Social Emotional Learning Books for K-3: Bibliography

TLA 2x2 Selection, 2021

A poem in which a Black child explores his shifting emotions --joy, sorrow, anger, compassion -- throughout the year after his community experiences a police shooting.

A story about sadness uniquely told from the friend’s point of view as she does her best to comfort her friend Jenny Mei.

Meet a boy with a heart so big, his feelings glow from his cheeks, spill out of his eyes, and jump up and down on his chest. What good is this giant heart?

Zaha knew from a young age that she wanted to be an architect. She set goals for herself and followed them against all odds. A woman in a man’s world, and a person of color in a white field, Zaha was met with resistance at every turn. When critics called her a diva and claimed her ideas were unbuildable, she didn’t let their judgments stop her from setting goals and achieving them one by one, finding innovative ways to build projects that became famous the world over.

Schneider Honor Award for Younger Children, 2021
After begging his parents for an instrument, Itzhak Perlman threw his heart and soul into playing the violin. Despite enormous obstacles--including a near-fatal bout of polio that left him disabled for life--Itzhak persevered, honing his extraordinary gift.

In this bilingual picture book, astronaut José M. Hernández recounts his childhood as the son of Mexican migrant workers and his life-long dream to travel to the stars.

Schneider Award Winner for Younger Children, 2021
When a child has a "bad speech day" at school, his father gives him a new perspective on his stuttering.

Charming pairs of human and animal characters celebrate their similarities and differences.

Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2022
The inspiring and true story of the nation’s oldest student, Mary Walker, who learned to read at the age of 116.

Schneider Family Honor Book, 2022
Through a story from his own childhood, Hudson Talbott shares the challenges--and ultimately the rewards--of being a non-mainstream kind of learner.

Math can be used in amazing ways -- like music, and spacecraft, and even baking cookies! This isn’t a how-to math book, it’s a way to think differently about math as a necessary and cool part of our lives!