Civil Rights. Voting Rights.
Individual Rights.

Human Rights.

These are some of the many issues in our society where people are moved beyond voicing opinions to “doing something” to influence change. Sadly, while they may seem “new” to our children’s consciousness, these ills are not new to us.  For better or worse, since 2016, nearly 100 Cybils-nominated books have centered around a social cause, historical injustice, and/or people determined to change the world.

Young readers want to understand the issues and work for change, so it is not a surprise that books initially published for adults are evolving to include “Young Readers Editions.” Example: Cybils 2020 High School Nonfiction Winner Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi is a “remix of Kendi’s 2017 book Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award.”

Just last month, an elementary-level version was published: Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You.

While Stamped may be the most widely recognized title, two other Cybils 2020 finalists also address social issues: Young Adult Fiction finalist Dear Justyce by Nic Stone; and Middle-Grade Nonfiction finalist The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth, edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Hudson.

The books chosen for this collection are intended to offer history and heroism across an array of social issues across audiences from elementary through high school. As you might expect, the list skews heavily toward non-fiction, but not exclusively. Worth noting: This is a representative sampling of books nominated for the Cybils Awards by readers who believed they deserved award consideration. We welcome any additional suggestions in the comments!

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall, illustrated by A. D’Amico 2020 Nominee Elementary/Middle-Grade Graphic Novel

Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky 2020 Nominee Fiction Picture Book

Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story Arun Gandhi 2016 Nominee Elementary Nonfiction

Beyond Gender Binaries: The History of Trans, Intersex, and Third-Gender Individuals (History of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement) by Rita Santos 2019 Nominee – Middle Grade Nonfiction

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone 2020 Finalist Young Adult Fiction

Displacement written and illustrated by Kiku Hughes 2020 Finalist Young Adult Graphic Novel

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros 2020 Finalist Middle Grade Fiction

Fantastic Failures: True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First by Luke Reynolds 2108 Nominee Middle Grade Nonfiction

Fantastic Fugitives: Criminals, Cutthroats, and Rebels Who Changed History (While on the Run!)  Brianna DuMont 2016 Nominee Middle Grade Nonfiction

A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield 2018 Nominee High School Nonfiction

Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World Laura Barcella 2016 Nominee High School Nonfiction

The First Step: How One Girl Put Segregation on Trial by Susan E. Goodman, illustrated by E. B. Lewis 2016 Finalist Elementary Nonfiction

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks 2020 Winner Middle Grade Fiction

Girls Resist!: A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution by KaeLyn Rich 2018 Nominee High School Nonfiction

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang 2014 Winner Young Adult Graphic Novel

Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights by Karen Blumenthal 2020 FInalist High School Nonfiction

A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out for Women’s Rights by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Alison Jay 2018  Nominee Elementary Nonfiction

Locked Up for Freedom: Civil Rights Protesters at the Leesburg Stockade by Heather E. Schwartz 2017 Finalist Middle Grade Nonfiction

March (trilogy) by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell 2016 Winner Young Adult Graphic Novel (B00k 3) 2015 Finalist (Book 2) 2013 Finalist (Book 1)

No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History Lindsay H Metcalf and Keila V. Dawson, eds., illustrated by Jeanette Bradley 2020 Finalist Elementary Nonfiction

One Person, No Vote: How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally (YA edition) by Carol Anderson and Tonya Bolden 2019 Finalist High School Nonfiction

Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America Amy Reed, ed. 2018 Nominee High School Nonfiction

Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species by  Ana Pego, Isabel Minhós Martins, illustrated by  Bernado P. Carvalho 2020 Finalist Middle Grade Nonfiction

Putting Peace First: 7 Commitments to Change the World by Eric Dawson 2018 Nominee Middle Grade Nonfiction

Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager 2017 Finalist High School Nonfiction

Racial Profiling: Everyday Inequality by Alison Marie Behnke 2017 Nominee High School Nonfiction

Resist! Peaceful Acts That Changed Our World Written & illustrated by Diane Stanley 2020 Nominee Elementary Nonfiction

Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World Susan Hood 2018 Nominee Poetry

Spring After Spring: How Rachel Carson Inspired the Environmental Movement written and illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson 2018 Nominee Elementary Nonfiction

Stand Up and Sing!: Pete Seeger, Folk Music, and the Path to Justice written by Susanna Reich, illustrated by Adam Gustavson 2017 Nominee Elementary Nonfiction

Stolen Justice: The Struggle for African American Voting Rights (Scholastic Focus) by Lawrence Goldstone 2020  Nominee High School Nonfiction

Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets by Gayle E Pitman 2019 Finalist Middle Grade Nonfiction

Superman Smashes the Clan by Gene Luen Yang 2020 Winner Young Adult Graphic Novel

The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth Wade Hudson and Cheryl Hudson, eds. 2020 Finalist High School Nonfiction

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Stephen Scott, illustrated by Harmony Becker 2019 Finalist Young Adult Graphic Novel

Voices from the March on Washington by J. Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon 2014  Winner Poetry

Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot BY Winifred Conkling 2018 Finalist High School Nonfiction

We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World Hasak-Lowy, Todd 2020 Nominee Middle Grade Nonfiction

We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman 2016 Finalist Middle Grade Nonfiction

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist written by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton 2017 Nominee Elementary Nonfiction

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