As Grandpa says in one of our favorite books, “All Around Us” written by Xelena Gonzalez and illustrated by Adriana M Garcia, “Circles are all around us. We just have to look for them.” And it’s true, circles are all around us, even within us, and we within them, from the tiny circles of cells and atoms to the circle of the water cycle with rain falling from the clouds, filling up reservoirs, travelling through rivers, evaporating up again, and coming back down.
One thing that all circles have in common is that they form a boundary between what is inside and what is outside. And that boundary marks a distinction: everything inside the circle shares something in common that is not shared by what is outside the circle. Socially, this can look like belonging to a group with a common interest like cycling or knitting where everyone in the group participates in that activity and has a sense of belonging to that group. People outside the group may, or may not, also enjoy that activity, but for many possible reasons, they do not share a sense of belonging to that particular group. They are not part of that circle.
However, it can be hard to reconcile the tension between enjoying the belonging and comfort found within a group, and the growth and excitement that comes from widening our circles and letting the outside in. How do you attend to your own growth and development, and participate in and nurture your circles, while also cultivating the curiosity and openness that allows you and your groups to grow and evolve? How do groups foster the trust within that allows them to grow, while simultaneously welcoming newcomers?
It’s also important to be aware of the difference between firm and porous boundaries, and to question who is involved in forming and maintaining a circle or group. Who is in, who is out, and why? Firm boundaries can become overly insulating as well as exclusionary, making it difficult to recognize and honor all people as worthy of being held within a circle of love and worth. In addition, many people have been, and still are, excluded from circles, not because of lack of affinity, but because of discrimination and prejudice. Remembering to consider who is, and who isn’t, forming, maintaining, joining and participating in a circle, and whether the group’s boundaries are fixed or movable, helps create circles that can be widened and maintain a society that is welcoming, inviting, inclusive and just.
This month, we make our way together towards wider circles by sharing books that offer tools and inspiration for:
widening our self acceptance,
widening our love,
widening our understanding of history, and
widening our commitment to community free from racism and oppression.
The books in the curated list below, all written by or about people with identities and/or from communities that are under-published and under-represented in literature, each draw upon these themes. These, and hundreds more, are available for loan to our library patrons. Click “Borrow A Book” to learn how to bring these and other books home. If you’re not local to our lending program, please refer to these suggestions when looking for books. May this list help you and yours widen your circles.
*Monthly themes adapted from the work of Soul Matters Sharing Circle https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com
Widening Our Self Acceptance
Picture Books
Sulwe written by Nyong’o Lupita, illustrations by Vashti Harrison
Big Hair, Don’t Care - Crystal Swain-Bates author; Megan Bair, illustrator
Tough Guys Have Feelings Too written and illustrated by Keith Negley
Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, author, and Luisa Uribe, illustrator
Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder
Beautifully Me by Nabela Noor
You Matter - Christian Robinson author and illustrator
Juvenile & Up
Love Your Body by Jessica Sanders
Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods
Middle Grades
Unsettled written by Reem Faruqi, illustrated by Soumbal Qureshi
Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods
Other Boys written and illustrated by Damian Alexander
Teen & Up
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Girls Write Now: Two Decades of True Stories from Young Female Writers - Girls Write Now contributors
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
Special Topics in Being a Human: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way about Caring for People, Including Myself - S. Bear Bergman, author; Saul Freedman-Lawson, illustrator
Adult
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Widening Our Love
Board Book
Love Makes A Family by Sophie Beer
Good Night Families (Good Night Our World) - Adam Gamble, author; Kelly Cooper, illustrator
Mommy, Mama, and Me by Leslea Newman
Hugs of Three: My Daddies and Me by Dr. Stacey Bromberg
And Tango Makes Three - Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, authors; Henry Cole, illustrator
Nibi is Water by Joanne Robertson
Picture Book
Grandma Comes to Stay (First Experiences) by Ifeoma Onyefulu
A Friend for Henry - Jenn Bailey, author; Mika Song, illustrator
I Am Love: A Book of Compassion - Susan Verde, author; Peter H. Reynolds, illustrator
You Matter - Christian Robinson author and illustrator
A Manual for Marco: Living, Learning and Laughing with an Autistic Sibling by Shaila Abdullah, author, and Iman Tejpar, illustrator
Juvenile & Up
Why Are You Looking At Me? I Just Have Down Syndrome written by Lisa Tompkins and illustrated by Ryan Eubanks
Middle Grades
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Teen and Up
Special Topics in Being a Human: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way about Caring for People, Including Myself - S. Bear Bergman, author; Saul Freedman-Lawson, illustrator
Adult
The Gender Creative Child: Pathways for Nurturing and Supporting Children Who Live Outside Gender Boxes - Diane Ehrensaft, author.
Unconditional: A Guide to Loving and Supporting Your LGBTQ Child by Telaina Eriksen
Widening Our History by Expanding What We Tell & How We Tell It
Board Book
This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer written by Joan Holub and illustrated by Daniel Roode
Cradle Me (Navajo and English Edition) by Debby Slier
Picture Book
The People Remember with words by Ibi Zoboi and pictures by Loveis Wise
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water words by Nikole Hannah-Jones & Renee Watson, pictures by Nikkolas Smith’
All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez
When We Were Alone written by David Alexander Robertson and illustrated by Julie Flett
Enough: 20 Protesters Who Changed America - Emily Easton, author; Ziyue Chen, illustrator
Juvenile & Up
I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis
We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell
Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee
The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi, author, and Loveis Wise, illustrator
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Middle Grades
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz
Show Me A Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
1621: A New look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O’Neill Grace
Teen
Freedom’s A-Callin Me - Ntozange Shange, author; Rod Brown, illustrator
Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History - Blair Imani, author; Monique Le, illustrator; Tegan and Sara, Foreword.
Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation by Monique Gray Smith
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers Edition: Everything American History Textbooks Get Wrong by James W. Loewen, adapted by Rebecca Stefoff
Adult
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Widening Our Commitment to Building the Beloved Community, Free from Racism and Oppression
Boardbooks
A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
Picture Book
A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi, author, and Loveis Wise, illustrator
Sofia Valdez, Future Prez written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts
She’s My Dad!: A Story for Children Who Have a Transgender Parent or Relative written by Sarah Savage, illustrated by Joules Garcia
V is for Voting - Kate Farrell, author; Caitlin Kuhwald, illustrator
All Because You Matter - author, Tamil Charles; illustrator Bryan Collier
Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock by Aslan and Kelly Tudor
Juvenile
We Shall Overcome - Bryan Collier, illustrator
Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness - written and illustrated by Anastasia Higginbotham
When A Bully is President: Truth and Creativity for Oppressive TImes by Maya Gonzalez
Middle Grades & Up
Girl Warriors: How 25 Young Activists are Saving the Earth by Rachel Sarah
This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewel
Teen
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Wake, Rise, Resist: The Progressive Teen’s Guide to Fighting Tyrants and A*holes - Joanna Spathis and Kerri Kennedy, authors.
adult
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
Antiracist Baby - words by Ibram X. Kendi, illustrations by Ashley Lukashevsky
Trans Allyship Workbook: Building Skills to Support Trans People in our Lives - Davey Shlasko, author; Kai Hofius, illustrator
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
Raising Antiracist Kids by Nicole C. Lee, Esq.
Brown: The Last Discovery of America by Richard Rodriguez
3 Keys to Defeating Unconscious Bias: Watch, Think, Act by Sondra Thienderman
How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance by Akiba Solomon
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi