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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23 matching books
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Sprouting Wings
"The inspirational and true story of James Herman Banning, the first African American pilot to fly across the country, comes to life in this picture book biography perfect for fans of Hidden Figures and Little Leaders. Includes art from a Coretta Scott King award-winning illustrator. James Herman Banning always dreamed of touching the sky. But how could a farm boy from Oklahoma find a plane? And how would he learn to fly it? None of the other pilots looked like him. In a journey that would span 3,300 miles, take twenty-one days, and inspire a nation, James Herman Banning proved that you can’t put barriers on dreams. Louisa Jaggar incorporates over seven years of research, including Banning’s own writings and an interview with the aviator’s great-nephew. She teams up with cowriter Shari Becker and award-winning illustrator Floyd Cooper to capture Banning’s historic flight across the United States." -- publisher
Unspeakable
"A remarkable look at a significant moment in our nation's past, shedding light on racial violence and offering hope for a better future. Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa's Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community. News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years. This picture book sensitively introduces young readers to this tragedy and concludes with a call for a better future." -- publisher
Pappy’s handkerchief
In 1889, young Moses and his family sell everything they own and leave their Baltimore, Maryland, home to join many other settlers--black and white--in a race to claim land in the newly-opened territory of Oklahoma.
Someday is now
Presents the life of Clara Luper, an African-American teacher and local civil rights leader who taught her students about equality and led them in lunch counter sit-in demonstrations in Oklahoma City in 1958.
Wilma’s way home
A picture book biography of Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation.--Provided by publisher
We are grateful: Otsaliheliga
"The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) means “we are grateful” in the Cherokee language. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences. Written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this look at one group of Native Americans is appended with a glossary and the complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah."
Jingle dancer
Tink, tink, tink, tink, sang cone-shaped jingles sewn to Grandma Wolfe's dress. Jenna's heart beats to the brum, brum, brum, brum of the powwow drum as she daydreams about the clinking song of her grandma's jingle dancing. Jenna loves the tradition of jingle dancing that has been shared by generations of women in her family, and she hopes to dance at the next powwow. But she has a problem--how will her dress sing if it has no jingles?
Jim Thorpe’s bright path
A biography of Native American athlete Jim Thorpe, focusing on how his boyhood education set the stage for his athletic achievements which gained him international fame and Olympic gold medals. Author's note details Thorpe's life after college.
Fly high!
Discusses the life of the determined African American woman who went all the way to France in order to earn her pilot's license in 1921
She sang promise: The Story of Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole Tribal Leader
Betty Mae Tiger Jumper was born in 1923, the daughter of a Seminole woman and a white man. She grew up in the Everglades under dark clouds of distrust among her tribe who could not accept her at first. As a child of a mixed marriage, she walked the line as a constant outsider. Growing up poor and isolated, she only discovered the joys of reading and writing at age 14. An iron will and sheer determination led her to success, and she returned to her people as a qualified nurse. When her husband was too sick to go to his alligator wrestling tourist job, gutsy Betty Mae climbed right into the alligator pit! Storyteller, journalist, and community activist, Betty Mae Jumper was a voice for her people, ultimately becoming the first female elected Seminole tribal leader.--publisher