Children's books and activities
Family and Community
Do you know any kids who are curious about their family history and genealogy? Or kids who want to help build a better world through volunteering in their community? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about families, communities, and civic engagement.
Check out our new 2020 resource: Our Democracy [6], where kids can explore our government, voting and voting rights, and active citizenship through books and activities.
Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres [7] (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as families and communities. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge [8], vocabulary [9], and comprehension skills.
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Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Print List
A Chair for My Mother
By: Vera Williams
Age Level: 3-6 years old
After a fire destroys their home and possessions, Rosa, her mother, and her grandmother save...
Purchase on Bookshop [25]
Purchase on Amazon [26]
A Is for Activist
By: Innosanto Nagara
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Each spread presents a letter and a bit of social commentary urging children to take a stand...
Purchase on Bookshop [27]
Purchase on Amazon [28]
A Neighborhood Walk, a Musical Journey
By: Pilar Winter Hill
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
"Honk-honk, tweet-tweet, patter-patter!" This sweet, fun read-aloud drums up nostalgia for all...
Purchase on Bookshop [29]
Purchase on Amazon [30]
All Are Welcome
By: Alexandra Penfold
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A lively neighborhood school welcomes its diverse students at the start of a school year,...
Purchase on Bookshop [31]
Purchase on Amazon [32]
All Kinds of Families
By: Mary Ann Hoberman
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Playful language distinguishes this broad and often funny look at what makes "family....
Purchase on Bookshop [33]
Purchase on Amazon [34]
Another Brother
By: Matthew Cordell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [35]
Anywhere Farm
By: Phyllis Root
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
"You can grow your own farm anywhere" is the empowering message of this inclusive picture book....
Purchase on Bookshop [36]
Purchase on Amazon [37]
Apple Pie Fourth of July
By: Janet Wong
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [38]
Purchase on Amazon [39]
Are You My Mother?
By: P.D. Eastman
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A baby bird goes in search of his mother in this funny, classic story, originally published in...
Purchase on Bookshop [40]
Purchase on Amazon [41]
Around the Table That Grandad Built
By: Melanie Heuiser Hill
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
This cumulative tale is a celebration of bounty and gratitude, family and friendship ...
Purchase on Bookshop [43]
Purchase on Amazon [44]
Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic
By: Ginnie Lo
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [45]
Bee-Bim Bop!
By: Linda Sue Park
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [46]
Purchase on Amazon [47]
Big Frank's Fire Truck
By: Leslie McGuire
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Big Frank tells young readers all about firefighting and the many other important jobs...
Purchase on Bookshop [48]
Purchase on Amazon [49]
Bigmama's
By: Donald Crews
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Every year the narrator and his family take a trip down to Cottondale, Florida, to visit his...
Purchase on Bookshop [50]
Purchase on Amazon [51]
Black Is Brown Is Tan
By: Arnold Adoff
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Rhythmic language and luminous paintings show the joy of this warm and loving family as they...
Purchase on Amazon [52]
Blackout
By: John Rocco
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Does no electricity mean that there's nothing to do or are there new adventures just...
Purchase on Bookshop [53]
Purchase on Amazon [54]
Building Our House
By: Jonathan Bean
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [55]
Purchase on Amazon [56]
Cherry Pies and Lullabies
By: Lynn Reiser
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Three generations bake a pie, make a crown of flowers, pass on a handmade quilt, and share a...
Purchase on Amazon [57]
Chicken Sunday
By: Patricia Polacco
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [58]
Purchase on Amazon [59]
Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do
By: Katherine Heling, Deborah Hembrook
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [60]
Purchase on Amazon [61]
Common Threads: Adam's Day at the Market
By: Huda Essa
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Adam and his family spend an exciting day at the colorful and bustling Eastern Market. But when...
Purchase on Bookshop [62]
Purchase on Amazon [63]
Counting on Community
By: Innosanto Nagara
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Concept Book
Counting up from one stuffed piñata to ten hefty hens — and always counting on each other...
Purchase on Bookshop [64]
Purchase on Amazon [65]
Delivering Your Mail
By: Ann Owen
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
An introduction to the important job of mail carriers, how their mail truck works, and how the...
Purchase on Bookshop [66]
Purchase on Amazon [67]
Families
By: Sheila M. Kelly, Shelley Rotner
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Some kids are adopted, others live with one parent, other children live with two moms or two...
Purchase on Bookshop [68]
Purchase on Amazon [69]
From My Window
By: Otavio Júnior
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
From the window in his favela, the narrator shares what he sees: neighbors working, playing,...
Purchase on Bookshop [70]
Purchase on Amazon [71]
Green Green: A Community Gardening Story
By: Marie Lamba, Baldev Lambda
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Green grass is wide and fresh and clean for a family to play in, and brown dirt is perfect for...
Purchase on Bookshop [72]
Purchase on Amazon [73]
Helpers in Your Neighborhood
By: Shira Evans
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Get to know the everyday heroes in your community! From firefighters to teachers, mail carriers...
Purchase on Bookshop [74]
Purchase on Amazon [75]
Home, Sweet Home: What Makes a House a Home?
By: Moira Butterfield
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
The world is full of different homes, from tents and huts to bobbing boats, and apartments high...
Purchase on Amazon [76]
How Far Do You Love Me?
By: Lulu Delacre
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [77]
How to Babysit a Grandpa
By: Jean Reagan
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [78]
Purchase on Amazon [79]
I Love Saturdays y domingos
By: Alma Flor Ada
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [80]
Purchase on Amazon [81]
I Pledge Allegiance
By: Pat Mora
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Libby's great aunt, Lobo, is from Mexico, but the United States has been her home for many years...
Purchase on Bookshop [82]
Purchase on Amazon [83]
I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness
By: Kerascoët Kerascoët
Age Level: 3-6 years old
The story of one girl who inspires a community to stand up to bullying. Explores the feelings of...
Purchase on Bookshop [84]
Purchase on Amazon [85]
It Takes a Village
By: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
A universal story of a diverse community coming together to make a difference. All kinds of...
Purchase on Bookshop [86]
Purchase on Amazon [87]
Just the Two of Us
By: Will Smith
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Jubilant illustrations show how a father supports his son as he grows into a man and eventually...
Purchase on Amazon [88]
Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea
By: Meena Harris
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
One day, Kamala and Maya had an idea. A big idea: they would turn their empty...
Purchase on Bookshop [89]
Purchase on Amazon [90]
Last Stop on Market Street
By: Matt de la Peña
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A slightly grumpy CJ asks his grandma why they have to take a bus across town every Sunday after...
Purchase on Bookshop [91]
Purchase on Amazon [92]
Let's Get a Pup! Said Kate
By: Bob Graham
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Her parents are receptive to Kate's suggestion, "Let's get a pup!" and head...
Purchase on Amazon [93]
Look Where We Live!: A First Book of Community Building
By: Scot Ritchie
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
This cheery picture book emphasizes the importance of community, describing the different facets...
Purchase on Bookshop [94]
Purchase on Amazon [95]
Maybe Something Beautiful
By: F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Mira brings color and builds community through her beautiful art which she first gives to...
Purchase on Bookshop [96]
Purchase on Amazon [97]
Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile
By: Gloria Houston
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Dorothy became a librarian to share her love of books and reading. How she started a library...
Purchase on Bookshop [98]
Purchase on Amazon [99]
Mr. Griggs' Work
By: Cynthia Rylant
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Mr. Griggs is the one-man show at a small town's post office. He weighs the parcels, wonders...
Purchase on Amazon [100]
Music, Music for Everyone
By: Vera Williams
Age Level: 3-6 years old
When Rosa's grandmother becomes sick, Rosa comes up with an idea that not only makes...
Purchase on Bookshop [101]
Purchase on Amazon [102]
On Meadowview Street
By: Henry Cole
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Caroline doesn't see much of the name of their new street, Meadowview, as she and her family...
Purchase on Bookshop [103]
Purchase on Amazon [104]
On the Road
By: Susan Steggall
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A family trip begins with everyone piling into the car. They then travel through the city with...
Purchase on Amazon [105]
One World, One Day
By: Barbara Kerley
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Every day children around the world awake to begin their days having breakfast, going to school...
Purchase on Bookshop [106]
Purchase on Amazon [107]
Pie Is for Sharing
By: Stephanie Parsley Ledyard
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A picnic, a beach, a pie cut into pieces and shared with good friends. Pie is for sharing. It...
Purchase on Bookshop [108]
Purchase on Amazon [109]
Plant a Little Seed
By: Bonnie Christensen
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Purchase on Amazon [110]
Rainbow Stew
By: Cathryn Fallwell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [111]
Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town
By: Richard Scarry
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Visit the school, the farm, the post office, and many more fun and exciting places in this...
Purchase on Bookshop [112]
Purchase on Amazon [113]
Room for Everyone
By: Naaz Khan
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A young boy on a crowded bus (dala dala) discovers that, after some wiggles and giggles, there’s...
Purchase on Bookshop [114]
Purchase on Amazon [115]
Ruby's Birds
By: Mya Thompson
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
When Ruby realizes there are amazing birds right in her neighborhood, her imagination takes...
Purchase on Bookshop [116]
Purchase on Amazon [117]
Strega Nona's Harvest
By: Tomie DePaola
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
This book is a great lesson in sharing one’s blessings with others. Strega Nona tries to show...
Purchase on Bookshop [118]
Purchase on Amazon [119]
Sun
By: Sam Usher
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
This rhyming read-aloud celebrates how we’re all connected under the sun. As readers are...
Purchase on Bookshop [120]
Purchase on Amazon [121]
Thank You, Omu!
By: Oge Mora
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Omu is an elderly woman who makes a fantastic pot of thick red stew. The scent from her stew...
Purchase on Bookshop [122]
Purchase on Amazon [123]
Purchase Kindle version [124]
Thanking the Moon
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [125]
Purchase on Amazon [126]
The Curious Garden
By: Peter Brown
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Purchase on Bookshop [127]
Purchase on Amazon [128]
The Forever Garden
By: Laurel Snyder
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A young girl and an older woman, Honey, bond over Honey’s garden and her chickens. When Honey...
Purchase on Amazon [129]
The Name Jar
By: Yangsook Choi
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
The new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she? Being the new kid in school is hard enough...
Purchase on Bookshop [130]
Purchase on Amazon [131]
The Park Our Town Built
By: Diane Gonzales Bertrand
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
In the style of "The House That Jack Built," Diane Gonzales Bertrand offers a lively picture...
Purchase on Amazon [132]
The Power of One: Every Act of Kindness Counts
By: Trudy Ludwig
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
When one child reaches out in friendship to a classmate who seems lonely, she begins a chain...
Purchase on Bookshop [133]
Purchase on Amazon [134]
The Village Garage
By: G. Brian Karas
Age Level: 3-6 years old
The workers at the village garage are busy all year long! They're busy from spring clean up...
Purchase on Amazon [135]
Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems
By: Kristine George
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Share the sights, sounds, smells, and humor of a family camping trip through this collection of...
Purchase on Bookshop [136]
Purchase on Amazon [137]
Tomás and the Library Lady
By: Pat Mora
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Tomás, child of migrant workers, visits the town library to find stories like the ones told by...
Purchase on Bookshop [138]
Purchase on Amazon [139]
Uptown
By: Bryan Collier
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Join a boy as he takes you uptown to introduce his Harlem home, filled with excitement, sounds,...
Purchase on Bookshop [140]
Purchase on Amazon [141]
Water in the Park
By: Emily Jenkins
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A catalog of ordinary events that occur in a park between sunrise and sunset, these scenarios...
Purchase on Bookshop [142]
Purchase on Amazon [143]
Purchase Kindle version [144]
Watercress
By: Andrea Wang
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A child is embarrassed when parents stop the car to harvest wild watercress. Illustrations in...
Purchase on Bookshop [145]
Purchase on Amazon [146]
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
By: Traci Sorell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Sorell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, offers readers a look at contemporary Cherokee life as...
Purchase on Bookshop [147]
Purchase on Amazon [148]
We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past
By: Jacqueline Woodson
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Teeka has a sharp eye as she describes each member of the family that joins the picnic in the...
Purchase on Amazon [149]
We March
By: Shane Evans
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Two children aroused by their parents join a march for equal rights. Short sentences and semi-...
Purchase on Bookshop [150]
Purchase on Amazon [151]
Willie and Uncle Bill
By: Amy Schwartz
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [152]
Wolf in the Snow
By: Matthew Cordell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A girl is lost in a snowstorm. A wolf cub is lost, too. How will they find their way home?...
Purchase on Bookshop [153]
Purchase on Amazon [154]
Purchase Kindle version [155]
You Matter
By: Christian Robinson
Age Level: 3-6 years old
In this brightly illustrated picture book, many different perspectives around the world are...
Purchase on Bookshop [156]
Purchase on Amazon [157]
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Print List
111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl
By: Rina Singh
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In a small village in India, a boy grows up to make a huge difference in his community by...
Purchase on Bookshop [158]
Purchase on Amazon [159]
A City Through Time
By: Philip Steele
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Follow the progress of an imaginary city through six key periods of time, each captured by a...
Purchase on Bookshop [160]
Purchase on Amazon [161]
A Country Far Away
By: Nigel Grey
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Told in the first person by two young boys, this story relates the same daily activities in two...
Purchase on Bookshop [162]
Purchase on Amazon [163]
A Piece of Home
By: Jeri Watts
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
When his family moves from Korea to West Virginia, Hee Jun has a difficult time adjusting. He...
Purchase on Bookshop [164]
Purchase on Amazon [165]
A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart
By: Zetta Elliot
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Poetry
In this powerful, affirming poem, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the...
Purchase on Bookshop [166]
Purchase on Amazon [167]
Barrio: José's Neighborhood/Barrio: El barrio de José
By: George Ancona
Age Level: 6-9 years old
José lives in a diverse neighborhood where he's just as likely to hear Spanish, English, or...
Purchase on Amazon [168]
Beatrice's Goat
By: Page McBrier
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The true story of how a young girl from Uganda was able to attend school after receiving a goat...
Purchase on Bookshop [169]
Purchase on Amazon [170]
Big Papa and the Time Machine
By: Daniel Bernstrom
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A heartfelt journey into African American history. When a little boy is feeling afraid to...
Purchase on Bookshop [171]
Purchase on Amazon [172]
Black Is a Rainbow Color
By: Angela Joy
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people...
Purchase on Bookshop [173]
Purchase on Amazon [174]
Bronzeville Boys and Girls
By: Gwendolyn Brooks
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This collection of poems, first published in 1956, reveals the heroes we see in our everyday...
Purchase on Bookshop [175]
Purchase on Amazon [176]
Butterflies Belong Here: A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterflies
By: Deborah Hopkinson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
In this story of community conservation, a girl finds a home in a new place and a way to help...
Purchase on Bookshop [177]
Purchase on Amazon [178]
Celebrate Independence Day with Parades, Picnics, and Fireworks
By: Deborah Heiligman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [179]
Purchase on Amazon [180]
Change Sings: A Children's Anthem
By: Amanda Gorman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Poetry
As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the...
Purchase on Bookshop [181]
Purchase on Amazon [182]
City Green
By: DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
There is a garbage-filled, vacant lot on the street where Marcy lives. Instead of growing...
Purchase on Bookshop [183]
Purchase on Amazon [184]
Crouching Tiger
By: Ying Chang Compestine
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [185]
Purchase on Amazon [186]
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
By: Derrick Barnes
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
This rhythmic, read-aloud is celebration of the self-esteem, confidence, and swagger Black...
Purchase on Bookshop [187]
Purchase on Amazon [188]
Dad and the Dinosaur
By: Jennifer Choldenko
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A father-son story about bravery and facing fears. With his toy dinosaur, Nicholas can...
Purchase on Bookshop [189]
Purchase on Amazon [190]
Dear Mr. Rosenwald
By: Carole Boston Weatherford
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A 10 year old girl narrates this fictionalized story, based on real events and people, of how...
Purchase on Amazon [191]
Each Kindness
By: Jacqueline Woodson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Each kindness makes the world a little better. Chloe and her friends won't play with the...
Purchase on Bookshop [192]
Purchase on Amazon [193]
Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World
By: Allan Drummond
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
It's windy on the Danish island of Samsø. Meet the environmentally friendly people who now...
Purchase on Bookshop [194]
Purchase on Amazon [195]
Family Is a Superpower
By: Michael Dahl
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman have many extraordinary abilities, but their greatest...
Purchase on Bookshop [196]
Purchase on Amazon [197]
Family Pictures/Cuadros de familia
By: Carmen Garza
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The artist recalls growing up in south Texas in this celebration of family and cultural...
Purchase on Bookshop [198]
Purchase on Amazon [199]
Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea, Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles
By: Philippe Cousteau, Deborah Hopkinson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
To help baby loggerhead turtles find their way back to the sea, a group of children involve...
Purchase on Bookshop [200]
Purchase on Amazon [201]
Freedom in Congo Square
By: Carole Boston Weatherford
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Join the rhythmic countdown to Sunday afternoon, the one time when enslaved Africans in 19th...
Purchase on Bookshop [202]
Purchase on Amazon [203]
Giant Steps to Change the World
By: Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
A book about activism and taking the big steps to set things right, using examples of people...
Purchase on Bookshop [204]
Purchase on Amazon [205]
Happy Birthday, America
By: Mary Pope Osborne
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Realistic watercolors present the summer celebration a boy shares with his family on the 4th of...
Purchase on Amazon [206]
Harlem
By: Walter Dean Myers
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Experienced readers will enjoy this stunning and sophisticated visit to Harlem in word and image...
Purchase on Bookshop [207]
Purchase on Amazon [208]
Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood
By: Tony Hillery
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Discover the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. Tony...
Purchase on Bookshop [209]
Purchase on Amazon [210]
Helen’s Birds
By: Sara Cassidy
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A wordless graphic novel depicts an intergenerational friendship between a young girl, Saanvi,...
Purchase on Bookshop [211]
Purchase on Amazon [212]
Hey, Wall: A Story of Art and Community
By: Susan Verde
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
There is a wall in Ángel’s neighborhood. Around it, the community bustles with life: music,...
Purchase on Bookshop [213]
Purchase on Amazon [214]
Home
By: Jeannie Baker
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Little by little, baby Tracy grows. She and her neighbors begin to rescue their street. Together...
Purchase on Bookshop [215]
Purchase on Amazon [216]
How to Make a Better World: For Every Kid Who Wants to Make a Difference
By: Keilly Swift
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
This guide to making the world a better place is packed with inspiring ideas and tips for kids...
Purchase on Bookshop [217]
Purchase on Amazon [218]
I Believe I Can
By: Grace Byers
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
An inspirational "can do" tribute to youth, encouraging readers to believe in themselves and...
Purchase on Bookshop [219]
Purchase on Amazon [220]
I'm New Here
By: Anne Sibley O'Brien
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Three students are immigrants from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia and have trouble speaking,...
Purchase on Bookshop [221]
Purchase on Amazon [222]
If America Were a Village: A Book About the People of the United States
By: David Smith
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [223]
Purchase on Amazon [224]
If the Walls Could Talk: Family Life at the White House
By: Jane O'Connor
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The "beautiful 200-year-old mansion on 18 acres of land right in the heart of downtown...
Purchase on Bookshop [225]
Purchase on Amazon [226]
In My Family/En mi familia
By: Carmen Garza
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Kingsville, on the border of Mexico and Texas, comes to life in words and pictures in this book...
Purchase on Amazon [227]
Jasmine Toguchi: Mochi Queen
By: Debbi Michiko Florence
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Jasmine is only 8 years old but wants to do what the boys do. It’s her family Japanese tradition...
Purchase on Bookshop [228]
Purchase on Amazon [229]
Lend a Hand: Poems About Giving
By: John Frank
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Poetry
A collection of original poems centered on giving and spontaneous acts of kindness, which also...
Purchase on Amazon [230]
Let the Children March
By: Monica Clark-Robinson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march...
Purchase on Bookshop [231]
Purchase on Amazon [232]
Let's Talk About Race
By: Julius Lester
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Lester shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special. He says, "I...
Purchase on Bookshop [233]
Purchase on Amazon [234]
Maddi's Fridge
By: Lois Brandt
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
This story addresses issues of poverty with honesty and sensitivity while instilling important...
Purchase on Bookshop [235]
Purchase on Amazon [236]
Mango, Abuela, and Me
By: Meg MedinaAngela
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
When a little girl’s far-away grandmother comes to stay, love and patience transcend language....
Purchase on Bookshop [237]
Purchase on Amazon [238]
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans
By: Phil Bildner
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Cornelius Washington was proud of his hometown, New Orleans. His job as a sanitation worker was...
Purchase on Bookshop [239]
Purchase on Amazon [240]
Me and My Family Tree
By: Joan Sweeney
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Amazon [241]
Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School
By: Janet Halfmann
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Lilly Ann Granderson,, who was enslaved, secretly learned to read and write as a child and...
Purchase on Bookshop [242]
Purchase on Amazon [243]
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children
By: Jan Pinborough
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Here's the true story of how Anne Carroll Moore created the first children's room at the New...
Purchase on Bookshop [244]
Purchase on Amazon [245]
Miss Rumphius
By: Barbara Cooney
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Miss Rumphius leaves the world more beautiful with an unusual legacy. This gentle story can...
Purchase on Bookshop [246]
Purchase on Amazon [247]
My Hair Is a Garden
By: Cozbi A. Cabrera
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
After being taunted by classmates about her unruly hair, Mackenzie seeks guidance from her wise...
Purchase on Bookshop [248]
Purchase on Amazon [249]
My Map Book
By: Sara Fanelli
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
In each spread of this bold and humorous picture book, children can examine their place in the...
Purchase on Amazon [250]
Nadia's Hands
By: Karen English
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nadia is thrilled to be the flower girl at her aunt's wedding, yet continues to worries her...
Purchase on Amazon [251]
Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters
By: Barack Obama
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In this tender letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to...
Purchase on Bookshop [252]
Purchase on Amazon [253]
Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf
By: Olivia Bouler
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
One 11 year-old girl can make a difference, as young ornithologist and artist Olivia Bouler has...
Purchase on Bookshop [254]
Purchase on Amazon [255]
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
By: Kate Smith Milway
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
This fictionalized story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana, who changes his world with a small loan and...
Purchase on Bookshop [256]
Purchase on Amazon [257]
Our Little Kitchen
By: Jillian Tamaki
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A crew of resourceful neighbors comes together to prepare a meal for their community. With a...
Purchase on Bookshop [258]
Purchase on Amazon [259]
Out and About at City Hall
By: Nancy Garhan Attebury
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
A group of children go on a field trip for a guided tour of city hall, where they learn about...
Purchase on Bookshop [260]
Purchase on Amazon [261]
Pedal Power: How One Community Became the Bicycle Capital of the World
By: Allan Drummond
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
How one person helped make one community into the bicycle capital of the world is told in...
Purchase on Bookshop [262]
Purchase on Amazon [263]
Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott
By: Dee Romito
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The life story of Georgia Gilmore, a woman whose pies and delicious homemade cooking helped...
Purchase on Bookshop [264]
Purchase on Amazon [265]
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
By: Anika Aldamuy Denise
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
A picture book biography of storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City’s first Puerto Rican...
Purchase on Bookshop [266]
Purchase on Amazon [267]
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangara Maathai
By: Claire Nivola
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Wangari Maathai's native Kenya was a changed land, literally blowing away because its trees...
Purchase on Bookshop [268]
Purchase on Amazon [269]
Red, White, and Boom!
By: Lee Wardlaw
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Amazon [270]
Rich: A Dyamonde Daniel Book
By: Nikki Grimes
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [271]
Purchase on Amazon [272]
Sam and the Lucky Money
By: Karen Chinn
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
During Chinese New Year, a young boy encounters a homeless person and discovers that no gift is...
Purchase on Bookshop [273]
Purchase on Amazon [274]
Say Something
By: Peter H. Reynolds
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Explores the many ways that a single voice can make a difference. Each of us, each and every day...
Purchase on Bookshop [275]
Purchase on Amazon [276]
Snail Mail
By: Samantha Berger
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Snails delivering letters trek across the country-through desert heat and dangerous blizzards,...
Purchase on Bookshop [277]
Purchase on Amazon [278]
Sofia Valdez, Future Prez
By: Andrea Beaty
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Sofia is a young girl who gets things done and has a great desire to help others. After her...
Purchase on Bookshop [279]
Purchase on Amazon [280]
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice
By: Marianne Celano
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The book follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a...
Purchase on Bookshop [281]
Purchase on Amazon [282]
Purchase audio version [283]
Stand Up! Speak Up!: A Story Inspired by the Climate Change Revolution
By: Andrew Joyner
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Celebrate young climate change activists in this charming story about an empowered girl who...
Purchase on Bookshop [284]
Purchase on Amazon [285]
Start Now! You Can Make a Difference
By: Chelsea Clinton
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
What can I do to help save endangered animals? How can I eat healthy? What do I do if I'm being...
Purchase on Bookshop [286]
Purchase on Amazon [287]
Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee!
By: Andrea J. Loney
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
James VanDerZee (1886–1983) was a prolific photographer who used his camera to capture the...
Purchase on Bookshop [288]
Purchase on Amazon [289]
Tar Beach
By: Faith Ringgold
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Cassie doesn't have to actually go to the beach; she's got her very own "tar...
Purchase on Bookshop [290]
Purchase on Amazon [291]
Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers' Rights
By: Deborah Hopkinson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
After Frances Perkins witnessed the Triangle Waist Factory fire in 1911, she decided to...
Purchase on Bookshop [292]
Purchase on Amazon [293]
The Birdwatchers
By: Simon James
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A grandfather shares with his grandchild the quiet wonder of birdwatching — and a wry...
Purchase on Amazon [294]
The Can Man
By: Laura E. Williams
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
As Tim ponders how he might earn money for a skateboard, he hears The Can Man down the street...
Purchase on Bookshop [295]
Purchase on Amazon [296]
The Colors of Us
By: Karen Katz
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her...
Purchase on Bookshop [297]
Purchase on Amazon [298]
The House That Jane Built: A Story About Jane Addams
By: Tanya Lee Stone
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The story of Jane Addams who transformed a poor neighborhood in Chicago by opening up her house...
Purchase on Bookshop [299]
Purchase on Amazon [300]
The Tree Lady
By: H. Joseph Hopkins
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The true story of green-thumbed pioneer and activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow...
Purchase on Bookshop [301]
Purchase on Amazon [302]
The Ugly Vegetables
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In a neighborhood of flower gardens, a Chinese-American girl and her mother plant what the child...
Purchase on Bookshop [303]
Purchase on Amazon [304]
This Is How I Do It: One Day in the Life of You and 59 Real Kids from Around the World
By: Matt Lamothe
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This activity book invites kids to document their lives and daily rituals alongside 59 real kids...
Purchase on Bookshop [305]
Purchase on Amazon [306]
This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
By: Jacqueline Woodson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
The story of one family’s journey north during the Great Migration starts with a little girl in...
Purchase on Bookshop [307]
Purchase on Amazon [308]
Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding
By: Lenore Look
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Jenny's favorite uncle, Uncle Peter, is getting married. Now Jenny won't be his only...
Purchase on Bookshop [309]
Purchase on Amazon [310]
Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen
By: Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A boy wonders about the people he sees on his city’s streets until he goes to the soup kitchen...
Purchase on Bookshop [311]
Purchase on Amazon [312]
Waiting for the Biblioburro
By: Monica Brown
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Meet Ana, a young girl who loves to read. There aren't many books in her small Colombian village...
Purchase on Bookshop [313]
Purchase on Amazon [314]
Watch Me Grow! A Down-to-Earth Look at Growing Food in the City
By: Deborah Hodge
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Growing fruits and vegetables doesn't take a lot of space; they can even grow in crowded...
Purchase on Amazon [315]
We Came to America
By: Faith Ringgold
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
America is a country rich in diversity.No matter what brought them here, each person embodied a...
Purchase on Bookshop [316]
Purchase on Amazon [317]
What Can a Citizen Do?
By: Dave Eggers
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Across several seemingly unrelated but ultimately connected actions, we watch how kids turn a...
Purchase on Bookshop [318]
Purchase on Amazon [319]
What Is Given from the Heart
By: Patricia McKissack
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A family in the community have lost everything in a fire, and the church is collecting anything...
Purchase on Bookshop [320]
Purchase on Amazon [321]
Your Name Is a Song
By: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names....
Purchase on Amazon [322]
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Print List
101 Small Ways to Change the World
By: Lonely Planet Kids, Aubre Andrus
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Find ways to help out family, friends, yourself and the planet and show how you're never...
Purchase on Bookshop [323]
Purchase on Amazon [324]
31 Ways to Change the World
By: We Are What We Do
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Small actions multiplied by lots of people equals big change! That’s the driving belief behind...
Purchase on Bookshop [325]
Purchase on Amazon [326]
A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park
By: Ashley Benham Yazdani
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
How did Central Park become a vibrant gem in the heart of New York City? Follow the visionaries...
Purchase on Bookshop [327]
Purchase on Amazon [328]
Purchase audio version [329]
Purchase Kindle version [330]
Generation Fix: Young Ideas for a Better World
By: Elizabeth Rusch
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Young people see a need and work to better their world in this upbeat chronicle of youthful...
Purchase on Amazon [331]
Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero
By: Kelly J. Baptist
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Fiction
A boy who discovers a love of poetry after finding his late father's journal. Isaiah learns...
Purchase on Amazon [332]
Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It
By: Andrea Pinkney
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Fiction
Inspired by storytelling's oral tradition and through a mix of fictional first-person narratives...
Purchase on Bookshop [333]
Purchase on Amazon [334]
Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You!
By: Marley Dias
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Marley Dias, the powerhouse girl-wonder who started the #1000blackgirlbooks campaign, speaks to...
Purchase on Bookshop [335]
Purchase on Amazon [336]
Murals: Walls That Sing
By: George Ancona
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Purchase on Amazon [337]
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness
By: Anastasia Higginbotham
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
An honest explanation for kids about the state of race in America today, how power and privilege...
Purchase on Bookshop [338]
Purchase on Amazon [339]
Seedfolks
By: Paul Fleischman
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Fiction
A Vietnamese girl plants six lima beans in a Cleveland vacant lot, and a sense of community...
Purchase on Bookshop [340]
Purchase on Amazon [341]
The Kid's Guide to Service Projects
By: Barbara Lewis
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
This new edition of the best-selling youth service guide includes a refreshed Ten Steps to...
Purchase on Bookshop [342]
Purchase on Amazon [343]
The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth
By: Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Thirty diverse, award-winning authors and illustrators invite you into their homes to...
Purchase on Bookshop [344]
Purchase on Amazon [345]
What Does a Mayor Do?
By: David Jakubiak
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Discusses the duties of mayors, how they get into office, the responsibilities of local...
Purchase on Bookshop [346]
Purchase on Amazon [347]
Wishtree
By: Katherine Applegate
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Fiction
Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"―people write their...
Purchase on Bookshop [348]
Purchase on Amazon [349]
Hands-on Activities
Build on what you're learning together through books with these family-friendly activities, experiments, and crafts.
-
Big Dig/Little Dig [350]
Start with a Book -
Box City Curriculum [351] $
-
Charity Starts at Home [352]
PBS Adventures in Learning -
Community Cleanup Scavenger Hunt [353]
-
Family Picture Magnets [354]
-
Family Poetry Book: Who I Am [355]
-
Family Time Capsule [356]
-
Family Timeline Accordion Book [357]
-
Government in Your Community Scavenger Hunt [358]
-
Issues and Action [359]
Start with a Book -
Kindness Jar [360]
Start with a Book -
Make a City Guide For Kids! [361]
-
Make a Family Tree [362]
-
Making a Difference Pledge [363]
Start with a Book -
Many Ways to Name a Place [364]
-
Mural Guidebook [365]
-
My Family Tree [366]
-
Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt [367]
American Planning Association -
Scavenger Hunt! Exploring Grandma's Attic [368]
-
Water Conservation at Home [369]
-
Wishing Tree [370]
Start with a Book
Summer Writing
Give kids a chance to flex their writing muscles all summer long. Try one of these prompts, selected from our writing contest archives and other literacy organizations.
-
Exploring Family Stories [371]
-
Family Quilts [372]
-
Letter to a Local Hero [373]
-
My Tall Tale [374]
-
Who I Am Poem [375]
-
Write a Petition [376]
Great Websites for Kids
Dive deeper into topics of interest with these media-rich and interactive sites.
-
Activate: Community Involvement Online Game (iCivics) [377]
-
Book Club for Kids [378]
-
Family Tree Kids [379]
-
Global Closet Calculator [380]
-
Immigration Nation (iCivics) [381]
-
Indy Kids: A Paper for Kids by Kids [382]
-
Kids Gardening [383]
-
The Wonderment [384]
-
Zoom [385]
Educational Apps
Educational apps recommended by Common Sense Media and other trusted reviewers.
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Big Kid Life Fire Fighter [386]
-
Kids and Home [387]
-
News-O-Matic [388]
$
-
One Globe Kids: Friends Around the World [389]
-
Pictello [390]
$
-
Super Home Hero [391]
-
Who Am I? Race Awareness Game [392]
$
More Themed Resources
Growing Readers Tip Sheets
Simple activities for parents and kids to do together to build reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Read online or print the PDF.
-
Book Swap for Kids [393]
Download PDF: English [394] | Spanish [395] -
Creating Learning Traditions [396]
Download PDF: English [397] | Spanish [398]
Our Summer Blog
-
Test of Character [403]
-
A Ride to Remember [404]
Washington DC for Kids
Places
-
826DC Writing Workshops [415]
-
Carter G. Woodson Home [419]
-
Eastern Market [422]
-
National Archives [423]
-
National Building Museum [424] $
-
National Postal Museum [430]
-
Wish Tree for Washington [432]