Great children's books, but little appreciated!

There are a lot of great kids chapter books in our collection that get overlooked. Most of the time, it's because they aren't AR or maybe they are not written by well known authors. One of my favorites is "My Mother the Cheerleader" by Robert Sharenow. The story is about a young white girl growing up during school integration and the civil rights movement. She doesn't understand why there is such a big deal about having african-american kids in her class and she really cannot comprehend why her mother becomes one of the protesters against integration. Her mother's group is mockingly called the "cheerleaders." Unlike some other children's books about this time period, there is no happy ending. The story is told in unflinching, realistic detail. A good choice for older readers studying this time period.