Books to Help Children Understand Their Rights and Find Their Voice
Updated: 5 days ago
“That’s not fair.” When a child brings those words home from school, it can be difficult to know where to begin. We want to understand what happened. We also want to help our child explain what they need and think about what could happen next.
I’d begin with a conversation that gives the child time to speak. Books can offer another starting point. A character’s experience lets us ask about being heard, being safe or being included before asking a child to explain an experience of their own.
The thread I’d follow through this reading list is simple: help children recognise what they should be able to expect, find words for a concern, and identify adults who can help. Having a voice doesn’t mean getting every decision your way. It does mean being taken seriously.
Start with rights, then make them concrete
Children’s rights don’t depend on good behaviour. Safety, dignity and being heard aren’t rewards. Children also need guidance in respecting other people’s rights and repairing harm. Adults are responsible for providing the support and structure that make this possible.
In the Web of Rights, I bring these ideas together through shared language about dignity, voice, boundaries and responsibility.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, explained by UNICEF, is a useful reference for families. It includes education, protection from discrimination, privacy, culture and children’s participation in decisions affecting them. The connections below are suggestions for family discussion, not claims that every book teaches the Convention directly.
This selection centres Canadian writers and creators, including Black and Indigenous voices and women authors. Age ranges are reading guidance, not a test of readiness. Choose with your child’s interests and comfort in mind, and feel free to read together.
This post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The books were selected for the conversations they can support with children. You can also look for them at your local library or independent bookstore.
Picture books: a starting point for younger children
Nibi’s Water Song
Sunshine Tenasco; illustrated by Chief Lady Bird | Ages 4–8
Nibi is looking for clean water. Her search grows into a shared effort, giving families a way to talk about an essential need and what happens when a community speaks up.
I’d use this story to ask who is responsible for making sure children have safe water. Children can help create change, but they shouldn’t have to earn access to something they need to live.
A question to try: Who could Nibi turn to for help, and what should the adults do?
A Likkle Miss Lou
Nadia L. Hohn; illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes | Ages 4–8
This picture book introduces the early life of Jamaican poet Louise Bennett Coverley and her developing confidence in the language and stories around her.
A useful conversation here is about whose language is welcomed. A child’s voice includes the words, sounds and family stories they bring to school. I’d connect this book with belonging and respect for culture, without suggesting that every difference can be resolved by confidence alone.
A question to try: What would help someone feel comfortable sharing the language they use at home?
I Have the Right to Be a Child
Alain Serres; illustrated by Aurélia Fronty; translated by Helen Mixter | Ages 4–7
This picture book names children’s rights directly, including education, safety, food and water. Its straightforward approach makes it a useful companion to stories that explore these ideas through characters.
I’d read it slowly and let a child choose one right to discuss. Being able to name a right gives a child clearer language than simply saying something feels wrong. This is the international selection in a list that otherwise centres Canadian writers and creators; its English-language publisher is Canada’s Groundwood Books.
A question to try: What does this right look like during an ordinary school day?
Middle-grade readers: fairness at school and in community
Shannen and the Dream for a School
Janet Wilson | Ages 9–12
This nonfiction book tells the story of Shannen Koostachin and the campaign for a safe school in Attawapiskat. It connects a young person’s advocacy with a community’s demand for equitable education.
I’d make room for both Shannen’s leadership and the adult responsibilities surrounding it. Celebrating a child’s courage shouldn’t leave us overlooking the conditions that made that courage necessary. This is a strong choice for moving a conversation from individual fairness to what schools and public institutions owe children.
A question to try: What should children be able to expect from their school without having to campaign for it?
Me and Banksy
Tanya Lloyd Kyi | Ages 10+
In this novel, school surveillance and the misuse of camera footage prompt students to question how they are being watched. Art becomes part of their response. The story includes humiliating images being shared, so it’s worth considering your child’s comfort with that subject.
This gives families a concrete way to discuss privacy alongside safety. I’d ask how students could raise a concern, what information they would need, and how adults could take their concerns seriously. Student participation needs a process that allows young people to question a practice and receive a meaningful response.
A question to try: What could students and adults decide together about privacy and safety?
The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes)
Edited by Nadia L. Hohn; illustrated by Roza Nozari | Ages 9–12
This collection brings together personal stories and recipes from racialized writers, exploring food, identity and experiences of racism.
A lunch table is a practical place to begin a conversation about dignity. Imagine a child being mocked for food brought from home. I’d ask what support that child needs, what another student could say, and what an adult should do next. Sharing a recipe can open a conversation, but addressing discrimination also requires a response to the behaviour.
A question to try: If someone was teased about their lunch, what could we do that would actually help?
Older middle-grade readers and teens: participation and advocacy
You Can Be an Activist: How to Use Your Strengths and Passions to Make a Difference
Charlene Rocha and Mary Beth Leatherdale; illustrated by Drew Shannon | Ages 10–14
This practical guide introduces ways young people can research an issue, work with others and plan action. It offers a useful next step for readers who are beginning to ask what they can do.
I’d connect it with participation and shared responsibility. A child doesn’t have to be the loudest person in a group to contribute. Asking questions, gathering reliable information and helping with a plan are ways to participate too. Adults still have a role in helping young people assess safety and find appropriate support.
A question to try: What is one change you’d like to help with, and who could support your first step?
Love from A to Z
S. K. Ali | Ages 14+
This young-adult novel follows Zayneb and Adam through a developing relationship and significant personal challenges. Zayneb’s experience with an Islamophobic teacher brings discrimination and speaking up at school into the story. The novel also includes illness and grief.
For an older teen, I’d use this as an invitation to discuss how adults respond when a student reports discrimination. We can ask what evidence or support might help without making a young person’s dignity depend on presenting a perfect account. Leave room for the romance and the characters’ full lives, too; a rights conversation doesn’t need to consume the whole reading experience.
A question to try: What would a helpful adult response look like when a student says they’ve experienced discrimination?
Choose one book and leave room to listen
You don’t need to work through the whole list. Ask your local library about a title, choose one that interests your child, and let the conversation follow what they notice. A younger child may want to talk about a picture. A teen may want time before talking at all.
I want children to know they can speak about something that feels wrong without having to find the perfect words first. Learning about their rights can give them language for those conversations: “I didn’t feel safe.” “I wasn’t given a chance to explain.” “Can someone help me?” It can also help them recognize when someone else needs that same care and respect.
We can take those words seriously and still ask questions, listen to other perspectives, and help a child understand their own responsibilities. Children need opportunities to practise speaking up, and adults who will listen and help them work out what comes next.
If a story brings up a concern, try: “Tell me what felt unfair, and we’ll think about what could help.” Ask what happened, who was involved and whether they feel safe. Then work out an appropriate next step together, including which adult at school can help. Your child doesn’t have to carry the concern alone.
If these conversations bring up questions about your child’s experience at school, my free parent guide, How to Help Your Child Be Heard at School, offers a starting point for asking clearer questions and working constructively with the school.
Choose one book from this list to borrow or read together this week. If there’s a book that’s helped your family talk about fairness, belonging or speaking up, share the title in the comments. I’d like to hear what opened that conversation for you.
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