This collection contains materials from the DIVerse Families bibliography organized by Grades 3-5.
DIVerse Families is a comprehensive bibliography that demonstrates the growing diversity of families in the United States. This type of bibliography provides teachers, librarians, counselors, adoption agencies, children/young adults, and especially parents and grandparents needing to empower their children with materials that reflect their families.
Browse by Grade Level:
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When Dad Was Away
Karen Littlewood
When Milly's dad is sent to prison, she feels angry and confused. She can't believe her dad won't be at home to read her stories. But soon Mum takes Milly and her brother Sam to visit Dad in prison, and a week later a special package arrives at home - a CD of Milly's favourite animal stories, read especially for her by Dad.
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When Heaven Fell
Carolyn Marsden
When her grandmother reveals that the daughter that she had given up for adoption is coming from America to visit her Vietnamese family, nine-year-old Binh is convinced that her newly-discovered aunt is wealthy and will take care of all the family's needs.
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When Mom and Dad Separate: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief from Divorce
Marge Heegaard
Encourages children to sort out their painful feelings about the divorce of their parents through drawings.
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Where the Watermelons Grow
Cindy Baldwin
Twelve-year-old Della Kelly of Maryville, North Carolina, tries to come to terms with her mother's mental illness while her father struggles to save the farm from a record-breaking drought.
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Whitewash
Ntozake Shange
A young African-American girl is traumatized when a gang attacks her and her brother on their way home from school and spray-paints her face white. Based on a true story.
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Who Belongs Here? An American Story
Margy Burns Knight
Describes the new life of Nary, a Cambodian refugee, in America, as well as his encounters with prejudice. Includes some general history of U.S. immigration.
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Wild Blues
Beth Kephart
Thirteen-year-old Lizzie relates, through a victim statement, her harrowing journey through the Adirondacks seeking her disabled friend, Matias, who was kidnapped by escaped convicts.
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Wild Life
Cynthia C. DeFelice
When twelve-year-old Eric's parents are deployed to Iraq, he goes to live with grandparents he hardly knows in a small town in North Dakota, but his grandfather's hostility and the threat of losing the dog he has rescued are too much and Eric runs away.
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Willow King
Chris Platt
Thirteen-year-old Katie, who is herself physically challenged, saves a crippled foal from euthanasia and nurses him back to health and eventual championships.
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Willow King: Race the Wind
Chris Platt
Determined to ride her horse in the Kentucky Derby despite her physical handicap, Katie overcomes great obstacles and even helps a blind girl face her own kind of challenge.
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Wintering Well
Lea Wait
Twelve-year-old Will Ames and his sister Cassie go to stay with their sister in nearby Wiscasset, Maine, after a disabling accident ruins Will's plans for a career in farming.
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Wishworks, Inc.
Stephanie Tolan
When he is granted his wish for a dog from Wishworks, Inc., third-grader Max is disappointed to find that his new pet is nothing like the dog of his imagination.
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Wonder
R. J. Palacio
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.
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You and Violence in Your Family
John Giacobello
Explains what family violence is, its various types and how children involved in family violence can get help to learn to cope and adjust.
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You and Your Parents' Divorce
Katherine E. Krohn
Provides information for young people about divorce, discussing some of the emotions and situations kids experience when their parents split up, and includes a list of organizations to call for help.
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You Can't See the Elephants
Susan Kreller and Elizabeth Gaffney
When she suspects that her young neighbors are being abused by their father, one brave girl takes a stand to protect them.
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You May Already Be a Winner
Ann Dee Ellis
Twelve-year-old Olivia endeavors to care for her younger sister, possibly make a new friend in the quirky and secretive Bart, and keep hope alive for her, her family, and her community of idiosyncratic neighbors at Sunny Pines Trailer Park.
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Zack's Story: Growing Up with Same-Sex Parents
Keith Elliot Greenberg
An eleven-year-old boy describes life as part of a family made up of himself, his mother, and her lesbian partner.