The year 2019 saw an unprecedented level of public discussion and debate about race, identity, and representation in books for children and young adults. These necessary conversations are helping push the publishing industry to print more stories that reflect our diverse world. In her 2019 list of the Best Books for Young Readers, Penn GSE’s Ebony Elizabeth Thomas hopes to showcase some of these overlooked stories. In choosing the list, Thomas and her team look for authors and illustrators whose work deals with issues like gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, and socioeconomic class in ways that are real and empathetic.
