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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13 matching books
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A Story of Hope / Zāntā Tasfā
"Captured in Ethiopia and sold into slavery as a child, Malik Ambar travels throughout the Middle East until he arrives in India. Despite a lifetime of adversity and hardship, Malik’s love of language and ideas helps him persevere and inspires him to study military history. Through education, hard work and perseverance, Malik learns to manage his master’s finances and trains legions of African horsemen as a commander in the Indian Army. As a free man, he becomes a respected diplomat and earns his place as a respected figure in Indian history. Written by science writer Dr. Worku L. Mulat and illustrated by Ethiopia-educated Daniel Getahun, the story of the Ethiopian slave boy who grew to be regarded as one of the greatest leaders of central and southern India reminds us how empowering and liberating education can be. " -- 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
Without Separation
" This important yet little-known civil rights story focuses on Roberto Alvarez, a student whose 1931 court battle against racism and school segregation in Lemon Grove, California, is considered the first time an immigrant community used the courts to successfully fight injustice. A must-read for young activists, or for anyone interested in standing up for what’s right. Roberto Alvarez’s world changed the day he could no longer attend Lemon Grove Grammar School in the small, rural community where he lived near San Diego, California. He and the other Mexican American students were told they had to go to a new, separate school—one where they would not hold back the other students. But Roberto and the other students and their families believed the new school’s real purpose was to segregate, to separate. They didn’t think that was right, or just, or legal. Based on true events, this picture book by Sibert award-winning author Larry Dane Brimner and Pura Belpré honor award-winning illustrator Maya Gonzalez follows Roberto and the other immigrant families on their journey." -- publisher
Pocket Bios: Pocahontas
"Pocahontas was a Native American teenager famous for her connection to the colonial settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. She is said to have saved the life of Englishman John Smith. At the age of seventeen, she married tobacco farmer John Rolfe, eventually moving to England with him. Her story has been highly romanticized in literature and film over the years, and remains captivating to this day.P\" -- publisher
Cinderella of the Nile
"In this ancient version of Cinderella, a pair of beautiful slippers leads a rosy-cheeked girl to the King of Egypt. Beautifully retold by the award-winning author Beverley Naidoo, this earliest-known version of Cinderella is brought to life for the modern day reader. Rhodopis is a Greek girl who is sold into slavery by bandits and taken to Egypt. Along the way she becomes friends with the storyteller Aesop and a host of playful animals. Her master gives her a pair of beautiful rose-red slippers, making three other servants jealous. But when Horus, the falcon, sweeps in to steal her slipper, Rhodopis has little idea that this act will lead her to the King of Egypt." -- publisher
Yao Bai and the egg pirates
Young Yao Bai suggests a plan to outwit the pirates coming to steal the seabird eggs he, his father, and his uncle have gathered from an island near San Francisco.
I am René, the boy / Soy René, el niño
Young Rene's teacher is calling role one morning, and Rene is dismayed to hear someone else answer to his name. It's not only that he thought he was the only person with that name, but also that the new student who answers is a girl. That afternoon his classmates tease, "Rene has a girl's name." Complimented by playful illustrations, this bilingual picture book follows Colato Lainez's own experiences, when he was faced with a challenge to his own name as a child. This witty story about a young boy's odyssey to find out the meaning of his name will challenge readers aged 3 to 7 to chart cross-cultural differences by gaining an understanding about themselves and the people around them. --From the Publisher
Undocumented
Undocumented is the story of immigrant workers who have come to the United States without papers. Every day, these men and women join the work force and contribute positively to society. The story is told via the ancient Mixtec codex--accordion fold--format. Juan grew up in Mexico working in the fields to help provide for his family. Struggling for money, Juan crosses over into the United States and becomes an undocumented worker, living in a poor neighborhood, working hard to survive. Though he is able to get a job as a busboy at a restaurant, he is severely undercompensated--he receives less than half of the minimum wage! Risking his boss reporting him to the authorities for not having proper resident papers, Juan risks everything and stands up for himself and the rest of the community.--Amazon.com
Schomburg: The man who built a library
Where is our historian to give us our side? Arturo asked. Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro-Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk's life's passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and bring to light the achievements of people of African descent through the ages. When Schomburg's collection became so big it began to overflow his house (and his wife threatened to mutiny), he turned to the New York Public Library, where he created and curated a collection that was the cornerstone of a new Negro Division. A century later, his groundbreaking collection, known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has become a beacon to scholars all over the world
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