2023 Book Lists
Level 1Â
Week 1 - I Can Make a Difference in Myself
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald
My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
I Am Me: A Book of Authenticity by Susan Verde
What I Tell Myself First: Children's Real World Affirmations of Self Esteem by Michael A. Brown
Week 2 - I Can Make a Difference in My Family
Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney
The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros
Far Apart, Close in Heart: Being a Family When a Loved One is Incarcerated by Becky Birtha
Be Strong by Pat Zietlow Miller
My Hands Tell a Story by Kelly Starling Lyons
Week 3 - I Can Make a Difference in My Community
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
Anywhere Farm by Phyllis Root
Maddi's Fridge by Lois Brandt
Sallie Bee Writes a Thank-You Note by Courtney Sheinmel and Susan Verde
Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood by Tony Hillery
Week 4 - I Can Make a Difference in My Country
Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey
Right This Very Minute: A Table-to-Farm Book About Food and Farming by Lisl H. Detlefsen
I Color Myself Different by Colin Kaepernick
Week 5 - I Can Make a Difference in My World
Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier
Bucket Filling from A to Z: The Key to Being Happy by Carol McCloud and Caryn Butzke
Giant Steps to Change the World by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee
More Than Peach: Changing the World One Crayon at a Time by Bellen Woodard
To Change a Planet by Christina Soontornvat
Week 6 - I Can Make a Difference with Hope, Education, and Action
Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell
Stacey's Extraordinary Words by Stacey Abrams
Ambitious Girl by Meena Harris
Level 2
Week 1 - I Can Make a Difference in Myself
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes
Follow Your Breath: A First Book of Mindfulness by Scot Ritchie
Bessie the Motorcycle Queen by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
Stacey's Extraordinary Words by Stacey Abrams
Week 2 - I Can Make a Difference in My Family
Iqbal and His Ingenious Idea: How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet by Elizabeth Suneby
Our Story Starts in Africa by Patrice Lawrence
111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl by Rina Singh
Week 3 - I Can Make a Difference in My Community
Maddi's Fridge by Lois Brandt
Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker and Ekua Holmes
Changing Our Community by Ben Nussbaum
Sadiq and the Community Garden by Siman Nuurali
Week 4 - I Can Make a Difference in My Country
The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez
Kids Speak Out About Immigration by Rourke Educational Media
Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alicia Faye Duncan
Because of You John Lewis: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Week 5 - I Can Make a Difference in My World
The Banana-Leaf Ball: How Play Can Change the World by Katie Smith Milway
Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
More Than Peach: Changing the World One Crayon at a Time by Bellen Woodard
Citizens of Planet Earth by Monika Davies
14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy
Week 6 - I Can Make a Difference with Hope, Education, and Action
Bonnie's Rocket by Emeline Lee
Lift As You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: The Courage to Dream by Frederick Joseph
Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School by Janet Halfmann
Level 3
Week 1 - I Can Make a Difference in Myself
The Anxiety Toolkit for Teens: Easy and Practical CBT and DBT Tools to Manage Your Stress, Anxiety, Worry and Panic by Teen Thrive
Week 2 - I Can Make a Difference in My Family
Illegal by Bettina Restrepo
Week 3 - I Can Make a Difference in My Community
Ban This Book: A Novel by Alan Gratz
Week 4 - I Can Make a Difference in My Country
H is for Harlem by Dinah Johnson
Fighting for Yes!: The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Evicted: The Struggle for the Right to Vote by Alice Faye Duncan
Week 5 - I Can Make a Difference in My World
Muhammad Najem, War Reporter: How One Boy Put the Spotlight on Syria by Muhammad Najem and Nora Neus
Week 6 - I Can Make a Difference with Hope, Education, and Action
We Who Believe in Freedom: The Life and Times of Ella Baker by Lea E. Williams
The Teachers March: How Selma's Teachers Changed History by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace