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.
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Alejandria Fights Back!
"For nine-year-old Alejandria, home isn't just the apartment she shares with Mami and her abuela, Tita, but rather the whole neighborhood. Home is the bakery where Ms. Beatrice makes yummy picos; the sidewalk where Ms. Alicia sells flowers with her little dog, Duende; and the corner store with friendly Mr. Amir. But lately the city has been changing, and rent prices are going up. Many people in el barrio are leaving because they can no longer afford their homes, and "For Sale" signs are popping up everywhere. Then the worst thing happens: Mami receives a letter saying they'll have to move out too. Alejandria knows it isn’t fair, but she's not about to give up and leave. Join Alejandria as she brings her community together to fight and save their neighborhood!" -- publisher
Jimmy’s Carwash Adventure
"Little Jimmy makes a friend of a kind carwash man who helps him send his pedal car through the carwash. When Jimmy & his dad later find the carwash workers striking for fair pay, Jimmy does something unexpected…and dangerous, and teaches his dad an important lesson about social justice and solidarity." -- publisher
Hello, Mandarin Duck!
"Twins Hue and Hoa are excited for the May Day parade! While waiting at the park for the parade to begin, they spot a little duck who seems new to the neighborhood—and looks confused by the crowd and commotion. How can the twins help the duck get to the pond? Many friends from the neighborhood stop to say hello and offer suggestions. Teamwork, collective brainstorming, and the duck’s own inspiration finally help it reach its new home—with an entire community welcoming it with a parade! A celebration of a vibrant, multicultural neighborhood that warmly welcomes newcomers from near and far, this story also encourages communal problem-solving and offers a gentle reminder of the deportation fears many children and families face." -- publisher
Joelito’s Big Decision / La Gran Decisión de Joelito
"Every Friday evening 9 year old Joelito goes with his family to MacMann’s for a juicy burger. But this Friday is different. This time, Joelito’s best friend Brandon is standing in a crowd outside the fast food restaurant protesting the low pay his parents earn there. Will Joelito cross the picket line for a tasty burger? Find out in Joelito’s Bigt Decision (La gran decisión de Joelito), in English & Spanish." -- publisher
The Day Gogo Went to Vote
"Illustrated in rich pastels, this child's-eye view of an important milestone in South African history allows young readers to experience every detail of this eventful day." -- publisher
Freedom soup
"Join the celebration in the kitchen as a family makes their traditional New Year’s soup — and shares the story of how Haitian independence came to be." -- publisher
Vote for Our Future!
"In this charming and powerful picture book about voting and elections, the students of Stanton Elementary School learn how we can find—and use—our voices for change. Every two years, on the first Tuesday of November, Stanton Elementary School closes for the day. For vacation? Nope! For repairs? No way! Stanton Elementary School closes so that it can transform itself into a polling station. People can come from all over to vote for the people who will make laws for the country. Sure, the Stanton Elementary School students might be too young to vote themselves, but that doesn’t mean they can’t encourage their parents, friends, and family to vote! After all, voting is how this country sees change—and by voting today, we can inspire tomorrow’s voters to change the future." -- publisher
The Library Bus
"Inspired by Kabul, Afghanistan’s first library bus and coloured by family memories, a touching snapshot of one innovative way girls received education in a country disrupted by war Author Bahram Rahman grew up in Afghanistan during years of civil war and the restrictive Taliban regime. He wrote The Library Bus to tell new generations about the struggles of women who, like his own sister, were forbidden to learn. It is still dark in Kabul, Afghanistan when the library bus rumbles out of the city. There are no bus seats—instead there are chairs and tables and shelves of books. And there are no passengers—instead there is Pari, who is nervously starting her first day as Mama’s library helper. Pari stands tall to hand out notebooks and pencils at the villages and the refugee camp, but she feels intimidated. The girls they visit are learning to write English from Mama. Pari can’t even read or write in Farsi yet. But next year she will go to school and learn all there is to know. And she is so lucky. Not long ago, Mama tells her, girls were not allowed to read at all. Brought to life by the pensive and captivating art of award-winning illustrator Gabrielle Grimard, The Library Bus is a celebration of literacy, ingenuity, and the strength of women and girls demanding a future for themselves." -- publisher
Love Is Powerful
"A little girl carries a big message—and finds it thrillingly amplified by the rallying crowd around her—in an empowering story for the youngest of activists. Mari raised her sign for everyone to see. Even though she was small and the crowd was very big, and she didn’t think anyone would hear, she yelled out. Mari is getting ready to make a sign with crayon as the streets below her fill up with people. “What are we making, Mama?” she asks. “A message for the world,” Mama says. “How will the whole world hear?” Mari wonders. “They’ll hear,” says Mama, “because love is powerful.” Inspired by a girl who participated in the January 2017 Women’s March in New York City, Heather Dean Brewer’s simple and uplifting story, delightfully illustrated by LeUyen Pham, is a reminder of what young people can do to promote change and equality at a time when our country is divided by politics, race, gender, and religion." -- publisher
Digging for Words
"A gorgeous and inspiring picture book based on the life of José Alberto Gutiérrez, a garbage collector in Bogotá, Colombia who started a library with a single discarded book found on his route. In the city of Bogata, in the barrio of La Nueva Gloria, there live two Joses. One is a boy who dreams of Saturdays—that’s the day he gets to visit Paradise, the library. The second Jose is a garbage collector. From dusk until dawn, he scans the sidewalks as he drives, squinting in the dim light, searching household trash for hidden treasure…books! Some are stacked in neat piles, as if waiting for José́. Others take a bit more digging. Ever since he found his first book, Anna Karenina, years earlier, he’s been collecting books—thick ones and thin ones, worn ones and almost new ones—to add to the collection in his home. And on Saturdays, kids like little Jose run to the steps of Paradise to discover a world filled with books and wonder." -- publisher