Reading Isn't Extinct

Reading Isn't Extinct

A list by IDEA Team, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Advocates

No fossils here, just great reads! Unearth fiction and non-fiction titles inspired by dinosaurs, archaeology, and 250 years of American history as you dig into reading this summer.

Books

Introduces children to Mary Anning, whose fossil discoveries changed science. It's a strong STEM and history title that highlights a woman whose contributions were often overlooked.

A picture book that features a young girl who is passionate about paleontology, helping to challenge stereotypes about who can be a scientist.

A celebration of Black history, achievement, perseverance, and contributions to America.

A beautiful memoir-inspired story about immigration, libraries, learning, and finding a place in America.

Focuses on the creation of the "I Have a Dream" speech and the collaborative nature of social change.

Examines race, identity, and opportunity in the American frontier.

Explores immigration, entrepreneurship, and the pursuit of opportunity.

Tells the story of the Mendez family's successful challenge to school segregation in California.

A history of the United States that examines the tension between the nation's ideals and its realities.

A history told from the perspective of workers, women, Indigenous peoples, and others often overlooked in traditional narratives.

A child-accessible adaptation of Zinn’s major work, presenting U.S. history through workers, Indigenous peoples, enslaved people, immigrants, etc.

A timeline of fun dinosaur facts and behaviors, all based on the latest research and summarized for adults in an approachable, bite-sized book.

A powerful and thought-provoking look at how poverty is sustained in America and what it would take to truly end it.

Mammals survived and eventually thrived when dinosaurs couldn't. Find out how in this informative graphic novel for kids!

Reading is not extinct, and neither are dinosaurs! They live on as the birds we see every day, and this book highlights those connections in storytelling backed by the latest science.

The stories of four women who took on some unusual roles in the name of espionage during the American Civil War. 

In a world where dinosaurs never really went extinct, a rookie dino-keeper works to reinvigorate a failing dinosaur reserve.