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.*
Click here for more on book evaluation.
Find titles using a keyword search below (e.g. adoption, birthday, holidays, etc.), or by selecting one or a combination of filters on the left-hand sidebar below.
39 matching books
Show FiltersFilter Results
-
Picture Book 17
-
Cross Group 10
-
Folklore 1
-
Boys/Men 30
-
Girls/Women 38
Bless the Blood
“When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with advanced stage blood cancer, they’re suddenly thrust into the unsympathetic world of tubes and pills, doctors who don’t use their correct pronouns, and hordes of “well-meaning” but patronizing people offering unsolicited advice as they navigate rocky personal relationships and share their story online. But this experience also deepens their relationship to their ancestors, providing added support from another realm. Walela’s diagnosis becomes a catalyst for their self-realization. As they fill out forms in the insurance office in downtown Los Angeles or travel to therapy in wealthier neighborhoods, they begin to understand that cancer is where all forms of their oppression intersect: Disabled. Fat. Black. Queer. Nonbinary.” — publisher
Spells to Forget Us
“A witch and a non-magical girl get stuck in an endless cycle of meet-cutes and breakups in this heart-stopping romantic young adult fantasy.” — publisher
The Secret Library
“Since Grandpa died, Dally’s days are dull and restricted. She’s eleven and a half years old, and her exacting single mother is already preparing her to take over the family business. Starved for adventure and release, Dally rescues a mysterious envelope from her mother’s clutches, an envelope Grandpa had earmarked for her. The map she finds inside leads straight to an ancient vault, a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time. As Dally “checks out” adventure after adventure—including an exhilarating outing with pirates—she begins to dive deep into her family’s hidden history. Soon she’s visiting every day to escape the demands of the present. But the library has secrets of its own, intentions that would shape her life as surely as her mother’s meticulous plans. What will Dally choose? Equal parts mystery and adventure—with a biracial child puzzling out her identity alongside the legacy of the past—this masterful middle-grade fantasy rivets with crackling prose, playful plot twists, and timeless themes.” — publisher
You Are Here: Connecting Flights
“A powerful and engaging exploration of contemporary East and Southeast Asian American identity through interwoven stories set in a teeming Chicago airport, written by award-winning and bestselling Asian American authors. An incident at a TSA security checkpoint sows rumors and chaos, creating a chain of events that impacts twelve young Asian Americans in a crowded and restless airport. As their disrupted journeys crisscross and collide, they encounter fellow travelers—some helpful, some hostile—and discover the challenges of friendship, the power of courage, the importance of the right word at the right time, and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar. Twelve powerhouse Asian American authors explore themes of identity and belonging in the entwined experiences of young people whose family roots may extend to East and Southeast Asia, but who are themselves distinctly American. Written by Linda Sue Park, Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Traci Chee, Mike Chen, Meredith Ireland, Mike Jung, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Randy Ribay, Christina Soontornvat, and Susan Tan, and edited by Ellen Oh.” — publisher
Brave Bird at Wounded Knee
“It’s 1973, and in Denver, Colorado, Patsy Antoine doesn’t usually give much thought to her relatives living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. After all, her classmates don’t even know she’s part Lakota. Then she learns the tiny town of Wounded Knee has been occupied. Now Patsy’s relatives are stuck amid the conflict between American Indian Movement activists and Oglala Lakota tribe members on the one side, and federal marshals and FBI agents on the other. When Patsy visits her relatives on Pine Ridge, she learns more about her heritage and the clashing perspectives on the Wounded Knee occupation. As she connects with her roots, Patsy must grapple with the complexities of the conflict and of being biracial. It’s the storytellers that preserve a nation’s history. But what happens when some stories are silenced?” – publisher
Forgive Me Not
“All it took was one night and one bad decision for fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels’ life to go off the rails. After driving drunk and causing the accident that kills her little sister, Violetta is incarcerated. Under the juvenile justice system, her fate lies in the hands of those she’s wronged—her family. With their forgiveness, she could go home. But without it? Well . . . Denied their forgiveness, Violetta is now left with two options, neither good—remain in juvenile detention for an uncertain sentence or participate in the Trials. The Trials are no easy feat, but if she succeeds, she could regain both her freedom and what she wants most of all: her family’s love. In her quest to prove her remorse, Violetta is forced to confront not only her family’s grief, but her own—and the question of whether their forgiveness is more important than forgiving herself.” — publisher
Fried Rice & Marinara
“Birthday parties are so much fun: the friends, the family, the games, the gifts, and, of course, the food! But what type of food do you serve at a birthday party when your family is from two different cultures? Young Mikey Yam is having a hard time choosing between the Italian food of his mother’s side and the Chinese cuisine of his dad’s. So, he turns to his grannies, Bahboo and Nonna, for advice. “Ravioli or Dumplings? Linguine or Lo Mein? All of these options were hurting his brain.” Join Young Mikey as he decides which type of food to have for his birthday party, and the important life lesson he learns along the way.” — publisher
Gigi and Ojiji: Food for Thought
“Gigi tries natto—a traditional Japanese food. But will she like it as much as peanut butter? This Level Three I Can Read series by author-illustrator Melissa Iwai follows Gigi, a biracial six-year-old who learns about her Japanese culture from her grandfather when he comes to stay. Ohayo! It’s breakfast time and Gigi can’t wait to make her favorite meal—peanut butter toast. Yummy! But Ojiji doesn’t like peanut butter. How can anyone NOT like peanut butter? Ojiji prefers Japanese foods—like natto, made from fermented soybeans. Will Gigi learn to love a new breakfast treat? This newest work in the series highlights the close relationship of Gigi and her grandfather and trying new things!” — publisher
I Can Be All Three
“When it’s Multicultural Day at school, a young girl wonders how best to tell the story of who she is. With marigolds, mangoes, and stories of India? Fairy tales, cuckoo clocks, and German tales? Or cheeseburgers, superheroes, and American traditions? When choosing only one doesn’t feel quite right, she realizes that stories from all three places make her who she is. With whole worlds inside her, she doesn’t have to choose just one—she can be all three.” — publisher
Lalo Lespérance Never Forgot
“Lalo Lesperance lives with his older brother and Mexican American mother in a low-income apartment building in Fort Myers. They moved there from a subdivision after the family lost Lalo’s Haitian American father. At school, Lalo is known as the boy who can’t remember anything and needs special help in all his classes. But when the first COVID lockdown hits, he finds himself in a friendship of convenience with Vivi, a Mexican American kid his age who gets perfect grades and who never gave him a second thought when they were in school. Vivi’s abuela watches the kids while their mothers work long shifts as nurses at a clinic slammed by COVID. As Lalo navigates his much smaller pandemic world, he discovers his apartment building has its own mysteries, like a sinister stranger in an old RV and a storage closet full of junk, including an old radio that just might hold the key to remembering why Lalo’s family moved to the apartment and what happened to his father.” -publisher
