Ages 12 and up; Gr.7 and up.
In the spring of 1992, after a jury returned not guilty verdicts in the trial of four police officers charged in the brutal beating of a Black man, Rodney King, Los Angeles was torn apart. Thousands of fires were set, causing more than a billion dollars in damage. In neighborhoods abandoned by the police, protestors and storeowners exchanged gunfire. More than 12,000 people were arrested and 2,400 injured. Sixty-three died. In Rising from the Ashes, award-winning author Paula Yoo draws on the experience of the city's Korean American community to narrate and illuminate this uprising, from the racism that created economically disadvantaged neighborhoods torn by drugs and gang-related violence, to the tensions between the city's minority communities.

Lexile measure 920; Ages 5-8; Gr.1-3.
The Golden Gate Bridge, beloved landmark and symbol of San Francisco, finally gets a gorgeous picture book that tells the thrilling story of how it was built! Across a treacherous strait where deep ocean waters rip back and forth with the tides, and during the depths of the Great Depression, daring teams of engineers and builders set out to make something many thought impossible.

Ages 7 and up.
Alvin Coffey: The True Story of an African American Forty-Niner is a picture book biography of one man, born into slavery, who came to California in 1849 seeking something more precious than gold. Mining gold by day and mending boots by night, Alvin never gave up working toward his goal – freedom for himself and his family.

Lexile measure 820; Ages 7-10; Gr.2-5.
Roberto Clemente always loved baseball. Growing up in Carolina, Puerto Rico, he swung tree branches (since he didn't have a bat) and hit tin cans. He was always batting, pitching, running, sliding. His dedication paid off when, at the age of 19, he was tapped for a major league team. First stop- chilly Montreal . . . where he warmed the bench and himself, longing to play baseball. Months later, he finally got his chance with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente became an instant star on the field-hitting the ball and making it to first base and finally home.

Lexile measure 730; Ages 7-10; Gr.2-5.
How did the Joshua Tree National Park in California come to be? Meet Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, an artist, activist, and environmentalist, whose determination saved the desert and helped to create the park. Long before she became known as the Cactus Queen, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt found solace in the unexpected beauty of the Mojave Desert in California. She loved the jackrabbits and coyotes, the prickly cacti, and especially the weird, spiky Joshua trees.

Lexile measure 870; Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
"You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, in four days time....That is all you need to know." This was the terse telegram hundreds of young women throughout the British Isles received in the spring of 1941, as World War II raged. As they arrived at Station X, a sprawling mansion in a state of disrepair surrounded by Spartan-looking huts with little chimneys coughing out thick smoke--these young people had no idea what kind of work they were stepping into. Who had recommended them? Why had they been chosen? Most would never learn all the answers to these questions. Bletchley Park was a well-kept secret during World War II, operating under the code name Station X. The critical work of code-cracking Nazi missives that went on behind its closed doors could determine a victory or loss against Hitler''s army. Amidst the brilliant cryptographers, flamboyant debutantes, and absent-minded professors working there, it was teenaged girls who kept Station X running.

Lexile measure 1040; Ages 6-9; Gr.1-4.
The true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first two Native pro baseball players to face off in a World Series. This picture book teaches important lessons about resilience, doing what you love in the face of injustice, and the fight for Native American representation in sports.

Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free--or cost them everything they have--in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement.

Ages 10-18; Gr.7-9.
Millions of Africans were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade, but few recorded their personal experiences. Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is perhaps the most well known of the autobiographies that exist. Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano's life story in "found verse," supplemented with annotations to give readers historical context.

Ages 4-7; Gr.1-2.
Malak is a little girl who lives in Gaza with her parents. She goes to school, plays in the ocean, and visits Sitti's house on Fridays. One day while she is in school, bombings begin. She spends the next 50 days at home with her parents worrying and feeling scared, until one day she picks up her paintbrush.

Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
Inspired by the true story of how the Grand Mosque of Paris saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II, Hiba Noor Khan weaves a breathtaking tale of suspense, compassion, and courage, starring an extraordinary young heroine readers will never forget. Safiyyah loathes the brutal Nazi occupation of Paris, even though her Muslim identity keeps her safe--or, at least, safer than her Jewish neighbors. Violence lurks in the streets, her best friend has fled, and even her place of refuge--the library--has turned shadowy and confusing, as the invaders fear the power of books. Safiyyah longs to fight back and hates feeling powerless to help her Jewish friends. Worse yet, her father--who taught her to always do the right thing--is acting strangely and doing nothing to help them either. Or is he?