Images of Community:
Selected Books for Children and Young Adults

Compiled by Megan Schliesman
© 2011 Cooperative Children's Book Center

For children and teens, "community" is typically defined by the people they know and the place in which they live. As they mature, their sense of community can expand, incorporating new people they meet through proximity but also through shared interests and even activism. This list was developed to suggest ways to think about and talk about community with children and teens, with the hope that the books on it will inspire you to think of others.

This bibliography was inspired by an earlier version created by Kathleen T. Horning and Ginny Moore Kruse for a presentation at the Children's Literature New England Institute in Cambridge, Massachussetts, in August, 1997.

Related CCBC Bibliography:

• Venturing Out: Books about Young Children Exploring Their World

•School Stories: Selected K-12 Literature about the School Experience

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Click on underlined book titles to see the CCBC review of the book, and/or the cover image.
Complete list of CCBC bibliographies

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Getting to Know You: The Community of Family, Friends, and Neighbors (Picture Books)

Bunting, Eve. Going Home. Illustrated by David Diaz. HarperCollins, 1996. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 9

Chocolate, Debbi. El Barrio. Illustrated by David Diaz. Christy Ottaviano Books / Henry Holt, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Cohen, Miriam. Mimmy and Sophie All Around Town. Illustrated by Thomas F. Yezerski. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. 68 pages. Ages 6-8

Croza, Laurel. I Know Here. Illustrated by Matt James. Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press, 2010. 40 pages. Ages 4-8

Cumpiano, Ina. Quinito's Neighborhood = El Vecindario de Quinito. Illustrated by José Ramírez. Children's Book Press, 2005. 22 pages. Ages 3-5

Diakité, Penda. I Lost My Tooth in Africa. Illustrated by Baba Wagué Diakité. Scholastic Press, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 4-7

English, Karen. Hot Day on Abbott Avenue. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. Clarion, 2004. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 9

Grimes, Nikki. C Is For City. Illustrated by Pat Cummings. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1995. 40 pages. Ages 3 - 6

Herrera, Juan Felipe. Grandma and Me at the Flea / Los Meros Meros Remateros. Illustrated by Anita DeLucio-Brock. Children's Book Press, 2002. 32 pages. Ages 7 - 10

Hughes, Shirley. Tales of Trotter Street. U.S. edition: Candlewick Press, 1997. 60 pages. Ages 4 - 8

Jenkins, Emily. What Happens on Wednesdays. Illustrated by Lauren Castillo. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. 32 pages. Ages 3-6

Look, Lenore. Henry's First-Moon Birthday. Illustrated by Yumi Heo. An Anne Schwartz Book / Atheneum, 2001. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 7

McKissack, Patricia C.. Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. Random House, 2008. 40 pages. Ages 7-11

Mitchell, Margaree King. Uncle Jed's Barbershop. Illustrated by James Ransome. Simon & Schuster, 1993. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 9

Nikola-Lisa, W.. Bein' with You This Way. Illustrated by Michael Bryant. Lee & Low, 1994. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 6

Ormerod, Jan. Who's Whose?. U.S. edition: Greenwillow, 1998. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 7

Rocco, John. Blackout. Disney / Hyperion, 2011. 40 pages. Ages 4-8

Scanlon, Liz Garton. All the World. Illustrated by Marla Frazee. Beach Lane Books, 2009. 40 pages. Ages 2 - 6

Schwartz, Amy. A Glorious Day. A Richard Jackson Book / Atheneum, 2004. 32 pages. Ages 2-5

Schwartz, Joanne. Our Corner Grocery Store. Illustrated by Laura Beingessner. Tundra, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Sis, Peter. Madlenka. Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. 42 pages. Ages 4-8

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Jingle Dancer. Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. Morrow/HarperCollins, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8

Watson, Renée. A Place Where Hurricanes Happen. Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Random House, 2010. 32 pages. Ages 6 - 10

Wheeler, Lisa. Jazz Baby. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Harcourt, 2007. 32 pages. Ages birth-3

Getting to Know You: The Community of Family, Friends, and Neighbors (Fiction)

Atinuke. The No. 1 Car Spotter. Illustrated by Warwick Johnson Cadwell. U.S. edition: Kane Miller, 2011. 110 pages. Ages 6-9

Cofer, Judith Ortiz. An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio. Melanie Kroupa/Orchard, 1995. 165 pages. Ages 12 - 16

Delacre, Lulu. Salsa Stories. Scholastic Press, 2000. 105 pages. Ages 8-11

Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House. Hyperion, 1999. 235 pages. Ages 8 - 12

Erdrich, Louise. The Game of Silence. HarperCollins, 2005. 256 pages. Ages 8-12

Hill, Kirkpatrick. The Year of Miss Agnes. Margaret K. McElderry, 2000. 115 pages. Ages 8 - 11

Konigsburg, E.L.. The View from Saturday. Jean Karl/Atheneum, 1996. 163 pages. Ages 9 - 12

Lin, Grace . The Year of the Dog. Little, Brown, 2006. 134 pages. Ages 7-10

Lin, Grace. The Year of the Rat. Little, Brown, 2008. 182 pages. Ages 8-11

Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem: A Poem. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. Scholastic, 1997. 32 pages. Ages 12 and older

Patron, Susan. The Higher Power of Lucky. Illustrated by Matt Phelan. A Richard Jackson Book / Atheneum, 2006. 134 pages. Ages 9-12

Patron, Susan. Lucky Breaks. Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Ginee Seo Books / Atheneum, 2009. 181 pages. Ages 8 - 10

Roberts, Ken. The Thumb in the Box. Illustrated by Leanne Franson. Groundwood, 2001. 95 pages. Ages 7 - 10

Slayton, Fran Cannon. When the Whistle Blows. Philomel, 2009. 162 pages. Ages 11 - 15

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian Shoes. Illustrated by Jim Madsen. HarperCollins, 2002. 66 pages. Ages 6 - 9

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. Wendy Lamb Books / Random House, 2009. 208 pages. Ages 10 - 13

Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Dial, 1976.

Williams, Vera B. . Scooter. Greenwillow, 1993. 147 pages. Ages 4 - 11

Reaching Out: Finding and Creating Community (Picture Books)

Bunting, Eve. One Green Apple. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. Clarion, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 5-8

De Veaux, Alexiz. An Enchanted Hair Tale. Illustrated by Cheryl Hanna. Harper & Row, 1987. 40 pages. Ages 5 - 10

Falwell, Cathryn. David's Drawings. Lee & Low, 2001. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Figueredo, D.H.. When This World Was New. Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez. Lee & Low, 1999. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 8

Fleishman, Paul. Weslandia. Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Candlewick, 1999. 32 pages. Ages 6-9

Greenfield, Eloise. The Friendly Four. Illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. Amistad / HarperCollins, 2006. 47 pages. Ages 5-8

Haseley, Dennis. Crosby. Illustrated by Jonathan Green. Harcourt, Brace, 1996. 32 pages. Ages 7 - 11

Karen Lynn, Williams and Khadra Mohammed . Four Feet, Two Sandals. Illustrated by Doug Chayka. Eerdmans, 2007. 32 pages. Ages 7-11

McCully, Emily Arnold. An Outlaw Thanksgiving. Dial, 1998. 40 pages. Ages 5-9

McLerran, Alice. Roxaboxen. Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1991.

Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us. Illustrated by Dom Lee. Lee & Low, 1993. 32 pages. Ages 7 - 11

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. What If?. A Neal Porter Book / Roaring Brook Press, 2010. 32 pages. Ages 3-7

Reaching Out: Finding and Creating Community (Fiction)

Baskin, Nora Raleigh. Anything But Typical. Simon & Schuster, 2009. 195 pages. Ages 10 - 13

Bauer, A. C. E.. Come Fall. Random House, 2010. 231 pages. Ages 10 - 13

Brooks, Martha . True Confessions of a Heartless Girl. Melanie Kroupa Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. 192 pages. Ages 14 - 18

Bruchac, Joseph. March Toward the Thunder. Dial, 2008. 298 pages. Ages 12 and older

Castellucci, Cecil and Jim Rugg . The Plain Janes. Minx, 2007. 172 pages. Ages 13-16

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton. Scholastic Press, 2007. 341 pages. Ages 10-14

DiCamillo, Kate . Because of Winn-Dixie. Candlewick Press, 2000. 182 pages. Ages 9 - 12

Dole, Mayra Lazara. Down to the Bone. HarperTeen / HarperCollins, 2008. 367 pages. Age 14 and older

Ellis, Deborah. The Heaven Shop. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2004. 186 pages. Ages 10-14

Frost, Helen. Spinning Through the Universe: a Novel in Poems from Room 214. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. 93 pages. Ages 10-13

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. Illustrated by Dave McKean. HarperCollins, 2008. 312 pages. Ages 10-14

Grimes, Nikki. Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Putnam, 2009. 74 pages. Ages 6 - 9

LaRochelle, David. Absolutely, Positively, Not . . .. Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Press, 2005. 224 pages. Ages 12 and older

Lynch, Chris. Slot Machine. HarperCollins, 1995. 240 pages. Ages 13 - 16

Mass, Wendy. Every Soul a Star. Little, Brown, 2008. 322 pages. Ages 10-14

Nielsen, Susin. Word Nerd. Tundra, 2008. 248 pages. Ages 10-14

O'Connor, Barbara. Greetings from Nowhere. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. 198 pages. Ages 9-12

Reinhardt, Dana . How to Build a House. Wendy Lamb Books / Random House, 2008. 227 pages. Age 14 and older

Sheth, Kashmira. Boys without Names. Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, 2010. 320 pages. Ages 9-13

Telgemeier, Raina. Smile. Scholastic, 2010. 213 pages. Ages 10-14

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac and D Foster. Putnam, 2008. 153 pages. Ages 10-14

Wyeth, Sharon Dennis. Orphea Proud. Delacorte Press, 2004. 208 pages. Ages 14-17

Pulling Together: Communities in Action (Picture Books)

Borden, Louise. The A+ Custodian. Illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004. 38 pages. Ages 5-8

Brown, Craig. Barn Raising . Greenwillow / HarperCollins, 2002. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8

Fleming, Candace. Boxes for Katje. Illustrated by Stacey Dressen-McQueen. Melanie Kroupa Books / Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003. 36 pages. Ages 6 - 9

Johnson, Angela. A Sweet Smell of Roses. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Simon & Schuster, 2005. 32 pages. Ages 6-9

Judge, Lita. One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II. Hyperion, 2007. 32 pages. Ages 6-10

Lyon, George Ella. You and Me and Home Sweet Home. Illustrated by Stephanie Anderson. A Richard Jackson Book / Atheneum, 2009. 40 pages. Ages 4 - 8

McKissack, Patricia C. . Goin' Someplace Special. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. An Anne Schwartz Book / Atheneum, 2001. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 9

Miller, William. Rent Party Jazz. Illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb. Lee & Low, 2001. 32 pages. Ages 7 - 11

Muth, Jon J.. Stone Soup. Scholastic Press, 2003. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8

Newhouse, Maxwell. The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew. Tundra, 2010. 24 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Rael, Elsa Okon. What Zeesie Saw on Delancy Street. Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. Simon & Schuster, 1996. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8

Ramsey, Calvin Alexander and Gwen Strauss . Ruth and the Green Book. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Carolrhoda, 2010. 32 pages. Ages 6 - 9

Rumford, James. Rain School. Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. 32 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood. Illustrated by Ellen Beier. Holiday House , 2011. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Weatherford, Carole Boston. Dear Mr. Rosenwald. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Scholastic Press , 2006. 32 pages. Ages 6-9

Williams, Vera B.. A Chair for My Mother. Greenwillow, 1982. Ages 4 - 9

Williams, Vera B.. Music, Music for Everyone. Greenwillow, 1984. Ages 3 - 9

Winter, Jeanette. Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan. Beach Lane, 2009. 40 pages. Ages 6 - 10

Pulling Together: Communities in Action (Fiction)

Branford, Henrietta. Fire, Bed & Bone. U.S. edition: Candlewick Press, 1998. 122 pages. Ages 10 - 12

Connor, Leslie. Crunch. Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, 2010. 330 pages. Ages 10 - 13

Fleischman, Paul. Seedfolks. Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, 1997. 69 pages. Ages 9 - 13

Joseph, Lynn. The Color of My Words. Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, 2000. 138 pages. Ages 10 - 14

Karr, Kathleen . Gilbert & Sullivan Set Me Free. Hyperion , 2003. 226 pages. Ages 12 -15

Magoon, Kekla. The Rock and the River. Aladdin, 2009. 290 pages. Ages 11 - 14

Patron, Susan. Lucky for Good. Illustrated by Erin McGuire. Atheneum, 2011. 224 pages. Ages 8-11

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. Amistad / HarperCollins, 2010. 218 pages. Ages 8-12

Pulling Together: Communities in Action (Non-Fiction)

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Kids on Strike!. Houghton Mifflin, 1999. 208 pages. Ages 11 - 16

Bausum, Ann. With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Women's Right to Vote. National Geographic, 2004. 111 pages. Ages 11-14

DeSaix, Deborah Durland and Karen Gray Ruelle . Hidden on the Mountain: Stories of Children Sheltered from the Nazis in Le Chambon. Holiday House , 2007. 275 pages. Ages 10-15

Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Harcourt, 2003. 48 pages. Ages 5 - 9

Levine, Ellen. Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews. Holiday House, 2000. 164 pages. Ages 11 - 14

Nivola, Claire A.. Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. 32 pages. Ages 8-12

Partridge, Elizabeth. Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don't You Grow Weary. Viking, 2009. 72 pages. Ages 11 and older

Ruelle, Karen Gray and Deborah Durland DeSaix . The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust. Holiday House, 2009. 40 pages. Ages 9 - 12

This list may be reproduced and distributed by educational and/or nonprofit organizations so long as credit is given to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.