Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Capricorn Anderson had never watched a television show before. He'd never tasted a pizza. He had never even heard of a wedgie. And he had never, in his wildest dreams, thought of living anywhere but Garland Farm commune with his hippie caretaker, Rain. Capricorn (Cap for short) had lived every day of his life on Garland Farm growing fruits and vegetables. He was homeschooled by Rain, the only person he knew in... (more)

Does My Head Look Big In This?

by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full- time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else. Can she handle the taunts of "nappy head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy... (more)

Perfect Chemistry

by Simone Elkeles

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers. When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless... (more)

Seedfolks (Joanna Colter Books)

by Judy Pedersen, Paul Fleischman

Common Ground A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to... (more)

Small Steps

by Louis Sachar

Two years after being released from Camp Green Lake, Armpit is home in Austin, Texas, trying to turn his life around. But it’s hard when you have a record, and everyone expects the worst from you. The only person who believes in him is Ginny, his 10-year old disabled neighbor. Together, they are learning to take small steps. And he seems to be on the right path, until X-Ray, a buddy from Camp Green Lake, comes up... (more)

Romiette and Julio

by Sharon M. Draper

Star Crossed Lovers When Romiette Cappelle meets Julio Montague, she feels as though she has met the soul mate who can rescue her from her recurring nightmare about fire and water. But like the Shakespearean characters whose names echo theirs, Romiette and Julio discover that not everyone approves of their budding romance. In their case, it is because Romiette is African-American and Julio is Hispanic, and the... (more)

A Raisin in the Sun (Vintage)

by Lorraine Hansberry

When it was first produced in 1959, A Raisin in the Sun was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for that season and hailed as a watershed in American drama. A pioneering work by an African-American playwright, the play was a radically new representation of black life. "A play that changed American theater forever."--The New York Times.

Born Confused

by Tanuja Desai Hidier

Dimple Lala doesn't know what to think. Her parents are from India, and she's spent her whole life resisting their traditions. Then suddenly she gets to high school and everything Indian is trendy. To make matters worse, her parents arrange for her to meet a "suitable boy." Of course it doesn't go well -- until Dimple goes to a club and finds him spinning a magical web . Suddenly the suitable boy is suitable... (more)

And Tango Makes Three

by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell

In the zoo there are all kinds of animal families. But Tango's family is not like any of the others.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

by Mo Willems

Wilbur is different from the other Naked Mole Rats in his Colony, because he wears clothes (and he likes it!). But what will happen when Grandpah, the oldest, wisest, and most naked Naked Mole Rat ever discovers Wilbur's secret? Funnyman and three-time Caldecott Honoree Mo Willems exposes the naked truth about being yourself and wearing it well.

If You Come Softly

by Jacqueline Woodson

Miah and Ellie are in love. Theirs is a rare and special first love. But the people around them don’t see it that way. They can only see black and white: Miah is black, Ellie is white, and Jewish; and their love, no matter how real, is too strange and scary for the world they live in.

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

by James W. Loewen

Winner of the 1996 American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship Americans have lost touch with their history, and in this thought-provoking book, Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying twelve leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an... (more)

Define Normal

by Julie Anne Peters

"Antonia is a "priss," Jazz is a "punk." Antonia belongs to the math club. Jazz hangs out at the tattoo parlor. Antonia's parents are divorced and her mother struggles to pay the rent. Jazz is from a traditional family and lives in a mansion with a pool. But when these two very different girls find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program, they discover they have some surprising things in... (more)

Drita, My Homegirl

by Jenny Lombard

A poignant story about the difficulties of leaving everything behind and the friendships that help you get through it. Fleeing war-torn Kosovo, ten-year-old Drita and her family move to America with the dream of living a typical American life. But with this hope comes the struggle to adapt and fit in. How can Drita find her place at school and in her new neighborhood when she doesnÂ’t speak any English?... (more)

No Laughter Here

by Rita Williams-Garcia

Even though they were born in different countries, Akilah and Victoria are true best friends. But Victoria has been acting strange ever since she returned from her summer in Nigeria, where she had a special coming-of-age ceremony. Why does proud Victoria, named for a queen, slouch at her desk and answer the teacher's questions in a whisper? And why won't she laugh with Akilah anymore?

Outcasts United: A Story of Hope, Conflict, and Transformation on the Playing Fields of a Small American Town

Outcasts United: A Story of Hope, Conflict, and Transformation on the Playing Fields of a Small American Town

by Warren St. John

The extraordinary tale of a refugee youth soccer team and the transformation of a small American town Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical Southern town until it was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s, becoming the first American home for scores of families in flight from the world’s war zones—from Liberia and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan. Suddenly Clarkston’s streets were filled with women wearing... (more)

Canned

by Alex Shearer

Fergal Bamfield doesn't collect stamps like normal kids. He's an oddball (his mother prefers to call him "clever"), and his collection is as strange as everything else about him. Fergal Bamfield collects tin cans. Then one day he finds a can without a label. What could be in it? Peaches, soup, perhaps revolting spam? But instead it's something gruesome: a human finger. Then Fergal finds another can, this time... (more)

A Raisin in the Sun

by Lorraine Hansberry

The Colors of Us

by Karen Katz

A positive and affirming look at skin color, from an artist’s perspective. Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades. Through the eyes of a little girl who begins to see her familiar world in a new way, this book celebrates the... (more)

No Shame, No Fear

by Ann Turnbull

"A love affair between Quaker Susanna and merchant's son Will plays out against the persecution of Friends in seventeenth-century England. . . . An engrossing plot and a moving love story." — THE HORN BOOK An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults A Bank Street College Best Book of the Year A Richie's Picks Best Book of the Year "The complexities of social order and religious persecution... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: diversity

by Gordon Korman

by Randa Abdel-Fattah

by Simone Elkeles

by Judy Pedersen, Paul Fleischman

by Louis Sachar

by Sharon M. Draper

by Lorraine Hansberry

by Tanuja Desai Hidier

by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell

by Mo Willems

by Jacqueline Woodson

by James W. Loewen

by Julie Anne Peters

by Jenny Lombard

by Rita Williams-Garcia

by Warren St. John

by Alex Shearer

by Lorraine Hansberry

by Karen Katz

by Ann Turnbull