Our collection of picture books featuring Black and Indigenous Peoples and People of Color (BIPOC) is available to the public.
*Inclusion of a title in the collection DOES NOT EQUAL a recommendation.*
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10 matching books
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Wat Takes His Shot: The Life & Legacy of Basketball Hero Wataru Misaka
“As a kid, Wataru Misaka channeled his endless energy into playing sports. Every Sunday, he raced to the park where his Japanese American community came together to play basketball. Wat wasn’t the tallest on the team, but he was fast and loved the game! Encouraged by his father to always do his best, Wat applied this mentality to every aspect and challenge in his life. Wat was a college student when the US government forced more than 122,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast into incarceration camps during WWII. He overcame racism and segregation to join his college’s basketball team but despite Wat’s impressive skills, he was treated as an outsider because he was Japanese American. Wat kept his eye on the ball, and his team-player mentality made him shine on and off the court. He became an inspiration to his Japanese American community. After helping Utah University’s basketball team win the national championship in 1947, Wat was drafted by the New York Knicks, making him the first person of color to play in the NBA.” — publisher
Ander & Santi Were Here
“The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, TX is all Ander Lopez has ever known. The smell of pan dulce, the laughter of kids hitting a piñata at the park, the mixture of Spanish and English filling the streets. And, especially, their job at the family’s taqueria. So as the days count down on their gap year until the day they’ll leave for art school in Chicago, their head is filled with one relentless question: am I really ready to leave it all behind? Their family, however, has the opposite worry: to keep them from becoming complacent, they “fire” Ander so they can focus on their murals and prepare for college. That is, until they meet Santiago Garcia, the hot new waiter. Ander is immediately crushing and slides back into a few shifts, desperate to spend more time with him. A couple nights closing down the restaurant together; late night drives to drop Santi off after work; falling for each other is as natural as breathing. Through Santi’s eyes, Ander finally understands everything they are and want to be as an artist, and Ander becomes Santi’s first step toward making Santos Vista and the U.S. feel like home. But they start to realize how fragile that sense of home is when vans are spotted following Santi on his walks to work. When ICE agents are waiting for them at Ander’s house. When they begin to feel like the entire world is against them. And when, eventually, the outside world starts to win.” — publisher
Last Sunrise in Eterna
“Seventeen-year-old goth Sevim Burgos would love to spend all day watching music videos, but to help support the family she has to scavenge and sell elf corpses to a sketchy university professor. On one of her hunts, Sevim captures the elf prince, Aro, wounded in a Burger King. But it turns out that the elves have been watching Sevim too, and this chance encounter sets their revenge in motion. The Prince manages to escape her and leaves behind a ring with a message: “The Prince of Eterna is in danger. This ring will save him. Return it, and your mother lives.” With her mom is missing, Sevim must enter the magical home of the elves, and find a prince whose fate might be more tied to hers than she ever suspected.” — publisher
Mira and Baku
“With the help of a magical friend, a young girl searches for her missing father in this poignant story set during Japanese internment in World War II. It’s a week until Mira’s birthday, and she’s getting worried. Where is Papa? He has never missed her birthday before. When Mira’s friend Baku, a creature from Japanese folklore, offers to help, they journey over farmlands and forests, mountains and river mouths, gathering clues to Papa’s whereabouts—clues that echo Mira’s memories and overheard conversations in the camp where she lives with Mama.” — publisher
Obaasan’s Boots
“Cousins Lou and Charlotte don’t know a lot about their grandmother’s life. When their Obaasan invites them to spend the day in her garden, she also invites them into their family’s secrets. Grandma shares her experience as a Japanese Canadian during WWII, revealing the painful story of Japanese internment. Her family was forced apart. Whole communities were uprooted, moved into camps, their belongings stolen. Lou and Charlotte struggle with the injustice, even as they marvel at their grandmother’s strength. They begin to understand how their identities have been shaped by racism, and that history is not only about the past.” — publisher
Shining a Light: Celebrating 40 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Changed the World
“A collective biography of forty influential Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, from Kalpana Chawla to Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson to Tammy Duckworth, whose historical contributions readers may not know but whose light shines on, with stunning illustrated portraits by Hugo Award nominee Victo Ngai. From scientists to sports stars, aerospace engineers to artists, every person shines in this collection. Dynamic portraits for each person showcase bold colors and clever, precise details. Each biography celebrates the determination and courage of people who were on the forefront of changing society. Using their specific talents, each individual fought for the space for people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent to be seen and treated with dignity and respect. Their important legacies live on today.” — publisher
A Is for Asian American: An Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Alphabet
“The fabric of America is made up of countless threads weaving together different backgrounds and cultures. Using poetry and expository text, A is for Asian American: An Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Alphabet celebrates the cultures of and contributions from Asian Americans throughout our country’s history. Letter topics include traditions in food, family, and social celebrations, as well as key moments in history and milestone achievements. A is for Asian American illuminates the amazing and ongoing role the Asian American community has played in the shaping of America. Front and back matter provides additional information, including a glossary.” — publisher
Beneath the Wide Silk Sky
“Sam Sakamoto doesn’t have space in her life for dreams. With the recent death of her mother, Sam’s focus is the farm, which her family will lose if they can’t make one last payment. There’s no time for her secret and unrealistic hope of becoming a photographer, no matter how skilled she’s become. But Sam doesn’t know that an even bigger threat looms on the horizon. On December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes attack the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. Fury towards Japanese Americans ignites across the country. In Sam’s community in Washington State, the attack gives those who already harbor prejudice an excuse to hate. As Sam’s family wrestles with intensifying discrimination and even violence, Sam forges a new and unexpected friendship with her neighbor Hiro Tanaka. When he offers Sam a way to resume her photography, she realizes she can document the bigotry around her — if she’s willing to take the risk. When the United States announces that those of Japanese descent will be forced into “relocation camps,” Sam knows she must act or lose her voice forever. She engages in one last battle to leave with her identity — and her family — intact.” — publisher
Love in the Library
“After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tama is sent to live in a War Relocation Center in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast—elderly people, children, babies—now live in prison camps like Minidoka. To be who she is has become a crime, it seems, and Tama doesn’t know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the camp’s tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with color and light, love and fairness. And she isn’t the only one. George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day? Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s beautifully illustrated, elegant love story features a photo of the real Tama and George—the author’s grandparents—along with an afterword and other back matter for readers to learn more about a time in our history that continues to resonate.” — publisher
The Getaway
“Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world’s most famous resorts. He’s got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property’s main theme park. Life isn’t so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it’s to get away from all that. As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay’s friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only… they aren’t leaving. Unknown to the employees, the resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the end of days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call. Whether they like it or not. Yet Karloff Country didn’t count on Jay and his crew–and just how far they’ll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what’s more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?” — publisher
