Two years in a row, I’ve collaborated with a big group of UK YA book bloggers to celebrate World Book Day! In 2019 we wrote about our favourite childhood books, and last year, we discussed the books that shaped our childhood years.
This year, we’re doing it again! Diversity has always been an incredibly important topic, but 2020 especially brought a lot of things to the front of everybody’s minds, from sexuality and transgender issues to the Black Lives Matter movement. So for this World Book Day, we’re all going to be sharing a few of our favourite diverse books for kids and teens.
You can find a full list of everyone taking part at the end of this post.
What is World Book Day?
World Book Day changes lives through a love of books and shared reading. Their mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own.
Spending just 10 minutes a day reading and sharing stories with children can make a crucial difference to their future success and it’s fun for all involved. That’s why World Book Day continues to encourage children and young people to read for pleasure through its work with authors, illustrators, publishers, bookshops and libraries.
Find out more on the World Book Day website >>
Diverse Books for Kids and Teens: My Recommendations
Proud of Me by Sarah Hagger-Holt
Becky and Josh are almost-twins, with two mums and the same anonymous donor dad. Josh can’t wait until he’s eighteen, the legal age when he can finally contact his father, and he’ll do anything to find out more - even if it involves lying. Becky can’t stop thinking about her new friend, Carli. Could her feelings for Carli be a sign of something more? Becky and Josh both want their parents to be proud of them… but right now, they’re struggling to even accept themselves.
Proud of Me tells an important story of belonging, trying to discover more about yourself and your identity (whether that’s where you came from or your sexuality), and it’s one of those stories I urge everyone to read. If you want to learn a little bit about same-sex families with donor-conceived children, or you want to encourage your young ones to learn about it, then Proud of Me is a perfect place to start!
Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean
Things aren’t going great for Archie Albright. His dad’s acting weird, his mum too, and he all he wants is for everything to go back to normal, to three months before when his parents were happy and still lived together. When Archie sees a colourful, crumpled flyer fall out of Dad’s pocket, he thinks he may have found the answer. Only problem? The answer might just lie at the end of the rainbow, an adventure away.
Together with his best friends, Bell and Seb, Archie sets off on a heartwarming and unforgettable journey to try and fix his family, even if he has to break a few rules to do it…
This book made me SO feel-good and heart-warming — and I even welled up at the happy ending (which is a rarity for me!). It’s a lively and colourful story of acceptance, and learning to deal with change (in this case, when a parent comes out as gay). It’s a perfect story if you want to encourage young people to learn more about various sexual and gender identities.
King & the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.
It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy—that he thinks he might be gay. “You don’t want anyone to think you’re gay too, do you?”
But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King’s friendship with Sandy is reignited, he’s forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother’s death.
Middle grade books can often be overlooked, but this one has to be read far and wide and I’m absolutely going to be shouting about it to everybody. This book tells a beautiful story with incredibly important themes that many young people might experience in their own lives, such as grief and acceptance. Just be aware that it can be hard to read at times, with trigger warnings for physical abuse, homophobia, and grieving the death of a sibling.
Special Mention: Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more…?
Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn’t been too great, but at least he’s not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie – the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months – but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.
They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner…
I couldn’t do this list and not include the book series that owns by heart and soul, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. I’ve loved this series for a few years now and I’ve spoken about it a lot! You can read my thoughts about why I think the representation is so great in this post: LGBTQ+ Representation in Heartstopper by Alice Oseman: a Guidebook for Figuring Out Your Sexual Identity.
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Follow the World Book Day Celebration!
We have a whole day of World Book Day celebrations today with 20 UK YA bloggers taking part in this blog hop. Every 30 minutes, another blogger will be sharing their favourite diverse books for kids and teens! Posting directly after me will be Lauren and Bec at Northern Plunder, so make sure you check their post out and then follow on with the rest of the tour. We’ll also be posting on Instagram and Twitter throughout the day using the hashtags #UKYAWBD2021 and #WorldBookDay.
Here’s the full list of bloggers taking part:
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