Children’s Book Reading Lists

Children's Book SDG Reading Lists

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #1. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on poverty, homelessness, and resource scarcity.

Children's Books about Zero Hunger

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #2. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on food insecurity, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture.

Children's Books about Good Health and Well-being

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #3. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on access to healthcare, medical professionals, and taking care of your body.

Children's Books about Quality Education

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #4. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on access to schooling, the importance of learning, creativity, and literacy.

Children's Books about Gender Equality

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #5. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on expanding women’s rights and opportunities.

Children's Books about Clean Water and Sanitation

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #6. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on access to water, good hygiene, and water safety and pollution.

Children's Books about Affordable and Clean Energy

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #7. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on conservation of and access to electricity, wind power, and solar power.

Children's Books about Decent Work and Economic Growth

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #8. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on unemployment, social services, and improved living standards and pay.

Children's Books about Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #9. This list of books for children ages 3-11 focuses on STEM careers, transportation, communications, and manufacturing.

Children's Books about Reduced Inequalities

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #10. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on issues facing the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities.

Children's Books about Sustainable Cities and Communities

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #11. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on housing, access to open space, and urban infrastructure.

Children's Books about Responsible Consumption and Production

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #12. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on pollution, sustainable materials, recycling, reuse, and waste.

Children's Books about Climate Action

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #13. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on the human impact on the natural world and efforts to combat climate change.

Children's Books about Life Below Water

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #14. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and ocean conservation.

Children's Books about Life on Land

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #15: Life on Land. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on biodiversity, endangered species, and environmental conservation.

Children's Books about Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

A book guide for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #16. This list of fiction texts for children ages 3-11 focuses on non-violence, inclusivity, and the impacts of war and prison.

UN SDG Children's Book Guides: Frequently Asked Questions

Why I picked the books on my lists, where to find them, and how to make the most of your reading experience

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES

Classroom Activities and Resources

Read Your World: Rock Music Activism and Asian Reappropriation

Non-fiction narratives in particular can inspire children by highlighting the accomplishments of historically oppressed groups. As an Asian-American, I enjoyed the inspiring true underdog story We Sing From the Heart: How The Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court by Mia Wenjen, from Red Comet Press. It tells an empowering story of reappropriation through a punk rock First Amendment legal battle.

Read Your World: Bilingualism as a Benefit

Read Your World is a non-profit that supports multicultural children’s literature. Parents and educators understand that multilingualism is an asset for young learners. This year, I was gifted the bilingual Mandarin-English book Ge Ge and Di Di's Big Day with Elephant by Karen Yee, from Green Cows Books. It is an excellent resource to introduce young children to Chinese language.

Multicultural Children's Book Day: Increasing Representation in Literature

Multicultural Children’s Book Day raises awareness for representation in children’s literature. As a part of their annual celebration, this year I reviewed Tofu Takes Time. Its central message is patience and relishing time together, while exploring intergenerational customs and making food from scratch.

Tomatosphere: Pairing Plant Lifecycles with Space Exploration

Students participated in an interdisciplinary citizen science experiment by planting two sets of tomato seeds: one that had traveled on the International Space Station and one that had stayed earthbound.

Engaging Students with History Mysteries

By sharing unsolved, unlikely, or controversial stories of our past, students can deepen their understanding of history and record-keeping. These memorable history mysteries invite them to contribute to our collective body of knowledge.

Hands-on and Feet-on Geography with Giant Maps

Create whole-body immersive experiences for your students by increasing the scale of your lesson and materials! Use National Geographic giant maps, sidewalk chalk, shower curtains, butcher paper, and more to create engaging, active learning experiences.

Building Student Engagement Outdoors

Bringing teaching outdoors increases student engagement, employs multiple learning modalities, and builds connections. In the spring of 2018, students wrote nature-inspired poems and practiced math in the fresh air.

Multimedia Research Rotations in the Elementary Classroom

Students can learn about a topic using videos, texts, online databases, and virtual “field” research. By rotating in groups, you can break away from whole group instruction and stretch a smaller number of resources.

Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship: Pre-Expedition Workshop

And so begins my Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship! With two months left in the school year and five months left before my Galápagos voyage, I'm armed with new geographic tools to try in my classroom!

Virtual Reality Field Trips for Young Learners

Create immersive virtual reality experiences within your classroom through three easy steps. This will connect students of all ages to the places you teach about in an engaging, personal way.