Picture Books for Young Changemakers

Children's Literature

As a teacher, I studied and pondered the effects of mindset on our behaviors a lot, hoping to help my students see challenges and learning opportunities as chances to grow, rather than obstacles they might not be able to overcome. Now, as a parent raising two girls to approach challenges and new endeavors with optimism,…

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah is selected by two schools as their "all-school read."

In this Pura-Belpre award–winning picture book, illustrated by Caldecott Honree Yuyi Morales, acclaimed author Kathleen Krull celebrates Latinx civil rights leader Cesar Chavez. An inspirational book about resistance and hope. When Cesar Chavez led a 340-mile peaceful protest march through California, he ignited a cause and improved the lives of thousands of migrant farmworkers. But Cesar wasn't always a…

The inspiring true story of how one African woman began a movement to recycle the plastic bags that were polluting her community. Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred. The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled…

When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone's crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library . . . and figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Persevering against the odds, William built a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps, and thus became the local hero who harnessed the wind. Lyrically…

A 2016 Caldecott Honor BookA 2016 Robert F. Sibert Honor BookA 2016 John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award WinnerStirring poems and stunning collage illustrations combine to celebrate the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, a champion of equal voting rights.“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, even being beaten to within an inch of her life, Fannie Lou Hamer was a…

Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness – Donna Janell Bowman

Discover the amazing true story of Maria Mitchell, America’s first professional female astronomer.Every evening, from the time she was a child, Maria Mitchell stood on her rooftop with her telescope and swept the sky. And then one night she saw something unusual—a comet no one had ever seen before! Miss Mitchell’s extraordinary discovery made her famous the world over and paved the way for her to…

A white man Richard Perry Loving and a black woman Mildred Loving fought for their right to live as a married couple in Virginia, where interracial marriage was

This is the dramatic and inspiring true story of runner Wilma Rudolph, who overcame childhood polio and eventually went on to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. “A triumphant story, triumphantly relayed.”--Publishers Weekly

Booker dreamedof making friends with words,setting free the secretsthat lived in books. Born into slavery, young Booker T. Washington could only dream of learning to read and write. After emancipation, Booker began a five-hundred-mile journey, mostly on foot, to Hampton Institute, taking his first of many steps towards a college degree. When he arrived, he had just fifty cents in his pocket and a dream about to come…

Discover the inspiring story of Senator Elizabeth Warren and her lifelong commitment to working hard and advocating for equality in this compelling and accessible picture book biography.

The true story of the young immigrant who led the largest strike of women workers in U.S. history.This picture book biography about Ukrainian immigrant Clara Lemlich tackles topics like activism and the U.S. garment industry. The art, by Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet, beautifully incorporates

Get to know celebrated Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—in the first picture book about her life—as she proves that disagreeing does not make you disagreeable!Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment, and standing up for what’s right for people everywhere. This biographical picture book about…