Celebrate Diversity, Inclusion, and Kindness this Back-to-School Season

For the second year in a row, we’re kicking off back-to-school season with new books for all ages that celebrate diversity, inclusion, and kindness. Our goal is simple: every person should be able to open a book from our library and feel seen, and the characters and/or storylines in the book are reflective of the way they look and the things they experience. Our hope is that these books help grow our understanding of one another so that we can grow in love and kindness.

In September, we encourage you to visit the Little Free Library (located outside of Crate + Barrel) and take a book for yourself, your child, or a friend/family member to enjoy. When you’re done, keep it or pay it forward by putting it back in the library for someone else in the community to enjoy. We also encourage donations or drop-offs of any gently used or purchased books that promote these principles.

Looking to donate a great read? Our friends at the Hingham Pride Project have put together the curated list below, some of which you can find in our Little Free Library already. Many of these titles are available to purchase or order on-site at Barnes & Noble.

Happy reading!

• Who are you? The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity, Brook Pessin-Whedbee
• Sugar Plum Ballerinas Series, Nancy Cato and Whoopi Goldberg
• The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: the story of Dr. Temple Grandin, Julia Finley Mosca
• My Princess Boy, Cheryl Kilodavis
• Saturday, Oge Mora
• Each Kindness, Jacqueline Woodson
• When Aiden Became a Brother, Kyle Lukoff
• Sulwe, Lupita Nyong’o
• The, She, He Easy as ABC, Matthew Sg and Maya Christina Gonzalez
• Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry
• The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family, Ibtihaj Muhammad and S.K. Ali
• It’s Ok to Be Different, Todd Parr
• Last Stop on Market Street, Matt de la Peña
• Ada Twist, Scientist, Andrea Beaty
• Kindness Starts with You, Jacquelyn Stagg
• A Little SPOT of Kindness, Diane Alber

Young Adult/Teen

Adult

• Red at the Bone, Jacqueline Woodson
• Laughing at my Nightmare, Shane Burcaw
• Stamped, Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
• Raising Rosie, Eric and Stephani Lohman
• This Book is Gay, Juno Dawson
• How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
• Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, Haben Girma
• Pride: The Celebration and the Struggle, Robin Stevenson
• This Book is Antiracist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action and Do the Work, Tiffany Jewell
• A Well of Loneliness, Radclyffe Hall
• Hunger, Roxanne Gay
• Empathy: Why it Matters, How to Get it, Roman Krznaric
• Wonder, R.J. Palacio