Kids Book Index
Joy Harjo
A baby girl is welcomed into the world by generations of her family and begins her journey through life. As she grows, she receives love, wisdom, and guidance. The poem connects her with family, ancestors, neighbors, and the natural world, while also describing a responsibility to honor those relationships. It presents becoming as a lifelong path shaped by connection and care.
This book appears on 2 reading lists across 2 editions from 2 organizations.
We Go SlowMariahadessa Ekere Tallie, illustrated by Aaron BeckerWhile the rest of her family hurries out, a Black girl shares breakfast with her grandfather before they head into the city. Their unhurried walk includes flowers, chalk drawings, fabrics outside a shop, mango slices, chai, a park, and artists painting a wall. As evening arrives, they return home together, having paid close attention to the sights, sounds, tastes, and textures around them.Picture BooksOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
Dancing with WaterGwendolyn WallaceKit joins Grandpa in digging wells for their community and learns his practice of finding water with a tree branch. Grandpa senses weather and moves over the land until he identifies a place to dig. As hotels and factories appear, pollution and scarcity make clean water harder to find. Grandpa eventually decides Kit is ready to carry forward the family’s water-divining knowledge and their work to secure a dependable water source.Picture BooksOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details
I Want You to KnowMona DamlujiWritten as a poem from a mother to her children, this book considers family bonds, ancestral home, and the effects of war long after fighting has ended. It asks how parents can speak with children about places their ancestors called home, the difficulty of imagining a return, and the continuing impact of conflict. The poem is accompanied by illustrations inspired by traditional Middle Eastern art and addresses refugees across places and generations.PoetryOn the same reading list for the same age or grade groupView book details