Diversity at Trevor

Diversity Resources at Trevor

Diversity Books Available at East Campus Library

The East Campus librarian, has compiled a list of books related to diversity for the Early Childhood readers on the East Campus library Web site. Please visit: http://www.trevornet.org/echlibrary/diversity.htm (may require login) to view the list.

Diversity Book Reading List for Middle School

This summer Middle School English teachers, Meaghan Connolly and Pam Murphy, compiled a list of children's books that are related to diversity. The books listed are available at our West Campus library.

The Best Bad Thing by Yoshiko Uchida - About a young girl, Rinko, living in San Francisco in 1938; she has to go live with a "strange" family friend for the rest of her summer to help her, a newly widowed woman with two kids, who is going through a really hard time trying to work her farm and support her family. It’s a huge learning experience. The reader definitely learns a bit about Japanese culture and the difficulties Japanese immigrants encountered when they came here.
Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara - A series of short stories about life in uptown New York and rural North Carolina. "Portraits of black life"; written in colloquial language. The writing style is somewhat difficult to follow; some really graphic language.
Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen - A compelling survival story. The guerilla soldiers strike Santiago’s (a 12 year old boy) village in Guatemala leaving him and his 4 yr. old sister as the only family survivors. He and his sister set sail in a kayak to seek refuge in the U.S. Easy vocabulary.
Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers - Set in Harlem, Jamal is faced with a difficult decision to try to raise money for a new trial for his brother Randy, the old head of the Scorpions who is now in jail. A decision which could possibly put him into the same kind of situation as his brother. Easy vocabulary, but the subject matter is fairly graphic.
The Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska - Set in the 1920’s in NY’s lower East Side, Sarah, a young adult, battles her father and his "Old World" ways and struggles for independence and self- fulfillment.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - Set in Brooklyn commencing in 1912, a coming-of-age story about an Irish girl named Francie. Francie is from a very poor family and faces many struggles other than poverty. Beautifully written; some challenging vocabulary.
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya - Story of a "simple" woman of India battling the challenges of "relentless nature, changing times and dire poverty".
Caucasia by Danzy Senna - A coming-of-age story about a girl, Birdie, who is faced with racial and political issues. Her mother is a liberal "hippie" type white woman and her father is a "radical black intellectual". The family is divided and we learn about the journey Birdie takes with her mother and issues that she faces. This book explores racial, political and economic boundaries. For a more mature reader.
The Color of Water by James McBride - Memoir set in the Red Hook projects in Brooklyn. James tells the story of his mother, a rabbi’s daughter born in Poland and raised in the South. She fled to Harlem, married a black man, founded a Baptist church and put twelve children through college. An inspiring book which examines racial and religious identity.
The Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo - The story is about a 12 yr. old Nigerian girl, Sade. Her father is journalist who writes the truth and this has caused severe trouble for the family to the point of murder. Sade and her brother need to quickly escape the country and flee to London for asylum and the plan is for their father to meet them there. Many problems arise along the way forcing Sade to make decisions no child should be faced with. An awesome story which teaches how much political conflicts can hurt innocent people.
Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye - ALA Best Book for young adults and Jane Addams Book Award. A story about a 15yr.old Arab American girl named Liyana who was born and grew up in St. Louis and is now moving with her family back to Palestine. Liyana is now learning, first hand, about the culture, language and traditions of her Arab identity, as well as the political and social turmoil of her father’s home country.
Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper - Story of a teenage boy, Andy, who is involved in a drunken driving accident in which his best friend is killed. We follow Andy as he tries to cope with the accident and life thereafter. The subject matter is quite weighty.
House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton - ALA Notable Children’s Book. Thomas and his family move into a huge house with many secret passages. The house used to hide runaway slaves and was a stop in Ohio on the Underground Railroad. However, when strange things start happening, Thomas thinks the house is haunted.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers - Steve Harmon is arrested for being the lookout in a drugstore robbery. Things get out of hand during the robbery and the owner, Mr. Nesbitt, is killed with his own gun. Steve wonders what role he had in the robbery. Was he the lookout man or was he innocent? He decides to make a movie of his experiences in his head and the story is told in the form of a screenplay.
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis - Newbery Winner. Bud leaves his orphanage and goes looking for his father. All he has is a flyer from a place his father used to play his music. When Bud arrives in Michigan he discovers that the legendary musician is actually his grandfather not his father.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis - Newbery Honor Book. Kenny, the narrator, is a cross-eyed, nerdy bookworm who is teased by his troublemaking older brother, Byron. The parents decide to take Byron to Alabama to live with his grandmother for the summer, the same summer of the church bombing in 1963. Kenny’s younger sister, Joetta, is almost killed and Kenny is deeply affected by the bombings.
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson - Novel written in poetry about Lonnie, age 11, who lives with a foster mother after his parents die in a fire when he is seven years old. His younger sister, Lili, goes to live with another foster family. Lonnie’s teacher gets him to write down his feelings in his poetry journal.
The Cay by Theodore Taylor - Set during WWII, young white Phillip and a West Indian man named Timothy become shipwrecked on a cay after their boat is torpedoed. Phillip is blinded during the accident and must rely on Timothy to survive.
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park - Newbery Award Medal. In Korea during the twelfth century, an orphan boy named Tree-ear lives under a bridge with an old, disabled man named Crane-man. Every day they look for scraps of food to eat. One day Tree-ear spies on a master potter and accidentally breaks a pot. He ends up having to pay for the pot in exchange for several days work. The work is hard but eventually Tree-ear is hired on permanently.
If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson - ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Jeremiah (Miah) and Elisha (Ellie) meet at Percy Academy, a private high school in Manhattan. They fall in love and start sneaking away to spend time together. The fact that Miah is black and Ellie is Jewish complicates things. At first neither wants to introduce the other to their parents, but Miah because his parents are a famous director and writer. Ellie isn’t sure how her parents will react to Miah being black. Eventually Miah does bring Ellie home and Ellie agrees to introduce Miah to her family. A great story about race issues and true love.
Hush by Jacqueline Woodson - Coretta Scott King Author Award, ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Toswiah Greene’s life is perfect. She lives in Denver, her best friend is Lulu, and all is right with the world. That is until the day her father comes home from work and says that he witnessed the murder of a fifteen year old black boy (same as Toswiah’s older sister Cameron). Toswiah’s father breaks the blue wall of silence and testifies against his fellow officers sending two of them to jail. Toswiah’s family must now change their identity and enter the witness protection program.
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck - ALA Best Book for Young Adults. A twelve year old Shaker boy named Robert nearly dies delivering his neighbor’s two calves. As a reward, Mr. Tanner gives Robert a pet pig named Pinky. Robert’s father, a pig butcher, allows him to keep the pig but the day comes when they must kill the barren sow. Robert realizes his family can’t afford to feed the pig and there are difficult things people must do in life. When he turns thirteen, his father dies and he must run the family farm. An excellent coming of age story dealing with religious and economic issues.
Witness by Karen Hesse - Eleven characters tell the story of a small Vermont town in 1924 who turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe especially the two youngest, a twelve-year-old black girl, Leanora, and a six-year-old Jewish girl named Esther. Each poem is written from a different character’s perspective. Esther’s father is shot and Leanora’s well water is almost poisoned.
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick - Judy Lopez Memorial Award Honor Book. Max’s father strangled his mother and is in prison for life. Max is unusually big for his age and lives in the basement of his grandparent’s house. He thinks he’s stupid and he has no friends; that is until Kevin (Freak) moves in down the block. Kevin’s mother, Gwen, and Max’s mother were good friends. Kevin and Max soon form a strong friendship, and Max gains confidence in his reading and writing skills over the course of the year. They have many funny and sweet adventures together until the end of the book when Kevin dies. "His heart was too big for his body."
The Contender by Richard Lipsyte - Alfred Brooks works at a grocery store owned by a Jewish man, Mr. Epstein. When Alfred tells his friends how Mr. Epstein leaves the money in his cash register on Friday evenings because he’s Orthodox Jewish, his friends decide to rob the store. Alfred refuses to go along with them, and later remembers about the security alarm Mr. Epstein just installed. It’s too late though. His best friend gets arrested. The other two kids get away from the cops, but they are angry and Alfred and try to beat up him up. Alfred goes to the neighborhood gym and starts to train to become a boxer. At first he gives up, but he eventually learns to stick with it. Alfred’s friend is released from prison but becomes a drug addict. Alfred does his best to help him but is unsuccessful. Alfred wins a few fights but eventually realizes that he not going to be a champion boxer. He will, however, be a contender. Good life lessons about persistence and self-reliance.
Hoops by Walter Dean Myers - ALA Best Book for Young Adults - Lonnie Jackson is a seventeen year old basketball player who has a great game but is going nowhere. That is, until Cal an ex-pro basketball player coaches Lonnie’s team in a city-wide tournament. Cal was kicked out of the NBA after he was found shaving points; since then Cal’s daughter has died, his wife divorced him, and he has turned to alcohol. Coaching Lonnie has given Cal a second chance. Lonnie has a girlfriend Maryann, and he has a hard time making a commitment to her. Throughout the book Lonnie learns to trust people again and take responsibility for his own life.
The Misfits by James Howe - Four white students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council election. Bobby is overweight; Addie is extremely tall; Joe is gay; and Skeezie has hygiene issues. Their platform is to represent all the students who have every been called names. Together these four friends make a profound difference in their middle school.