Our collection of picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people 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.
COVID-19 Info: Currently, our collection is only available via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). However, we appreciate your patience as these services are still limited and you may find inactive links to the Bates Library Catalog and MARC record on certain book pages.
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14 matching books
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One Summer Up North
"A wordless picture-book journey through the Boundary Waters, canoeing and camping with a family as they encounter the northwoods wilderness in all its spectacular beauty It's a place of wordless wonder: the wilderness of the Boundary Waters on the Minnesota–Canada border. Travel its vast distances, canoe its streams and glacial lakes, take shelter from rain under a rocky outcropping (or in your tent), camp in its vaulting forests as stars embroider the darkening sky. Is this your first visit? Or is it already your favorite destination? Come along—join a family of three as their journey unfolds, picture by picture, marking the changing light as the day passes, the stillness before the gathering storm, the shining waters everywhere, rushing here, quietly pooling there, beckoning us ever onward into nature’s infinite wildness one summer up north." -- publisher
The Shared Room
"A family gradually moves forward after the loss of a child—a story for readers of all ages When someone you love dies, you know what doesn’t die? Love. On the hot beach, among colorful umbrellas blooming beneath a bright sun, no one saw a little girl walk into the water. Now, many months later, her bedroom remains empty, her drawers hold her clothes, her pillows and sheets still have her scent, and her mother and father, brothers and sister carry her in their hearts, along with their grief, which takes up so much space. Then one snowy day, the mother and father ask the girl’s older brother, “Would you like a room of your own?” He wants to know, “Whose?” They say, “Your sister’s.” Tenderly, and with refreshing authenticity, beloved Minnesota writer Kao Kalia Yang tells the story of a Hmong American family living with loss and tremendous love. Her direct and poignant words are accompanied by the evocative and expressive drawings of Hmong American artist Xee Reiter. The Shared Room brings a message of comfort and hope to readers young and old." -- publisher
A map into the world
As the seasons change, so too does a young Hmong girl’s world. She moves into a new home with her family and encounters both birth and death. As this curious girl explores life inside her house and beyond, she collects bits of the natural world. But who are her treasures for? -- publisher
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
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
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
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.
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!
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
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.
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