This is what happened when I asked Twitter to recommend MG & YA lit titles for those asking about Ferguson
Inspired in part by Robin’s post yesterday on talking with her middle grade students about Ferguson and the book Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth, I wondered what kind of list we could put together quickly to recommend to students who were wondering about the events happening in Ferguson. So I went to Twitter and asked for everyone’s suggestions. Here’s what they recommended:
@TLT16 @TvS_557 @RobinReads AGREE #KindaLikeBrothers by @coebooth has such an authentic voice http://t.co/L656YzP739 …
— Barbara Moon (@moonb2) August 18, 2014
@TLT16 @paolobacigalupi I was about to say Kekla Magoon’s first book for history, but her fall one is timely indeed: http://t.co/PINVAvx2bn
— Gwenda Bond (@Gwenda) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @TvS_557 @RobinReads Kinda Like Brothers, Tyrell etc @coebooth When I was the Greatest @JasonReynolds83 Jumped etc @OneCrazyRita
— Barbara Moon (@moonb2) August 19, 2014
.@TLT16 @librarian_lali I would *highly* recommend Carlotta Walls LaNier’s memoir “A Mighty Long Way” and John Lewis’s “March: Book One”
— Emily Lloyd (@PoesyGalore) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 One titles that is similar to Ferguson, is Revolution. I just finished reading it, and I found the similarities interesting.
— Adele Lamphier (@TattoosAndBooks) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 In addition to the ones mentioned several of Volponi’s books deal with race issues
— Beth Saxton (@BethReads) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 we recently added this to the collection: People who said no : courage against oppression / Laura Scandiffio.
— Dorothy Farias (@DorothyFarias1) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 Heartbreaking. Mine’s not out yet, but deals w racism, privilege & systematic injustice in the legal system https://t.co/ag0HDqYHP0
— Kelly Loy Gilbert (@KellyLoyGilbert) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @TvS_557 @RobinReads Fist Stick Knife Gun @GEO_CANADA The Skin I’m In @sharonflake Monster. Walter Dean Myers Yummy @g_neri
— Barbara Moon (@moonb2) August 19, 2014
.@TLT16 Also, *Marching For Freedom: Walk Together Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary* = brilliant kids’ nonfiction abt kids in Selma march
— Emily Lloyd (@PoesyGalore) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @jodimeadows Native Son
— JMMcDermott (@JMMcDermott) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @TvS_557 @RobinReads If You Come Softly @JackieWoodson (actually so many by Woodson & Myers can be added to the list)
— Barbara Moon (@moonb2) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @paolobacigalupi Little Brother by @doctorow
— Bahumat (@LordBahumat) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers. Beautiful look at race and our justice system.
— Siân Gaetano (@KidLitChick) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @JennRHubbard Lions of Little Rock, The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Maniac Magee?
— Madelyn Rosenberg (@madrosenberg) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 Revolution by @deborahwiles The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis, books by Walter Dean Myers
— Margie Myers-Culver (@Loveofxena) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 We Have A Job by Cynthia Levinson @cylev is a stellar title!
— Lynda Mullaly Hunt (@LynMullalyHunt) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @TvS_557 @RobinReads March @repjohnlewis Incognegro by Mat Johnson Discovering Wes Moore @WesMoore1
— Barbara Moon (@moonb2) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @TvS_557 @RobinReads picture book with a powerful message #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/TbDgItFVB8
— Barbara Moon (@moonb2) August 19, 2014
@TLT16 @TvS_557 @RobinReads Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmitt Till Case by Crowe #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/Dqwq3VdmGr
— Barbara Moon (@moonb2) August 19, 2014
If you have titles to recommend and add to this list, please share in the comments. We believe that literature can help us understand current events and sharing these titles can help our communities process events happening at Ferguson.
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Filed under: Collection Development, Ferguson, MG Lit, Reader's Advisory, YA Lit

About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 32 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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