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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45 matching books
Show FiltersSweet dreams, Sarah
"Sarah E. Goode was one of the first African-American women to get a US patent. Working in her furniture store, she recognized a need for a multi-use bed and through hard work, ingenuity, and determination, invented her unique cupboard bed. She built more than a piece of furniture. She built a life far away from slavery, a life where her sweet dreams could come true." --Amazon.com
Libba
Elizabeth Cotten was only a little girl when she picked up a guitar for the first time. It wasn't hers (it was her big brother's), and it wasn't strung right for her (she was left-handed). But she flipped that guitar upside down and backwards and taught herself how to play it anyway. By age eleven, she'd written "Freight Train," one of the most famous folk songs of the twentieth century. And by the end of her life, people everywhere from the sunny beaches of California to the rolling hills of England knew her music.
Brave ballerina
Janet Collins wanted to be a ballerina in the 1930s and 40s, a time when racial segregation was widespread in the United States. From her early childhood lessons to the height of her success as the first African-American prima ballerina in the Metropolitan Opera, this is the story of a remarkable pioneer. Full color
Swing sisters
The story of a group of African American orphans who played in their school's all-girl swing band and after leaving school made it to the big-time in an era when integrated musical groups were practically unheard of. It wasn't always easy, and it wasn't always safe, but the talented Sweethearts of Rhythm ultimately became an international sensation.--Amazon.com
Muddy
Presents the life of blues legend Muddy Waters, describing how he persisted with his interest in music despite a lack of encouragement from his family and record producers, leading him to Chicago where he was able to record his unique country blues sound
Hamid’s story
This is the real-life story of 10-year old refugee Hamid, who flees Eritrea with his mother to escape the war and threats to his family from the government. Told in Hamid's own words, this story describes the hardship experienced by immigrants who are rebuilding their lives with little understanding of the language and culture of their new country.
Juliane’s story
This is the real-life story of 12-year-old refugee Juliane. At 3 years old, Juliane was separated from her mother due to the violence in her country of Zimbabwe. Told in Juliane's own words, the story tells of her fear and isolation growing up in an orphanage, how she was reunited with her mother, and how the two of them fled to another country to establish a new life together
Ali’s story
This is the real-life story of 10-year-old refugee Ali, who is forced to flee his home country of Afganistan with his grandmother. Told in Ali's words, this story documents the feelings of alienation, separation, and suffering war can place on immigrant children and their families. This story also shares the hope Ali and his family has to overcome their ordeals
Strange fruit
"The audience was completely silent the first time Billie Holiday performed a song called “Strange Fruit.” In the 1930s, Billie was known as a performer of jazz and blues music, but this song wasn’t either of those things. It was a song about injustice, and it would change her life forever. Discover how two outsiders—Billie Holiday, a young black woman raised in poverty, and Abel Meeropol, the son of Jewish immigrants—combined their talents to create a song that challenged racism and paved the way for the Civil Rights movement." -- publisher
Harvesting hope
A biography of Cesar Chavez, from age ten when he and his family lived happily on their Arizona ranch, to age thirty -eight when he led a peaceful protest against California migrant workers' miserable working conditions.