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.
64 matching books
Show Filters
Here Are the Seeds
“This engaging read-aloud doubles as a child-friendly lesson on what plants need in order to grow. Olivia Amoah’s vivid artwork brings the story to life, particularly on the spreads featuring the refrain (“OH NO!”), where readers can look at the illustrations to try to figure out what went wrong in the garden. The story covers the key elements of what makes a healthy garden, such as soil, sun, bugs, water, mushrooms and worms – and shows how balance is necessary for plants to survive. The back matter includes brief explanations of each of these key elements. This picture book offers excellent life science curriculum connections to the needs of living things, growth and changes in plants and plant life cycles.” — publisher
Just Right Jillian
“Fifth-grader Jillian will do just about anything to blend in, including staying quiet even when she has the right answer. After she loses a classroom competition because she won’t speak up, she sets her mind on winning her school’s biggest competition. But breaking out of her shell is easier said than done, and Jillian has only a month to keep her promise to her grandmother and prove to herself that she can speak up and show everyone her true self.” — publisher
Mission: Moon (Abby in Orbit #4)
“On a field trip to the moon, Abby is excited to try low-gravity bouncing and lunar rover rides. Unfortunately, her friend Gracie’s older sister Claire is seriously spoiling the mood with her constant criticism of Abby. When Abby accidentally gets her friends trapped in an abandoned lab, she starts to wonder if Claire is right after all. Can Abby prove her wrong, escape the lab, and do something extra interstellar on the moon?” — publisher
Wires Crossed
“Just as her longtime BFF, Addy, is gravitating toward the popular crowd and starting to care more about school dances than tree house playdates, Mia finds out that her favorite science camp friend, Tariq, is moving to town and will be going to school with her. She’s super excited and can’t wait to show him around and help him make friends. But when Tariq arrives in town, he seems like he’s grown up a lot, too. No more braces or glasses. A new haircut. And who knew he was also a soccer star, immediately making the team mid-season?? He’s welcomed to Buttonwood Bay Middle School with open arms in a way that Mia can’t even recognize, and now she’s feeling more lost than ever. But then her science teacher announces the school’s science olympics, and she and Tariq are teaming up again to crush the competition—just like at camp. Only this time they’re joined by a couple of unconventional teammates in Kinsey (more artist than scientist) and the lovable, if also sometimes kind of gross and goofy, Evan. Do Mia and Tariq still have enough of a spark to build a killer robot (figuratively speaking, of course) and take home the prize? Through much experimentation and a little trial and error, Mia navigates new friendships and old as she tries to find her place in middle school—and on the winner’s podium.” — publisher
STEAM-Powered Series: Marine Biology
“The ocean is full of life. Join Cora and her friend, Bonnie the butterfly, as they discover the different ways scientists study what is underwater.” — publisher
Montgomery and the Case of the Golden Key
“In 2008 Chicago, in the Southside community of Washington Park, Montgomery”Monty” Carver had hoped for the best summer ever! Unfortunately, things aren’t going as planned. Monty is struggling to prove to his parents that he’s old enough to be without adult supervision–especially after a very embarrassing incident with a metal detector. Man! So when Monty finds a golden key in Old Lady Jenkins’s sunflowers, he decides he’s going to unravel the key’s mystery all by himself, thank you very much. No parents allowed. Besides, he’s ten years old now, and he’s mastered the perfectly round ‘fro! (It takes a protractor, you see.) Soon Monty’s hunt to determine the origin of the key leads him to discover the rich history–like famous Black jockeys!–of his Chicago community, which has been speculating its future since one of their residents, Barack Obama, is running for president and the Olympics might come to town in 2016. On top of all that speculating, there are rumors going around that a ghost is hanging out behind their apartment building, and that Monty’s elementary school may have to close. So much to solve! Should the Olympics come to Washington Park? What happens if his school closes? Is there really a ghost? And where, oh where, did the key come from anyway? Monty is determined to find out.” — publisher
Marie Curious: Undercover Gamer
“When Marie’s tech-genius mentor Sterling Vance invests in an eSports tournament, 12-year-old Marie and her three best friends get the chance to compete and travel to China for the tournament. But when they arrive, they soon discover that one of the teams is cheating, and everyone is in a bad mood … and it’s not long before they find themselves acting strangely too. Can Marie discover who’s plotting to bring out the worst in everyone, and stop it before it brings disastrous consequences, for the teams … and the world?” — publisher
Libby Loves Science: States of Matter
“Libby loves science—and experimenting! Libby and her classmates are excited to invite a new student into their classroom. When the ice cream for the welcome party melts, the friends learn about the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Includes a glossary and an experiment to try at home.” — publisher
Marie Curious: Rescues a Rock Star
“12-year-old Marie can’t believe her luck. She spent the summer in the most exclusive science summer camp in America where she built a robot, made three of the best friends ever and saved the world from complete destruction! Now she’s traveling the world with her mentor, tech genius Sterling Vance, starting with a huge tech fair in London. But disaster strikes when the tech fair’s rock star headliner is kidnapped, and Marie is made suspect number one. Can Marie use all her science knowledge and detective skills to find the kidnapper, rescue the rock star in time for her big performance, and finally get to finish the rest of her mentorship with Vance?”– publisher
Izzy Newton and the S.M.A.R.T. Squad: The Law of Cavities, Book 3
Now that Izzy’s finally found her voice in public speaking class and become an ice hockey star, she’s determined to conquer her “dizzy-Izzy-ness” in new situations—including caring for her brand-new braces on an outdoor education overnight and her friends’ good-natured teasing about her friend Trevor. But the forecast for fun turns cloudy when the girls discover their cabin chaperone is none other than Izzy’s tough public-speaking teacher, Ms. Martinez, and their junior counselor is eighth grade mean girl, Maddie Sharpe. When an innocent exchange of harmless pranks with Maddie takes a turn for the worse, the Squad turns to science to prove their innocence. That’s nothing, though, compared with the terrifying swamp monster haunting their campsite, a catastrophe befalling Ms. Martinez, and a mysterious disaster threatening the future of camp itself.
