Looking to diversify your collection?

Books have the power to affirm our identities, to build understanding with people unlike ourselves, to challenge our misconceptions, and to broaden our awareness of the world.

Explore diverse books from Lerner Publishing Group that cover topics including race and ethnicity, social justice, immigration, LGBTQIA+ identities, mental health, and more.

Featured titles – like the new Read Woke™ Books series Issues in Action, developed in partnership with librarian Cicely Lewis – include links to author videos, teaching guides, and more!

Find these diverse titles and more on Titlewave^®.

Hair Story 
Written by NoNieqa Ramos 
Illustrated by Keisha Morris
Interest Level: Grades K-3

With rhythmic, rhyming verse, this picture book follows two girls – one non-Black Puerto Rican, one Black – as they discover the stories their hair can tell. Preciosa has hair that won’t stay straight, won’t be confined. Rudine’s hair resists rollers, flat irons, and rules. Together, the girls play hair salon! They take inspiration from their moms, their neighbors, their ancestors, and cultural icons. They discover that their hair holds roots of the past and threads of the future.

Hear more from the author.

From the Tops of the Trees
Written by Kao Kalia Yang 
Illustrated by Rachel Wada
Interest Level: Grades K-3

Young Kalia has never known life beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. The Thai camp holds many thousands of Hmong families who fled in the aftermath of the little-known Secret War in Laos that was waged during America’s Vietnam War. For Kalia and her cousins, life isn’t always easy, but they still find ways to play, racing with chickens and riding a beloved pet dog.

Hear more from the author.

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer
Written by Traci Sorell
Illustrated by Natasha Donovan
Interest Level: Grades 3-6

Mary Golda Ross designed classified projects for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as the company’s first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work.

Hear more from the author.  Download the educator guide.  Download additional resources toolkit.

Read Woke Books: Issues in Action Book Set
Interest Level: Grades 3-6

Examine hard topics facing our society – from gun violence to immigration. Learn how problems developed and hear from underrepresented persons involved in these struggles. Reflection questions help readers challenge their perspectives, while an activism toolkit and Read Woke reading list empower readers to make a difference.

Hear from author and executive editor, librarian Cicely Lewis.

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
Written by Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Interest Level: Grades 3-6

A powerful look at the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation’s history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.

Download the educator guide.

Artie and the Wolf Moon
Written by Olivia Stephens
Interest Level: Grades 5-8

After sneaking out against her mother’s wishes, Artie Irvin spots a massive wolf then watches it transform into her mom. Thrilled to discover she comes from a line of werewolves, Artie asks her mom to share everything, including the story of Artie’s late father. Her mom reluctantly agrees. And to help Artie figure out her own wolflike abilities, her mom recruits some old family friends. Artie thrives in her new community and even develops a crush on her new friend Maya. And as she learns the history of werewolves and her own parents’ past, she’ll find that wolves aren’t the scariest thing in the woods.

Hear more from the author.

Just Ash
Written by Sol Santana
Interest Level: YA

Ashley “Ash” Bishop has always known who he is: a guy who loves soccer, has a crush on his friend Michelle, and is fascinated by the gruesome history of his hometown – Salem, Massachusetts. He’s also always known that he’s intersex, born with both male and female genitalia. But it’s never felt like a big deal until his junior year of high school, when Ash gets his first period in front of the entire boys’ soccer team. Now his friends and teachers see him differently, and his own mother thinks he should “try being a girl.”

Hear more from the author.

Where I Belong
Written by Marcia Argueta Mickelson
Interest Level: YA

In the spring of 2018, Guatemalan American high school senior Milagros “Millie” Vargas knows her life is about to change. She’s lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she was a baby. Now a citizen, Millie devotes herself to school and caring for her younger siblings while her mom works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Wheeler family. With college on the horizon, Millie is torn between attending her dream school and staying close to home, where she knows she’s needed. 

Hear more from the author.  Download the discussion guide.

Find more book ideas on Titlewave!