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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14 matching books
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Living Stories
"The third title in The Land is Our Storybook series,by and about the people of the Northwest Territories, for readers at grade 4 - 7 level. In Living Stories, Therese Zoe translates the stories and traditional wisdom of Tlicho Elders Philip Zoe and Elizabeth Chocolate. Therese Zoe is a Tlicho woman from Gamèti in the Northwest Territories. She is a community health representative, a mother and grandmother, as well as a champion of ancestral skills and stories. In Living Stories, Therese shares her love for her community and translates the sacred stories and traditional wisdom of her brother-in-law, Philip Zoe, and his sister, Elizabeth Chocolate. Join Tlicho young people, Shelinda, Forest, and Bradley, as they learn about making dry-fish, bows and arrows, and birch-bark baskets; the practices of old-time healers; as well as the sacred stories that tell the history of the Tlicho people. Some of the stories Philip relates in this book have never been written down before - his versions of sacred stories are a gift to young readers across Canada, to be used wisely. The Tlicho Nation was the first in the Northwest Territories to gain self-government. With Elders such as Philip and Elizabeth passing along their traditional wisdom to the young, as well as knowledge gained since the Tlicho first encountered European peoples, the Tlicho are showing how they are, "strong like two people."" -- publisher
Nicky & Vera
"In December 1938, a young Englishman canceled a ski vacation and went instead to Prague to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Nazis who were crowded into the city. Setting up a makeshift headquarters in his hotel room, Nicholas Winton took names and photographs from parents desperate to get their children out of danger. He raised money, found foster families in England, arranged travel and visas, and, when necessary, bribed officials and forged documents. In the frantic spring and summer of 1939, as the Nazi shadow fell over Europe, he organized the transportation of almost 700 children to safety. Then, when the war began and no more children could be rescued, he put away his records and told no one. It was only fifty years later that a chance discovery and a famous television appearance brought Winton’s actions to light. Peter Sís weaves Winton’s experiences and the story of one of the children he saved, Vera Gissing. Nicky & Vera is a tale of decency, action, and courage told in luminous, poetic images by an internationally renowned artist." -- publisher
Small Room, Big Dreams: The Journey of Julián and Joaquin Castro
"From award-winning author Monica Brown and vibrant illustrator Mirelle Ortega comes an informative, inspirational picture book about twin brothers Julián and Joaquin Castro, who rose from poverty to become leaders on the national stage. Also available in Spanish, with the title Pequeña habitación, grandes sueños . Twins Julián and Joaquin Castro are political forces, but their story began in a small room in San Antonio, Texas, that they shared with their grandmother, Mamo. When Mamo was a girl she crossed into Texas from Mexico, marking the start of the Castros’ American journey. When Julián and Joaquin were kids, they learned about activism from their single mother, who helped improve the barrio through local government. She inspired the twins to get involved in politics, and Julián and Joaquin have been working at the local, state, and national level—as a presidential candidate and former Cabinet member, and a U.S. Congressman, respectively—to make the country a better place for everyone. Together, author Monica Brown and illustrator Mirelle Ortega depict the Castros’ political and personal accomplishments with depth and grace, making this a must-read picture book biography." -- publisher
Be Brave, Be Brave, Be Brave
A man of Native American descent contemplates what lessons he will pass on to his newborn son in this heartfelt, expansive exploration of fatherhood, identity, and legacy. -- Amazon.com
The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation
Cody is worried when his family on a New Mexico Navajo reservation runs out of water, but Darlene Arviso, called "The Water Lady," is on the way with her tanker truck. Includes glossary of Navajo terms and notes about and from Arviso and life on a reservation
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 Singer and the Scientist
"A little known story about the friendship between the great singer and the great scientist, Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein, and a lesson that true friendship knows no bounds. It's 1937, and Marian Anderson is one of the most famous singers in America. But after she gives a performance for an all-white audience, she learns that the nearby hotel is closed to African Americans. She doesn't know where she'll stay for the night. Until the famous scientist Albert Einstein invites her to stay at his house. Marian, who endures constant discrimination as a Black performer, learns that Albert faced prejudice as a Jew in Germany. She discovers their shared passion for music—and their shared hopes for a more just world." -- publisher
Flying Paintings: The Zhou Brothers: A Story of Revolution and Art
"The epic story of two Chinese brothers who became art-world legends, illustrated with stunning paintings by the artists themselves First there was one Zhou brother, and then there were two. They lived in a bookstore with their grandmother, Po Po, whose stories of paintings that flew through the air and landed on mountain cliffs inspired them to create their own art. Amid the turbulence of China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1970s, the Zhou Brothers began painting together on the same canvas. Today, ShanZuo and DaHuang Zhou are icons in the art world, renowned for working side by side on all their paintings and sculptures. In this extraordinary biography, author Amy Alznauer joins with the Zhou Brothers to tell the story of their unique and often difficult childhood and their pursuit of a wild, impossible dream. The lyrical writing blends elements of legend, while the brothers’ dramatic illustrations soar with vibrant colors and surreal imagery from ancient Chinese cliff paintings. An inspiration for young artists and dreamers of all kinds, this deeply felt collaboration explores how art can bring people together, as well as set them free." -- publisher
The Most Beautiful Thing
"Drawn from author Kao Kalia Yang’s childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this moving picture book portrays a family with a great deal of love and little money. Weaving together Kalia’s story with that of her beloved grandmother, the book moves from the jungles of Laos to the family’s early years in the United States." -- publisher
A poem for Peter
The story of The Snowy Day begins more than one hundred years ago, when Ezra Jack Keats was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. The family were struggling Polish immigrants, and despite Keats's obvious talent, his father worried that Ezra's dream of being an artist was an unrealistic one. But Ezra was determined. By high school he was winning prizes and scholarships. Later, jobs followed with the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and Marvel comics. But it was many years before Keats's greatest dream was realized and he had the opportunity to write and illustrate his own book. For more than two decades, Ezra had kept pinned to his wall a series of photographs of an adorable African American child. In Keats's hands, the boy morphed into Peter, a boy in a red snowsuit, out enjoying the pristine snow; the book became The Snowy Day, winner of the Caldecott Medal, the first mainstream book to feature an African American child. It was also the first of many books featuring Peter and the children of his -- and Keats's -- neighborhood.
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