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More Books

If you're interested in reading more great books together, here are some sources to help you find them!

Check out these helpful websites and award winners:

Here are some more books* to read on Together themes:

Being American: Picture Books

Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel Mark Duffy. NY: William Morrow, 1983.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages)

Molly's classmates make fun of her funny Russian accent and supposed un-American. Asked to make a pilgrim for Thanksgiving and she eagerly tells the assignment to her mama, who knows that Molly is the real pilgrim.
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis. NY: Putnam, 2001.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages)

A story of friendship across a racial divide, in which the young African-American narrator lives beside a fence that segregates her town. Eventually, it's the fence that's out of place, not the friendship.
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say. NY: Houghton-Mifflin, 1993.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages)

"Home" is elusive in this story about immigration and acculturation, richly illustrated with faded colors like a cherished and well-preserved family album. Winner of the 1994 Caldecott Medal.

God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr., illustrated by Jerry Pinkney . NY: Amistad, 2003.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 40 pages)


A moving and visual interpretation of Holiday's spiritual that becomes a way to depict the Great Migration of the 1930s.

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. NY: Aladdin, 2001.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages)

The narrator chronicles the story of a quilt from when Great-Gramma Anna came to America to the present.

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Being American: Novels

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. NY: Scholastic, 2000. (Reading level: Ages 9-12, 288 pages)

Fleeing Mexico, Esperanza and her family must make a new life in California as migrant workers.

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Courage: Picture Books

Crow Boy by Taro Yashima. NY: Puffin, 1955.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 40 pages)

Over the years, a boy travels to his school from the wild countryside; only his teacher knows his story.

The People Could Fly: The Picture Book by Virginia Hamilton. NY: Knopf , 2004.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 32 pages)

Based on an oral tradition, this stirring story moves from the packed hold of the slave ships to the cotton fields of the South, and tells of those who retained their ability to fly, and is remembered by those who "had only their imaginations to set them free."

Eleanor, Quiet No More by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Gary Kelley. NY: Hyperion Books, 2009.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 48 pages)

While other young women of her class were spending time at dances and parties, Eleanor devoted her energies to teaching children in New York City's poorest neighborhoods. Later, she became the most socially and politically active -- and controversial -- First Lady America had ever seen. Ambassador, activist, and champion of civil rights, Eleanor Roosevelt changed the soul of America forever.

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Courage: Novels

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. NY: Atheneum, 2006.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 144 pages)

Ten-year-old Lucky entertains herself by eavesdropping on AA meetings and is searching for her own "Higher Power" as she reveals her unresolved grief over her mother's death.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. NY: Laurel Leaf, 2004.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 272 pages)

A 10-year-old orphan in the Depression-era Midwest searches for the musician he believes to be his father .

Felita by Nicholasa Mohr. NY: Puffin Books, 1999.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 112 pages)

Felita's parents promise she will love their new neighborhood. Only Abuelita, her grandmother, understands how much Felita will miss her old block, and her best friend Gigi. But her new neighbors taunt and tease Felita and her family because they are from Puerto Rico.

Abel's Island by William Steig. NY: Square Fish Press, 1976.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 128 pages)

A story of the adventures of a newlywed mouse as he comes head to head with the dangers and riches of nature.
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis. NY: Scholastic, 2007.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 352 pages)

Eleven-year-old Elijah lives peacefully with his family in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves, but in this exciting story, he embarks on a dangerous journey to America, discovering firsthand the unimaginable horrors of slavery.
Rules by Cynthia Lord. NY: Scholastic, 2006.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 208 pages)

In an effort to keep her life bearable, 12 year-old Catherine creates rules for her autistic brother.

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Freedom: Picture Books

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee. NY: Lee & Low, 1993.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages)

A young Japanese-American boy describes his life in an internment camp and the baseball diamond that gave the internees a purpose and embodies freedom and respect when the returns home and continues his baseball career.
Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ronald Himler. NY: Clarion Books, 2004.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages)

"My dad and I live in an airport . . . the airport is better than the streets." A brief but moving portrait of a difficult subject as a small child narrates his life as homeless person.
Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles, illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. NY: Aladdin, 2005.
(Reading level: Ages 4-8, 32 pages)

A white and an African-American boy spend many hours swimming together in the creek because John is not allowed in the public pool; when the Civil Rights Act is passed, they learn a bittersweet lesson.

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Freedom: Novels

I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly by Joyce Hansen. NY: Scholastic, 1997 .
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 176 pages)

Twelve-year-old Patsy keeps a diary of the ripe but confusing time following the end of the Civil War and the granting of freedom to former slaves.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. NY: Simon & Schuster , 1987.
(Reading level: Ages 9-12, 192 pages)

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

* The books on this list are not available from the Council.