Amid ongoing national conversations about anti-Blackness and racial violence, librarians from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) have put together a social justice reading list for youth.

The list, titled Community, Connecting, Cultivating & Constructing Conversations Through Literacy, highlights books for kids in pre-K, elementary, and middle school. Some titles include mature content; parents and families are advised to use care in discussing the books with their children.

Here are all 60 recommendations:

Pre-K Through Fourth Grade

A Girl Like Me, by Angela Johnson (writer) and Nina Crews (illustrator)

Black Is a Rainbow Color, by Angela Joy (writer) and Ekua Holmes (illustrator)

Chocolate Me!, by Taye Diggs (writer) and Shane W. Evans (illustrator)

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes (writer) and Gordon C. James (illustrator)

Don’t Touch My Hair!, by Sharee Miller (writer and illustrator)

Going Down Home With Daddy, by Kelly Starling Lyons (writer) and Daniel Minter (illustrator)

Hair Love, by Matthew A. Cherry (writer) and Vashti Harrison (illustrator)

Hands Up!, by Breanna J. McDaniel (writer) and Shane W. Evans (illustrator)

Happy Hair, by Mechal Renee Roe (writer and illustrator)

Hey Black Child, by Useni Eugene Perkins (writer) and Bryan Collier (illustrator)

IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All, by Chelsea Johnson, Carolyn Choi, and LaToya Council (writers) and Ashley Seil Smith (illustrator)

Let The Children March, by Monica Clark-Robinson (writer) and Frank Morrison (illustrator)

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, by Vashti Harrison

Little Legends: Exceptional Men In Black History, by Vashti Harrison

M is for Melanin: A Celebration of the Black Child, by Tiffany Rose (writer and illustrator)

Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration, by Samara Cole Doyon (writer) and Kaylani Juanita (illustrator)

My Hair Is Beautiful, by Shauntee Grant

Parker Looks Up, by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry (writers) and Brittany Jackson (illustrator)

Princess Hair, by Sharee Miller (writer and illustrator)

Ruth and the Green Book, by Calvin A. Ramsey with Gwen Strauss (writer) and Floyd Cooper (illustrator)

Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice and Sing Inspired Generations, by Kelly Starling Lyons (writer) and Keith Mallett (illustrator)

Our Town: a Child’s Story About Racial Injustice, by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard (writers) and Jennifer Zivoin (illustrators)

Sulwe, by Lupita N’yongo (writer) and Vashti Harrison (illustrator)

The Day You Begin, by Jacqueline Woodson (writer) and Rafael López (illustrator)

The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned To Read, by Rita Lorraine Hubbard (writer) and Oge Mora (illustrator)

The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne, by Lesa Cline-Ransome (writer) and John Parra (illustrator)

The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander (writer) and Kadir Nelson (illustrator)

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy, by Tony Medina (writer) and Javaka Steptoe, Gregory R. Christie, Ekua Holmes, and Floyd Cooper (illustrators)

Ways to Make Sunshine, by Renée Watson

We March, by Shane Evans (writer) and Sharee Evans (illustrator)

You Matter, by Christian Robinson (writer and illustrator)

Fourth Through Eighth Grade

A Good Kind of Trouble, by Lisa Moore Ramee

Betty Before X, by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson

Black Brother, Black Brother, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Black Enough: stories of being young & Black in America, by Ibi Zoboi (editor)

Black Women in Science: A Black History Book for Kids, by Kimberly Brown

Blended, by Sharon Draper

Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World, by Cheryl Hudson and Erin K. Robinson (illustrator)

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson

Clean Getaway, by Nic Stone

Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Tonya Bolden

Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z, by Irene Latham & Charles Waters (writers) and Mehrdokht Amini (illustrator)

Finding Langston, by Lesa Cline-Ransome

For Black Girls Like Me, by Mariama J. Lockington

From the Desk of Zoe Washington, by Janae Marks

Genesis Begins Again, by Alicia D. Williams

Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space, by Margot Lee Shetterly

March Forward, Girl, by Melba Patillo Beals (writer) and Frank Morrison (illustrator)

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams Garcia

One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance, by Nikki Grimes

Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, by Katherine Johnson

Say Her Name, by Zetta Elliott (writer) and Loveis Wise (illustrator)

Schomburg: the Man Who Built a Library, by Carole Boston Weatherford (writer) and Eric Velasquez (illustrator)

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped From the Beginning, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

The Parker Inheritance, by Varian Johnson

The Season of Styx Malone, by Kekla Magoon

This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality, by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debby Levy

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson

What Lane?, by Torrey Maldonado

To learn more about the selections on this list, visit the ALSC website.

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Love reading young adult literature? Librarians from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) have put together an extensive list of their favorite recent novels from the genre.

Of the 71 titles they selected, they’ve also chosen their top ten must-reads, which are as follows:

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

After his mother gets a new job as a professor at the University of Texas, Norris, a Black French Canadian who has lived in Montreal his whole life, has to adjust to high school in Austin, Texas.

Girls on the Verge by Sharon Biggs Waller

After learning she is pregnant from her first sexual encounter, Camille is forced to make a decision. When she runs out of options in her Texas hometown, she, Annabelle, and her disapproving best friend, Bea, set off on a road trip to get an abortion.

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

After Mickey Catalan, a star athlete, is sidelined by a car crash, she relies on pain medicine to help her recover faster. When she discovers that it isn’t enough, Mickey spirals out of control, and her need for relief leads her to lie, steal, and shoot up.

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

Three teens—an Iranian youth hiding his sexuality for fear of death, an openly gay photographer, and an aspiring fashion designer with an HIV-positive uncle—all find love, along with their voices, as activists in 1989 New York during the height of the AIDS crisis.

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Aphrodite leads her legal self-defense in front of Hephaestus and Ares to justify her infidelity. Her proof? The love stories—that she helped create—of two couples during WWI. When her tale is done, both lives and love will be different in this beautiful book.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Bri, an aspiring rapper who wants to step out of the shadow of her famous but dead father, helps her family survive after her mother loses her job.

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

Jay, a Filipino American high school senior gets word that his once-close cousin and pen pal Jun is dead, he travels to the Philippines to uncover the truth.

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Pet lives in a world without monsters, or so she thinks. After a monster shows itself to her, she must work to uncover the secrets her world has been hiding and to protect people she loves.

The Stars and the Blackness between Them by Junauda Petrus

After Audre’s relationship with a young woman is exposed, her mother sends her away from Trinidad to live with her father in Minneapolis. There she connects with Mabel, who is suffering from a life-threatening illness. Told in alternating viewpoints, this is a moving novel of discovering how to live and love.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

As both a senior in high school and a mother, Emoni must balance her last year at school with her culinary aspirations, as well as also her obligations to her daughter and grandmother. When Malachi and a new cooking elective enter the picture, Emoni’s strengths begin to shine bright.

See the full list at the YALSA website.

Summer reading helps kids stay engaged when school isn’t in session, ensuring that students are prepared and ready to learn when they return to the classroom in the fall. Libraries have long played a key role in hosting summer reading programs that are free and accessible to everyone in their communities, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in-person events aren’t possible this season. Still, libraries across the country are offering virtual summer reading programs that allow students to safely participate while maintaining social distancing.

Readers can stock up on free eBooks and audiobooks from their libraries’ websites to enjoy over the summer. Many libraries are using online systems that allow community members to track their reading progress over the course of the summer; participants can enter to win prizes for accomplishing their reading goals, with libraries offering everything from books and gift cards to tablets and e-readers. Librarians have also been hosting virtual storytimes and other programs so that kids can experience the fun of the library from home.

Some libraries are seeking out community partnerships to expand the reach of their summer reading efforts. Muskingum County Library System in Ohio teamed up with WOUB Public Media’s Learning Lab to kick off their summer reading program with a virtual scavenger hunt. Kids can pursue an educational online adventure themed around the PBS Kids series Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, learning about historical figures like Johann Sebastian Bach and Marie Curie along the way.

In addition to hosting expansive programming for children, some libraries are also providing summer reading opportunities for adults. Milwaukee Public Library has summer reading content for readers of all ages—adults can even take on special challenges focused on themes like history or poetry. Meanwhile, local kids can enjoy performances from guest educators like musicians and scientists to complement the learning they’re getting from books. “We know parents have been serving as teachers since school buildings closed, and some of them have done all the lesson planning they can stand,” the library’s youth services coordinator, Kelly Wochinske, told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The reading program helps them out this year with a bunch of ways to keep learning that families can mix and match.”

Looking for awesome book recommendations for summer reading? Children’s librarians have compiled more than 100 recommendations for kids and families.

The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black Americans are an urgent reminder of the importance of learning and self-reflecting about structural racism and racial justice. Wondering where to get started? The American Library Association’s Great Stories Club has reading lists, discussion questions, and other resources for critically examining race and privilege, all created by librarians and humanities scholars.

The Great Stories Club is designed as a program for libraries to host with underserved youth, but anyone can access these free resources for having difficult but necessary conversations about racial equity. You can use their reading lists and discussion prompts in a book club, classroom, or household—or just for your own learning and introspection.

The initiative has three programs that are themed around truth, racial healing, and transformation. “Deeper Than Our Skins” focuses on the historical legacy of racism in America and features books like Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano. “Growing Up Brave on the Margins” addresses the challenges of coming of age for BIPOC teens living in marginalized communities; the reading list includes The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell. “Finding Your Voice” highlights the power of young people to move our society forward toward racial justice, with recommended reading including The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina. For each theme, a team of Great Stories Club project advisors have put together a thought-provoking essay that frames the multi-book series, book-specific discussion questions, and lists of additional recommended reading. A glossary of terms, resources on structural racism, and customizable digital promotional materials for each series are also freely available.

“For real transformation to take place around race, both laws and hearts must change across the land. Literature offers an accessible first step to encounter feelings as well as facts,” Maria Sachiko Cecire, Director of the Center for Experimental Humanities and Associate Professor of Literature at Bard College, writes in the introductory essay for the “Deeper Than Our Skins” theme. “Through fiction, nonfiction, comics, poetry, short stories, and art, [these books] uncover the often-hidden histories of America’s Native, enslaved, and immigrant communities. Each one offers points of connection that reach across time and cultures to affirm our shared humanity.”

Visit the Great Stories Club website to use the program in your library, classroom, book club, or home.