3-5 Books | University of Central Florida

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.

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Drita, My Homegirl

Jenny Lombard Lombard

When ten-year-old Drita and her family, refugees from Kosovo, move to New York, Drita is teased about not speaking English well, but after a popular student named Maxine is forced to learn about Kosovo as a punishment for teasing Drita, the two girls soon bond.
Drum Roll, Please

Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Melissa only joined the school band because her best friend, Olivia, begged her to. But it turns out Melly loves playing the drums. It's the only time she doesn't feel like a quiet mouse. And now she and Olivia get to spend the next two weeks jamming beneath the stars at Camp Rockaway. But this summer will be full of surprises that throw Melly's life out of sync. Her parents just revealed that they're splitting up. She and Olivia seem to be growing apart. And Melly finds herself unexpectedly falling for another girl at camp. To top it off, Melly's not sure she really has what it takes to be a rock 'n' roll drummer. Will she be able to make music from all the noise in her heart?
El Deafo

Cece Bell

Starting at a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece's class was deaf. Here she is different. She is sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom, but anywhere her teacher is in school — in the hallway... in the teacher's lounge... in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it's just another way of feeling different... and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend?
Eleven and Holding

Mary Penney

Macy Hollinquest is eleven years old, and don't count on her to change that anytime soon. Her birthday is just days away, but she has no intention of turning twelve without her dad by her side. He'd promised to be there for her big day, and yet he's been gone for months -- away after his discharge from the army, doing some kind of top secret, "important work." So Macy's staying eleven, no matter what -- that is, until she meets Ginger, a nice older lady who is searching for her missing dog. Ginger's dog search is the perfect cover for Macy's attempt to locate her dad. But her hunt puts her on a path to a head-on collision with the truth, where she discovers that knowing can sometimes be a heavy burden. And that change, when finally accepted, comes with an unexpected kind of grace.
Elizabeth Gail and the Holiday Mystery

Hilda Stahl

Christmas time was supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but Libby was miserable. Goosy Poosy is missing! Can Libby find him before he becomes someone's Christmas dinner?
Ellabug

Gregory Turner-Rahman

Ellabug is a simple story about non-traditional families that follows Ella, a small but strong-willed ladybug, as she begins to question her identity.
Emily in Love

Susan Goldman Rubin

A developmentally-disabled fourteen-year-old faces the challenges of her classes at a "regular" high school, a new job, and a budding romance.
Esperanza Rising

Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.
Every Turtle Counts

Sara Hoagland Hunter

When seven-year-old Mimi finds a frozen sea turtle on the beach, she refuses to believe that it will die.
Excellent Emma

Sally Warner

Emma McGraw's third-grade class is getting ready for Winter Games Day, and Emma wants to win a prize more than anything. It would be the perfect way to make her father proud. But the rest of the class has mixed feelings about Winter Games Day. Jared is desperate to be the fastest runner and the farthest jumper, Fiona is worried about her weak ankles, and Annie Pat doesn't seem to care at all. When the big day arrives, nothing goes exactly as planned, but Emma is still determined to be as excellent as she can be.
Extraordinary Birds

Sandy Stark-McGinnis

Eleven-year-old December waits to sprout wings and fly away, until a new foster mother changes her perspective on home and family.--
Fabulous! A Portrait of Andy Warhol

Bonnie Christensen

You might recognize him from his famous paintings of Campbell's soup cans and coke bottles. But do you know about the artist who created these images? Any Warhol was often sick as a child but found comfort in reading comic books and most especially in drawing. From his early days in Pittsburgh in the 1930s to the height of his glory in the 1960s when he blurred the line between commercial art and fine art, this book chronicles an artist's remarkable path to becoming a renowned Pop Art icon.
Far Apart, Close in Heart: Being a Family When a Loved One is Incarcerated

Becky Birtha

Children from all walks of life experience various emotions when their parent is in jail or prison, but they learn there are ways to communicate their feelings that will help improve their situation and remind them they are not alone.
Fast Break

Mike Lupica

Since his mother's death, Jayson, twelve, has focused on basketball and surviving but he is found out and placed with an affluent foster family of a different race, and must learn to accept many changes, including facing his former teammates in a championship game.
Felix Yz

Lisa Bunker

Thirteen-year-old Felix Yz chronicles the final month before an experimental procedure meant to separate him from the fourth-dimensional creature, Zyx, with whom he was accidentally fused as a young child.
Finding Langston

Lesa Cline-Ransome

Discovering a book of Langston Hughes' poetry in the library helps Langston cope with the loss of his mother, relocating from Alabama to Chicago as part of the Great Migration, and being bullied.
Finding the Right Spot: When Kids Can't Live with Their Parents

Janice Levy and Whitney Martin

A young girl living with her foster parent describes the emotional ups and downs of being separated from her mother and living in unfamiliar surroundings. Finding the Right Spot is a story for all kids who can't live with their parents, regardless of the circumstances. It's a story about resilience and loyalty, hope and disappointment, love, sadness, and anger, too.
Five-Finger Discount

Barthe DeClements

Ten-year-old Jerry's attempts to adjust to his new school and make new friends are complicated by his determination to keep secret the fact that his father is serving time in the local prison for being a thief.
Fly Little Bird, Fly!: The True Story of Oliver Nordmark & America's Orphan Trains

Donna Nordmark Aviles

Holding tight to one another, vowing never to be separated, Oliver and Edward board the Orphan Train headed west to find a new home.
Focused

Alyson Gerber

Twelve-year-old Clea wants to do her homework, follow instructions, pay attention in school, and play chess on the school team, but somehow she cannot focus on whatever is in front of her, and the other kids at school are starting to notice and make fun of her; when her worried parents take her to be tested she finds out that she has ADHD (only without the hyperactivity)--and with help from the psychiatrist who seems to really understand her she is determined to learn how to focus.
Forget Me Not

Ellie Terry

When her mother breaks up with yet another boyfriend, Calliope meets Jinsong at her latest middle school, who becomes her friend despite her Tourette Syndrome and the embarrassment it can cause.
Foster Families

Jeanne Barmat

Describes foster home care, the different circumstances which may make it necessary for a child to live with foster parents, and potential problems and their solutions.
Foster Families (Families Today)

Hilary W. Poole

This book looks at how foster families are made and how they might thrive.
Foster Youth

Leanne Currie-McGhee

Over 400,000 US youth are in foster care, mainly due to neglect and abuse by their parents. These youth endure instability as they move from home to home, and uncertainty about their future as others make the decision as to whether they should be reunited with their families or become available for adoption. Foster Youth presents a powerful, real-world look at the lives of these vulnerable young people.
Franny Parker

Hannah Roberts McKinnon

Through a hot, dry Oklahoma summer, twelve-year-old Franny tends wild animals brought by her neighbors, hears gossip during a weekly quilting bee, befriends a new neighbor who has some big secrets, and learns to hope.