In the recommendations below, we've prioritized #OwnVoices and independent presses. For more on what informs how we vet children's books, check out these articles: Much Bigger Than A Hamburger: Disrupting Problematic Picturebook Depictions of the Civil Rights Movement (Rodríguez & Vickery, 2020) and In Search of Mirrors: An Asian Critical Race Theory Content Analysis of Asian American Picture Books from 2007 to 2017 (Rodríguez & Kim, 2018). Also, check out orgs/blogs like We Need Diverse Books, Debbie Reese's American Indians in Children's Literature, Hijabi Librarians, Kid Lit Collective, Laura Jimenez' Book Toss, De Colores, Latinos in Kids' Lit, The Brown Bookshelf, Disability in Kids' Lit, YA Pride, and Reading While White.
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation
by Barry Wittenstein
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Claudette Colvin Refuses to Move: Courageous Kid of the Civil Rights Movement
by Ebony Joy Wilkins
Illustrated by Mark Simmons
Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights
by Jim Haskins
Illustrated by Benny Andrews
John Lewis In the Lead: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement
by Jim Haskins & Kathleen Benson
Illustrated by Benny Andrews
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968
by Alice Faye Duncan
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott
by Dee Romito
Illustrated by Laura Freeman
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Young Readers Edition
by Brandy Colbert and Jeanne Theoharis
She Stood for Freedom: The Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland
by Loki Mulholland and Angela Fairwell
Illustrated by Charlotta Janssen
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Someday is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins
by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Illustrated by Jade Johnson
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Ekua Holmes
What We Believe: A Black Lives Matter Principles Activity Book
by Laleña Garcia
Illustrated by Caryn Davidson
When They Call You A Terrorist: A Story of Black Lives Matter and the Power to Change the World
by Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele; adapted by Benee Knauer
When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders
by J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrated by Jim Burke, R. Gregory Christie, Tonya Engel, John Parra, and Meilo So
Civil Rights Then and Now: A Timeline for the Fight for Equality In America
by Kristina Brooke Daniele
Illustrated by Lindsey Bailey
Gay & Lesbian History for Kids: The Century-Long Struggle for LGBT Rights, with 21 Activities
by Jerome Pohlen
Vicki and A Summer of Change! ¡Vicki y un verano de cambio!
by Raquel M. Ortiz and Iris Morales
Illustrated by Sabrina Cintron, Eliana Falcón, and Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez
We Want to Go To School! The Fight for Disability Rights
by Maryann Cocca-Leffler and Janine Leffler
Illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
When We Fight, We Win: Twenty-First-Century Social Movements and the Activists That Are Transforming Our World
by Greg Jobin-Leeds
Illustrated by AgitArte
Alejandria Fights Back! / ¡La Lucha de Alejandria!
by Leticia Hernández-Linares and The Rise-Home Stories Project with Carla España (Translator)
Illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujillo
Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel /Si Lakas at ang Makibaka Hotel
by Anthony D. Robles
Illustrated by Carl Angel
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood
by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell
Illustrated by Rafael Lopez
The Spirit of Chicano Park / El espíritu del parque Chicano
by Beatrice Zamora
Illustrated by Maira Meza
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina & the Spirit of New Orleans
by Phil Bidner
Illustrated by John Parra
Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship
by Jessica Kensky & Patrick Downes
Illustrated by Scott Magoon
¡Si, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A.
by Diana Cohn
Illustrated by Francisco Delgado
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
by Kevin Noble Maillard
Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
Good Night, Captain Mama/Buenas Noches, Capitán Mama
by Graciela Tiscareño-Sato
Illustrated by Linda Lens
Mama's Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation
by Edwidge Danticat
Illustrated by Leslie Staub
Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina
by Monica Brown
Illustrated by Sara Palacios
Anna Strong and the Revolutionary War Culper Spy Ring: A Spy on History Book
by Enigma Alberti
Illustrated by Laura Terry
Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution
by Gretchen Woelfle
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton: With an Afterword by Phillipa Soo, the Original Eliza from Hamilton: An American
by Margaret McNamara
Illustrated by Esmé Shapiro
Faking It: The Story of Deborah Sampson, Revolutionary War Soldier
by Joseph K. Smith
Illustrated by Sarah Winifred Searle
Leave It To Abigail! The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams
by Barb Rosenstock
Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons: An Enslaved Woman Fights for Freedom
by Gwendolyn Hooks
Illustrated by Simone Agoussoye
Patience Wright: American Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy
by Pegi Deitz Shea
Illustrated by Bethanne Andersen
Revolutionary Prudence Wright: Leading the Minute Women in the Fight for Independence
by Beth Anderson
Illustrated by Susan Reagan
A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent
by Anne Rockwell
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Bashirah and the Amazing Bean Pie: A Celebration of African American Muslim Culture
by Ameenah Muhammad-Diggins
Once Upon An Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy
by Edited by S. K. Ali and Aisha Saeed
Illustrated by Sara Alfageeh
Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz: The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States
by Compiled by William Binford for Project Amplify
Illustrated by Cecilia Ruiz, Yuyi Morales, Juan Palomino, Paco Santoya, Adriana Campos, Solomán Duarte Granados, Flavia Zorrillo Drago, Boyo Flores, Edith Valle, Gloria Félix, Mirelle Ortega, Maria Lumbreras, Addy Rivera Sonda, Beatríz Gutierrez Hernandez, Daniela Martín del Campo, Dominique Arco, & Raúl Gonzalez III
My Diary From Here to There/Mi Diario de Aquí Hasta Allá
by Amada Irma Perez
Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water
by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson
Illustrated by Nikkolas Smith
Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom
by Tim Tingle
Illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges
Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School
by Janet Halfmann
Illustrated by London Ladd
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote
by Kirsten Gillibrand
Illustrated by Maira Kalman
Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote
by Barb Rosenstock
Illustrated by Sarah Green
Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote
by Veronica Chambers & the Staff of the New York Times
How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Illustrated by Ziyue Chen
A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out for Women's Rights
by Kate Hannigan
Illustrated by Alison Jay
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People
by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza & Debbie Reese
Lewis & Clark Through Indian Eyes: Nine Indian Writers on the Legacy of the Expedition
by Edited by Alvin M. Josephy
A People’s History of American Empire: A Graphic Adaptation
by Howard Zinn & Paul Buhle
Illustrated by Mike Konopacki