The story centers on a group of seventh graders at Ironville Middle School who join an afterschool video game club to play “The Good War,” a World War II simulation that divides them into Axis powers and Allies teams. What begins as a friendly competition soon spirals out of control as some students, influenced by […]
Kim’s Convenience is a Canadian TV series that follows the everyday lives of the Kim family, first-generation Korean immigrants running a convenience store in Toronto’s Regent Park. Over the course of five seasons, viewers follow the ups and downs of Mr. Kim (Appa), his wife Mrs. Kim (Umma), their daughter Janet, and their estranged son […]
Kim’s Convenience is a play that follows the lives of the Kimfamily, first-generation Korean immigrants running a conveniencestore in Toronto’s Regent Park. Mr. Kim (Appa) is determined tosecure his family’s future through the store, hoping his daughterJanet will take over the business. However, Janet dreams of acareer in photography and resists her father’s wishes. Meanwhile,the […]
Joel Budd’s Underdogs is an exploration of the realities, myths, and shiftingidentities of Britain’s white working-class communities. Through a blend of reportage, interviews, and historical analysis, Budd investigates how this group has been alternately ignored,caricatured, politicized, and often blamed or credited for seismicpolitical shifts such as Brexit and recent general elections. Thebook travels from post-industrial […]
The book offers young readers an accessible introduction tothe long and often overlooked history of Black people in Britain.Olusoga traces this history from Roman times through the Tudors,Stuarts, Georgians, Victorians, and into the 20th century,highlighting the presence, contributions, and struggles of BlackBritons across the centuries. The book explores key figures, suchas John Blanke, Dido Elizabeth […]
Drawing on her own experiences as the daughter of a Ghanaianmother and a white British father, Afua Hirsch’s Brit(ish): On Race,Identity and Belonging explores the complexities of race,belonging, and identity in contemporary Britain. Hirsch combinespersonal narrative with interviews and broader reflections onBritish history, colonialism, and current social issues. Sheexamines how the legacy of empire, the […]
This graphic novel tells the story of Ebo, a twelve-year-old boy from a small African village. When Ebo’s brother and sister both set out on the journey to Europe in search of safety and a better life, Ebo follows, determined not to be left behind. His epic journey takes him across the Sahara Desert, through the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and onto the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Illegal addresses contemporary issues such as forced migration, human trafficking, and the refugee crisis. The story is inspired by real events and provides a resource for discussing migration, human rights, and empathy.
Inspired by the true story of an Arctic fox’s extraordinary 2,000-mile migration from Norway to Canada, the book follows Leila as she travels to Norway to reconnect with her estranged mother, a climate scientist. Together, they join an expedition tracking Miso’s perilous trek across the Arctic, a journey driven bythe need to survive in a world altered by climate change. The narrative draws parallels between Miso’s migration and Leila’s own experience fleeing Syria, exploring themes of displacement, resilience, belonging, and the search for home.
This novel blends fairy tale elements with real-world challenges. The story follows Hazel, a 12-year-old girl sent ahead of her parents from Kuwait to England to live with her great aunt. Struggling to adapt to a new country, Hazel finds herself caught between reality and a fantasy world, where three mysterious fireflies set her daunting quests. As Hazel navigates summer school and tries to make friends, the fireflies’ challenges become a metaphor for her struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and anxiety. Through fairy tales, Hazel learns to face her fears, seek support, and discover her own strength. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/a-flash-of-fireflies-aisha-bushby?variant=39708719415330
This novel centers on thirteen-year-old Aaliyah, a Muslim girl living in the Midlands whose life changes completely after a terrorist attack at a concert. As anti-Muslim rhetoric and racism surge in her community and school, Aaliyah faces bullying and isolation, but instead of hiding her identity, she chooses towear a hijab for the first time as an act of pride and resistance. When her schoolbans the hijab and intimidation escalates, Aaliyah must find her voice and alliesto stand up against prejudice and fight for her rights and those of others facingdiscrimination. Fight Back addresses themes of identity, racism, Islamophobia, allyship, and resilience in the classroom.
This seminal book, published in 1963 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, remains as relevant and urgent today as it was over half a century ago. Baldwin’s prose confronts the racial injustice deeply embedded in American society. He explores themes of identity, religion, and the complex relationship between oppressor and oppressed with honesty and remarkable eloquence. His analysis of the intersection of race, religion, and American identity is both scathing and deeply compassionate.
A Curse So Dark And Lonely is a fantasy retelling of the famous fairy tale Beauty and the Beast set in a modern-day world. The female protagonist Harper, who has Cerebral Palsy, is swept into the parallel fantasy world of Emberfall after witnessing and trying to stop a kidnapping. In this new world, the realm […]
War, love, journalism and the emotional impact of written words. In a magical world with two gods at war, 18-year-old Iris Winnow has to navigate her life after her brother was drafted into the war. With the dream of writing texts that will eventually have an impact, Iris secures a job for the Oath Gazette, […]
The Boys in the Band was originally written by Mart Crowley and premiered as an off-Broadway production in 1968, one year before the Gay Liberation Movement emerged. The play is set in one evening in an apartment in New York City where Michael hosts a birthday party for his friends, all of them being gay. […]
In his true-crime novel, Eli Sanders addresses the actual crime case of the culprit Isaiah Kalebu and his two victims, Jennifer Hopper and Teresa Butz. On a summer night in 2009, Kalebu broke into the house of Hopper and Butz, an engaged lesbian couple, where he proceeded to rape and attack both women and, in […]
This novel combines a beautiful and unique love story with the terrifying reality of war and seeking refuge. When Nadia and Saeed meet, their country is on the brink of a civil war. As violence and unrest increases, they decide they need to leave their home and jump into uncertainty. Jump being meant quite literally, […]
In this epistolary novel, the speaker “Little Dog” addresses his mother who cannot read. The letters narrate the complicated story of the speaker’s family history. They are not limited to Little Dog’s life, but instead include themes such as the lasting impact of war and struggles of immigration. Whereas the text’s level of difficulty is […]
The series Little People, Big Dreams offers a wonderful introduction to various historical figures for young readers. And there are so many to choose from! Whatever the child’s field of interest is, there is a role model out there just waiting to be discovered. The beautiful illustrations accompany the accessible text written specifically with young […]