she's traveling to Mumbai to get to know her

famous father. Abby is overwhelmed by the

culture clash, the pressures of being the

daughter of India's most famous celebrity, and

the burden of keeping her identity a secret. But

as she learns to navigate her new

surroundings, she just might discover where

she really belongs.

http://www.padmasbooks.co

m

Padma Venkatraman's inspiring story of a

young girl's struggle to regain her passion and

find a new peace is told lyrically through verse

that captures the beauty and mystery of India

and the ancientbharatanatyam dance form.

This is a stunning novel about spiritual

awakening, the power of art, and above all, the

courage and resilience of the human spirit.

Eleven-year-old Dini loves movies, and so

when she learns that her family is moving to

India for two years, her devastation over

leaving her best friend in Maryland is tempered

by the possibility of meeting her favorite

actress, Dolly Singh.

http://umakrishnaswami.org/

http://www.mitaliblog.com/

When a tiger cub escapes from a nature reserve near Neel's island

village, the rangers and villagers hurry to find her before the cub's anxious

mother follows suit and endangers them all. Mr. Gupta, a rich newcomer

to the island, is also searching--he wants to sell the cub's body parts on

the black market. Neel and his sister, Rupa, resolve to find the cub first

and bring her back to the reserve where she belongs.

The hunt for the cub interrupts Neel's preparations for an exam to win a

prestigious scholarship at a boarding school far from home. Neel doesn't

mind--he dreads the exam and would rather stay on his beloved island in

the Sunderbans of West Bengal with his family and friends.

But through his encounter with the cub, Neil learns that sometimes you

have to take risks to preserve what you love. And sometimes you have to

sacrifice the present for the chance to improve the future.

http://www.varshabajaj.com/

Ash Mistry hates India. Which is a problem since his uncle has

brought him and his annoying younger sister Lucky there to take up a

dream job with the mysterious Lord Savage. But Ash immediately

suspects something is very wrong with the eccentric millionaire.

Soon, Ash finds himself in a desperate battle to stop Savage's

masterplan – the opening of the Iron Gates that have kept Ravana,

the demon king, at bay for four millennia…

http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html (National Center for Children in

Poverty)

More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in

families with incomes below the federal poverty level – $23,550 a year for a

family of four. Research shows that, on average, families need an income of

about twice that level to cover basic expenses. Using this standard, 45% of

children live in low-income families.

About 15% in foster care. Statistics are hard to find.

Bauer, Joan. Close to Famous. (2011)

Erskine, Kathryn. Seeing Red (2013)

Harris, Theresa. The Perfect Place

(2014)(abandonment)

Howe, James. Also Known as Elvis. (2014)

Maldonado, Tony. Secret Saturdays (2010) (prison)

Myers, Walter Dean. All the Right Stuff (2012)(death)

Vernick, Audrey. Screaming at the Ump

(2014)(financial)

Vigilante, Danette. Saving Baby Doe (2013)

Woodworth, Chris. Ivy in the Shadows (2013)

Gephart, Donna. Death by Toilet Paper (2014)

Contest-crazed twelve-year-old Ben uses his wits

and way with words in hopes of winning a prize that

will keep his family from being evicted until his

mother can pass her final CPA examination.

Aust, Patricia. Shelter. (2013)

Bauer, Joan. Almost Home (2012)

Cooley, Beth. Shelter (2006)

Ellis, Deborah. No Ordinary Day (2011)

Moses, Sheila. Joseph (2008)

Nelson, Blake. The Prince of Venice Beach (2014)

Phillips, Gin. The Hidden Summer (2013)

Pyron, Bobbie. The Dogs of Winter (2012)

Strasser, Todd. No Place (2014)

Watson, Christy. Living Rough (2011)

Williams, Michael. Now is the Time for Running

(2009)

Dowell, Frances O’Roark. Where I’d Like to Be (2003)

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Pictures of Hollis Woods. (2002)

Grimes, Niki. The Road to Paris (2006)(African American)

Hunt, Lynda Mulalley. One for the Murphys (2011)

Lupica, Mike. Heat (2006)

McClain, Lee. Sizzle (2012)(Latino culture)

Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins (1978)

Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Counting by Sevens (2013) (autism)

Wolfson, Jill. What I Call Life (2005)

Woodson, Jacqueline. Peace, Love, Locomotion (2009)

Winget, Dianna Dorisi. A Million Ways Home (2014)

When her grandmother and guardian suffers a stroke,

twelve-year-old Poppy Parker's life turns upside down--but

when she witnesses a murder and has to go into witness

protection with Detective Brannigan's mother it becomes

hard to believe she will ever find a way home, let alone

save Gunner, a beautiful German shepherd with an

uncertain future.

Watson, Renee (2010)

After the death of their mother, thirteen-year-old

Serenity Evans and her younger brother go to live

with their grandparents, who try to keep them safe

from bad influences and help them come to terms

with what has happened to their family.

Jones, Traci. Silhouetted by the Blue.

After the death of her mother in an automobile

accident, seventh-grader Serena, who has gotten the

lead in her middle school play, is left to handle the

day-to-day challenges of caring for herself and her

younger brother when their father cannot pull himself

out of his depression.

Geithner, Carole.

A stunning debut about one girl's journey through

loss and grief. Corinna's world is crushed after her

mother dies of cancer. How does she get through the

funeral, trays of ziti, a father who can't communicate,

the first day of school, Mother's Day, people who

don't know what to say, and the entire eighth-grade

year? Despite her alienation from many of her peers,

including her best friend, she succeeds in finding

support. She dares to bare her innermost fears,

hurts, and wishes, and even allows herself to have a

flowering crush on a boy in the school band. She

also finds out deep secrets about her mother which

she never knew. It's a year that will change Corinna's

life forever..

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/886.Autism_in_Fiction

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts (2004)

Crowley,Suzanne. The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous (2007)

Dooley, Sarah. Livvie Owen Lived Here (2010)

Dowd, Siobhan. The London Eye Mystery (2007)

Erskine, Katherine. Mockingbird (2011)

Jonsberg, Barry. The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee (2014)

Lord, Cynthia. Rules (2006)

Martin, Ann M. Rain Reign (2014)

Miller, Ashley Edward. Colin Fisher (2012)

Miller-Lachman, Lynn. Rogue. (2013)

Roy, Jennifer. Mindblind (2010)

Stork, Francisco X. Marcelo in the Real World (2009)

Baskin, Nora Raleigh. Anything But Typical

Jason, a twelve-year-old autistic boy who

wants to become a writer, relates what his

life is like as he tries to make sense of his

world.

Miller, Ashley Edwar and Stentz, Zack.

Colin Fischer.

Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched.

He does not like the color blue. He needs

index cards to recognize facial

expressions.

But when a gun is found in the school

cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate's

birthday celebration, Colin is the only for

the investigation. It's up to him to prove

that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and

Colin's frequent tormenter, didn't bring the

gun to school. After all, Wayne didn't have

frosting on his hands, and there was white

chocolate frosting found on the grip of the

smoking gun...

Dowd, Siobhan. The London Eye Mystery

Ted and his older sister Kat become

sleuthing partners since the police are

having no luck. Despite their prickly

relationship, they overcome their

differences to follow a trail of clues across

London in a desperate bid to find their

cousin. And ultimately it comes down to

Ted, whose brain runs on its own unique

operating system, to find the key to the

mystery.

Lord, Cynthia. Rules

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a

normal life. Which is near impossible when

you have a brother with autism and a

family that revolves around his disability.

She's spent years trying to teach David the

rules-from "a peach is not a funny-looking

apple" to "keep your pants on in public"-in

order to stop his embarrassing behaviors.

But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a

paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door

friend she's always wished for, it's her own

shocking behavior that turns everything

upside down and forces her to ask: What is

normal?

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/886.Autism_in_Fiction?pa

ge=1

http://www.slj.com/2013/11/collection-development/lgbtq-

diversity-building-a-collection-for-independent-readers/

http://www.leewind.org/2009/12/glbtq-middle-grade-

bookshelf.html

https://vikkivansickle.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/ya-is-

too-late-gay-characters-in-middle-grade-fiction/

http://www.slj.com/2014/05/diversity/seeking-an-lgbtq-

middle-grade-blockbuster/#_

http://timfederle.com/

An eighth-grader who dreams of performing in

a Broadway musical concocts a plan to run

away to New York and audition for the role of

Elliot in the musical version of "E.T."

http://www.michaelbarakiva.com/

"When Alek's high-achieving, Armenian-

American parents send him to summer

school, he thinks his summer is ruined. But

then he meets Ethan, who opens his world

in a series of truly unexpected ways"

http://www.simonspeakers.com/JamesH

owe

The Misfits: Four students who do not fit in at

their small-town middle school decide to create

a third party for the student council elections to

represent all students who have ever been

called names.

Totally Joe: As a school assignment, a thirteen-

year-old boy writes an alphabiography, and

explores issues of friendship, family, school,

and the challenges of being a gay teenager.

http://timfederle.com/

http://www.hbook.com/2013/03/choosing-books/horn-book-magazine/on-spies-and-

purple-socks-and-such/

From the time she was two years old, Jazz

knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body.

She loved pink and dressing up as a

mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys'

clothing. This confused her family, until they

took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was

transgender and that she was born that way.

Jazz's story is based on her real-life experience

and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will

be appreciated by picture book readers, their

parents, and teachers.

http://www.amipolonsky.com/index1.html

Grayson Sender has been holding onto a

secret for what seems like forever: "he" is a girl

on the inside, stuck in the wrong gender's body.

The weight of this secret is crushing, but

sharing it would mean facing ridicule, scorn,

rejection, or worse. Despite the risks, Grayson's

true self itches to break free. Will new strength

from an unexpected friendship and a caring

teacher's wisdom be enough to help Grayson

step into the spotlight she was born to inhabit?

Jewish

http://sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com/

Native American

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/nativ

e_am/teaching/native_resources.html

http://www.norabaskin.com/Home.html

After her beloved grandmother, Nana, dies, non-

religious twelve-year-old Caroline becomes curious

about her mother's Jewish ancestry.

http://www.jeffbaron.net/

With the help of his "manager," a thirteen-year-old boy

sells a movie idea to a major Hollywood studio.

http://www.ericaperl.com/

After her beloved grandmother, Nana, dies, non-

religious twelve-year-old Caroline becomes curious

about her mother's Jewish ancestry.

Clearly, we’re not going to hit every single kind of diversity

there is.

The key is to be aware of diversity and to make sure that

students have access to all sorts of books.

Time to fill out exit slips, discuss, and assess.