CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command.

Race and Racism: Selected Books for Pre-K to Grade 12

When choosing books about race and racism and its impact on the lives of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), we have emphasized books by BIPOC creators. We have also included several books by white authors that can especially help white readers develop an awareness of whiteness and white privilege.

This list features books set in the past and books set in the present day: Understanding history is critical to understanding racism; it is also critical to acknowledge and discuss the realities of racism and the ongoing legacy of systemic racism today.

Most of the books are among titles included in our annual best-of-the-year list, CCBC Choices. There are many other books we've recommended that offer perspectives on race and racism in the past and present that you can access with the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

Finally, it's important to keep in mind that no book can take the place of ongoing, meaningful conversations about race and racism. To that end, you may also find resources compiled by We Need Diverse Books and Teaching Tolerance, among others, helpful as you seek out additional information.

PreK - Grade 5

Nonfiction

Stand Up and Speak Out Against Racism
by Abdel-Magied, Yassmin
Illustrated by Aleesha Nandhra. Candlewick/Walker, 2023. 127 pages. Ages 8-12

Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills
by Bowman, Donna Janell and Billy Mills
Illustrated by S. D. Nelson. Little, Brown, 2024. 40 pages. Ages 7-10

I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story
by Brockenbrough, Martha and Grace Lin
Illustrated by Julia Kuo. Little, Brown, 2021. 32 pages. Ages 7-10

Areli Is a Dreamer: A True Story
by Morales, Areli
Illustrated by Luisa Uribe. Random House Studio, 2021. 40 pages. Ages 5-9

Stamped (for Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You
by Reynolds, Jason and Ibram X. Kendi, Sonja Cherry-Paul
Illustrated by Rachelle Baker. Little, Brown, 2021. 164 pages. Ages 8-12

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation
by Tonatiuh, Duncan
Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. Abrams, 2014. 40 pages. Ages 6-10

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
by Weatherford, Carole Boston
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Carolrhoda, 2021. 32 pages. Ages 8-12

Fiction

Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!
by Atinuke,
Illustrated by Lauren Tobia. Kane Miller, 2011. 109 pages. Ages 4-8

Why Am I Me?
by Britt, Paige
Illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko. Scholastic, 2017. 32 pages. Ages 5-8

Ga's / The Train
by Callaghan, Jodie
Illustrated by Georgia Lesley. Translated by Joe Wilmot. Second Story, 2021. 36 pages. Ages 5-8

New Kid
by Craft, Jerry
Illustrated by Jerry Craft. Harper, 2019. 249 pages. Ages 9-13

This Land: The History of the Land We're On
by Fairbanks, Ashley
Illustrated by Bridget George. Crown/Random House, 2024. 32 pages. Ages 6-10

Coming Home: A Hopi Resistance Story
by Honyouti, Mavasta
Illustrated by Mavasta Honyouti. Translated by Marilyn Parra . Levine Querido, 2024. 40 pages. Ages 9-13

skin again
by hooks, bell
Illustrated by Chris Raschka. Hyperion, 2004. 32 pages. Ages 5-10

The Parker Inheritance
by Johnson, Varian
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2018. 331 pages. Ages 8-11

What Lane?
by Maldonado, Torrey
Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin, 2020. 125 pages. Ages 9-13

Don't Touch My Hair!
by Miller, Sharee
Illustrated by Sharee Miller. Little, Brown, 2018. 40 pages. Ages 5-8

Project Mulberry
by Park, Linda Sue
Clarion, 2005. 225 pages. Ages 9-12

America, My Love, America, My Heart
by Peoples-Riley, Daria
Illustrated by Daria Peoples-Riley. Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2021. 32 pages. Age 8 and older

When We Were Alone
by Robertson, David A
Illustrated by Julie Flett. HighWater, 2016. 32 pages. Ages 5-8

The Kodiaks: Home Ice Advantage
by Robertson, David A
HighWater, 2024. 190 pages. Ages 9-12

Land of the Cranes
by Salazar, Aida
Scholastic Press, 2020. 243 pages. Ages 9-12

Not Your All-American Girl
by Shang, Wendy Wan-Long and Madelyn Rosenberg
Scholastic Press, 2020. 243 pages. Ages 9-12

Indian No More
by Sorell, Traci and Charlene Willing McManis
Lee & Low/Tu, 2019. Ages 9-12

Love in the Library
by Tokuda-Hall, Maggie
Illustrated by Yas Imamura. Candlewick, 2022. 32 pages. Age 8 and older

Freedom in Congo Square
by Weatherford, Carole Boston
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Little Bee, 2016. 32 pages. Age 6 and older

One Crazy Summer
by Williams-Garcia, Rita
Amistad/HarperCollins, 2010. 218 pages. Ages 8-12

Three Keys (Front Desk, #2)
by Yang, Kelly
Scholastic, 2020. 288 pages. Ages 9-12

Grades 6 - 12

Nonfiction

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People
by Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne and Jean Mendoza, Debbie Reese
Beacon, 2019. 270 pages. Age 12 and older

Unequal: A Story of America
by Favreau, Marc and Michael Eric Dyson
Little, Brown, 2022. 347 pages. Age 12 and older

Rise Up! How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy
by Fleming, Crystal M.
Henry Holt/Macmillan, 2021. 230 pages. Age 12 and older

The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person
by Joseph, Frederick
Candlewick, 2020. 254 pages. Age 11 and older

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
by Reynolds, Jason and Ibram X. Kendi
Little, Brown, 2020. 294 pages. Age 12 and older

Made in Asian America: A History for Young People
by Soontornvat, Christina and Erika Lee
HarperCollins/Quill Tree, 2024. 303 pages. Age 13 and older

They Called Us Enemy
by Takei, George and Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott
Illustrated by Harmony Becker. IDW/Top Shelf, 2019. 204 pages. Age 11 and older

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask
by Treuer, Anton
Levine Querido, 2021. 383 pages. Age 12 and older

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement
by Yoo, Paula
Norton, 2021. 374 pages. Age 12 and older

Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire
by Yoo, Paula
Norton, 2024. 358 pages. Age 13 and older

Fiction

The Lines We Cross
by Abdel-Fattah, Randa
Scholastic Press, 2017. 400 pages. Age 12 and older

Firekeeper's Daughter
by Boulley, Angeline
Henry Holt/Macmillan, 2021. 494 pages. Age 14 and older

Us, In Progress: Short Stories about Young Latinos
by Delacre, Lulu
Harper, 2017. 242 pages. Age 11 and older

See No Color
by Gibney, Shannon
Carolrhoda Lab, 2015. 186 pages. Age 13 and older

Shut Up, This Is Serious
by Ixta, Carolina
HarperCollins/Quill Tree, 2024. 349 pages. Age 14 and older

Unidentified Suburban Object
by Jung, Mike
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2016. 272 pages. Ages 9-13

Dig
by King, A. S.
Dutton/Penguin, 2019. 392 pages. Age 13 and older

Borders
by King, Thomas
Illustrated by Natasha Donovan. Little, Brown, 2021. 171 pages. Age 8 and older

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
by Manzano, Sonia
Scholastic, 2012. 224 pages. Age 12 and older

Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance
compiled by Morrow, Bethany C.
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2019. 245 pages. Age 12 and older

American Betiya
by Rajurkar, Anuradha D.
Knopf/Random House, 2021. 366 pages. Age 14 and older

Black Brother, Black Brother
by Rhodes, Jewell Parker
Little, Brown, 2020. 239 pages. Ages 10-13

After the Shot Drops
by Ribay, Randy
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. 325 pages. Age 12 and older

Hearts Unbroken
by Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Candlewick, 2018. 286 pages. Age 13 and older

Dawn Raid
by Smith, Pauline Vaeluaga
Illustrated by Mat Hunkin. Levine Querido, 2021. 217 pages. Ages 9-12

A Sitting in St. James
by Williams-Garcia, Rita
HarperCollins/Quill Tree, 2021. 460 pages. Age 16 and older

American Born Chinese
by Yang, Gene Luen
Illustrated by Gene Luen Yang. First Second/Roaring Brook, 2006. 233 pages. Age 12 and older

Frankly in Love
by Yoon, David
Penguin Random House/Putnam, 2019. 406 pages. Age 13 and older

Punching the Air
by Zoboi, Ibi and Yusef Salaam
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2020. 386 pages. Age 13 and older

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.