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United Nations: Sustainable Development Goals

Recommended books for middle and high school on topics related to the UN SDG

Books related to Goal 3: Good health & wellbeing

SDG3 - Good Health and Wellbeing

All ages - Adult / High School

Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) supplements the 2030 UN Agenda by inspiring ideologies and implementation concerning global health and wellbeing.   This book offers insider-view analysis and unique access points into SDG3 implications, community-based responses and innovative proposals, including considerations of Earth as a key stakeholder in sustainability conversations.

Red, White, and Whole

A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia. Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she's the only Indian American student, and home, with her family's traditions and holidays.

Plague!

(Middle School / High School) Nonfiction
** Plagues before Covid-19 Pandemic**
Being sick is horrible. But it used to be worse. Inside this book, you'll see evidence of the plagues of the past--rotting skin, dissolving lungs, and sinister swelling all over the body. Diseases like the Black Death wiped out whole towns and villages. Tuberculosis consumed young people like a bloodsucking vampire. And Smallpox left its victims scarred for life--if they survived. At the time, no one knew where these killer diseases came from or how to treat them. But eventually doctors discovered how these diseases and others were spread. Being sick isn't quite as sickening as it was in the past!

Before the Ever After

(High school)

Available as book and ebook

For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ's house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that--but it doesn't make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name.

12 Healthy Habits for Life

Offers readers 12 healthy habits they can form for life, including finding fun ways to exercise and managing screen time. Full-color spreads give readers essential facts about each habit, its benefits, and how the reader can get started today.

Lucky Broken Girl

(Middle school / High school)

In this unforgettable multicultural coming-of-age narrative--based on the author's childhood in the 1960s--a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant girl is adjusting to her new life in New York City when her American dream is suddenly derailed. Ruthie's plight will intrigue readers, and her powerful story of strength and resilience, full of color, light, and poignancy, will stay with them for a long time.

Serafina's Promise

(Middle School / High school)

Serafina has a secret dream. She wants to go to school and become a doctor with her best friend, Julie Marie. But in their rural village outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti, many obstacles stand in Serafina’s way-- little money, never-ending chores, and Manman’s worries. More powerful even than all of these are the heavy rains and the shaking earth that test Serafina’s resolve in ways she never dreamed. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, this exquisitely crafted story will leave a lasting impression on your heart.

Rolling Warrior

(Middle School / High School)

One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her story of fighting to belong. "If I didn't fight, who would?" Judy Heumann was only 5 years old when she was first denied her right to attend school.

Just Ask!

Picture Book

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and award-winning artist Rafael Lopez create a kind and caring book about the differences that make each of us unique.