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Hope & Optimism
Hope & Optimism
Hope & Optimism Books for Kids | Wonderlit
34 books about hope & optimism
Age
0–2
3–5
6–8
9–12
13+
Format
Middle Grade
Young Adult
Graphic Novels
Clear
Echo
Pam Muñoz Ryan
A single harmonica travels through time and across borders, connecting three children facing family crises through a mys
Ages 9–14
Wide Awake
David Levithan
For the teen processing big questions about democracy and identity. Two boyfriends join a nationwide protest after a con
Ages 14–18
Refugee #1
Refugee
Alan Gratz
Three children from different eras—1930s Germany, 1990s Cuba, and 2015 Syria—undertake harrowing journeys in a desperate
Ages 9–14
1
2
Ground Zero
Alan Gratz
A boy trapped in the World Trade Center and a girl in modern Afghanistan find their lives bound together by the echoing
Ages 9–13
For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
While training to be an opera singer in occupied France, a brave teenager uses her travels to gather vital secrets for t
Ages 10–14
The Book of a Thousand Days
Shannon Hale
Locked in a tower for years, young Dashti must protect her mistress before escaping to a new land where they both hide t
Ages 10–14
Twisted
Laurie Halse Anderson
A summer of hard labor after a graffiti arrest transforms Tyler from an invisible student into the center of high school
Ages 14–18
Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned
Judd Winick
For a child processing the loss of a close friend or seeking to understand the HIV/AIDS epidemic through a lens of compa
Ages 12–18
The Austin Family Chronicles #4
A Ring of Endless Light
Madeleine L'Engle
Vicky Austin spends a summer of transition on a quiet island, finding solace among dolphins while facing her grandfather
Ages 12–17
Fighting Words
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Della has always relied on her older sister Suki for protection, but after a family crisis, she realizes it is finally t
Ages 10–14
Amos Fortune, Free Man
Elizabeth Yates
Born an African prince and stolen into slavery, Amos Fortune spends decades working with quiet dignity to purchase his o
Ages 10–14
Going Bovine
Libba Bray
Faced with a terminal diagnosis, sixteen-year-old Cameron joins a punk angel and a video-gaming dwarf on a surreal road
Ages 14–18
Lisa #2
After the War
Carol Matas
After surviving Buchenwald, fifteen-year-old Ruth must find the strength to lead a group of children on a dangerous trek
Ages 10–14
The Last Cuentista #1
The Last Cuentista
Donna Barba Higuera
Petra is the only person on a spaceship who remembers Earth. Now she must use her grandmother's stories to save humanity
Ages 10–14
The Prophecy of the Stones
Flavia Bujor
Three girls travel to the magical land of Fairytale to meet a creature named Oonagh and prepare for a massive battle bet
Ages 10–14
The Realm of Possibility
David Levithan
High school hearts collide and break in these interconnected stories about the impossible, messy, and beautiful moments
Ages 14–18
The Ogress and the Orphans
Kelly Barnhill
For children observing unfairness or 'fake news' in the world, this sophisticated fable shows how kindness and truth can
Ages 8–13
The Books of Ember #3
The Prophet of Yonwood
Jeanne DuPrau
A town is gripped by a woman’s dark visions of fire, leaving young Nickie to hunt for hope in a world on the brink of a
Ages 9–13
The Shepherd's Granddaughter
Anne Laurel Carter
Amani dreams of being a shepherd on her family's Palestinian homestead, following her grandfather's stories toward a sec
Ages 10–14
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
Russell Freedman
For the child who is beginning to ask why the world isn't always fair and wants to see how a single voice can stand up a
Ages 9–14
Under a War-Torn Sky #2
A Troubled Peace
L. M. Elliott
Fighter pilot Henry Forester returns home from the war but finds he must go back to France to locate the brave boy who s
Ages 12–18
See You in the Cosmos
Jack Cheng
Armed with a golden iPod and his dog Carl Sagan, eleven-year-old Alex sets off on a road trip to send his personal messa
Ages 10–14
After the Bomb #1
After the Bomb
Gloria D. Miklowitz
Philip must navigate a devastated and militarized Los Angeles to find his family following an accidental nuclear explosi
Ages 11–15
The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Travel from frontier cabins to elegant estates to see how four very different boys overcame their circumstances to lead
Ages 10–14
