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.
Browse by Grade Level:
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Backwards Day
S. Bear Berman
For one day every year on the planet Tenalp, everything is backwards. Everything. So why didn't Andrea turn into a boy on Backwards Day this year? And why did she turn into a boy the very next day?
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Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope
Nikki Grimes
When David asks his mother about the man on television, she tells him the story of Barack Obama, discussing his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, his parents' divorce, and his desire to help others.
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Beginnings: How Families Come to Be
Virginia Kroll
Parents and children discuss how their families came to be, covering birth families, adoptive families, two-parent families, and single parent families.
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Being Adopted
Maxine Rosenberg
Several young children recount their experiences as adopted members of their families.
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Belinda's Bouquet
Lesléa Newman
Belinda's best friend Daniel, and Daniel's two mothers, help her to accept her body shape.
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Ben Has Something to Say: A Story About Stuttering
Laurie Lears
In order to help a neglected dog which he sees at a junkyard, Ben, who stutters, begins to confront his fear of speaking.
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Benji, the Bad Day, and Me
Sally J. Pla
Nothing seems to be going right for Sammy today. At school, he got in trouble for kicking a fence, then the cafeteria ran out of pizza for lunch. After he walks home in the pouring rain, he finds his autistic little brother Benji is having a bad day too. On days like this, Benji has a special play-box where he goes to feel cozy and safe. Sammy doesn't have a special place, and he's convinced no one cares how he feels or even notices him. But somebody is noticing, and may just have an idea on how to help Sammy feel better.
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Benny Doesn't Like to Be Hugged
Zetta Elliott
A little girl uses rhyming verse to describe the unique traits of her autistic friend. Benny likes trains and cupcakes without sprinkles, but he can also be fussy sometimes. The narrator doesn’t mind, however, because “true friends accept each other just the way they are.” A gentle story encouraging children to appreciate and accept our differences.
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Ben's Family (All Kinds of Families)
Elliot Riley
Easy reader introduces a young baseball player and his mother, highlighting their family dynamics and celebrating diversity.
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Be Quiet, Marina!
Kirsten DeBear
A story of how two girls, one with cerebral palsy and one with Down syndrome, become friends.
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Best Best Colors
Eric Hoffman
Nate has trouble deciding what his favorite color is, but his two mammas help him realize that he does not have to have a best, best color.
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Be Who You Are
Jennifer Carr
Nick was born in a boy's body, but has always felt like a girl inside. Nick's family supports him when he says he no longer wants to be called a boy or dress like a boy. "Always remember to be who you are Nick. Remember that we love you, and we are so proud of you." Nick's parents find a group for families like theirs. With their support, Nick expresses a desire to be addressed as "she," and then to be named Hope.
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Be Who You Are
Todd Parr
Picture book encouraging kids to be proud of what makes them unique, where they come from, and how they express themselves and see the world.
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Big Bob, Little Bob
James Howe
Big Bob likes trucks and throwing balls and being loud. Little Bob likes dolls and jingling bracelets and being quiet. No matter what they do, they do not do it the same way. Can they possibly be friends despite these differences?
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Big & Little Questions (According to Wren Jo Byrd)
Julie Bowe
Fourth grader Wren Jo Byrd questions lots of things--both little and big--when her parents decide to get a divorce, and learns a lot about the true meaning of family, home, and friendship.
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Billy and Belle
Sarah Garland
A newborn baby and the exciting confusion of Pet Day at school combine to make a very special day for Billy and Belle.
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Blackberry Stew
Isabell Monk
When her Grandpa Jack dies, Hope remembers the time she went with him to pick blackberries, and she realizes that he will continue to live in her and in her memories.
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Black Means…
Barney Grossman
Records the feelings of New York elementary school children toward the word "black."
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Blackout
John Rocco
When a busy family's activities come to a halt because of a blackout, they find they enjoy spending time together and not being too busy for once.
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Boats for Papa
Jessixa Bagley
Buckley and his Mama live in a cozy cabin by the ocean. He loves to carve boats out of the driftwood he finds on the beach nearby. He makes: big boats long boats short boats and tall boats, each one more beautiful than the last, and sends them out to sea. If they don't come back, he knows they've found their way to his papa, whom he misses very much.
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Bobby the Brave (Sometimes)
Lisa Yee
Fourth-grader Bobby is hurt when he hears his father, a former professional football player, say that the two of them are nothing alike, but finally summons the courage to talk about it after he suffers a public asthma attack.
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Bonjour, Lonnie
Faith Ringgold
An African-American Jewish boy traces his ancestry with the help of the Love Bird of Paris.
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Boo's Beard
Rose Mannering
New friends and a dog named Boo help an autistic child learn how to read facial expressions.
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Bread Song
Frederick Lipp
Hoping to make Chamnan, a seven-year-old immigrant from Thailand, feel more at home, the owner of a Portland, Maine, bakery invites him and his grandfather to hear her bread sing.
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Breakfast for Dinner
Cynthia DiLaura and M. D. Devore
Meg's world is turned upside-down when her parents separate but she comes to realize that they are divorcing each other, not her. Includes discussion questions.