Books in this category address a wide range of historical and current forms of bigotry, prejudice that is both intentional and systemic and prejudice that is unintentional, but just as hurtful. In some books prejudice is the primary focus of the story; in others it is part of the fabric of the book but not its central theme.
This is whichCatvalue: 6
All Books in the Prejudice & Discrimination Category
The Grey Striped Shirt Mike Cressy (Illustrator), Jacqueline Jules (Author) A young girl discovers a grey striped shirt in grandparents' cellar that leads to the unraveling of the horrible facts of their imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp. [Grade Level: 3 - 6]
Growing Up Biracial: Trevor's Story Bethany Kandel (Author), Carol Halebian (Photographer) Ten-year-old Trevor Sage-el describes his life at home and at school, his feelings about being the son of a white mother and a black father, and what he likes and does not like about being biracial. “Sometimes people ask me, ‘What are you?’,” observes Trevor. “I usually answer, ‘Human.’ I have friends of all colors. I don’t want to have to choose between black and white. I’m both, and I like it.” [Grade Level: 2 - 6]
Guests Written by Michael Dorris Set in Massachusetts during the time of the first Thanksgiving, a young Algonquin boy is alarmed when the annual harvest feast is threatened by the arrival of strange new people. [Grade Level: 3 - 6]
Hana's Suitcase Written by Karen Levine Biography of Hana, a Czech girl, who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters that describe how the curator of a Japanese Holocaust center worked to learn about the girl's life after Hana's suitcase was sent to the Center. [Grade Level: 4 - 6]
The Harvey Milk Story Kari Krakow (Author), David Gardner (Illustrator) This picture-book biography is among the only titles for primary students on lesbian and gay history. It tells the story of the first openly gay elected city official in the United States, beginning with his childhood and taking us through his years in the Navy and career as a teacher. The author sensitively discusses how Milk kept his emerging gay identity a secret through young adulthood until he moved to San Francisco, where he ultimately became a politician and worked toward "laws to ensure the quality of life for all people." Harvey Milk was assassinated in 1978, becoming a martyr for the cause of gay rights in the U.S. [Grade Level: K - 3]
Hero and the Holocaust: The Story of Janusz Korczak and His Children David A. Adler (Author), Bill Farnsworth (Illustrator) Janusz Korczak—called “Old Doctor” by the orphans who loved him—was a doctor and promoter of children's rights, who ran a Jewish orphanage in Warsaw, Poland during the years of the Nazi’s rise to power. Korczak bravely sheltered his children from the brutality of the Warsaw Ghetto until the Nazis forced him to lead the orphans to the Treblinka death camp. When a Nazi soldier at Treblinka offered to spare Korczak from extermination, he refused and remained with his children until the end. [Grade Level: 3 - 6]
