I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize. I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world. 

Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson

As a young girl in Kenya, Wangari was taught to respect nature. She grew up loving the land, plants, and animals that surrounded her – from the giant mugumo trees her people, the Kikuyu, revered to the tiny tadpoles that swam in the river.
Although most Kenyan girls were not educated, curious, hardworking Wangari was allowed to go to school. There, her mind sprouted like a seed. She excelled at science and went on to study in the United States. After returning home, Wangari blazed a trail across Kenya, using her knowledge and compassion to promote the rights of her countrywomen and to help save the land, one tree at a time. Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace brings to life the empowering story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman, and environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Engaging narrative and vibrant images paint a robust portrait of this inspiring champion of the land and of women’s rights.

To find out more about Wangari Maathai, check out The Green Belt Movement. 

Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier

Beatrice’s Goat is a 2001 children’s story based on the true account of Beatrice Biira, an impoverished Ugandan girl whose life is transformed by the gift of a goat from the non-profit world hunger organization Heifer International. The picture book, written by Page McBrier and illustrated by Lori Lohstoeter, shows how the arrival of the goat sustains the family, and allows Beatrice to achieve her dream of attending school. In an afterword, Hillary Rodham Clinton writes, “Beatrice’s Goat” is a heart-warming reminder that families, wherever they live, can change their lives for the better.” A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book support Heifer International.

Ages 8-14

Terrific Women Teachers by Helen Wolfe

Maria Montessori, founder the Montessori method of self-directed learning Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan, her "miracle worker", USA Christa McAuliffe, high school teacher who died in the space shuttle Challenger, USA Dorval Onesime, a Native Metis educator in the early 1900s from Saskatchewan, Canada Denise Fruchter, a special education teacher with tourettes syndrome from Toronto, Canada Malalai Joya, campaigning for girls' education in Afghanistan Erin Gurswell, founder of Freedom Writers, USA Raden Ayu Kartini, campaigned for the education of women, Indonesia Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, taught art in Terezin Ghetto during WWII, Austria Marva Collins, African American teacher dedicated to improving schools in US cities, USA
About the Author
Helen Wolfe has been a teacher for more than thirty years. Her students have ranged from kindergarten to grade twelve. In her career, she has focused on teaching English, ESL, Special Education, and History. For more than twenty years she has been working with adults, many of whom speak English as a second language. Helen lives with her family in Toronto.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World by Greg Mortenson

With the first cup of tea, you are a stranger. With the second, a friend. With the third cup of tea, you are family. One day Greg Mortenson set out to climb K2 – the world’s second highest mountain – in honour of his younger sister, but things went wrong and Greg became lost. He wandered into a poor village, where the chief and his people took him in. Moved by their kindness, Greg promised to return and build a school for the children. This is the remarkable story of how Greg built not one, but more than sixty schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and how he has dedicated his life to promoting literacy, peace and understanding. 

Running Shoes by Frederick Lipp

Sophy, a young girl living in a remote low-income village in Cambodia, Faced a number of obstacles that prevented her from going to school. Only boys attended the closest school, which was eight kilometres away, and the recent death of her father dealt a large personal and economic blow. However, one day a government census worker, who visited the village once a year, noticed Sophy staring at his running shoes and took an interest in her situation. The running shoes that arrived at Sophy’s home a month later helped her to overcome one obstacle – the long trip by foot on a narrow, rocky road – to get to school. her courage, bright mind, and quick feet helped to overcome an even bigger problem, namely the ridicule from the boys that a girl wanted to join them at school. 

I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis

I am a Taxi is set in Bolivia and is a novel highlighting the strains that the cocaine production and trade and the US “War on Drugs” has placed on the Bolivians. For 12-year-old Diego and his family, home is the San Sebastian Women’s Prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His parents farmed coca, a traditions Bolivian medicinal plant, until they got caught up in the middle of the government’s war on drugs. Diego’s adjusted to his new life. His parents are locked up, but he can come and go: to school, to the market to sell his mother’s hand-knitted goods, and to work as a “taxi”, running errands for other prisoners. But then his little sister runs away, earning his mother a heavy fine. The debt and dawning realization of his hopeless situations make him vulnerable to his friend Mando’s plan to make big money, fast. Soon, Diego is deep in the jungle, working as a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation. As his situation becomes more and more dangerous, he knows he must take a terrible risk if he ever wants to see his family again. 

Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire A. Nivola

Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement, grew up in the highlands of Kenya, where trees cloaked the hills, fish filled the streams, and the people tended their gardens. But over many years, as more and more land was cleared, Kenya was transformed. When Wangari returned home from college in America, she found the streams dry, the people malnourished, and the trees gone. How could she alone bring back the trees and restore the gardens and the people? With glowing watercolour illustrations and lyrical prose, Clare Nivola tells the remarkable story of one woman’s effort to change the fate of her land by teaching many to care for it.