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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23 matching books
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Let’s Be Friends / Seamos Amigos
"'Hi. / Hola.' 'My name is Joe. / Mi nombre es José.' 'Let's paint. / Pintemos.' Two boys, an English speaker and a Spanish speaker, meet at school. They paint together and learn about colors. In the end, they declare, "Let's be friends. / Seamos amigos." -- publisher
Trailer Park
"When his family moved to the trailer park, Robert hated the park, and he didn't trust the new neighbors. He missed his big house, the big yard and his old friends. 'Here's our new neighborhood,' said Robert's dad. 'This isn't a real neighborhood,' said Robert. 'This is a trailer park.' But a young girl named Jessie slowly and patiently reached out her hand in friendship, until Robert learned his new neighbors in the park were the best people in the world. For every child who felt alone and without a friend, this book is for you." -- publisher
Me, Too!
"There are many reasons why Annie is best friends with Lillemor, who is from Sweden. “They're the same age ... They like the same colors ... They like doing the same things ... They can both speak another language. Okay, so Annie made hers up, but she is pretty sure it still counts.” Annie and Lillemor like each other so much they play together every day. But then Lilianne, a new girl from France, arrives. Annie can't stand that Lillemor has become friends with Lilianne, and that Lilianne seems to have more things in common with Lillemor than Annie does --- even their names, which both begin with “Lil”! Has Annie lost her best friend forever? This funny, honest picture book by Annika Dunklee perfectly captures the rhythms of youngsters' friendships and emotions, while also reminding them that there's always room for new people in their lives. The playful artwork by Lori Joy Smith uses dialogue bubbles to enrich the text, which offer an opportunity for acting out the story in the classroom while it's being read. A special touch here is the use of two other languages, Swedish and French (with translations), to expand young children's understanding of who they can be friends with, making this a terrific book for introducing foreign languages and cultures. This charming, engaging story can also serve as a springboard for discussions on friendship and feelings, character education lessons on inclusiveness, and social studies classes on multiculturalism." -- 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
Birds On Wishbone Street
"From the author of New York Times Notable picture book My Beautiful Birds, former Syrian refugee Sami finds a sense of home in a new place by caring for a bird with a new friend A simple act of neighborly kindness and a bird that needs their aid helps former refugee Sami settle into his new community with new-found friend Moe Moe’s neighbors on Wishbone Street come from all over the world, and she’s excited to meet the new boy who just arrived from Syria. Sami isn’t quite ready to talk about his past, but he loves birds just as much as Moe does. And who wouldn’t have fun in a parkette full of packing snow? When the children discover a female cardinal stunned by the cold, Sami uses his experience taking care of pigeons in Syria to help rescue the bird—an incident that helps Sami to feel more at home. In Birds on Wishbone Street, author/illustrator Suzanne Del Rizzo demonstrates the power of an act of kindness, telling a story about finding home and making friends in new places. Illustrated with her signature polymer clay art, the story revisits characters from Del Rizzo’s New York Times Notable My Beautiful Birds and reminds us that we’re all more similar than we are different." -- publisher
Words To Make A Friend
"A clever and innovative bilingual English/Japanese picture book about a Japanese girl and an American girl who prove you don’t need to speak the same language to understand each other. When a young Japanese girl moves into her new house, she is happy to see a girl her age playing in the snow just outside her window. The only problem is the Japanese girl doesn’t speak English and the American girl doesn’t speak Japanese. How will these two girls have any fun at all? As it turns out, it’s not that hard when both girls are looking for a friend! What starts with a simple “hello” and “konnichiwa” becomes a day filled with fun in the snow. Each girl’s love of play, snow, and making a new friend transcends the need to speak the same language, and by using simple words in their own languages, along with a bit of charades, the girls find they have all they need to build a snow creature. An important book to show children that speaking the same language isn’t a prerequisite to making a new friend." -- publisher
The Cat with Seven Names
"In a busy urban neighborhood, six very different individuals who don’t know each other have something in common: they all relish the companionship of a friendly cat that roams the area. From a librarian to a homeless war veteran to a little girl who’s just moved in, this cat makes everyone’s world a little brighter, a little less lonely. Each neighbor is unaware of the cat’s visits with everyone else, so he goes by many different names: Stuart Little, Dove, Placido—the cat answers to them all. Only when a near-accident threatens the cat does everyone learn his true identity and owner. In learning about each other, the people in the neighborhood come together as a community. THE CAT WITH SEVEN NAMES is a heartfelt story that reflects the need and desire of all people to be a part of a community, to have a connection with someone or something—be it animal or human. Told from the perspective of each of the six neighbors, Tony Johnston introduces point of view to readers of all ages, while Christine Davenier’s loose watercolor illustrations beautifully depict the diversity of the world around us." -- publisher
Nana Akua Goes to School
"In this moving story that celebrates cultural diversity, a shy girl brings her West African grandmother—whose face bears traditional tribal markings—to meet her classmates. This is a perfect read for back to school—no matter what that looks like! It is Grandparents Day at Zura’s elementary school, and the students are excited to introduce their grandparents and share what makes them special. Aleja’s grandfather is a fisherman. Bisou’s grandmother is a dentist. But Zura’s Nana, who is her favorite person in the world, looks a little different from other grandmas. Nana Akua was raised in Ghana, and, following an old West African tradition, has tribal markings on her face. Worried that her classmates will be scared of Nana—or worse, make fun of her—Zura is hesitant to bring her to school. Nana Akua knows what to do, though. With a quilt of traditional African symbols and a bit of face paint, Nana Akua is able to explain what makes her special, and to make all of Zura’s classmates feel special, too." -- publisher
A New Kind of Wild
"This sweet author-illustrator debut celebrates imagination, the magic of friendship, and all the different ways we make a new place feel like home. For Ren, home is his grandmother’s little house, and the lush forest that surrounds it. Home is a place of magic and wonder, filled with all the fantastical friends that Ren dreams up. Home is where his imagination can run wild. For Ava, home is a brick and cement city, where there’s always something to do or see or hear. Home is a place bursting with life, where people bustle in and out like a big parade. Home is where Ava is never lonely because there’s always someone to share in her adventures. When Ren moves to Ava’s city, he feels lost without his wild. How will he ever feel at home in a place with no green and no magic, where everything is exactly what it seems? Of course, not everything in the city is what meets the eye, and as Ren discovers, nothing makes you feel at home quite like a friend. Inspired by the stories her father told her about moving from Puerto Rico to New York as a child, Zara González Hoang’s author-illustrator debut is an imaginative exploration of the true meaning of “home.”" -- publisher
Daniel and Ismail
Daniel and Ismail, one Jewish and the other Palestinian, don't know each other yet, but they have more in common than they know. They meet by chance on a soccer field, and they soon begin to play together and show off the tricks they can do. That night, Daniel and Ismail have nightmares about what they have seen on the news and heard from adults about the other group. But the next day, they find each other in the park and get back to what really matters : having fun and playing the game they both love