Finding Diverse Books 2024 | Easy Readers & Bridging Fiction

Updated December 13, 2023
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Ali the Great and the market mishap
Faruqi, Saadia
Paper Book
Ali Tahir loses something important at the market--his brother! Who's hungry? Ali, his grandfather, and little brother Fateh head to the South Asian market to stock up on snacks. So much to see! But what Ali can't see is Fateh.... Where did he go? Will Ali's quick thinking save the day? Ali the...

The author of the popular Yasmin series introduces readers to Yasmin's friend, Ali, and his family. In this story, Ali's dada asks him to supervise his little brother, Fateh, on a trip to the market. While Ali is trying to keep Fateh away from the spicy chips, he loses track of his brother in the store! There are lots of opportunities for connection around a trip to the grocery store, as students can discuss their favorite foods or tie it to a situational math problem.

Easy Reader Level 4

Religion | Muslim

Elena rides
Medina, Juana
Paper Book
Beginning readers--and beginning riders--will be drawn to this bright, buoyant story of a determined elephant and her loyal sidekick, from the award-winning creator of Juana & Lucas. Elena wants to ride her bike. She steadies, she readies. She wobbles, she bobbles . . ....

Most kids are familiar with the challenging, frustrating, sometimes scary process of learning to ride a bike. Elena faces all of these challenges, including a setback after she thinks she's achieved mastery, making it a good fit for SEL lessons on resilience. A Spanish edition, Elene monte en bici, is available as well.

Easy Reader Level 1

Language | Spanish

The writing contest
Reid, C. L.
Paper Book
Emma enters a writing contest. She loves writing and is confident that she will win. But when that doesn't happen, will Emma want to keep writing? Emma is Deaf and often uses sign language to communicate, and this early chapter book includes an ASL fingerspelling chart and a sign language guide.

Interspersed with finger-spelled vocabulary words and a guide to ASL signs at the back, this series featuring a Deaf girl who signs and uses a cochlear implant is super popular with our readers at the library! Many hearing kids are curious about learning ASL, which can also support communication with D/deaf or nonverbal peers.

Easy Reader Level 4

Disability

Awesome orange birthday
Ruths, Mitali Banerjee
Paper Book
In this full-color early chapter book series, Priya starts a party-planning business to help save the planet -- one party at a time! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to...

Thanks to popular graphic novels like The Baby-Sitters Club and PAWS, kids are fascinated by the idea of running their own businesses. The Party Diaries series features budding party planner Priya, who throws events for family and friends to raise money for endangered animals (another popular cause with many young animal lovers). Written in a graphic novel hybrid style (a mix of traditional text and illustrations with speech bubbles) and clocking in at just under 100, the Scholastic Branches books are also a great tool for young readers who love graphic novels and need support building their capacity for reading narrative fiction.

Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4

Race & Ethnicity | Asian & Pacific Islander

The absent alpacas
Whaley, Kayla
Paper Book
Solve Animal Mysteries from A to Z! Young clue hunters Abbi, Daniel, and Lydia sniff out the mystery behind a group of missing alpacas. Inspired by Ron Roy's beloved A to Z Mysteries series, this spin-off is perfect for budding young chapter-book readers--and future detectives!

Disability in KidLit founder and author Kayla Whaley launches this spinoff series inspired by Ron Roy's A to Z Mysteries. In the first book, Abbi--who, like the author, uses a power wheelchair--teams up with her friends to solve a mystery at the Maine State Fair. While representations of disability in children's books have been increasing in the last several years, many of those books are written by non-disabled authors or authors who became disabled as adults. Whaley draws on her own experiences as a disabled kid to provide a much-needed mirror for young readers in similar circumstances.

Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4

Disability


Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.