Government > Housing and Community Development > Planning and Community Development Division > We Belong Here: The Takoma Park Equity Walk > Equity Walk Books: Lead and Follow

Equity Walk Books: Lead and Follow

Lead and Follow

How are we the same, how are we different? How does it feel to be different? What makes you feel proud? What makes you feel unique? Are you a leader or a follower?

Resources for Students, grades K-2

Sulwe, by Lupita Nyong’o
Sulwe’s skin is darker than the other members of her family. She learns to appreciate it through her mother’s love and the beauty of the night sky.
Julián is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love
Julián is supported by his abuela when he wants to dress like a mermaid and visit the mermaid parade.
Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You, written by Sonia Sotomayor and illustrated by Rafael Lopez.
In this book, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor writes about 12 friends who all face different challenges. One is a diabetic, another has Down’s syndrome, while another has ADHD.

Resources for Students, grades 3-5

Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship, by Irene Latham & Charles Waters
A collection of poems written long distance by a Black poet and a white poet with elements of depth and levity.
A Boy Called Bat, written by Elana K. Arnold.
Bixby Alexander Tam – better known as Bat – is a third grader on the autism spectrum. In this engaging story, Bat tries to prove to his mother, a veterinarian, that he can be responsible enough to keep a pet – in this case, a skunk that his mother brought home to temporarily foster.

Resources for Students, 6-8

Other Words for Home, by Jasmine Warga
Novel in verse about emigrating from Syria to Cinncinnati. U.S. immigration alters the main character’s previous identity
It All Comes Down to This, by Karen English
Historical coming of age fiction from 1965 L.A. about colorism, class, and courage.
Song For a Whale, written by Kelly Lynne.
Twelve-year-old Iris is Deaf and she feels a real affinity for a whale named Blue 55, who can’t communicate with other whales because its voice is on a different frequency. In this story, Lynne, who works as an interpreter for the Deaf, details how Iris creates a song for the whale set at his frequency and, aided by her grandmother, is able to journey to Alaska to play it for him in person.
The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle, written by Leslie O’Connor.
Mason is a seventh grader with learning disabilities, making him a target for bullies. Things look up for Mason when he makes a new friend named Calvin, but when Calvin goes missing, Mason must deal with unjustified police suspicions that he had something to do with it.