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.
Find titles using a keyword search below (e.g. adoption, birthday, holidays, etc.), or by selecting one or a combination of filters on the lefthand sidebar below.
First time here? Start here!
18 matching books
Show Filters- 1
- 2
The Angel of Santo Tomas
"Fe del Mundo’s sister dreamt of becoming a doctor—a big dream for a girl in the Philippines in the early 1900s. When her sister dies, young Fe vows to take her place, a promise she carries with her the rest of her life. In 1936 she becomes the first woman and first person of Asian descent to study at Harvard Medical School. When WWII begins in the Pacific, Fe faces a choice: remain in Boston, where she is safe, or return to the Philippines, where she is needed most. Fe follows her vision and returns home to care for the American and British children forced into the internment camp at Santo Tomas. Beautiful color drawings bring to life this gentle and courageous character, her family and her patients. The story of the courageous Dr. Fe del Mundo, recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for distinguished women “whose life exemplifies outstanding service to humanity,” and the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, will inspire children to pursue science and medicine in the service of humanity." -- publisher
Two at the Top
"Tenzing Norgay grew up in Nepal, herding yaks in the shadow of Chomolungma, the mountain also known as Everest. He has always dreamed of climbing to the top. He becomes a guide, leading treks through the Himalayas, and finally attempts the highest mountain himself, but doesn’t make it. Across the ocean, in New Zealand, Edmund Hillary grew up tending his father’s bees. He climbed his first mountain at sixteen and has climbed all over the world ever since. He tries Everest, with no success. In 1953, the two men set out on the same expedition to climb Everest. Their party numbers four hundred, counting all the guides and porters. But the climb is grueling, and eventually Norgay and Hillary are the only two determined to continue. They tramp over windswept glaciers, crawl across rope bridges, hack footholds in the ice … until finally they reach the top of the world! This remarkable true adventure story, told in a dual narrative, includes illustrated backmatter rich in geography, history and science." -- publisher
Fly, Girl, Fly!
"The story of how Shaesta Waiz became the youngest woman in history, and the first woman from Afghanistan, to circle the globe in a single-engine aircraft. Shaesta Waiz, a refugee from Afghanistan, dreamed of doing great things. But first she had to leave a refugee camp with her family to make a new life in America, overcome gender stereotypes, be the first in her family to go to college, and overcome her fear of flying. After becoming a pilot, Shaesta made the flight of a lifetime by crossing five continents, making thirty stops in twenty-two countries across nearly 25,000 nautical miles. At the age of thirty, Shaesta was the youngest woman and the first from Afghanistan to circumnavigate the globe by herself in a single-engine aircraft. Fly, Girl, Fly! is the first authorized picture book biography of Shaesta Waiz. Backmatter includes more information about Shaesta's mission to empower girls to pursue STEM careers, details about her historic trip around the world, information about her nonprofit organization Dreams Soar, and a personal note from Shaesta Waiz encouraging girls to pursue their dreams." -- publisher
Tu Youyous’ Discovery
"Tu Youyou had been interested in science and medicine since she was a child, so when malaria started infecting people all over the world in 1969, she went to work finding a treatment. Trained as a medical researcher in college and healed by traditional medicine techniques when she was young, Tu Youyou started experimenting with natural Chinese remedies. The treatment she discovered through years of research and experimentation is still used all over the world today." -- publisher
Zaha Hadid
"New in the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the incredible life of Zaha Hadid, the Queen of Architecture. Part of the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, Zaha Hadid tells the inspiring true story of the visionary Iraqi-British architect. Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, surrounded by music. She was a curious and confident child, who designed her own modernist bedroom at nine years old. As a young woman studying at University in Beirut, she was described as the most outstanding pupil the teacher had ever met. With her spectacular vision and belief in the power of architecture, she founded her own firm and designed some of the most outstanding buildings in the world—including the London 2012 Olympic Aquatic Centre. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the architect's life." -- publisher
Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean
"Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean tells its story through the memories of a farm boy who, inspired by Pu Zhelong, became a scientist himself. The narrator is a composite of people Pu Zhelong influenced in his work. With further context from Melanie Chan’s historically precise watercolors, this story will immerse young readers in Chinese culture, the natural history of insects, and the use of biological controls in farming. Backmatter provides context and background for this lovely, sophisticated picture book about nature, science, and Communist China. “The first time I saw a scientist in my village was also the first time I saw a wasp hatch out of a moth’s egg,” writes the narrator of this picture book about Chinese scientist Pu Zhelong. “In that moment I could not have said which was the more unexpected—or the more miraculous.” Winner of The Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, Selected for the CCBC Choices 2019 list, Children's Literature Freeman Award 2018, A Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2019. In the early 1960s, while Rachel Carson was writing and defending Silent Spring in the U.S., Pu Zhelong was teaching peasants in Mao Zedong’s Communist China how to forgo pesticides and instead use parasitic wasps to control the moths that were decimating crops and contributing to China’s widespread famine. This story told through the memories of a farm boy (a composite of people inspired by Pu Zhelong) will immerse young readers in Chinese culture, the natural history of insects, and sustainable agriculture. Backmatter provides historical context for this lovely, sophisticated picture book. The author, Sigrid Schmalzer, won the Joseph Levenson Post-1900 Book Prize for 2018 for her book Red Revolution, Green Revolution. This is the most prestigious prize for a book about Chinese history, and the book upon which Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean is based." -- publisher
The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity: A Tale of the Genius Ramanujan
"A young mathematical genius from India searches for the secrets hidden inside numbers — and for someone who understands him — in this gorgeous picture-book biography. A mango…is just one thing. But if I chop it in two, then chop the half in two, and keep on chopping, I get more and more bits, on and on, endlessly, to an infinity I could never ever reach. In 1887 in India, a boy named Ramanujan is born with a passion for numbers. He sees numbers in the squares of light pricking his thatched roof and in the beasts dancing on the temple tower. He writes mathematics with his finger in the sand, across the pages of his notebooks, and with chalk on the temple floor. “What is small?” he wonders. “What is big?” Head in the clouds, Ramanujan struggles in school — but his mother knows that her son and his ideas have a purpose. As he grows up, Ramanujan reinvents much of modern mathematics, but where in the world could he find someone to understand what he has conceived? Author Amy Alznauer gently introduces young readers to math concepts while Daniel Miyares’s illustrations bring the wonder of Ramanujan’s world to life in the inspiring real-life story of a boy who changed mathematics and science forever. Back matter includes a bibliography and an author’s note recounting more of Ramanujan’s life and accomplishments, as well as the author’s father’s remarkable discovery of Ramanujan’s Lost Notebook." -- publisher
The Forest Man
"After years of harsh monsoon seasons, a forest on the river island of Majuli is in danger of being slowly washed away. Jadav, a boy living on the island, is determined to save the forest he loves. This is the true story of how one young boy dedicated his life to creating and cultivating an expansive forest that continues to grow to this day. In a world impacted by climate change, Jadav Payeng’s inspirational story shows how one person’s contributions can make a difference in helping to save our environment. Featuring a beautiful arlin paper cover with foil text enhancements and educational back matter including a glossary, fun facts, and resources for further reading, this book introduces a new understanding of our planet and encourages mindfulness and action when it comes to caring for the environment. In partnership with Trees for the Future (TREES), each book sold plants a tree." -- publisher
The Boy Who Grew a Forest
"As a boy, Jadav Payeng was distressed by the destruction deforestation and erosion was causing on his island home in India's Brahmaputra River. So he began planting trees. What began as a small thicket of bamboo, grew over the years into 1,300 acre forest filled with native plants and animals. The Boy Who Grew a Forest tells the inspiring true story of Payeng. --and reminds us all of the difference a single person with a big idea can make. 2020 Green Earth Book Award Long list 2020 Crystal Kite Awards - Southeast Division Winner 2020-2021 Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Award List Notable Social Studies Trade Books list – Winning Title! 2019 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award - Winning Title Florida Book Award Gold Winner Recipient of the 2019 Eureka! Honors Award Winner -Best of 2019 Kids Books - Most Inspiring Category " -- publisher
The Mountain Man of Music
"DID YOU KNOW that music as we know it today, originates from a prince in ancient China? From a young age, Prince Zaiyu was a genius in mathematics, poetry, astronomy, and of course, music. He discovered that you only need twelve musical tones to make the most beautiful music. In The Mountain Man of Music, learn more about the life of this Chinese prince, from the time he was a crying baby to the last days of his life. Without Zaiyu, we probably would not be listening to the music of Mozart, Michael Jackson, and Eminem today!" -- publisher
- 1
- 2