Creating a Diverse Classroom Library

Creating a diverse classroom library is not easy, but it is necessary. Since this post is all about books, let’s start with story time.

I distinctly remember learning to read. Rather, I distinctly remember struggling to learn how to read. When my teacher announced it was time for reading, I beamed. The only thing better was going to the school library.

I constantly had my nose in a book, every free moment I had. “Don’t I assign you enough books? You’re reading another one?”, my AP Literature teacher said to me after seeing the book on my desk one day during class. To this day, reading is my refuge. I am always reading at least two books of different genres at all times (comment on this post if you want recommendations!) .

In my classroom, I teach not only how to read, but how to love reading. I do this by intentionally selecting the books that I put on my shelves. Keep reading to see some of my absolute favorites in my diverse classroom library.

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Use this link to jump right to my diverse classroom library!

Treat Your Books Like Gold

This phrase comes from the first unit of study in Lucy Caulkins’ Teachers College Reading and Writing Project curriculum. I have mixed feelings on the curriculum for students with disabilities, but I love this lesson.

Teaching how to treat your books like gold is my first reading behavior lesson. This goes along with classroom routines and expectations at the beginning of the school year. My students know that our books are like gold. We treasure our books and take care of our books. Sure, accidents happen and pages get torn or something gets sticky. But that’s the sign of a well loved book.

A Few Important Notes

Every book in my classroom is my personal book. That’s why they are labeled with my first and/or last name. Buying your own diverse classroom library NOT necessary, but for me it allows me to be intentional about the books I am bringing into my classroom.
Book jackets are usually removed as they are difficult for students to manage and take care of. In years past, I have used them as decoration in my classroom.
I do not use these books to assess for comprehension. More on that to come.

Arielle’s Diverse Classroom Library

Board books focused on social and racial justice.

When I choose books to bring into my classroom, I focus on three different things.

First, what is main idea/theme of the book? I want to make sure that if my students are reading this book, it is only going to add to their positive thinking.

Second, who is represented in this book? Whether this is the author or the characters in the story, representation matters. It also matters HOW they are being represented. Your diverse library should actively disrupt any biases your students (and you!) may have. It is important that students are able to see people who look like them in a book. You’ll notice a lot of the books are animal characters or object characters. This is also intentional, as it helps show kids that in a book, anyone can take on human traits (personification can be tough for people with ASD).

Finally, I look at illustrations. If I am selecting a picture book, I want my students to be able to follow the story without every actually reading the words.

But why don’t you use these for comprehension?

The answer is simple. Unless you are assessing simple WH questions that can be found in the pictures, students can struggle to retain information from picture books. Most picture books are actually a higher lexile level than easy readers. If you use Fountas and Pinell leveling system, most picture books are around a L or M! Much higher than you would think, right? If a student wouldn’t be able to read the words fluently and independently, I won’t assess their comprehension with the book.

So what do I use? I personally LOVE using the Simple Special Ed Comprehension Curriculum. Each passage has three different levels so that I am able to differentiate within my class. There are also three levels of all of the activities that are included in the bundle. Like this, I am able to use the same passage for every student and also meet their individual needs.

My Book List

Click on the title of the book if you are curious to learn more! Not all of the books are pictured.

Books about Race

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson
Uptown by Bryan Collier
All Because You Matter by Tami Charles
Lovemarks and Crowns by Barbra Charles
Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki- Shaw
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristen Levine (Chapter Book)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Chapter Book)
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (Chapter Book)
Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Chapter Book)
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Chapter Book)
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata (Chapter Book)

Books about Growth Mindset/Positive Thinking

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain! by JoAnn Deak PhD
My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald
After the Fall by Dan Santat
Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff (Chapter Book)

Books About Dis/Ability

To see Alyssa’s picture book recommendations see this post!
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Chapter Book)
Rules by Cynthia Lord (Chapter Book)
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (Chapter Book)
A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass (Chapter Book)
Rain, Reign by Ann M. Martin (Chapter Book)

Series Books About Changing The Way You Think

The Bad Seed by Jory John
The Good Egg by Jory John
The Cool Bean by Jory John
The Couch Potato by Jory John
Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Square by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Triangle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

Books about Emotions

I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
Sometimes I Feel Sunny by Gillian Shields and Georgie Birkett
I Am Human by Susan Verde
The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket
Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too) by Keith Negley
Today I Feel… by Madalena Moniz

Books about Gender Expression and Sexuality

Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes by Eva Chen
George by Alex Gino (Chapter Book)

Books that Require Movement (Fine and Gross Motor)

Good Morning Yoga by Mariam Gates
Yoga Bunny by Brian Russo
I Am Yoga by Susan Verde
Say Zoop! by Herve Tullet
Press Here by Herve Tullet
Wiggles by Claire Zucchelli-Romer

Books about Friendship/Belonging

Elephant and Piggie: The Complete Collection by Mo Willems (Waiting is not Easy is a MUST!)
Chopsticks by Amy Krause Rosenthal
Peanut Butter and Cupcake by Terry Border
Spoon by Amy Krause Rosenthal
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

Books about Being a Global Citizen

Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers
If Kids Ran the World by Leo and Diane Dillon
Counting on Community by Innosanto Nagara
A is For Activist by Innosanto Nagara

Classroom Classics

Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean

Books about Gratitude

The Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Thank You Omu by Oge Mora
Saturday by Oge Mora
The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
How to Steal a Dog by Barbra O’Connor (Chapter Book)

Books About School

How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Read? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
Rufus Goes to School by Kim T. Griswell
The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems

Books About Words and Letters

Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod
Rhyme Crime by Jon Burgerman
Exclamation Mark by Amy Krause Rosenthal
The OK Book by Amy Krause Rosenthal

Fun Read Alouds

Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka
The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novack
Thump, Quack, Moo by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
Baloney (Henry P.) by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

A Spin on an Old Classic

The Three Little Super Pigs by Claire Evans
The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz

My Class’ Favorites

That is NOT a Good Idea by Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Chapter book)

Books about Leaders

Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
Little Leaders Series by Vashti Harrison
Goodnight Rebel Girls Series by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

Wordless/Almost Wordless

Nighttime Ninja by by Barbra DaCosta
Door by Jihyeon Lee
Pool by Jihyeon Lee

Important Questions, Answered.

Do I keep all of these books on the shelf at the same time or do I rotate?
Because I only have one bookshelf (hello NYC classrooms), I do keep all of my books on the shelf at the same time. That being said, I do not have all of my books in school. My apartment looks like a library! So if it is in school, it is because I think my students would benefit from it. And if they would benefit from the story, I do not want to limit their access.
How do I share these books with my students?
As I have talked about in previous posts, I teach using applied behavior analysis and discrete trial intervention. We do very little group work, as my students are all working on different goals and have different receptive language abilities. For that reason, each student gets their own individual read aloud a day. They get to choose what book they want to read (with encouragement to choose a book they have never read before) and we read together. This may not be manageable for every classroom, but because of COVID-19 and hybrid learning, we have a 1:1 ratio of students to staff (pre-COVID it was 2:1).