Given my penchant for checking out the national day calendar, I discovered that July 12 is Malala Day. It is her birthday, and incidentally, also the day when she gave her first (now historic) speech at the UN. So for today’s post, I have a list of 12 Books for Malala Day, along with additional reading resources.
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12 Books for Malala Day
So here are 12 books for Malala Day to help celebrate and be inspired by Malala Yousufzai
Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words
Title: Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words
Author: Karen Leggett Abouraya
Illustrator: L.C. Wheatley
Length: 36 pages
Genre: Children’s Nonfiction/Biographies
Publisher: StarWalk Kids Media (January 29, 2014)
Age Range: 4- 7 years
Source: My e-library
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
I truly loved the collage style artwork here. This book works well for younger readers to introduce them to Malala; and its easy-to-read text combined with unique artwork make it a great addition to classrooms and homes.
Malala’s Magic Pencil
Title: Malala’s Magic Pencil
Author: Malala Yousafzai
Illustrator: Kerascoet
Length: 48 pages
Genre:
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 17, 2017)
Age Range: 4- 8 years
Source: My e-library
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
Beautiful illustrations add to a wonderful inspirational story retold for younger audiences in this book.
Dear Malala, We Stand with You
Title: Dear Malala, We Stand with You
Author: Rosemary McCarney
Length: 32 pages
Genre:
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (October 28th 2014)
Age Range: 4- 8 years
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A very unique photo-essay book that features girls from around the globe sending their support for Malala Yousafzai.
Free as a Bird: The Story of Malala
Title: Free as a Bird: The Story of Malala
Author/Illustrator: Lina Maslo
Publishers: Balzer + Bray
Pub Date: January 23rd 2018
Genre: Nonfiction/Biographies
Age-Range: 4 – 8 years
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
Loved the artwork in this book! Another biography of Malala written in easy to understand text with beautiful illustrations that are bound to keep young readers invested and interested.
For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai’s Story
Title: For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai’s Story
Author: Rebecca Langston-George /Illustrator: Janna Bock
Publishers: Capstone Young Readers
Pub Date: August 1, 2015
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books
Age-Range: 8 – 11 years
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This is a beautiful book, both in lyrical text taking young readers through Malala’s story, and its gorgeous artwork. You can read my complete review here.
We Are Displaced
Title: We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World
Author: Malala Yousafzai
Length: 224 pages
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (January 8th 2019)
Age Range: Teen and Young Adult
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
Heart-rending, eye-opening, inspiring, and totally one where I wonder what more can each of us do to help. Detailed review to follow. A must read.
The following three books are all different versions of the same book, written with different age groups in mind. They are all based on the book I am Malala
Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights
Title: Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights
Author: Malala Yousafzai, Patricia McCormick, Sarah J. Robbins
Illustrator: Joanie Stone
Length: 176 pages
Genre:Children’s Biographies
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 9th 2018)
Age Range: 6 -10 years
Source: My e-library
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
This is an abridged version of Malala’s original book written for younger readers; and definitely well written. Considering I am reading the original version currently, I can see it has been adapted really well for the target audience. A must read.
I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World
Title: I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World
Author: Malala Yousafzai, Patricia McCormick
Illustrator: Kerascoet
Length: 256 pages
Genre:
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (June 14, 2016)
Age Range: Teen and YA
Source: Library
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
While I am yet to read this version of Malala’s book written with teenage audiences in mind (the previous one in the list for the youngest audiences, while the next one written by Malala was for adults), based on the other two reads, this is bound to be a great read as well!!
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Title: I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Author: Malala Yousafzai
Length: 327 pages
Genre: Women’s Biographies
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company(October 8, 2013)
Source: Library
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
I am currently reading this one; and find it totally empowering, inspiring, and an eye-opener. Detailed review to follow.
The next three books are books where Malala’s story is one among many; and each one inspiring;
Rad Women Worldwide
Title: Rad Women Worldwide
Author: Kate Schatz / Miriam Klein Stahl (Illustrations), Elia Maqueda (Translator)
Publishers: Ten Speed Press
Pub Date: September 27th 2016
Genre: Teen & YA
Age-Range: 11 – 17 years
Source: Library
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Target|| Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
I absolutely loved the diversity in this book – across continents, across roles women played, and across timelines. One sure to appeal to all ages.
She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World
Title: She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World
Author: Kathy MacMillan, Manuela Bernardi
Illustrator: Kathrin Honesta
Length: 32 pages
Genre: Children’s Biographies
Publisher: Familius (March 1, 2019)
Age Range: 5-7 years
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Target|| Barnes and Noble
I enjoyed reading about the women featured in the book – words and illustrations. A book that will be a good and inspiring addition to home and school libraries, especially in the US.
Peace and Me
Title: Peace and Me
Author: Ali Winter
Illustrator: Mickaël El Fathi
Format: Hardback
Release date: 21st September 2018
Page number: 32
Age range: 7-11 years
Published by Lantana Publishing and distributed by Lerner Publishing in the US
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Barnes and Noble || IndieBound
This book is a visual masterpiece and a powerhouse of peace! This is truly a wonderful addition to school and classroom libraries and to bookshelves at home as well. A totally keepable, giftable book in my opinion…
Pin Me
And I decided to include a bonus list of resources, for those other ongoing conversations we should continue to have.
Bonus Lists
This was a list I had started out with an intent to include those that address race and racism directly or majorly in the book. But as I researched in my archives of books read and reviewed, and found related books I needed to add to my reading list, the selection grew to include more(many more) books about diversity. In the end, I decided to include a list of reading lists I found across the internet.
Reading List for Conversations on Race/Racism
- 31 Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism, and Resistance (from The Journal Blog)
- Anti-racist Books for All Children and Teens (from The Guardian)
- Books for Toddlers and Babies with Black Main Characters (from the Biscuits and Grading blog)
- Anti-Racist Books for Babies and Toddlers (from The Birth Hour blog)
- The wonderful Colours of Us blog has many lists of books that you will find useful.
- Reading Lists from our local library – here, here and here. And do check your library lists as well. I have seen many such lists across library blogs everywhere.
- And my own list from a few days ago – Books to Inform and Enable Conversations about Race
- Both HarperCollins and A Mighty Girl have many wonderful reading lists as well that I use to add to my own TBRs.
Resources List
- A wonderful list of resources for talking about race in this google doc – this includes book lists, shows and movies to watch, as well as articles, podcasts and more
- Another truly useful link I should share with all you is this National Resources List
And Now, the End of This Post
Dear reader, any other inspiring biographies to add? About any one else? And hope this list of 12 books for Malala Day inspire you to add one of them to your reading lists!
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I am woefully ignorant of this cultural icon
What a wonderful set of books for children of all ages to read about beautiful Malala. Sometimes it’s the children that we learn from more than adults. Happy Malala day!
Malala is awesome!! The “She Spoke” book looks so cool. Thanks for sharing!
Great post and informative.
These look beautifully illustrated and so inspiring! And I had no idea that she actually gave her speech on her birthday. Thanks for sharing these, and for the bonus lists at the end as well! I always appreciate resources that give me ideas to help teach my daughter about global events and social justice.
My son did his 2nd grade book report biography on Malala. What an incredible inspiration to all! Thank you for recommending all these books. He read a few of them but now he’s older, he can probably tackle the longer ones.
My daughter just did her last book report on Malala. What a wonderful person and someone to read more about. This looks like a great collection of books to choose from.
I am always looking to read Inspirational stories, O have heard a lot about Malala but dint know there were bools published on her. Going to check them out. Thanks for sharing
Wow. I had no idea that there were so many books published about Malala! I am going to check these out and try to incorporate some into my lesson planning for the next school year! Thanks for sharing!
WOW…these books look amazing, and so inspirational! I had no idea there were so many…I’ve never read any of them but I guess we could all learn so much…
I love finding good books to read, thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for all the book recommendations. Malala is such an amazing person.
Great post. Never heard of her before.