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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15 matching books
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Wat Takes His Shot: The Life & Legacy of Basketball Hero Wataru Misaka
“As a kid, Wataru Misaka channeled his endless energy into playing sports. Every Sunday, he raced to the park where his Japanese American community came together to play basketball. Wat wasn’t the tallest on the team, but he was fast and loved the game! Encouraged by his father to always do his best, Wat applied this mentality to every aspect and challenge in his life. Wat was a college student when the US government forced more than 122,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast into incarceration camps during WWII. He overcame racism and segregation to join his college’s basketball team but despite Wat’s impressive skills, he was treated as an outsider because he was Japanese American. Wat kept his eye on the ball, and his team-player mentality made him shine on and off the court. He became an inspiration to his Japanese American community. After helping Utah University’s basketball team win the national championship in 1947, Wat was drafted by the New York Knicks, making him the first person of color to play in the NBA.” — publisher
Tokyo Night Parade
“The night parade is about to begin . . . The ground thunders in Tokyo. A gust of wind blows. The pitter-patter of paws and claws draws closer. The air is thick with swirling, swooping demons. It’s Eka’s favorite evening of the year, the one night she refuses to miss. But it’s become harder to travel to Japan now that she’s living across the world in New York. Unsure of when she can return next to see her yokai friends, Eka tries to forget that this could be her last parade for some time. Instead, she’ll march, sing, dance, hoot, and screech until sunrise. Because on this night, there’s no time to waste—the night parade awaits.” — publisher
All You Need
“A little girl grows up to be an accomplished artist in this sumptuously illustrated book about the small things that lead to a rich and fulfilling life. In All You Need, poet Howard Schwartz’s graceful, deceptively simple text describes a handful of things anyone needs to live a rich and fulfilling life, made all the more potent by the illustrations of debut picture book artist Jasu Hu, who uses her talents to create a rich and powerful narrative describing her own journey, creative and otherwise, from a childhood in China to her arrival to study art in New York. Ultimately, she creates her own book, this book, a gift to her distant parents.” — publisher
Sugar In Milk
“A timely and timeless picture book about immigration that demonstrates the power of diversity, acceptance, and tolerance from a gifted storyteller. When I first came to this country, I felt so alone. A young immigrant girl joins her aunt and uncle in a new country that is unfamiliar to her. She struggles with loneliness, with a fierce longing for the culture and familiarity of home, until one day, her aunt takes her on a walk. As the duo strolls through their city park, the girl’s aunt begins to tell her an old myth, and a story within the story begins. A long time ago, a group of refugees arrived on a foreign shore. The local king met them, determined to refuse their request for refuge. But there was a language barrier, so the king filled a glass with milk and pointed to it as a way of saying that the land was full and couldn’t accommodate the strangers. Then, the leader of the refugees dissolved sugar in the glass of milk. His message was clear: Like sugar in milk, our presence in your country will sweeten your lives. The king embraced the refugee, welcoming him and his people. The folktale depicted in this book was a part of author Thrity Umrigar’s Zoroastrian upbringing as a Parsi child in India, but resonates for children of all backgrounds, especially those coming to a new homeland.” — publisher
Roots and Wings
“Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander recounts how growing up as a tomboy in a multicultural home in Pakistan inspired her to become an artist Growing up in a multigenerational, multicultural home in Lahore, Pakistan, where her family’s Muslim traditions are filled with food and rituals, Shahzia is surrounded by stories of all kinds. At the Catholic school she attends, she studies Western literature, and at home, her father regales her and her siblings with fantastical tales from a Russian storybook on animals. Shahzia’s love for books leads to a fascination with illustrations, like the ones she sees in illuminated manuscripts and South Asian miniature portraits, and she discovers a talent for drawing. Through art, Shahzia is able to create the different worlds she reads about, using her imagination to take her beyond the walls of the home she grows up in. Written by artist Shahzia Sikander with award-winning author Amy Novesky, and featuring artwork, Roots and Wings is a colorful introduction to a multicultural perspective that will inspire young readers to use art and imagination to explore new worlds.” — publisher
From Manila with Love
“What does it mean to “come home” for the first time? Here is a story that tenderly captures the incomparable joy of the balikbayan experience.” — publisher
Obama
“From birth to getting elected as president, a biography told in lyrical prose.… From his childhood in Indonesia to his teenage years in Hawaii, from his father’s homeland of Kenya to the halls of Harvard Law School and, later, the South Side of Chicago, Barack Obama searched for a place where he belonged. His search led him to the White House, where, as president, he would fight for “the god-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.” In elegant, cadenced language, award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford provides a biographical tribute to a citizen of the world who journeyed from “Barry” to “Barack” to “Mr. President” as he found, finally, the place where he belongs. Primary source quotes from speeches are included throughout.” — publisher
In Limbo
“A debut YA graphic memoir about a Korean American girl’s coming-of-age story—and a coming-home story—set between a New Jersey suburb and Seoul, South Korea. Deborah (Jung-Jin) Lee knows she’s different. Ever since her family emigrated from South Korea to the United States, she’s felt her Otherness. And as the pressures of high school ramp up, friendships change or end and everything gets harder. Even home isn’t a safe place, as fights with her mom escalate. Deb is caught in a limbo, with nowhere to go. But Deb is resilient. And during a trip to South Korea, she realizes something that changes her perspective on her family, her heritage, and herself.” — publisher
Homeland
“As bedtime approaches, three young girls eagerly await the return of their father who tells them stories of a faraway homeland—Palestine. Through their father’s memories, the Old City of Jerusalem comes to life: the sounds of juice vendors beating rhythms with brass cups, the smell of argileh drifting through windows, and the sight of doves flapping their wings toward home. These daughters of the diaspora feel love for a place they have never been, a home they cannot visit. But, as their father’s story comes to an end, they know that through his memories, they will always return. A Palestinian family celebrates the stories of their homeland in this moving autobiographical picture book debut by Hannah Moushabeck. With heartfelt illustrations by Reem Madooh, this story is a love letter to home, to family, and to the persisting hope of people that transcends borders.” — publisher
The Karma Map
“A youth group’s temple road trip through India is a liberating escape for a former mean girl and sunshine boy to explore their past and their feelings for each other in the much-anticipated novel about self-discovery by the award-winning author of My So-Called Bollywood Life. Born and raised in the US, Tara Bajaj hides her family secrets. With beautiful clothes, a popular social media presence, and a spot on the Rutgers High Bollywood dance team, she does it well—until her carefully cultivated image shatters. Shut out by friends and with her future in flux, Tara accepts a guide position for a youth group’s temple tour through North India. Rediscovering the heart of her ancestry is as good a place as any to start over. Silas D’Souza-Gupta is an aspiring photojournalist retracing the journey his two mothers took when they fell in love. The last thing he expects on this road trip through his roots is a girl with a history of her own. As Tara and Silas embark on the trip to remote pilgrimage sites from Punjab through the Himalayas, they each discover what it means to be a child in the Indian diaspora, the significance of karma, and the healing power of love.” — publisher
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