You may not be aware yet, but as of last year NEA changed the focus of Read Across America away from Dr. Seuss and to “Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers” – moving away from a singular focus on, and raising up of, one white male author who has a history of racist imagery* and toward a year-long celebration of the diversity that makes our country what it is. Dr. Seuss can be both a beloved author AND ALSO problematic. So it’s time to move away from a day celebrating Seuss and into a year-long focus on inclusive choices
Because we cannot let nostalgia guide our decisions. Because we cannot allow racist or stereotyped imagery to be part of what we promote through our read aloud choices. Because we cannot refuse to move on from the past and bypass our responsibility to represent the entirety of what America is about today.
As we head into Read Across America Day, here is a list of some alternative titles that would all make valuable choices as a replacement for Dr. Seuss in your read alouds this week.
50 Inclusive Picture Books to Celebrate Reading Across America
*You can shop this list, through my Bookshop affiliate link supporting independent bookstores + my work.
Blue Sky White Stars
by Sarvinder Naberhaus, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Grand Canyon
by Jason Chin
Lulu & Rocky in Milwaukee
by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Ren Graef
Under My Hijab
by Hena Khan, illustrated by
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James
Rolling Thunder
by Kate Messner, illustrated by Greg Ruth
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac
The President Sang Amazing Grace: A Book About Finding Grace After Unspeakable Tragedy
by Zoe Mulford, illustrated by Jeff Scher
Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge
by Rachel Dougherty
Undocumented: A Worker’s Fight
by Duncan Tonatiuh
Going Down Home With Daddy
by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated Daniel Minter
What Is Given From the Heart
by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by April Harrison
The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh
by Supriya Kelkar, illustrated by Alea Marley
Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer’s Historic Boston Marathon
by Kim Chaffee, illustrated by Ellen Rooney
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
Bilal Cooks Daal
by Aisha Saeed, illustrated by Anoosha Syed
My Papi Has a Motorcycle
by Isabel Quintro, illustrated by Zeke Peña
The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag
by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Steven Salerno
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story
by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes
Imagine
by Juan Felipe Herrera, illustrated by Lauren Castillo
Always Anjali
by Sheetal Sheth, illustrated by Jessica Blank
All Are Welcome
by Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Saturday
by Oge Mora
Let the Children March
by Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Jingle Dancer
by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
Mission to Space
by John Herrington
umpling Dreams: How Joyce Chen Brought the Dumpling from Beijing to Cambridge
by Carrie Clickard, illustrated by Katy Wu
Her Right Foot
by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris
Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines
by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
Early Sunday Morning
by Denene Millner, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans
by Phil Bildner, illustrated by John Parra
When Penny Met POTUS
by Rachel Ruiz, illustrated by Melissa A. Manwill
Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions
by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate
The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood
by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, illustrated by Rafael López
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
Little Humans
by Brandon Stanton
Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Coming Home
by Greg Ruth
Sequoia
by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Wendell Minor
Drawn Together
by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat
Baseball Is…
by Louise Borden, illustrated by Raúl Colón
Charlie Takes His Shot: How Charlie Sifford Broke the Color Barrier in Golf
by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by John Joven
Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights
by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Jared Schorr
Salamander Sky
by Katy Farber, illustrated by Meg Sodano
Enough! 20 Protestors Who Changed America
by Emily Easton, illustrated by Ziyue Chen
Just Read!
by Lori Degman, illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov
The Perfect Seat
by Minh Lê, illustrated by Gus Gordon
*If you’re unaware of the issues with Dr. Seuss, these links will be helpful:
The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss’s Children’s Books
Is the Cat in the Hat Racist? Read Across America Shifts Away From Dr. Seuss and Toward Diverse Books (School Library Journal)
Thread from The Conscious Kid in the #DisruptTexts slow chat
New Study Published on Racism and Dr. Seuss (School Library Journal)
Thanks for this timely post. I love your list of diverse books. Looking forward to reading aloud many of the titles on your list this week with our diverse student population at our school.