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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60 matching books
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Cross Group 29
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Fiction 51
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Maya 2
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Boy/Man 45
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Girl/Woman 54
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Joint Main 15
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Secondary 54
Home Is in Between
"From National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins comes a sweet and innovative picture book about a first-generation immigrant child living in America. Shanti and her parents say goodbye to the monsoon rains in their Indian village. They move to a snowy town on the other side of the world. At first, it isn't easy for Shanti to be new. Back and forth she trudges between her family's Bengali traditions and her new country's culture. Again and again, in between. She feasts on biryani rice while kids in town eat hot dogs and PB&J sandwiches. She watches Bollywood movies at home and Hollywood movies with new friends. Is she still Indian? Is she becoming American? How should she define home? In this timely yet timeless picture book, critically-acclaimed author Mitali Perkins uses her own childhood to describe the experience of navigating multiple cultures and embracing the space—the hyphen—in between them." -- publisher
I Wish You Knew
"A heartfelt story that explores the aftermath of deportation, I Wish You Knew celebrates the power of connection and empathy among children. When Estrella’s father has to leave because he wasn’t born here, like her, She misses him. And she wishes people knew the way it affects her. At home. At school. Always. But a school wrapped around a hundred-year-old oak tree is the perfect place to share and listen. Some kids miss family, Some kids are hungry, Some kids live in shelters. But nobody is alone. A story about deportation, divided families, and the importance of community in the midst of uncertainty." -- publisher
Spell it Like Samar
"An empowering story of persistence and believing in yourself! Samar has recently moved to America from Syria, and everything is new. Even the jump rope games at recess are unfamiliar. It doesn't help that Jenna, the class bully, keeps making fun of Samar's accent. Samar decides to enter the school spelling bee to prove once and for all that she's smarter than everyone thinks! But learning the words turns out harder than she thought. Can Samar be persistent and compete in the school spelling bee?" -- publisher
Alicia Alonso Dances On
"As a young girl in Cuba, Alicia Alonso practiced ballet in tennis shoes. Within a few years, she was in New York City, with a promising ballet career. But her eyesight began to fail. When Alicia needed surgeries to save her vision, dancing was impossible, but she wouldn't give up her dream. She found the strength and determination to return to the stage and become a prima ballerina. This is the true story of a woman who overcame her challenges, mastered her art, and inspired others to dance and dream." -- publisher
A Bear For Bimi
"A timely topic celebrating the joys of a diverse neighborhood. When Bimi’s refugee family immigrates to America and moves into Evie’s neighborhood, not everybody is welcoming. But with the help of Evie’s teddy bear, Bimi’s family becomes part of the neighborhood and Evie makes a new friend." -- publisher
A Train Called Hope / Un tren llamado Esperanza
"In this poignant bilingual picture book, a boy remembers his first present, "a little train crossing / the mountain of my pillow / over a valley on my bed." There's even a girl who looks like his sister waving happily from the window! Years later, after his parents have gone far away in search of work and a better future, the boy rides in a real train to join his family. This one is loaded with hundreds of children traveling alone, just like him. There are frightening strangers, others along the way who want to jump on and, scariest of all, a boy who almost falls off the roof because he can't stay awake any longer. When the train finally arrives at its destination, everyone jumps off and the boy begs "the moon to shine, / to light up the border" so he can cross and find his mother. This moving, poetic story by award-winning Salvadoran author Mario Bencastro touches on the difficult journey north many Central American children make in hopes of finding their parents and a better life." -- publisher
A Feast for Joseph
"Joseph misses sharing meals with lots of people like he did back in the refugee camp, so when the neighbors finally come over, it’s a feast! When Joseph and Mama lived in a refugee camp in East Africa, everyone cooked and ate together. And Joseph could always hear someone playing the awal. It’s much too quiet and lonely in his new home. Though Whoosh, the girl who lives upstairs, is friendly, Joseph misses having more people around, especially his grandmother, who still lives across the ocean. So he invites his relatives in the city to come for dinner, then he invites his teacher, then Whoosh and her mami — but everyone is too busy. Ever hopeful, Joseph picks the last greens from the garden. At least he and Mama will be ready to cook if someone comes. The next night Whoosh and her mami appear at the door with a big cake, and Whoosh and Joseph cook up a feast. A touching story about adjusting to a new home and the pleasure of cooking and sharing food with friends." -- 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
A Thousand White Butterflies
"As if being new to the United States wasn’t hard enough, Isabella’s first day of school is canceled due to snow! Isabella has recently arrived from Colombia with her mother and abuela. She misses Papa, who is still in South America. It’s her first day of school, her make-new-friends day, but when classes are canceled because of too much snow, Isabella misses warm, green, Colombia more than ever. Then Isabella meets Katie and finds out that making friends in the cold is easier than she thought!" -- publisher