K-3 Books | University of Central Florida

This collection contains materials from the DIVerse Families bibliography organized by Grades K-3.

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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10,000 Dresses

Marcus Ewer

Bailey longs to wear the beautiful dresses of her dreams but is ridiculed by her unsympathetic family which rejects her true perception of herself.
A Band of Angels

Deborah Hopkinson

The daughter of a slave forms a gospel singing group and goes on tour to raise money to save for Fisk University.
Abby

Jeannette Franklin Caines

An adopted African American preschooler enjoys hearing about the day she became part of her warm, loving family.
ABC, Adoption & Me

Gayle H. Swift and Casey Anne Swift

A book about adoption that celebrates the miracle of family and addresses the difficult issues as well. With charming, exuberant illustrations and a diverse representation of families, ABC, Adoption & Me will warm hearts, deepen understanding of what it means to be an adoptive family and provide teaching moments that bring families closer, connected in truth, compassion, and joy.
A Boy's Best Friend

Joan Alden

Seven-year-old Will, an asthma sufferer and a target for bullies, finally gets the birthday wish of his dreams.
A Brave Spaceboy: Moving is an Adventure!

Dana Kessimakis Smith

On moving day, a little boy bids farewell to his fears by playing pretend: he turns the scary unknown world into an out-of-this-world adventure by handcrafting his own rocket and astronaut outfit for a visit to Mars.
A Card for My Father

Samantha Thornhill

A Card For My Father by Samantha Thornhill with illustrations by Morgan Clement is the first title in a trilogy of picture books exploring the lasting effects, big and small, of a father’s incarceration on his first-grade daughter, Flora. In A Card For My Father, how can Flora complete her class assignment to write a Father’s Day card when she’s never met her father?
A Chair for My Mother

Vera B. Williams

A child, her waitress mother, and her grandmother save dimes to buy a comfortable armchair after all their furniture is lost in a fire.
A Child's Calendar

John Updike

A collection of twelve poems describing the activities in a child's life and the changes in the weather as the year moves from January to December.
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

Marlon Bundo

HBO's Emmy-winning Last Week Tonight with John Oliver presents a children's picture book about a Very Special boy bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny. Meet Marlon Bundo, a lonely bunny who lives with his Grampa, Mike Pence - the Vice President of the United States. But on this Very Special Day, Marlon's life is about to change forever... With its message of tolerance and advocacy, this charming bunny book for kids explores issues of same sex marriage and democracy. Sweet, funny, and beautifully illustrated, this better Bundo book is dedicated to every bunny who has ever felt different.
A Day's Work

Eve Bunting

When Francisco, a young Mexican American boy, tries to help his grandfather find work, he discovers that even though the old man cannot speak English, he has something even more valuable to teach Francisco.
ADH-Me!

John Hutton

As far back as I can recall (starting when I was very small) I’ve daydreamed, gazing into space, climbed and jumped all over the place...” Written by a pediatrician and health literacy expert, ADH-Me! is an empathetic journey from the perspective of a child learning to live and succeed with ADHD. An accessible, rhyming narrative and inviting illustrations help families know what to expect from diagnosis through stages of treatment, while reminding all readers that love and support are the surest means to a happy ending.
A Different Home: A New Foster Child's Story

John DeGarmo and Kelly DeGarmo

When Jessie is placed in foster care, she finds it difficult at first but slowly begins to like her new home. First person recount. Story is designed to help children aged 4-10 to settle into care. Includes notes for foster parents.
A Different Pond

Bao Phi

As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam.
Adoption is for Always

Linda Walvoord and Judith Friedman

Although Celia reacts to having been adopted with anger and insecurity, her parents help her accept her feelings and celebrate their love for her by making her adoption day a family holiday. Includes factual information about the adoption process.
Adoption Stories for Young Children

Randall B. Hicks

Explaining in very simple terms why some parents cannot care for their children, and would choose to place them for adoption, this helpful collection of case studies also shows photographs of real adoptive parents who cannot bear children of their own, and introduces the idea that adults have often been adopted, too.
A Family for Jamie: An Adoption Story

Suzanne Bloom

Although Dan and Molly can make cookies and birdhouses, they cannot make a baby, so they adopt Jamie and share with him their life and love.
A Family is a Family is a Family

Sara O'Leary

When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways -- but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One is full of stepsiblings, and another has a new baby.
A Father Like That

Charlotte Zolotow

A young boy shares with his mother his daydreams about the father who left before he was born.
A Forever Family

Roslyn Banish and Jennifer Jordan-Wong

Eight-year-old Jennifer Jordan-Wong describes her adoption by a family after four years of living as a foster child with many different families.
A Gift from Abuela

Cecilia Ruiz

The first time Abuela held Niña, her heart overflowed with tenderness. And as Niña grows up, she and Abuela have a lot of fun doing simple things. Abuela decides that she wants to buy Niña a special treat, so she saves a little bit of her money every week. But then something terrible happens, and Abuela's dream of a surprise for Niña seems impossible. Luckily, the time they spend together and the love they have for each other are the best gifts of all.
A Home for Leo

Vin Vogel

Leo grew up in the sea. He has a family of sea lions he loves. He’s happy, but he has always known he was different. Then Leo’s suddenly reunited with his human parents, and he finds he loves them too. But he still feels like a fish out of water. Being from two worlds and having two families isn’t so easy. Leo has a lot to figure out…
A is for Activist

Innosanto Nagara

A is for Activist is an ABC board book written and illustrated for the next generation of progressives: families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that activists believe in and fight for. The alliteration, rhyming, and vibrant illustrations make the book exciting for children, while the issues it brings up resonate with their parents' values of community, equality, and justice.
Aitor Has Two Moms (Aitor Tiene Dos Mamas)

María José Mendieta

Aitor has always wondered why he has two mothers, but it isn't until his best friend Imanol's parents forbid him from attending Aitor's ninth birthday party that Aitor sees how some in his small town see his family situation.
A Lei for Tutu

Rebecca Nevers Fellows

Nahoa loves making leis with her grandmother and looks forward to helping her create a special one for Lei Day, until her grandmother becomes very ill.