When I was on a recent visit to a Chicago Public School, a teacher stopped me in the hallway and raved about the young adult novel Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, which I had recommended. She beamed, "Even my toughest boys loved it! They're like, 'When are we gonna get to read another book like that?'" Well, there are many more books like that. We are living in an extraordinary time for children's and young adult literature. Never before has the quality, scope, and relevance of books available for teachers to use with their students been as good as it is right now, and many of these excellent books can be helpful tools for teaching not just reading skills, but also social responsibility.

Books written for children and young adults—fiction, nonfiction, picture books, poetry, short stories, and graphic novels—can be a lens through which students explore important topics and questions about the human condition, social problems, and the world. They can also be mirrors for students to examine those issues within themselves and their communities. If dialogue and debate are central to a healthy democracy, then they are essential in a classroom teaching social responsibility. Books offer endless opportunities to engage children of all ages in discussion. As good readers, students can engage in their own internal dialogue with books, and the ideas inside books can nurture discussion and debate throughout a classroom.

Investing the Imagination

Too often, social responsibility is simply equated with citizenship education, but living a life of social responsibility involves much more than merely being a good citizen. I like Sheldon Berman's (1997) concise definition of social responsibility: "personal investment in the well-being of people and the planet" (p. 15). This definition implies a great deal more than merely obeying the laws and voting in presidential elections every four years. The phrase "personal investment" means that we care about the world, from the local to the global, and that we take actions to make it a better place.

We can add to this Maxine Greene's (1995) notion of teaching "social imagination," which she defines as "the capacity to invent visions of what should be and what might be in our deficient society, on the streets where we live, and in our schools" (p. 5). This is a bold idea to teach inside our classrooms, and one perfectly suited to the integration of teaching social responsibility and reading books. Because books nurture our imagination, what better way could there be to integrate social responsibility into our lessons?

Books enable teachers to weave lessons in social responsibility into their regular curriculum. For example, a teacher can help students with their literacy skills by reading aloud the picture book Wangari's Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter. This book is about Wangari Maathai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for creating the "Green Belt Movement." Reading about the African women who planted millions of trees will open up opportunities to explore issues of poverty, peace, compassion, the environment, life in Africa, and other topics.

Immersed in Stories

It's impossible to care for the world and act in ways that help heal the planet if we don't know what is happening in the world, or even our own communities and nation. This means our schools should be immersing students—from kindergarten to high school—in current events. Although teaching with newspapers and other authentic sources is perfect for this, books make current events human and accessible by wrapping them into a good story. When reading the novel Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi, you are inside the New Orleans Superdome during Hurricane Katrina. The nonfiction book Our Stories, Our Songs by Deborah Ellis is filled with the voices of children living with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie immerses readers in the current plight plaguing so many American Indian reservations.

Just as knowledge of what is happening in the world today is central to practicing social responsibility, a good understanding of the past is essential to really understanding the present and making decisions for the future. Books make history come alive in ways that a social studies textbook cannot.

For teaching social responsibility, there is more "truth" in a good work of historical fiction than there is in a 600-page history textbook. Read The Lord of the Nutcracker Men by Iain Lawrence, and you are inside the horrifying trench warfare of World War I. The picture book Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles tells a simple story of two boys—one black and the other white—on the day the Civil Rights Act became law in 1964. See my list of Good Books for Teaching Social Responsibility for a sampling of additional books that can stimulate discussion of important social and historical issues.

Teaching for social responsibility through books will not happen by magic. Teachers must explicitly pull out themes and issues of social responsibility for their students to explore through discussion, writing, and inquiry-based projects. We cannot be shy about teaching social responsibility; the health and well-being of our world depends on it.

The Administrator's Role

School administrators must support teachers by deliberately encouraging teaching for social responsibility at every grade level and across the curriculum. This must be considered as important as any other school subject. And no matter how good and creative teachers are, they cannot teach with books they don't have, so administrators must devote significant money to the purchase of books. Compared to textbooks and other programmatic material, literature is a bargain. A $20,000 investment would buy more than 4,000 books from a discount distributor.

With all the pressure to increase test scores, it would be refreshing for administrators to devote some time to inspiring teachers to teach important content that is not on standardized tests. Imagine gathering your faculty and asking questions like these: Why do children go to school? Why do people read? What roles and responsibilities do schools have in a democracy?

There are many good answers to these questions. But one answer that gets little attention in our society is that schools are supposed to help make our democracy thrive and empower and motivate people to make a better world. Engaging children and young adults with good books is one dynamic way of making that vision a reality.

Good Books for Teaching Social Responsibility Picture Books The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler and Greg Couch (Dutton Children's Books, 1999). As war rages around him, Mr. O insists on playing his cello in public to bring beauty to chaos. Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles and Jerome Lagarrigue (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001). The day the Civil Rights Act becomes law in 1964, two best friends, one white and one black, discover that laws are more complex than just what is written on paper. Harvesting Hope: The Story of César Chávez by Kathleen Krull and Yuyi Morales (Harcourt, 2003). A biography of the farm worker activist. John Muir: America's First Environmentalist by Kathryn Lasky and Stan Fellows (Candlewick Press, 2006). The life of the great environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club. The Long March: The Choctaw's Gift to Irish Famine Relief by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick (Beyond Words, 1998). Based on the true story of the Choctaw tribe, who sent money to Ireland during the Irish Potato Famine. Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco (Bantam Books, 1992). Two unlikely people—an elderly Jewish woman and a black boy—form a friendship. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992). Based on the true story of the Nashua River in New Hampshire, which went from pristine natural wonderland to an industrial pollution wasteland and then was cleaned up when people took action. Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth (Scholastic, 2003). A Buddhist retelling of the well-known tale in which three wandering Chinese monks come upon a village with no sense of community. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2007). The author's experience of growing up under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter (Harcourt, 2008). The story of Wangari Mathai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for starting the Green Belt Movement, with poor women across Africa planting millions of trees. Intermediate Novels Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon and Schuster, 1998). A dystopian series set in a time when families are allowed just two children and all other kids—the "thirds"—must live in secret. Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio by Tony Johnston (Blue Sky Press, 2001). The story of a Latino boy, the people he meets in his community, and the goodness that connects them. Bone by Bone by Bone by Tony Johnston (Roaring Brook Press, 2007). A boy living in the south during the Jim Crow era wants to play with his friend who is black, but his racist father, the town doctor, forbids the relationship. Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson (Lodestar Books, 1991). Two kids form a friendship to survive the 1912 "Bread and Roses" strike of mill workers in Massachusetts. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (Random House, 2003). Four hundred people live in the dying underground city of Ember, but 12-year-olds Leena and Doon are convinced there is a way out. Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop (Wendy Lamb Books, 2006). A fictional account of a girl who meets the turn-of-the-century photographer Lewis Hine, who took pictures of child laborers in the United States. Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (HarperCollins, 2000). Thirteen-year-old Koly, who lives in India, must decide between accepting an arranged marriage or being shunned by her family. The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake (Hyperion, 1998). Seventh grader Maleeka's black classmates tease her for her very dark skin and homemade clothes, and she meets a new teacher who has a birthmark on her face. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books, 2007). A beautiful story set during the 1960s about the friendship between a boy and his teacher, who makes him study Shakespeare on Wednesdays while his classmates are at religious school. The Yellow Star by Jennifer Rozines Roy (Marshall Cavendish, 2006). A novel based on the experiences of the author's aunt in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. Young Adult Literature The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown, 2007). A stunning autobiographical novel of a boy dealing with the plight of alcoholism, poverty, and hopelessness on his contemporary American Indian reservation. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (Henry Holt, 2008). Jenna wakes up from a yearlong coma and does not quite feel like herself, raising provocative questions about scientific ethics. Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez (Knopf, 2002). A family is involved with an attempt to bring down the Trujillo dictatorship in the 1960s in the Dominican Republic. Black and White by Paul Volponi (Viking, 2005). Two boys—one white and the other black—are best friends and stars of their high school basketball team. When they get involved in a shooting, economic class and race influence their friendship. Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton (Annick Press, 2004). A girl confronts the reality of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Chanda's War is the sequel. Daniel Half Human: And the Good Nazi by David Chotjewitz (Atheneum, 2004). Two German boys are best friends and supporters of Hitler until one of them learns his mother is Jewish. Feed by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick Press, 2002). Dystopian story of a future in which people have microchips implanted in their brains—the "feed"—to receive all of their media. Like most dystopian novels, this story is really about life (and media) today. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, 2008). In the future, when the United States is known as Panem and has 12 "districts," two adolescents from each district are chosen to play the Hunger Games, a reality TV show in which they must fight to the death. Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi (Viking, 2008). A novel of a family inside the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor, 2008). A dystopian story of a group of teenagers—experts at computers and the Internet—who are imprisoned and tortured by Homeland Security following a terrorist attack. My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow (Laura Geringer Books, 2007). A girl's mother is one of the "cheerleaders" who stand outside Ruby Bridges's school each morning, screaming racist epithets as Bridges walks to school. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (HarperCollins, 1997). A diverse group of people turn a trash-filled lot into a thriving urban garden. Poetry and Short Stories 145th Street: Short Stories by Walter Dean Myers (Delacorte Press, 2000). Stories about life in Harlem. Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dana Bauer (HarperCollins, 1994). Stories involving characters who are gay or whose family or friends are gay. Cool Salsa edited by Lori M. Carlson (Henry Holt, 1994). Stories and poetry involving Latino culture. Petty Crimes by Gary Soto (Harcourt Brace, 1998). Collection of stories about Mexican American kids living and surviving in California's Central Valley. Baseball in April is another collection by the same author. The Space Between Our Footsteps edited by Naomi Shihab Nye (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1998). Poems and art from the Middle East. Things I Have to Tell You edited by Betsy Franco (Candlewick Press, 2001). Poetry written by adolescent and young adult girls. Tough Boy Sonatas by Curtis Crisler (Wordsong, 2007). Poetry about boys dealing with the chaos of life in Gary, Indiana. Vherses: A Celebration of Outstanding Women by J. Patrick Lewis and Mark Summers (Creative Editions, 2005). Poems about women who have great accomplishments. Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon Flake (Hyperion, 2004). Stories about the relationships between boys and girls. You Hear Me? edited by Betsy Franco (Candlewick Press, 2000). Poetry written by adolescent and young adult boys. Nonfiction 10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War by Philip Caputo (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005). A Pulitzer prize–winning author and Vietnam War veteran writes about the war. The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez (University of New Mexico Press, 1997). The author's memoir about his family coming to the United States in the 1950s and becoming migrant farm workers. A Dream of Freedom by Diane McWhorter (Scholastic, 2004). A year-by-year account of the civil rights movement. Hear That Train Whistle Blow! How the Railroad Changed the World by Milton Meltzer (Random House, 2004). A history of the American railroad. Leon's Story by Leon Walter Tillage (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1997). A moving memoir of the author's experiences growing up black in the Jim Crow South. One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss and Rosemary Woods (Kids Can Press, 2007). A nonfiction picture book about the life of water on our planet. The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle and Sean Qualls (Henry Holt, 2006). A biography in verse about a Cuban slave and poet. Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2004). The author went to the Middle East to interview kids about their lives and experiences amidst the chaos of war and cultural conflict. These are their voices. Ellis also went to Africa to talk to children about AIDS in Our Stories, Our Songs (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2005) and interviewed children of soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq in Off to War (Groundwood, 2008). Voices from the Fields: Children of Migrant Farmworkers Tell Their Stories edited by S. Beth Atkin (Joy Street Books, 1993). Interviews and photographs of the children of migrant farm workers. We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson (Hyperion Books for Children, 2008). A work of text and art telling the story of the Negro baseball leagues. Graphic Novels After 9/11 by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon (Hill and Wang, 2008). A graphic telling of the United States' "War on Terror." American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First Second, 2006). Three intertwined stories examine racial stereotypes and Chinese culture. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Lothian Books, 2006). A story of immigration set in an imaginary land and told without a single word. Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece (South End Press, 2008). The story of light-skinned black journalists who worked in the U.S. South during the civil rights movement, pretending to be white, known as going incognegro. King: A Comic Book Biography by Ho Che Anderson (Norton, 2005). A biography of Martin Luther King Jr. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon Books, 2003). The author's memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. She continues her story in Persepolis 2 (Pantheon, 2005). The Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughn and Niko Henrichon (DC Comics, 2006). The story of the invasion of Iraq and the country's cultural conflict, told through lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo. Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Jump at the Sun, 2007). A short biography of the great Negro League pitcher. Thoreau at Walden by John Procellino (Hyperion, 2008). A short retelling—mostly in his own words—of Thoreau's time at Walden Pond. The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessy and Aaron McConnell (Hill and Wang, 2008). A unique look at the U.S. Constitution. Back to article

Steven Wolk is Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.