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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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Beware the Heartman

2024

“For once, everything in twelve-year-old Josephine’s life is going according to plan. She’s finally proved that girls belong on the cricket team and earned a spot as a starting player! And she’s confident that she and her best friend, Ahkai, will both be accepted to their dream secondary school. Nothing can stop Jo now — not even the memory of the vengeful sea spirit she vanquished last year. But then a series of disasters strike. Ahkai suddenly seems to have a new best friend — the annoyingly perfect Lynne. Then Jo isn’t accepted to the same school as Ahkai! Even worse, Jo keeps having eerie encounters with a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows — a figure who bears an unsettling resemblance to the fearsome Heartman rumored to steal children’s hearts… Jo doesn’t know where to turn. With Daddy away, the only person who’ll believe her is Ahkai, but Jo is too proud to ask for help after being replaced. By the time she musters the courage to approach him, it’s too late. Ahkai has disappeared without a trace. He’s been taken by the Heartman. None of the adults believe Jo. The Heartman is just a legend, after all. But Jo knows that the fearsome creature is real and that if she doesn’t find his lair soon, Ahkai will be lost forever.” — publisher

Centering Culture & Identity Folklore

The Spindle of Fate

2024

“Twelve-year-old Evie Mei Huang never did like helping in her mom’s tailor shop. She hated dyeing and spooling the thread and how the measuring tape gets all twisted up. Most of all, now that her mother has died, she hates that she isn’t here anymore. When the universe sends a life preserver, Evie knows to grab it. So it’s weird when a talking monkey shows up and tells her that her plain, hardworking tailor mother was actually the head of a guild of magical weavers who control the fate of humanity. He also comes bearing the information that her mother is trapped in Diyu, the Chinese underworld, and that only Evie can get her back. No pressure. But the important thing is that Evie’s mom isn’t dead. And if she’s got this one shot to bring her back and save her family, she’s got to take it.” — publisher

Centering Culture & Identity

A Year of Celebraciones

2023

by Carrie Lara and Christine Battuz

“Join the celebrations as a class full of kids discovers how cultures around the world observe the new year. From Laos to Mexico, China to Scotland, Iran to Nicaragua, and more, A Year of Celebraciones follows the main character’s continuing cultural education as she learns about how different kids and families she knows celebrate New Year’s. Traditions include decorations, gifts, foods, and gatherings. This exciting tour of the globe will encourage kids to learn about how their own families ring in the end of the year and the beginning of the next, while discovering that there are so many ways to celebrate!” — publisher

Centering Culture & Identity Cross Group Informational

Akim Aliu: Dreamer

2023

by Akim Aliu, Greg Anderson Elyseé and Karen De la Vega

“Akim Aliu — also known as “Dreamer” — is a Ukrainian-Nigerian-Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the world and who experienced systemic racism at every turn. Dreamer tells Akim’s incredible story, from being the only Black child in his Ukrainian community, to his family struggling to make ends meet while living in Toronto, to confronting the racist violence he often experienced both on and off the ice. This is a gut-wrenching and riveting graphic novel memoir that reminds us to never stop dreaming, and is sure to inspire young readers everywhere.” — publisher

Biography/Autobiography Cross Group

Aniana del Mar Jumps In

2023

by Jasminne Mendez

“Aniana del Mar belongs in the water like a dolphin belongs to the sea. But she and Papi keep her swim practices and meets hidden from Mami, who has never recovered from losing someone she loves to the water years ago. That is, until the day Ani’s stiffness and swollen joints mean she can no longer get out of bed, and Ani is forced to reveal just how important swimming is to her. Mami forbids her from returning to the water but Ani and her doctor believe that swimming along with medication will help Ani manage her disease. What follows is the journey of a girl who must grieve who she once was in order to rise like the tide and become the young woman she is meant to be. Aniana Del Mar Jumps In is a poignant story about chronic illness and disability, the secrets between mothers and daughters, the harm we do to the ones we love the most—and all the triumphs, big and small, that keep us afloat.” — publisher

Centering Culture & Identity

Before, Now

2023

by Daniel Salmieri

“Ava’s world is full of opposites: colorful sneakers on a gray sidewalk, thick books made up of thin sheets of paper, and dreams of huge spaces in her small head. Together, these opposites depict a full and impactful life, as Ava moves from girl to student to scientist, from daughter to mother to grandmother. While years pass and some things change, there is even more that is constant in this visually rich, soothing portrait of family connection through the generations. You’ll want to cozy up and read this touching, beautiful book together with the children in your life.” — publisher

Any Child/Teen Incidental

Firebird

2023

by Sunmi

“Caroline Kim is feeling the weight of sophomore year. When she starts tutoring infamous senior Kimberly Park-Ocampo—a charismatic lesbian, friend to rich kids and punks alike—Caroline is flustered . . . but intrigued. Their friendship kindles and before they know it, the two are sneaking out for late-night drives, bonding beneath the stars over music, dreams, and a shared desire of getting away from it all. A connection begins to smolder . . . but will feelings of guilt and the mounting pressure of life outside of these adventures extinguish their spark before it catches fire?” — publisher

Centering Culture & Identity

Free Radicals

2023

by Lila Riesen

“Sixteen-year-old Mafi Shahin is well-aware that life is not always fair. If it was fair, her parents might allow her to hang out with a member of the male species, other than her cat Mr. Meowgi. If it was fair, her crush and basketball hottie Jalen Thomas might see her as more than just her brother’s kid sister. And if it was fair, her baba’s brother and wife would be able to leave Afghanistan and come to America. Life might not be fair—but she can make it a bit more even. Working as the Ghost of Santa Margarita High, Mafi serves dollops of justice on her classmates’ behalf as the school’s secret avenger. They leave a note declaring the crime and Mafi ensures the offender receives an anonymous karmic-sized dose of payback. Keeping her identity as the Ghost a secret sometimes means Mafi has to lie. But as those lies begin to snowball both at school and at home, even compromising their family’s secret past and putting their relatives back in Afghanistan at risk, Mafi is forced to decide how she wants to live her life—trying to make the world more fair from the shadows or loudly and publicly standing up for what’s right.”– publisher

Centering Culture & Identity Cross Group

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