Books for Teaching Anti-Ageism

By Kaitlyn Spotts | April 14 2023 | General

New York City recently introduced a pilot curriculum around ageism for students at 13 Brooklyn high schools. It was launched to help students learn about the harmful effects of age discrimination and to guide them to engage in meaningful conversations with older adults in their lives. We’ve put together a collection of titles to foster classroom discussions, touching on themes of family, intergenerational relationships, empathy, as well as professional reading recommendations about ageism.

Browse the collection of books for teaching anti-ageism

A Novel
9780593202364
"A gorgeous, star-crossed story." —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Two Ways*"Put this book at the top of your list.” —SLJ, starred review*"An unforgettable emotional journey.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review  From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary YA novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.
$12.99 US
Mar 07, 2023
Paperback
400 Pages
Razorbill

Exploring Age Bias and How to End It
9781586423223
Why do we still tolerate stereotypes and discrimination based on age? This bold account of the history and present-day realities of ageism by a nationally recognized gerontologist and speaker uncovers ageism's roots, impact, and how each of us can create a new reality of elderhood.
$19.95 US
Mar 01, 2022
Hardcover
192 Pages
Steerforth

A Road Map for Cultivating Racial Literacy
9780593330173
This groundbreaking book invites readers to imagine a future in which-- rather than divide us -- our differences bring us together in the pursuit of justice and equality
$20.00 US
Feb 02, 2021
Paperback
400 Pages
TarcherPerigee

A Graphic Memoir
9780525575115
“A portrait of growing up in America, and a portrait of family, that pulls off the feat of being both intimately specific and deeply universal at the same time. I adored this book.”—Jonny Sun, author and illustrator of everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too and New York Times bestselling illustrator of Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda
$16.99 US
Apr 30, 2019
Paperback
160 Pages
Clarkson Potter

(Newbery Medal Winner)
9781524715731
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATUREWould you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother.
$8.99 US
Jan 03, 2023
Paperback
320 Pages
Yearling

A Novel
9781101982563
The final novel from a great American storyteller, featuring "one of his greatest characters: a version of his younger self wound up and set spinning on the long zigzag adventure called life in the American West" (New York Times Book Review)
$18.00 US
Aug 16, 2016
Paperback
480 Pages
Riverhead Books

A Memoir
9781681375878
A moving family biography in which the poet traces her family history back through Jim Crow, the slave trade, and all the way to the women of the Dahomey people in West Africa. 
$14.95 US
Nov 16, 2021
Paperback
104 Pages
NYRB Classics

A Novel
9780525562047
The brilliant, New York Times bestselling debut that has taken the literary world by storm: Award-winning poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel, a sweeping and shattering portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling
$18.00 US
Jun 01, 2021
Paperback
256 Pages
Penguin Books