A Long Walk to Water
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
Told as duel narrative experiences, this book is based on true experiences of two young survivors in the Sudan, 2008, and 1985.
Amal Unbound
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
12-year-old Amal, living in Pakistan, dreams of becoming a teacher but her dreams are crushed when she is forced to become a servant.
Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
A graphic version of Anne Frank’s story told with deep honesty and reflection that might not be familiar to readers of the diary.
Be My Love
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
During summer vacation, Maisy deals with unfamiliar feelings of infatuation for her cousin Una.
Between Shades of Gray
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
A harrowing account of life in Stalin’s labor camps.
Bifocal
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
Harron is a serious Muslim student devoted to his family. Jay is a rising football star devoted to his team. This story told in alternating voices tells the story of when a student is arrested on suspicion of terrorism.
Bud, Not Buddy
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
The story of a ten-year-old African-American boy, Bud Caldwell, and his quest to find his father during the Depression.
Daughter of War
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
Two teenagers survive the Armenian genocide in Turkey but when separated, they are desperate to be reunited.
Egghead
Theme: Bullying
Will Read, a boy obsessed with his ant farm, becomes the perfect target for Shane, a grade 9 bully.
Fatty Legs
Theme: Indigenous Voices
A young Native girl overcomes the humiliation she experiences in a residential school.
George
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
The story of Melissa, whom the world sees as George3, telling her friends and family that she is a girl.
Ghost (Track #1)
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
Castel “Ghost” Cranshaw, a 7th grade African-American, joins the track team and struggles to deal with both his past and present.
Good-bye Marianne
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
In this graphic book, Marianne’s life, as a young Jewish girl begins to crumble when the Nazis destroy her neighbourhood and her family.
Hana’s Suitcase
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
A biographical account of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust. The story is interwoven with the story of a Japanese curator who learned about Hana’s life after her suitcase was sent to her.
Harbor Me
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
Haley tells her story, and those of five classmates as they thrived together in an experimental classroom.
Hidden
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
A graphic book in which a grandmother tells her story how, as a young Jewish girl in Paris, she was hidden away from the Nazis.
Home of the Brave
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
A free verse novel about a young refugee boy named Kek, who has fled from the violence and upheaval in his native Sudan.
Inside Out and Back Again
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
In this free verse novel, Kim Ha and her family are forced to move to the United States when their home was endangered by the Vietnam War.
Little Voice
Theme: Indigenous Voices
After her father dies, eleven-year old Ray spends a summer in the bush with her beloved grandmother.
Loser
Theme: Bullying
Zinkoff travels from first through sixth grade, labelled as a ‘loser’. Resilience and determination help transform this character into a ‘hero’.
Milkweed
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
A story of Nazi-occupied Warsaw told through the eyes of a young Holocaust orphan.
Nowhere Boy
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
Fourteen-year-old Ahmed is stranded in Brussels, a city that wants nothing to do with him.
Number the Stars
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
German troops camping to ‘relocate’ all the Jews of Denmark. One girl’s family take in her best friend and try to conceal her.
One True Way
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
Girls who like girls are forced to question their own choices in this novel set in the 1970’s.
Paper Wishes
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
Manami and her family are forced by the government to leave their home by the sea and join other Japanese Americans at a prison camp.
Playing Atari with Sadam Hussein
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
It is 1991 in Iraq, and all Ali wants to do is read his comics and play football and video games. President Saddam Hussein has other plans.
Posted
Theme: Bullying
Cell phones are banned at a middle school. Four friends explore ways to communicate through sticky notes.
Real Friends
Theme: Bullying
This graphic memoir is the story of what it means to be a true friend and the challenges of wanting to belong.
Refugee
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
Three intertwining refugee journeys: a Jewish boy (1930’s), a Cuban girl (1994), and a Syrian boy (2015), each who leave a homeland torn apart by violence and destruction
Save Me A Seat
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
Joe is Jewish and Ravi’s family just moved from India.They find they have things in common – especially the school bully.
Shi-shi-etko
Theme: Indigenous Voices
Shi-shi-etko is about to leave her family and all that she knows in order to attend a residential school.
Shooting Kabul
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
After leaving Kabul, Fadi and his family adjust to life in the U.S. as the events of September 11 unfold.
The Beast
Theme: Immigrants and Refugees
A story of the harsh migrant trail from Central America across the US border.
The Best Man
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
A story of small-town life, gay marriage, and a boy searching for grown-up role models.
The Boy in the Dress
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
The story of a twelve-year-old boy who enjoys cross-dressing despite the reactions of his family and friends.
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
Bruno and his family leave Berlin to take up residence near the concentration camp where his father has just become a commandant.
The Breadwinner (trilogy) + A Graphic Novel
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
After her father is sent to jail, eleven-year-old Parvana must find the courage to break Taliban law to save her family.
The Contest
Theme: Indigenous Voices
How can a Mohawk girl win the Anne of Green Gables lookalike contest?
The Lotterys Plus One
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
Two moms and two dads join forces to create a family.
The Mask that Sang
Theme: Indigenous Voices
A young girl discovers her Cayuga heritage when she finds a mask that sings to her.
The Misfits
Theme: Bullying
A gang of five 7th graders combat intolerance by challenging others to see them as strong, proud humans.
The Night Diary
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
After Nisha receives a diary for her birthday, she begins to find her voice as she documents her family’s upheaval amid the 1947 Partition of India.
The Other Boy
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
Shane takes hormone blockers to prevent the onset of female puberty, and he wants to start taking testosterone.
The Prince and The Dressmaker
Theme: Homophobia and Gender Differences
Prince Sebastian’s parents are seeking a bride for him, but Sebastian is too busy hiding a secret life from everyone.
The Promise
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
Two brave sisters whose promise to their parents that they would always stay together, helped them to survive Auschwitz.
The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen
Theme: Bullying
This novel deals with the effects of a school shooting on the shooter’s family.
The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
Gabi, a young Jewish girl, recounts her experiences on a family farm, before and during, the Nazi occupation.
The Water Walker
Theme: Indigenous Voices
Josephine Mandamin, a determined Ojibwe Nokomis (grandmother), walks to raise awareness of our need to protect Nibi (water).
What the Night Sings
Theme: The Holocaust and Genocide
An illustrated novel about a teen Holocaust survivor.
Where I Belong
Theme: Indigenous Voices
When Carrie finds out that her birth father is Mohawk, she makes the journey to Quebec to find a sense of home.
Wishtree
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
Members of a community hang their wishes on Red, a 200-year-old oak tree. A new family moves into the neighbourhood and finds they are not welcomed by all.
Wolf Hollow
Theme: Bullying
Betty, a 14-year-old bully singles out Annabelle as a target because she thinks she’s wealthy.
Wonder
Theme: Bullying
August Pullman, a boy born with a facial difference, helps to teach readers about acceptance and kindness.
You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!
Theme: Religious Intolerance, Racism, Embracing Diversity
Jilly thinks she knows how life works, but when her sister Emma is born deaf, she realizes how much she has to learn.
Young Man With Camera
Theme: Bullying
A young adolescent boy uses his camera to give him strength against bullies. Includes photographs.