Amazing Grace by: Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch (realistic fiction)

Grace is an ordinary girl with a strong sense of imagination and creativity. She immediately soaks up any chance she has to be dramatic and acts out stories, playing various characters. When her teacher announces auditions to play the role of Peter Pan in the school play, Grace immediately wants the part. However, Grace is immediately shot down when she is told by two classmates that she can't because she is black and a girl. When she relays this information to her mom and grandma, they tell Grace right away that she can be anything she wants to be as long as she puts her mind to it. Later that night, her mom takes her to the ballet of "Romeo and Juliet", but to Grace's surprise the part of Juliet is played by an African American female.  This inspires Grace to follow her dreams and audition for the part of Peter Pan, despite her classmate's snide remarks. Grace does an excellent job in her audition and wins the role of her dreams!

I would use this book with students when talking about diversity to emphasize the fact that they can be whatever and whoever they want to be no matter what anyone says. To introduce the story, I would ask students if they have ever been told they can't do something by another person just because of who they are. While reading the story, I may ask students how they would feel if they were Grace and how they would react to the comments from her classmates. After reading the story, I would ask students to draw themselves being what they want to be and how they will accomplish this goal.  I will then post these pictures out in the hall with a caption like "our class is amazing"! For older students, I may have them write a story of what they will be doing in twenty years and what job they will have. This book could also be used for a read aloud during Black History Month to talk about how people felt during the time of segregation. It could also be used at the beginning of the year to build classroom community and teach students to treat everyone with respect.