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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Let's Talk About Living with a Grandparent
Susan Kent
Discusses various reasons for living with a grandparent, the benefits of such an arrangement, and how to help out at home.
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Let's Talk About Living with a Single Parent
Elizabeth Weitzman
Examines potential problems and issues that might arise in several different kinds of single-parent homes.
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Let's Talk About Racism
Bruce Sanders
Uses a question and answer format to explain racism and why some people are treated unfairly because of their skin color or religion and discusses ways of dealing with this issue.
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Letters from the Heart
Annie Bryant
A family history project for school is giving the Beacon Street Girls a lot to think about -- especially Avery. She's got three families: her mother and brothers at home, her father in Colorado, and the birth mother she never really knew. But family is an uncomfortable subject for Maeve. Her parents have just separated, and she doesn't want to talk about it to anyone, not even her best friends in the world, the BSG. Can a bundle of old letters make Maeve see her family in a new light and give her something to share with the Beacon Street Girls?
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LGBTQ Families: The Ultimate Teen Guide (It Happened to Me)
Eva Apelqvist
Children with LGBTQ parents are affected by all issues LGBTQ. This book is designed for inquisitive teens digging for answers about the many challenges they face. Apelqvist offers encouragement, insights, and resources to help them cope with and embrace the uniqueness of their family life.
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Like Jake and Me
Mavis Jukes
In this Newbery Honor—winning story from 1984, a new family builds a relationship as a stepfather and stepson celebrate their differences and take heart in their similarities.
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Like Magic
Elaine Vickers
For three ten-year-old girls, their once simple worlds are starting to feel too big. Painfully shy Grace dreads starting fifth grade now that her best friend has moved away. Jada hopes she'll stop feeling so alone if she finds the mother who left years ago. And Malia fears the arrival of her new baby sister will forever change the family she loves. When the girls each find a mysterious treasure box in their library and begin to fill the box with their own precious things, they start to feel less alone. But it's up to Grace, Jada, and Malia to take the treasures and turn them into something more: true friendship.
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Listen, Slowly
Thanha Lai
A California girl born and raised, Mai can't wait to spend her vacation at the beach. Instead, though, she has to travel to Vietnam with her grandmother, who is going back to find out what really happened to her husband during the Vietnam War. Mai's parents think this trip will be a great opportunity for their out-of-touch daughter to learn more about her culture. But to Mai, those are their roots, not her own. Vietnam is hot, smelly, and the last place she wants to be. Besides barely speaking the language, she doesn't know the geography, the local customs, or even her distant relatives. To survive her trip, Mai must find a balance between her two completely different worlds.
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Lives Turned Upside Down: Homeless Children in Their Own Words and Photographs
Jim Hubbard
Two girls and two boys, ages nine to twelve, talk about their own personal experiences with homelessness and life in shelters.
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Locomotion
Jacqueline Woodson
In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.
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Lost and Found (Amy Hodgepodge, #3)
Kim Wayans Wayans and Kevin Knotts
When her class goes on a wilderness overnight trip, fourth-grader Amy worries about how she will fare since she has never gone camping.
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Louisiana's Song
Kerry Madden
Set in the Appalachia in 1963, Livy Two has come to terms with the fact that her father is a changed man after being in a coma and so now, along with her eleven-year-old sister, Louisiana, she must find a way to take care of their father and their large mountain family.
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Love in the Time of Global Warming
Francesca Lia Block
After a devastating earthquake destroys the West Coast, causing seventeen-year-old Penelope to lose her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother, she navigates a dark world, holding hope and love in her hands and refusing to be defeated.
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Lu
Jason Reynolds
Lu knows he can lead Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and the team to victory at the championships, but it might not be as easy as it seems. Suddenly, there are hurdles in Lu's way--literally and not-so-literally--and Lu needs to figure out, fast, what winning the gold really means--
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Lucky Beans
Becky Birtha
During the Great Depression, Marshall, an African American boy, uses lessons learned in arithmetic class and guidance from his mother to figure out how many beans are in a jar in order to win her a new sewing machine in a contest.
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Lucy Rose, Here's the Thing About Me
Kelly Katy
Eight-year-old Lucy Rose keeps a diary of her first year in Washington, D.C., her home since her parents' separation, where she spends time with her grandparents, makes new friends, and longs to convince her teacher to let her take care of the class pet during a holiday.
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Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess
Shari Green
Sixth grade is coming to an end, and so is life as Macy McMillan knows it. Already a "For Sale" sign mars the front lawn of her beloved house. Soon her mother will upend their perfect little family, adding a stepfather and six-year-old twin stepsisters. To add insult to injury, what is Macy's final sixth-grade assignment? A genealogy project. Well, she'll put it off - just like those wedding centerpieces she's supposed to be making. Just when Macy's mother ought to be understanding, she sends Macy next door to help eighty-six-year-old Iris Gillan, who is also getting ready to move?in her case into an assisted living facility. Iris can't pack a single box on her own and, worse, she doesn't know sign language. How is Macy supposed to understand her? But Iris has stories to tell, and she isn't going to let Macy's deafness stop her. Soon, through notes and books and cookies, a bond grows between them. And this friendship, odd and unexpected, may be just what Macy needs to face the changes in her life.
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Maniac Magee
Jerry Spinelli
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.
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Martin De Porres: The Rose in the Desert
Gary D. Schmidt
The story of Saint Martín de Porres--an endearing tale of perseverance, faith, and triumph over racial and economic prejudice.
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Marwan's Journey
Patricia de Arias
One night they came... The darkness grew colder, deeper, darker, and swallowed up everything... Marwan is a young boy on a journey he never intended to take, bound for a place he doesn’t know. On his journey, he relies on courage and memories of his faraway homeland to buoy him. With him are hundreds and thousands of other human beings, crossing the deserts and the seas, fleeing war and hunger in search of safety. He must take one step after another—bringing whatever he can carry, holding on to dreams. This is the journey of one boy who longs for a home, and we follow his path, walking hand in hand with him as he looks forward with uncertainty and hopes for a peaceful future. This beautiful, heartfelt story gives a human face to the plight of refugees all over the world. Marwan’s journey is everyone’s journey.
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Mary Ingalls on Her Own
Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
When she was just fourteen-years-old Mary Ingalls fell ill with scarlet fever and lost her sight. Now two years later Mary is getting the chance to continue her education at the Iowa College for the Blind. Going back to school is a dream come true for Mary, and at the Iowa College she will not only take academic classes, but will also learn Braille and other skills that will make her independent once again. But with this new opportunity comes new challenges, and as Mary struggles to adjust to life without her family, she is also forced to take a hard look at her future, and confront her true feelings about being blind.
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Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine
Jennifer Li Shotz
When Justin's older brother, Kyle, is killed in Afghanistan, Justin can't believe that his brother is really gone. Except there's one thing that Kyle left behind...Max is a highly trained military canine who has always protected his fellow soldiers. But when he loses his handler and best friend, Kyle, Max is traumatized and unable to remain in the service. He is sent home to America, where the only human he connects with is Justin, and he is soon adopted by Kyle's family, essentially saving his life. At first Justin has no interest in taking care of his late brother's troubled dog. However, the two learn to trust each other, which helps the four-legged veteran become his heroic self once more. As the pair start to unravel the mystery of what really happened to Kyle, they find more excitement--and danger--than they bargained for. But they might also find an unlikely new best friend--in each other.
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McKenna (American Girl)
Mary Casanova
Seattle fourth-grader McKenna Brooks, who lives for gymnastics, struggles with school work until Josie, a tutor confined to a wheelchair, helps her with reading comprehension and much more.
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Meeting my CASA: A Story with Activities
Adam D. Robe and Kim A. Robe
Designed to help foster children adjust better to changes in life, promote communication, and gain insight into a child's feelings and interpretation of the world around him.
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Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring
Angela Cervantes
Paloma Marquez is traveling to Mexico City, birthplace of her deceased father, for the very first time. She's hoping that spending time in Mexico will help her unlock memories of the too-brief time they spent together. While in Mexico, Paloma meets Lizzie and Gael, who present her with an irresistible challenge: The siblings want her to help them find a valuable ring that once belonged to beloved Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Finding the ring means a big reward -- and the thanks of all Mexico. What better way to honor her father than returning a priceless piece of jewelry that once belonged to his favorite artist! But the brother and sister have a secret. Do they really want to return the ring, or are they after something else entirely?