2023 Book Lists

Level 1

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

Week 1 - I Can Make a Difference in Myself

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

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

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

Week 3 - I Can Make a Difference in My Community

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