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, 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 (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, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

Boy riding older man's shoulders.

Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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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...

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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...

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A Neighborhood Walk, A Musical Journey book cover

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...

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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,...

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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....

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Another Brother

By: Matthew Cordell

Age Level: 3-6 years old

"For four glorious years, Davy had Mom & Dad all to himself." But things changed when not one...

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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....

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Apple Pie Fourth of July

By: Janet Wong

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A young girl worries that no one will buy the Chinese foods made by her family, especially on the...

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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...

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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 and shows...

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Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic

By: Ginnie Lo

Age Level: 3-6 years old

While on a visit to her aunt and uncle in Illinois, the narrator and her family unexpectedly find a...

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Bee-Bim Bop!

By: Linda Sue Park

Age Level: 3-6 years old

What's better than just eating a favorite dish? Anticipating it while preparing it, of course!...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Building Our House

By: Jonathan Bean

Age Level: 3-6 years old

The oldest child narrates the family's move from the city to build their own house on farm land....

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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...

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Chicken Sunday

By: Patricia Polacco

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Love and caring extend across generations and cultures as a young Jewish girl from a Russian...

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Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do

By: Katherine Heling, Deborah Hembrook

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Clothes on lines and a rhyming description ask readers to figure out what job the wearer might do....

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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...

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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 —...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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How Far Do You Love Me?

By: Lulu Delacre

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A warm portrait of universal parental love begins on a beach when a boy asks his mother, "How far...

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How to Babysit a Grandpa

By: Jean Reagan

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Babysitting can be fun, especially if you get to babysit your grandpa! A child's advice makes for...

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I Love Saturdays y domingos

By: Alma Flor Ada

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A girl visits both sets of grandparents on weekends. On Saturdays, she speaks English with Grandpa...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 apartment...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Plant a Little Seed

By: Bonnie Christensen

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Nonfiction

Two children start to plan their community garden while snow is still on the ground. Come spring...

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Rainbow Stew

By: Cathryn Fallwell

Age Level: 3-6 years old

The children are distressed that it's raining while visiting their grandfather. But Grandpa has the...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Book cover for Thank You, Omu!

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...

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Thanking the Moon

By: Grace Lin

Age Level: 3-6 years old

As they did for the Lunar New Year, each family member contributes to the preparations for the mid-...

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The Curious Garden

By: Peter Brown

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Fiction

Liam discovers that he can help his dreary city blossom into a green place that draws everyone out...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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-...

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Willie and Uncle Bill

By: Amy Schwartz

Age Level: 3-6 years old

When the doorbell rings three times, Willie knows that Uncle Bill has arrived to watch Willie while...

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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?...

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You Matter

By: Christian Robinson

Age Level: 3-6 years old

In this brightly illustrated picture book, many different perspectives around the world are...

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Age Level: 6-9 years old

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 go to...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Celebrate Independence Day with Parades, Picnics, and Fireworks

By: Deborah Heiligman

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Celebrate the birthday of the United States with food and fun while learning the history and...

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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...

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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...

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Crouching Tiger

By: Ying Chang Compestine

Age Level: 6-9 years old

When Vinson's grandfather visits from China, the boy has conflicting feelings about his grandfather...

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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 boys...

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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 scale...

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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...

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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 new...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 the...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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If America Were a Village: A Book About the People of the United States

By: David Smith

Age Level: 6-9 years old

If all of the 300 million people were simply one village of 100 people, its diversity is easier to...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 for...

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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 write...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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Me and My Family Tree

By: Joan Sweeney

Age Level: 6-9 years old

A young girl uses simple language, her own childlike drawings, and diagrams to explain how the...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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""

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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""

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...

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""

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...

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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...

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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...

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""

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...

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""

Red, White, and Boom!

By: Lee Wardlaw

Age Level: 6-9 years old

From one end of the United States to the other, the 4th of July is celebrated: on beaches, with...

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""

Rich: A Dyamonde Daniel Book

By: Nikki Grimes

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Dyamonde, a bright, articulate and confident 3rd grader, is entering the library's poetry contest...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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Young Black girl who is blind listening for sounds in the busy city

Song in the City

By: Daniel Bernstrom

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Fiction

A young girl, filled with the sounds of her beloved city, shares a song with her grandmother...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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""

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...

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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 work to...

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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 talent for...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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""

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...

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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...

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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...

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""

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...

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""

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...

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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...

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""

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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. Frustrated...

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Age Level: 9-12 years old

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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 too...

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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...

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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...

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cover of "Generation Fix" showing six teenagers, a lightbulb, and a tree

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...

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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 that...

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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...

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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...

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""

Murals: Walls That Sing

By: George Ancona

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Ancona takes a look at Latino and Hispanic murals within the United States in this fascinating...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 witness ...

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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...

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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...

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