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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29 matching books
Show FiltersThe princess and the pea
When a prince sets out to find a princess to marry, he soon discovers this is not a simple task. There is no shortage of so-called princesses, but how can he tell whether or not they are what they claim to be? Then one night a great storm rages, there comes a knock on the palace gate, and the prince's life is never the same.
The girl who saved Yesterday
Silence, sent on a mysterious mission by the ancient trees that raised her after she was sent away from her village, reconnects the villagers with their forgotten ancestors.
The people could fly
Resplendent, powerful paintings by these two-time Caldecott-winning artists bring new life to the title story from the late Hamilton's 1985 collection, The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales . Making dramatic use of shadow and light, Leo and Diane Dillon (whose half-tone illustrations also graced the original volume) ably convey the tale's simultaneous messages of oppression and freedom, of sadness and hope. "They say the people could fly. Say that long ago in Africa, some of the people knew magic," opens the narrative, as the full-color artwork reveals elegant, beautifully clothed individuals with feathered wings serenely ascending into the sky. On the following spread, images of the Middle Passage set a fittingly somber tone, depicting Africans who "were captured for Slavery. The ones that could fly shed their wings. They couldn't take their wings across the water on the slave ships. Too crowded, don't you know." The picture-book format allows room for the relationship to develop between Sarah, who labors in the cotton fields with an infant strapped to her back, and Toby, the "old man," who utters the magic African words that give her flight. Toby helps others take flight as well (a stunning image shows seemingly hundreds linking hands and taking to the skies)- and eventually does so himself, sadly leaving some of the captives "who could not fly" behind to "wait for a chance to run." Art and language that are each, in turn, lyrical and hard-hitting make an ideal pairing in this elegant volume that gracefully showcases the talent of its creators. All ages
From the heart of Africa
A collection of African wisdom gorgeously illustrated by artists from Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, the United States and more.
The mountain Jews and the mirror
When a newly married couple from a small Moroccan village moves to the city of Casablanca, the mirror on their wardrobe causes much confusion, as they each think their spouse has married someone new
The fire children: A west African folk tale
A retelling of the West African folk tale about the creation of the world and all its different peoples.
The twelve dancing princesses
The mystery of how the king's beautiful daughters manage to get out of their locked room and somehow wear holes in their shoes every night is one of the Brothers Grimm's most enchanting tales
Songs in the Shade of the Olive Tree
Told [sung] in Arabic and Berber [and French], this collection of lullabies and nursery rhymes from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia draws children into a musical journey across North Africa, from the Sahara Desert through the Atlas Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea. In 30 story-songs about everyday life, children learn of the importance of rain, the communal aspects of meals, and the consequences of inappropriate behavior.--Page 4 of cover
Songs from the Baobab
Representing 11 languages originating from Central and West Africa and brought to life with lavish illustrations, this collection's rhymes and lullabies soothe babies to sleep as the songs travel from one country and one language to another. Lyrics are reproduced in the original language and translated into English, followed by notes on the origin and cultural context of each song. The accompanying CD features 29 songs from 10 countries -- including Rwanda, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal -- each one unique in language and sound, recorded with indigenous instruments and exquisitely performed by women, men, and children. This delightful, enchanting production captures the staccato rhythm of the children's rhymes and the poetry of the language as well as a sense of the heritage and tradition of each culture.--Back cover
The gift of gold
Here are all the ingredients of a classic fairy tale: a curse, a lucky gold pebble, an inquisitive little girl and, of course, a happy ending. The South African characters who help the girl along the way include traditional tribal people praying for rain, a friendly chameleon, and a misunderstood tokoloshe—a small ugly gremlin from African folklore