Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2015-2020
Resources for the titles recognized by this list since 2015 -- honoring exceptional books for use in social studies classrooms
Sponsored by National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

- 12,326 Resources including
- 975 Videos
- 572 Book Readings
- 1,021 Lesson Plans
- List Analysis Report
Showing 1-48 of 909 book results




Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson
(Contemporary Concerns Selection, 2016)
54 Resources15 Awards

The Undefeated
by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson
(Contemporary Concerns Selection, 2020)
52 Resources19 Awards


Thunder Boy Jr.
by Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales
(Social Interactions & Relationships Selection, 2017)
49 Resources9 Awards

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
by Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2019)
49 Resources13 Awards

All American Boys
by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
(Contemporary Concerns Selection, 2016)
48 Resources8 Awards

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2015)
44 Resources16 Awards


Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America
by Ibi Zoboi, Jason Reynolds, Renée Watson, and Leah Henderson
(Contemporary Concerns Selection, 2020)
44 Resources5 Awards


The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet
(Biography Selection, 2015)
43 Resources14 Awards

Merci Suárez Changes Gears
by Meg Medina
(Social Interactions & Relationships Selection, 2019)
43 Resources12 Awards



Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
by Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2020)
41 Resources12 Awards


Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras
(Biography Selection, 2016)
39 Resources17 Awards

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark
by Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley
(Biography Selection, 2017)
39 Resources11 Awards

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia
(Geography, People, Places Selection, 2015)
38 Resources14 Awards

Before She Was Harriet
by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome
(Women's History Selection, 2018)
38 Resources12 Awards

Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2015)
37 Resources11 Awards


Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear
by Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall
(World History & Culture Selection, 2016)
37 Resources8 Awards




Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
by Ashley Bryan
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2017)
36 Resources14 Awards



Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
(Biography Selection, 2017)
35 Resources10 Awards


A Place to Land
by Barry Wittenstein and Jerry Pinkney
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2020)
35 Resources10 Awards

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln
by Margarita Engle and Rafael López
(Biography Selection, 2020)
35 Resources6 Awards

The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2014)
34 Resources9 Awards

Stella by Starlight
by Sharon M. Draper and Sarah Jane Coleman
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2016)
34 Resources11 Awards

Bravo!: Poems about Amazing Hispanics
by Margarita Engle and Rafael López
(Biography Selection, 2018)
34 Resources6 Awards


On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein
by Jennifer Berne and Vladimir Radunsky
(Biography Selection, 2014)
33 Resources7 Awards

This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
by Jacqueline Woodson and James Ransome
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2014)
33 Resources3 Awards

Grandfather Gandhi
by Arun Gandhi, Bethany Hegedus, and Evan Turk
(World History & Culture Selection, 2015)
33 Resources5 Awards

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
(History, Life, Culture in the Americas Selection, 2015)
32 Resources13 Awards

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
(Geography, People, Places Selection, 2016)
32 Resources9 Awards

Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions
by Chris Barton and Don Tate
(Biography Selection, 2017)
32 Resources8 Awards

