America250PA – Community Storytelling and Civic Engagement for Teens

In the summer of 1995, almost-fifteen-year-old Almudena is sent to live with her estranged Spanish-speaking father, and together they renovate a brownstone and build a relationship while Almudena navigates the Latin American side of her heritage for the first time.

Many of the political issues we struggle with today have their roots in the US Constitution. This book explores 21 of the fault lines that were created in 1787 and are still causing problems today.

Using a trauma-informed approach to gathering stories, this unique collection of 30 stories illuminates the range of challenges and successes met by the latest generation of immigrants attending Stevenson and Sullivan High Schools.

From first crushes to first heartbreaks, complicated family dynamics to community relationships, this powerful collection of stories explores race, class, culture, language, and the very idea of home as both a place and a feeling.

Set at a classic drive-in restaurant that seems to exist in every Native community, this anthology unites the stories of teens from all kinds of backgrounds through the shared theme of Native joy, with stories and poems reflecting hope, healing, humor, love, friendship, romance, and joy.

Pedro Martin has grown up in the U.S. hearing stories about his legendary abuelito, but during a family road trip to Mexico, he connects with his grandfather and learns more about his own Mexican identity.

Kristina R. Gaddy tells the story of America’s tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War and of the war itself from the viewpoints of four children of famous abolitionists, including those of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison.

A powerful collection of essays from actors, activists, athletes, politicians, musicians, writers, and teens, each writing about a time in their youth when they were held back because of their race, gender, or sexual identity, but persisted.

A wide-ranging anthology that shines a light on untold Indigenous stories as chronicled by Indigenous creators.

Written in verse, this inspiring biography chronicles the life of a queer civil rights and women’s rights activist who fought for many of the rights taken for granted today, working tirelessly for human rights and the dignity of life for all.

Sally Ride may have been the first US woman in space, but did you know there were five other incredible American women who helped blaze the trail for female astronauts by her side?

A full accounting of five incredibly talented Black ballerinas from The Dance Theater of Harlem, founding members among them, that illuminates their hard-fought, historic, and overlooked contributions to the world of classical dance at a time when racism shut out Black dancers from major dance companies.

With the rising number of missing Indigenous women, her family’s involvement in a murder investigation, and grave robbers profiting off her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry takes matters into her own hands to solve the mystery and reclaim her people’s inheritance.

This title takes an in-depth look at voting rights in the US, particularly examining when certain groups of people won the right to vote. Special features expand on the text and highlight why voting is important.

This powerful and unflinching examination of racism in America by award-winning historian Ann Bausum deconstructs the warped history of the Civil War for teen readers.