Books on Democracy & Citizenship

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The following list of titles, produced in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves, a non- profit international educational organization dedicated to engaging “students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry,” focuses on topics related to democracy and citizenship, including free speech, religious freedom and tolerance, civil disobedience, and the role of the press.

ByFACING SLJ HISTORY Re vi| Schoole wsLibrary JournalEd itor 2017 s 1 Foundations for Future Voters | Books on democracy and citizenship

Elementary law back to her girlhood years, emphasizing the importance of dissent in the face of an unequal A Is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara. illus. by au- society. This dynamic offering is an essential thor. Seven Stories. 2013. ISBN 9781609805395. purchase that will be useful for completing as- NONFICTION. signments as well as for pleasure reading. Gr 4 Up–Not your typical alphabet board book, this one packs a powerful mes- I Pledge Allegiance by Pat Mora sage both visually and verbally. and Libby Martinez. illus. by Each spread presents a letter Patrice Barton. Knopf. 2014. and a bit of social commentary ISBN 9780307931818. FICTION. urging children to take a stand Gr 1-4–Libby and her great- against war and violence, aunt Lobo are learning the develop an awareness of our Pledge of Allegiance at the environment, and promote ac- same time—but for different ceptance and equality for all reasons. Lobo is practicing it cultures, races, religions, gen- in order to become a citizen ders, and walks of life. An un- of the United States. In school, usual offering that may plant Libby has been chosen to lead the seeds for activism and spark discussions. her class in saying the pledge. Lobo and Libby practice together and talk about what it means We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the to both of them. Sprinkled with Spanish words, United States by David Catrow. illus. by author. this gentle book explores what it means to be an Dial. 2002. ISBN 9780803725539. NONFICTION. American from the perspective of both a child K-Gr 5–The dry, difficult words from the pream- and new citizen. ble to the constitution are made easy to under- stand through wild, wacky, full-color art. After a Elizabeth Started All the Trouble by Doreen Rap- foreword and a page of definitions, Catrow uses paport. illus. by Matt Faulkner. Disney-Hyper- his witty style to encourage kids to giggle and ion. 2016. ISBN 9780786851423. NONFICTION. then claim ownership of the famous words and Gr 1-4–A brief account of how the women’s suf- the basic concepts they ensure. frage movement in the United States began and developed momentum over the years. Elizabeth The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial Cady Stanton was involved in abolitionism and by Susan E. Goodman. illus. by E.B. Lewis. the women’s rights movement, becoming an out- Bloomsbury. 2016. ISBN 9780802737397. spoken advocate in both realms and leading the NONFICTION. way for many other women to Gr 2-4–More than a cen- take up the banner of equality. tury before Brown v. Board of Education, there was Rob- When We Were Alone by David A. erts v. City of Boston. Benjamin Robertson. illus. by Julie Flett. and Adeline Roberts enrolled 24p. HighWater. 2016. ISBN their four-year-old in the clos- 9781553796732. FICTION. est neighborhood school. Sarah K-Gr 3–A gentle picture attended until officials noticed book about the legacy of Native and sent a police escort. In 1855, American boarding schools Massachusetts banned segrega- told from the perspective of tion. An important exploration a young girl gardening with of the struggle for equality and her grandmother. The grand- education in this country. mother recounts the injustices she and the other children faced but also how I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark they would steal moments in order to recapture by Debbie Levy. illus. by Elizabeth Baddeley. the identities they were forced to leave behind. 2016. S. & S. ISBN 9781481465595. NONFICTION. The child-centered text makes the boarding Gr 3-5–This picture book biography of Justice school experience accessible to a young audi- Ginsburg traces her achievements in the field of ence without glossing over its harsh reality.

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What’s the Big Deal About Freedom by Ruby Shamir. period vividly to life, while time lines and de- Philomel. illus. by Matt Faulkner. 2017. scriptions of contemporary struggles for equality ISBN 9780399547287. NONFICTION. by Chinese, Mexican, and African Americans, Gr 2-5–Americans describe our country as among others, offer meaningful context. the “land of the free” every time we sing our national anthem, but how often do we take a A Time To Act: John F. Kennedy’s Big Speech by Shana step back and really consider what that phrase Corey. illus. by R. Gregory Christie. NorthSouth. means? Starting with the Declaration of Inde- 2017. ISBN 9780735842755. NONFICTION. pendence and the Constitu- Gr 3-5–Corey begins with tion, this book considers how biographical information on freedom has been expanded John F. Kennedy, including and restricted by governmen- his wealthy upbringing in tal, racial, religious, and eco- an influential family, his ill- nomic factors. Demonstrating nesses as a child, his run for that freedom in practice can Congress, and his eventual be the framework that pro- election to the presidency. vides citizens with rights and The book then segues into protections, the author ex- the struggle of African Ameri- plains the significance of the cans to achieve civil rights, Bill of Rights, then goes into detailing the arduous work of more detail about slavery, sit-ins, marches, and the Free- labor laws, immigration poli- dom Riders. Finally, the story cies, and voting expansion. returns to Kennedy’s 1963 speech to Congress. Christie’s impressionistic Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her illustrations are poignant and bring the narra- Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan tive to life. Tonatiuh. illus. by author. Abrams. 2014. ISBN 9781419710544. NONFICTION. Freedom of Religion. ISBN 9781482461848; Gr 2-5–When eight-year-old Sylvia, an Ameri- Freedom of the Press. ISBN 9781482461886; can citizen of Latin American heritage, was Freedom of Speech. ISBN 9781482461862; denied enrollment in her neighborhood The Right To Petition. ISBN 9781482461923; school and sent to a much inferior “Mexican Freedom of Assembly. ISBN 9781482461824; school,” her family initiated a lawsuit that The Right To Bear Arms. ISBN 9781482461909. ended segregation in California and paved (Our Basic Freedoms). Gareth Stevens. the way for progress nationwide. An impor- 2017. NONFICTION. tant story told with lucid text; expressive, Mix- Gr 4-7–In this timely and visually appealing set, tec-inspired folk art; and in-depth end matter. clear writing delves into the political and historical context of the Bill of Rights and the amend- ments, clarifying their origins and significance. Upper Elementary The inner workings of the U.S. government, and Middle School especially the judicial system and Supreme Court, are also discussed. The impact of our in- Fred Korematsu Speaks Up by Laura Atkins & Stan creasingly digital world and the controversy sur- Yogi. illus. by Yutaka Houlette. Heyday. 2017. rounding certain rights are looked at critically, ISBN 9781597143684. NONFICTION. representing multiple perspectives. Gr 4–8–Following Pearl Harbor, Fred Kore- matsu refused to enter the internment camps. Fannie Never Flinched: One Woman’s Courage in His eventual discovery resulted in imprison- the Struggle for American Labor Union Rights ment. Nearly 40 years later, Korematsu’s case by Mary Cronk Farrell. Abrams. 2016. would be reopened, paving the way for the Civil ISBN. 9781419718847. NONFICTION. Liberties Act of 1988. This inspirational work Gr 4-6–Beginning with the murder of Fannie hooks readers through a variety of formats, in- Sellins by deputies in Natrona, PA, in 1919, Far- cluding dramatic illustrations and direct ques- rell goes back 20 years to Sellins’s early days as tions. Primary source documents bring the a garment factory worker and rising labor rights

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activist. The text is matter-of-fact in tone, with trait of a committed leader provides a unique captioned black-and-white photos and news- perspective on Lakota and U.S. history. print ads. A top choice for those interested in workers’ rights and social justice. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Pinkney. illus. by Brian Pinkney. Little, Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan. S. & S./Salaam Brown. 2010. ISBN 9780316070164. NONFICTION. Reads. 2017. ISBN 9781481492065. FICTION. Gr 3-6–Through effectively chosen words, Gr 4-6–In a quiet Milwaukee suburb, Amina Pinkney brings understanding and meaning to and her best friend Soojin grapple with their what four black college students accomplished own ethnic identities and the on February 1, 1960, by sitting pressure to “Americanize.” Soojin down at a Woolworth lunch is Korean American and on the counter in Greensboro, NC. pathway to citizenship. She’s con- Her repeated phrase, “Their or- templating changing her name der was simple. A doughnut and to solidify her American identity, coffee with cream on the side,” while Amina, who’s Pakistani along with other food metaphors, American, must reconcile her emphasizes the men’s determi- love of singing Motown with her nation to undo the injustices of Muslim faith. When the neigh- segregation in a peaceful pro- borhood mosque is burned and test, which eventually led up to vandalized, the greater commu- the 1966 Supreme Court ruling nity comes together. against racial discrimination.

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. Putnam. Teens 2012. ISBN 9780399256448. FICTION. Gr 5-8–Levine sheds light on the little-known period immediately following the Little Rock Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali. 336p. S. & S./Salaam Nine’s integration of Central High School in Reads. 2017. ISBN 9781481499248. FICTION. 1957. Twelve-year-old Marlee Nisbett, who is Gr 9 Up–Dividing the people in her world into painfully shy, befriends Liz, a new girl un- three categories (saints, misfits, and monsters), afraid of speaking her mind. When Liz dis- Janna, a hijabi, navigates regular teenager life appears and rumors swirl that she is a black (family, friends, school) with the added pressure girl “passing as white,” Marlee is determined of how to speak out about an attempted rape by to uphold their friendship. Readers will be a respected member of her community. Janna moved by Marlee and Liz’s strong bonds and thoughtfully considers her faith and how it is inspired by Marlee’s unwavering tenacity in received by both her Muslim community and the face of what seems like insur- her non-Muslim peers, including mountable adversity. willfully ignorant schoolteachers.

Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda of His People by S.D. Nelson. illus. Taro, and the Invention of Modern by author. Abrams. 2015. ISBN Photojournalism by Marc Aron- 9781419707315. NONFICTION. son & Marina Budhos. Holt. Gr 4-6–Nelson, an enrolled 2017. ISBN 9780805098358. member of the Standing Rock NONFICTION. Sioux Tribe in the Dakotas, pres- Gr 7 Up–Robert Capa and ents Sitting Bull’s life as an entry Gerda Taro carved out careers point into 19th-century America. as photojournalists, capturing Told in the first person from Sit- the plight of the anti-Fascist free- ting Bull’s point of view, the nar- dom fighters during the Spanish rative concentrates on what happened to the Civil War. Their action-packed photos were in- Hunkpapa people and other Sioux groups strumental in bringing the war’s horrors to the and the pivotal battles of Killdeer Mountain, world and in firmly establishing a new kind of Rosebud Creek, and Little Bighorn. This por- news reporting. Chock-full of archival photos,

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Aronson and Budhos’s title is essential reading Alexander Hamilton: The Making of Amer- for teens interested in journalism. ica by Teri Kanefield. Abrams. 2017. ISBN 9781419725784. NONFICTION. The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Gr 5-8–An informative yet accessible biog- Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black raphy of the famed Founding Father for a Power by Ann Bausum. National Geographic. middle school audience. Kanefield succeeds 2017. ISBN 9781426326653. NONFICTION. in revealing the often contentious differences Gr 9 Up–Bausum’s clear language and smart among the various political and economic use of archival photos document how James philosophies during the early decades of the Meredith’s single-man walk trans- American Republic, including formed into a larger endeavor to the distinction between Hamil- register and unify black voters ton’s mercantilism and Thomas and to alleviate the fear felt by Jefferson’s agrarianism. Key African Americans living in a rac- concepts, like the Articles of ist society. Readers become a part Confederation and mercantil- of the march as Bausum begins ism, are explained in sidebars. each chapter with the date, the distance traveled by the march- March Trilogy by John Lewis & ers, and their next destination. A Andrew Aydin. illus. by Nate must-have volume on Meredith, Powell. Top Shelf. 2016. ISBN the March Against Fear, and life 9781603093958. NONFICTION. in the South for African Ameri- Gr 8 Up–In this epic, three- cans in the 1960s. volume, and masterful graphic novel memoir, Congressman Lewis recounts Racial Profiling: Everyday Inequality by Alison his young years in rural Alabama, his life-chang- Behnke. Twenty-First Century. 2017. ISBN 978 ing introduction to Martin Luther King, Jr., and 1512402681. NONFICTION. evolving role within the civil rights movement. Gr 6 Up–An in-depth analysis of the inequali- Through images of steely-eyed police, motion ties that people of color experience at different lines, and the use of stark black backgrounds for levels of U.S. society, from housing and educa- particularly painful moments, Powell’s black- tion to criminal justice and poverty. The author and-white visuals soar, conveying expressions of foregrounds her examination with relevant his- hope, scorn, and devastation. A definitive record torical context, extensive data from studies, and of key eyewitness to and leader of social change. testimonials to draw evidence- based conclusions while still rec- Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who ognizing other perspectives. Well Challenged Big Business—and researched and written, this is an Won! by Emily Arnold McCul- ideal resource for reports and dis- ly. Clarion. 2014. ISBN 9780 cussions with teens. 547290928. NONFICTION. Gr 7 Up–McCully places in- Being Jazz: My Life As a (Transgender) vestigative reporter Tarbell’s Teen by Jazz Jennings. Crown. story into historical context, 2016. Tr $17.99. ISBN 97803 detailing the rise of the oil 99554 643. NONFICTION. giants and the resulting cor- Gr 6 Up–In this memoir, Jen- ruption. Readers will not only nings shares experiences from learn about for Tarbell’s trail- her life as an openly trans girl. blazing tenacity, they’ll also Battles to get her on the girls’ get a sense of the changing soccer team, to allow her access to the girls’ world she inhabited. restroom at school, and to educate the public at large dominate Jennings’s story alongside This Land Is Our Land: A History of American Immigra- anecdotes on navigating family, friend, and ro- tion by Linda Barrett Osborne. Abrams. 2016. mantic relationships. Jenning’s self-confidence ISBN 9781419716607. NONFICTION. and energy will lure readers right in. Gr 6-10–A balanced exploration of the history

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of American immigration from the early colo- orative effort is a deft exploration of the aftermath nization of the continent to the present. The of police brutality, addressing the fear, confusion, author conveys the often negative attitudes and anger that affects entire communities. toward new waves of immigration throughout U.S. history while distinctly demonstrating the Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret His- undeniable contributions these very same pop- tory of the Vietnam War by Steven Sheinkin. Roar- ulations have brought to this country. ing Brook. 2015. ISBN 9781596439528. NF. Gr 7 Up–Ellsberg famously leaked the Pen- Americus by MK Reed. illus. by Jonathan Hill. tagon Papers, a lengthy document written First Second. 2011. ISBN by military insiders about 9781596436015. FICTION. the Vietnam War, to various Gr 8 Up–In fictional small-town members of the press in 1971. Americus, Neil Barton—a quiet, He was quickly labeled an en- bookish boy who has never fit in— emy of the state and a traitor finds solace in the fantasy series to his country, aka the most “Ravenchilde.” Unfortunately, his dangerous man in America. beloved series has been challenged With access to many of the by a radical group of community key players in this real-life members. With the support of the drama, as well as mountains librarian, he takes a public stand in of source material, Sheinkin favor of the series and speaks be- builds a brilliant narrative that fore the governing board, offering is at once accessible and susan impassioned plea for inclusion penseful. of the “Ravenchilde” books on the library’s shelves. Simple black-line drawings on The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. HarperCollins/ a stark white background introduce readers to Balzer + Bray. 2017. ISBN 9780062498533. the town of Americus, while the narrative deftly FICTION. emphasizes the importance of including contro- Gr 8 Up–When Starr and her childhood friend versial titles in library collections. Khalil, both black, leave a party together, they are soon pulled over by a white police officer, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan who kills Khalil. The sole witness to the homi- Kiely. S. & S./Atheneum. 2015. ISBN 978148 cide, Starr must testify before a grand jury that 1463331. FICTION. will decide whether to indict the cop. The first- Gr 8 Up–Rashad Butler is a quiet, artistic teen person, present-tense narrative is immediate and who heads to Jerry’s corner store on a Friday night intense, and the pacing is strong, with Thomas to buy chips and ends up the victim of unwar- balancing dramatic scenes of violence and pro- ranted arrest and police brutality: an event his test with moments of reflection. By turns fright- white schoolmate Quinn Collins witnesses in ened, discouraged, enraged, and impassioned, horrified disbelief. Reynolds and Kiely’s collab- Starr is a character teens will not soon forget.

SEE ALSO: 25 Kid and YA Books That Lift Up A Kaleidoscope of Cultures | A Voting Rights Bookshelf Immigrant Voices New Books on Immigration by Caitlin Augusta by Ruth E. Quiroa by Joy Fleishhacker (http://ow.ly/PETU30c0Inc) (http://ow.ly/6oqf30c0IyK) (http://ow.ly/Cbzk30c0IJG)

Celebrating African American 9 Refugee Stories for Kids From Refugees to Voting Rights, Books History and Teens To Inspire a Just, Inclusive Society by Joy Fleishhacker by Shelley Diaz by Bank Street College of Education (http://ow.ly/6dr230c0Ive) (http://ow.ly/yLWH30c0IBJ) (http://ow.ly/WuJE30c0IP2)

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