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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Mr. Mergler, Beethoven, and me
"An elderly piano teacher takes a young music student under his wing and changes her life. This story is inspired by events in the life of Daniel Mergler - a wonderful musician who loved to teach and whose generous spirit inspires author and journalist David Gutnick to this day.
Mayann’s train ride
"Nine-year-old Mayann Francis and her family are travelling from their home in Cape Breton to New York City by train. Everything is exciting to young Mayann, from the beds that fold down to the stop in Montreal to visit friends. Most exciting of all is the chance to show off her brand new purse. When the Francis family arrives in big, bustling New York City, Mayann visits with relatives, goes to the zoo, and rides the subway. She even receives a beautiful black doll, something she has never seen before. But one subway ride, she loses her beautiful purse. At first she's heartbroken, but she just might learn a lesson that makes the whole trip worthwhile"--Back cover
When pumpkins fly
"In a remote Arctic community, kids carve and light their first jack-o-lantern. But what will the spirits do with the pumpkin once it’s left alone? The air is cold, the nights are long, and Halloween is just around the corner. This is the time of year when pumpkins fly! In the remote, fly-in community of Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, the last cargo flight of October brings some strange orange guests for the children. Seeing a pumpkin for the first time, the local kids eagerly carve and light their first jack-o-lantern. But when everyone adjourns to the community hall for the Halloween dance, the pumpkin is left alone outside. The land around Sanikiluaq is home to many spirits who love to cause mischief, especially this time of year. But what would a land spirit do with a pumpkin? This adorable book gives young readers a window into how Halloween is celebrated in an Arctic Inuit community, incorporating contemporary celebrations and Inuit folklore." -- publisher
Wolverine and Little Thunder
"From the bestselling creator of The Thundermaker comes another adventure featuring Little Thunder and Wolverine—a trickster, who is strong and fierce and loyal. The two are best of friends, even though Wolverine can sometimes get them into trouble. Their favourite pastime is eel fishing, whether it's cutting through winter ice with a stone axe or catching eels in traditional stone weirs in the summer. But that all changes one night, when they encounter the giant river eel—the eel that is too big to catch. The eel that hunts people! At once a universal story of friendship and problem-solving, Wolverine and Little Thunder is a contemporary invocation of traditional Mi'kmaw knowledge, reinforcing the importance of the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and eel, a dependable year-round food source traditionally offered to Glooscap, the Creator, for a successful hunt. From the bestselling creator of The Thundermaker comes another adventure featuring Little Thunder and Wolverine—a trickster, who is strong and fierce and loyal. The two are best of friends, even though Wolverine can sometimes get them into trouble. Their favourite pastime is eel fishing, whether it's cutting through winter ice with a stone axe or catching eels in traditional stone weirs in the summer. But that all changes one night, when they encounter the giant river eel—the eel that is too big to catch. The eel that hunts people! At once a universal story of friendship and problem-solving, Wolverine and Little Thunder is a contemporary invocation of traditional Mi'kmaw knowledge, reinforcing the importance of the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and eel, a dependable year-round food source traditionally offered to Glooscap, the Creator, for a successful hunt." -- Publisher
Willy’s New Pup
"When Willy's friend Sid comes to visit, he brings Willy a surprise—a new pup! Willy's new pup is strong and fast, but he needs a lot of training before he can become the new lead dog. When Willy finally decides his new pup is ready for his first hunting trip, something happens that puts the dog's strength and bravery to the test. Based on true events, this story from Labrador shows the powerful bond between a dog team driver and his lead dog." -- publisher
A day with Yayah
On an outing in Nicola Valley, British Columbia, a First Nations family forages for herbs and mushrooms while the grandmother passes down her language and knowledge to her young grandchildren. Includes glossary.
Shi-shi-etko
Shi-shi-etko, a Native American girl, spends the last four days before she goes to residential school learning valuable lessons from her mother, father, and grandmother, and creating precious memories of home.
Caribou Song
"Joe and Cody are brothers who follow the caribou (ateek) all year long. Joe plays the accordion (kitoochigan) and Cody dances to entice the wandering caribou. But when thousands of caribou heed their call, the boys become part of a magical adventure"--Page 4 of cover
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
Greetings, Leroy
"The first day at a new school is nerve-wracking enough, never mind when it's in a new country! In this lively picture book from award-winning storyteller Itah Sadu, Roy realizes he may come to love his new home in Canada as much as he loves his old home in Jamaica"--Provided by publisher