Emily Remer is the Librarian at Michael E. Smith Middle School in South Hadley, MA.
Librarians have long been promoting diversity in library collections. We understand that diverse books make for stronger and more socially valuable collections. Woke books (#ReadWoke), as part of diverse collections, are increasingly recognized as essential to libraries and schools because of their particular focus on marginalized and repressed groups, and because of the influence they can have on the reader in waking them up to injustice – reading diverse and woke books can help readers (students, librarians, teachers, and everyone) develop respect and empathy for others, feel like they have a place in the world, become aware of inequalities and biases, and understand today’s complicated societal issues. These books can also provide a good jumping-off point for some of those difficult discussions that youth and adults often need to have.
True woke books have a little more punch than typical diverse books – they aren’t just books with a generic cast of token multicultural characters in standard stories. Instead, these books portray authentic struggles that occur because of the diversity being represented and inform the reader of social injustice and discrimination. School Library Journal has been placing a lot of focus on woke books lately, as have other library resources. Cicely Lewis, who is the author of School Library Journal’s regular “READ WOKE” column, defines woke books as books that:
- Feature a protagonist from an underrepresented or oppressed group
- Provide information about a group that has been disenfranchised
- Challenge a social norm
- Give voice to the voiceless
- Seek to challenge the status quo
Many woke books are also own-voice books (#OwnVoices), written by a member of the underrepresented or oppressed group featured in the book. Own-voice, woke books can be especially powerful in their impact.
Woke books come in a variety of genres – realistic contemporary fiction seems the most obvious and prevalent, but there are fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels that also fall under the woke books category. Within the last few years, there have been some truly wonderful woke books published for middle school students, and with more being published every month, there are many titles to choose from when building or adding to a woke books collection. Below is a list of books included in my middle school library, which serves students in grades 5-8. So as to not make the list too long, I’ve only included fiction titles published since 2017 that I have read and recommend; I’ve marked those I found especially compelling with an asterisk.
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
In the aftermath of losing her home to a tornado, Ivy is befriended by a girl in her school who admires her drawing ability. Ivy soon realizes that she is developing feelings for her new friend. Afraid of rejection by her family and friends and already feeling distant from them, she runs off on her birthday to the comfort of the lot where her house used to be. A gentle story of the complexities of family, friendship, and identity.
New Kid by Jerry Craft*
Jordan loves drawing and cartooning, but instead of going to art school, he is sent to a prestigious private school – on a scholarship. Already stigmatized by class and race, he uses his sketchbook to help process his feelings and experiences of this new world he’s in. An essential graphic novel about implicit bias and micro-aggression and being the new kid.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds*
Will sees his brother shot down in the street and knows that the rules of the street call for revenge. In the elevator, with a gun in his waistband and on his way to get payback, he is visited by people from his past who have been part of gang gun violence. Told in verse, this is a fierce novel about the cycle of violence brought on by injustice, poverty, gang membership, and a code of rules that must be followed.
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga*
When it becomes too dangerous to stay in Syria and Jude and her pregnant mother are sent to the United States, Jude has to abruptly adjust to a new culture – a new language, a new home, a new school, new friends, and new family. Everything seems to be going OK (other than being without her brother and father, who both stayed in Syria), until she begins wearing her headscarves – and soon after come reports of Islamic terrorist attacks overseas. Told in verse.
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams*
Genesis keeps a list of things she dislikes about herself: her too-dark skin, her father who gambles and drinks away rent money, her nappy hair…. When her family gets evicted from their apartment, Genesis begins again at a new school, and there she finds prejudice and even more reasons to dislike herself, but also compassion and a mentor. As she contends with difficult truths about her family’s own racism and difficult past and navigates new friendships, she begins to find self-acceptance and understanding.
In the aftermath of losing her home to a tornado, Ivy is befriended by a girl in her school who admires her drawing ability. Ivy soon realizes that she is developing feelings for her new friend. Afraid of rejection by her family and friends and already feeling distant from them, she runs off on her birthday to the comfort of the lot where her house used to be. A gentle story of the complexities of family, friendship, and identity.
New Kid by Jerry Craft*
Jordan loves drawing and cartooning, but instead of going to art school, he is sent to a prestigious private school – on a scholarship. Already stigmatized by class and race, he uses his sketchbook to help process his feelings and experiences of this new world he’s in. An essential graphic novel about implicit bias and micro-aggression and being the new kid.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds*
Will sees his brother shot down in the street and knows that the rules of the street call for revenge. In the elevator, with a gun in his waistband and on his way to get payback, he is visited by people from his past who have been part of gang gun violence. Told in verse, this is a fierce novel about the cycle of violence brought on by injustice, poverty, gang membership, and a code of rules that must be followed.
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga*
When it becomes too dangerous to stay in Syria and Jude and her pregnant mother are sent to the United States, Jude has to abruptly adjust to a new culture – a new language, a new home, a new school, new friends, and new family. Everything seems to be going OK (other than being without her brother and father, who both stayed in Syria), until she begins wearing her headscarves – and soon after come reports of Islamic terrorist attacks overseas. Told in verse.
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams*
Genesis keeps a list of things she dislikes about herself: her too-dark skin, her father who gambles and drinks away rent money, her nappy hair…. When her family gets evicted from their apartment, Genesis begins again at a new school, and there she finds prejudice and even more reasons to dislike herself, but also compassion and a mentor. As she contends with difficult truths about her family’s own racism and difficult past and navigates new friendships, she begins to find self-acceptance and understanding.
Fiction Titles
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
Blended by Sharon Draper
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani*
Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds*
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saaed
Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai
Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga*
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams*
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson*
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Graphic Novels
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Illegal by Eion Colfer*
New Kid by Jerry Craft*
As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman
Stargazing by Jen Wang
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
This is by no means a comprehensive list – there were many other books I would have loved to include, but my self-imposed constraints of dates of publication and actually having read the books prevented it (my woke-books-to-read pile keeps growing and include titles like One True Way, Merci Suarez Changes Gears, The Stars Beneath Our Feet, and The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James). However, if you have another recent favorite, please post it in the comments below.
As I have gravitated to these books in recent months – these books that are powerful, gut-wrenching, heartfelt, real, and even sometimes humorous – they have definitely made me more awake/woke to social issues and injustices than I was previously. When I finish one of these titles, I have not only read an engaging story about a culture or sub-culture with which I am less familiar, but I have also connected with someone I might not otherwise encounter and experienced something significant and profound with them. Reading these books has helped me build a greater understanding of and empathy for the trials and anxieties many of my students (and their families) face on a daily basis.
There are three panels in Eion Colfer’s Illegal that I feel sum up the importance of reading woke books and symbolize their primary purpose (p. 57). Ebo, the main character in the story, is in a sinking inflatable boat in the ocean with his brother Kwame and other refugees hoping to make it to Europe from Africa. They see a ship heading their way and desperately hope for rescue. The dialogue between them goes like this:
Kwame: “They’ve found us just in time…”
Nuru: “Yes, if…”
Kwame: “What do you mean ‘If…’? If what?"
Nuru turns away despairingly.
Ebo: “They must help us. We are people.”
We are people. They are people. Our students are people. Our colleagues are people. Those we see on the streets and in the stores are people. This is the fundamental idea found throughout woke books – that we are all people and deserve to be treated as such. As librarians, we can stock our shelves with, read, recommend, and teach woke books to help others understand that those different from them are all people, no matter their circumstance, background, or identity.
There are three panels in Eion Colfer’s Illegal that I feel sum up the importance of reading woke books and symbolize their primary purpose (p. 57). Ebo, the main character in the story, is in a sinking inflatable boat in the ocean with his brother Kwame and other refugees hoping to make it to Europe from Africa. They see a ship heading their way and desperately hope for rescue. The dialogue between them goes like this:
Kwame: “They’ve found us just in time…”
Nuru: “Yes, if…”
Kwame: “What do you mean ‘If…’? If what?"
Nuru turns away despairingly.
Ebo: “They must help us. We are people.”
We are people. They are people. Our students are people. Our colleagues are people. Those we see on the streets and in the stores are people. This is the fundamental idea found throughout woke books – that we are all people and deserve to be treated as such. As librarians, we can stock our shelves with, read, recommend, and teach woke books to help others understand that those different from them are all people, no matter their circumstance, background, or identity.
More Lists & Information
11 Contemporary Diverse Novels for Middle Grade Readers
34 Refreshing and Relatable Books to Teach in Middle School:
Better With Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens by Melissa Hart, 2019.
Reading Woke: Creating a Diverse Books Program for Students
“Toward a More Diverse Collection,” School Library Journal, Winter 2019, p. 38-45, by Mahnaz Dar, et al.
We Need Diverse Books
As a footnote, I am delighted that Jason Reynolds has been named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!
Works Cited
Colfer, Eoin, and Andrew Donkin. Illegal. Illustrated by Giovannia Rigano. Sourcebooks, 2018.
Lewis, Cecily. “'Read Woke' School Reading Challenge Makes an Impact.” School Library Journal, 29 Mar. 2018, www.slj.com/?detailStory=read-woke-school-reading-challenge-makes-impact. Accessed 10 Feb. 2020.
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