Children’s Books for Fair Housing Month

April 4, 2011 | Categories: About FHC, Media | Tags: books, Children, fair housing, fair housing month, youth

April is Fair Housing Month.

In celebration of Fair Housing Month, the FHC-SE has compiled the following children’s books (ages 4-12). The Federal Fair Housing Act protects against discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, disability, familial status, religion, and sex.

The books listed below speak to the value of living in diverse neighborhoods and the importance of acknowledging and celebrating difference. For example, this list includes stories of the new neighbors in town who are of a different color, a child who befriends a neighbor who is differently-abled,  the history of the civil rights movement, and lullabies from around the world. It is by no means comprehensive or exhaustive.

Thank you to the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, The Anti-Defamation League, UnderstandingPrejudice.org and Amazon.com readers for many of these titles. If you have a book to suggest, please comment on our post.

Children’s Books

• Berenstain, Stan and Jan. The Berenstain Bears’ New Neighbors. Random House Books for Young Readers, 1994. Ages 4 – 8

• Bridges, Ruby. Through My Eyes. Articles and Interviews. Compiled and Edited by Margo Lundell. Scholastic, 1999. Ages 7 -10

• Brown, Beverly Swerdlow. Oliver’s High Five. Health Press, 1998. Illustrated by Margot Ott. Ages 9-12

• Byrd, Lee Merrill. The Treasure on Gold Street/El Tesoro En La Calle Oro. Cinco Puntos Press; Bilingual edition, 2003. Ages 4-8

• Chin-Lee, Cynthia. Almond Cookies and Dragon Well Tea. Polychrome Publishing, 1993. Illustrated by You Shan Tang. Ages 4-8

• Clements, Andrew. The Jacket. Simon & Schuster, 2002. Ages 9 – 11

• Dooley, Norah. Everybody Cooks Rice. Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1991. Illustrated by Peter J. Thornton. Ages 4 – 9

• Flor Ada, Alma. I Love Saturdays y Domingos. Atheneum; Bilingual edition, 2002. Illustrated by Elivia Savadier. Ages 4-8.

• Friedman, Ina R. How My Parents Learned to Eat. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984. Illustrated by Allen Say. Ages 4 – 8

• Fries, Claudia. A Pig is Moving In. Orchard Books, 2000. Ages 7-10

• Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center. The Fair Housing Five & the Haunted House. Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, 2010.  Illustrated by Sharika Mahdi-Neville.

• Harvey, Ken. When Chocolate Milk Moved In. Brookfield Reader, 2002.  Illustrated by Mary Sue Hermes. Ages 4 – 8

• Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace. Dial Books for Young Readers, 1991. Ages 4 – 8

• Igus, Toyomi.  Two Mrs. Gibsons. Children’s Book Press, 1991. Illustrated by Daryl Wells. Ages 4-8.

• Jenness, Aylette. Come Home With Me A Multicultural Treasure Hunt. New Press, 1993. Ages 9-11

• Lehman, Dana. Adventures at Walnut Grove. Lehman Publishing, 2007. Illustrated by Judy Lehman. Ages 4-8

• Medina, Jane. My Name is Jorge On Both Sides of the River: Poems. Boyds Mills, 1999. Ages 9 – 11

• Parr, Todd. It’s Okay to Be Different. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2001. Ages 4-8

• Pinkwater, Daniel. The Big Orange Splot. Hastings House, 1977. Ages 4 – 8

• Polacco, Patricia. Chicken Sunday. Philomel, 1992. Ages 5 – 8

• Reitano, John. What if the Zebras Lost their Stripes? Paulist Press, 1998. Illustrated by William Haines. Ages 4 – 8

• Ryan, Pam Munoz. Esperanza Rising. Scholastic, 2002. Ages 9-12

• Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg. In God’s Name. Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994. Illustrated by Phoebe Stone. Ages 9-12

• Seuss, Dr. The Sneeches and Other Stories. Random House, 1961. Ages 3 – 8

• Stolz, Mary. The Noonday Friends. Harper Collins, 1965. Ages 8-12

• Turck, Mary C. The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with 21 Activities. Chicago Review Press, 2000. Ages 9-12.

• Tyler, Michael. The Skin You Live In. Chicago Children’s Museum, 2005. Illustrated by David Lee Csicsko. Ages 4-8

• Williams, Vera. More, More, More Said the Baby. Harper Collins, 1990. Ages 1-5
• Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. Amistad, 2010. Ages 9-12

• Wiles, Deborah. Freedom Summer. Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, 2001. Ages 4-8

• Woodson, Jacqueline. The Other Side.  Putnam, 2001. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. Ages 5–8

• UNICEF.  A Life Like Mine: How Children Live Around the World. DK Publishing, 2002. Ages 4-8

• Van Laan, N. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep: A Lullaby for Little Ones Around the World. Little, Brown, 1995. Ages 4-8

• Vigna, Judith. Black Like Kyra, White Like Me.  Albert Whitman & Company, 1992. Ages 7-11