Our collection of children's picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC) is available to the public. You can use the Search Tool below to find titles. *Inclusion of a title in the collection DOES NOT EQUAL recommendation.* See our related readings page for suggested tools for evaluating books.
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Feed your mind
August Wilson (1945–2005) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who had a particular talent for capturing the authentic, everyday voice of black Americans. As a child, he read off soup cans and cereal boxes, and when his mother brought him to the library, his whole world opened up. After facing intense prejudice at school from both students and some teachers, August dropped out. However, he continued reading and educating himself independently. He felt that if he could read about it, then he could teach himself anything and accomplish anything. Like many of his plays, Feed Your Mind is told in two acts, revealing how Wilson grew up to be one of the most influential American playwrights. --from publisher
Mr. Rondo’s spirit
Paul Rondo, a Pullman Porter, lived in the Rondo neighborhood before the interstate-94 freeway was built in the 1960s. Mr. Rondo tells about his life in Rondo and how it changed overtime. Through shear will and faith Mr. Rondo and his family find a way to keep the spirit and legacy of Rondo alive!
Indian boyhood
Imagine a childhood full of adventure. Where riding horses, playing in the woods, and hunting for food was part of everyday life; where a grizzly bear, a raccoon, or a squirrel was your favorite pet. Such was the childhood of American Indian author Charles Eastman, or Ohiyesa (1858- 1939). Michael Oren Fitzgerald adapts Eastman's 1902 memoir of his childhood, Indian Boyhood for a younger audience. Eastman was born in a buffalo hide tipi in western Minnesota and raised until age fifteen in the traditional Dakota Sioux manner. He was then transplanted into the "white man's" world, where he went on to become a medical doctor, field secretary for the YMCA, and co- founder of the Boy Scouts of America.
I’ll be a truck driver
"Readers follow along with an over-the-road truck driver as a young boy pretends to be a semi-truck driver hauling a load of oranges from a Florida orchard to a store across the country. Includes a glossary of truck-driving terms and an activity that lets readers practice mapping a route across a state"--Provided by publisher
Joey and Grandpa Johnson’s day in Rondo
Joey grew up in the historic African American neighborhood known as Rondo during the 1940's. On his weekly Saturday adventure with his grandpa, he learns about the rich culture heritage of his community and the power of entrepreneurship. Rondo was a thriving African American community with doctors, lawyers, dentists, restaurants, and retail shops.
Bowwow powwow
When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle's stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs. In these magical scenes, Windy sees veterans in a Grand Entry, and a visiting drum group, and traditional dancers, grass dancers, and jingle-dress dancers -- all with telltale ears and paws and tails. All celebrating in song and dance. All attesting to the wonder of the powwow.--Provided by publisher
Hungry Johnny
"I like to eat, eat, eat," choruses young Johnny as he watches Grandma at work in the kitchen. Wild rice, fried potatoes, fruit salad, frosted sweet rolls--what a feast! Johnny can hardly contain his excitement. In no time, he'll be digging in with everyone else, filling his belly with all this good food. But wait. First there is the long drive to the community center. And then an even longer Ojibwe prayer. And then--well, young boys know to follow the rules: elders eat first, no matter how hungry the youngsters are. Johnny lingers with Grandma, worried that the tasty treats won't last. Seats at the tables fill and refill; platters are emptied and then replaced. Will it ever be their turn? And will there be enough?
A different pond
As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. --Provided by publisher
Catching the moon
"A picture book biography highlighting a pivotal event in the childhood of African American baseball player Marcenia "Toni Stone" Lyle Alberga, the woman who broke baseball's gender barrier by becoming the first female roster member of a professional Negro League team"--Provided by publisher
Gordon Parks
"Gordon Parks is most famous for being the first black director in Hollywood. But before he made movies and wrote books, he was a poor African American looking for work. When he bought a camera, his life changed forever. He taught himself how to take pictures and before long, people noticed"--|cBook jacket