Children / Young Adult Social Justice Book Lists

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is a national, not- for-profit organization founded in 1976. We are dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. Our programs, publications, and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents select the very best for young readers. - See more at: https://bookcentre.ca/about#sthash.y5L9DqJU.dpuf

The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature is an electronic quarterly review of contemporary English-language materials of interest to children and young adults. Of particular use to librarians, parents, teachers and anyone working with young people, we also publish news and opinions relevant to children’s literacy.

The Diverse BookFinder is a comprehensive collection of children’s and young adult books featuring Black and Indigenous Peoples and People of Color (BIPOC). We’ve cataloged and analyzed picture books fitting this criteria since 2002 and have added early readers, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult novels published since 2022.

First Nation Communities READ (FNCR) is the Ontario First Nation Public Library Community’s contribution to the reading movement. Launched in 2003 by the First Nations Public Library Community in Ontario with support from the Ontario Library Service, it promotes a community-based approach to reading. FNCR celebrates the very best of Indigenous literature across Turtle Island. The program encourages family literacy, intergenerational storytelling as well as intergenerational knowledge transmission. FNCR also helps to increase awareness of the importance of First Nation, Metis and Inuit writing, illustration and publishing.

IBBY Canada is pleased to present the 2025 edition of From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Books. 25 of the best Indigenous picture books published in Canada between 2022–2024 were selected for this collection. Care was taken to ensure that the collection reflects the diversity of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit voices from sea to sea to sea, and that the titles are available and in print for anyone who wishes to access them.

IBBY Canada is a volunteer organization promoting quality French, English and Indigenous Canadian children's literature nationally and internationally. This project was initiated in 2016 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and in keeping with IBBY Canada’s mission to support the right of every child to become a reader through access to high-quality books. All children should be able to walk into a library, classroom, or bookstore and see themselves and their lives reflected. Unfortunately, that is still not the case for many Indigenous children and youth across Canada. We hope that From Sea to Sea to Sea will promote the reading and sharing of books by Indigenous authors among Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth, their families, librarians, educators, and community members.

The Forest of Reading® is Canada’s largest recreational reading program! This initiative of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) offers ten reading programs to encourage a love of reading in people of all ages. The Forest helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. More than 270,000 readers participate annually from their school and/or public library. All Canadians are invited to participate via their local public library, school library, or individually.

A database of social justice and diverse themed books for educators newly released by the Canadian Children's Book Centre.

A to Zoo can be used to obtain information about children’s picture books in two ways: to learn the titles, authors, and illustrators of books on a particular subject, such as “dragons” or “weddings”; or to ascertain the subject (or subjects) when only the title, author and title, or illustrator and title are known.