​​​​​​​Educational and Multicultural children’s books in no particular order

…….

The best selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, YA, and educators. A curated booklist by Social Justice Books. https://socialjusticebooks.org/

…….

Freedom on the Menu:  The Greensboro Sit-Ins

by Carole Boston Weatherford

When four courageous black teens sat down at a lunch counter in the segregated South of 1960, the reverberations were felt both far beyond and close to home. This insightful story offers a child’s-eye view of this seminal event in the American Civil Rights Movement. Connie is used to the signs and customs that have let her drink only from certain water fountains and which bar her from local pools and some stores, but still . . . she’d love to sit at the lunch counter, just like she’s seen other girls do.  Showing how an ordinary family becomes involved in the great and personal cause of their times, it’s a tale that invites everyone to celebrate our country’s everyday heroes, of all ages.

…….

Stand your Ground: The Life and Accomplishment of Paul Robeson

by Joy Smith, Candice McCoy, Susan Juiliano, Lynn Scheflley, and Edy Nolan

Three lessons on the life and accomplishment of Paul Robeson (1898–1976), in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Contains ideas for how to recognize and use our talents and how to gather the courage to stand up for what we, as Quakers, believe. Written by First-day teachers in Princeton Monthly Meeting (Philadelphia YM) 1999.

…….

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness 

by Anastasia Higginbotham

Not My Idea, the latest in the critically-acclaimed Ordinary Terrible Things series, is a book about whiteness.  A white child sees TV news coverage of a white police officer shooting a brown person whose hands were up. Upset, he asks his mother why; she deflects, assuring him that he is safe. Later, they visit an aunt and uncle, where the TV, always on, shows a rally in response to the police shooting. The child glimpses a moving press conference with the victim’s family while his aunt claims she simply “can’t watch the news.” The book’s narrator accompanies the child as he faces history and himself. The activities section urges kids to grow justice (“like a bean sprout in a milk carton”) inside of themselves, seek out and listen to the truth about racism and white supremacy, and prepare to be changed, heartbroken, and liberated by this experience. Part history lesson, part compassionate primer to assist children (and parents) past defensiveness, Not My Idea is a tangible tool for necessary conversations.

…….

The Name Jar
by Yangsook Choi

The new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she? Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from. But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning. On the day of her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared. Encouraged by her new friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and helps everyone pronounce it—Yoon-Hey.

…….

All Our Relatives
by Paul Goble

Through carefully chosen stories from the olden days and art that meticulously reflects traditional designs and colors, Goble provides wonderful insights into the spiritual life of the Plains Indians.

…….

Native Americans (Make it Work! History)
by Andrew Haslam, Alexandra Parsons

Children reach a deeper understanding of historical peoples by participating in the activities that shaped their lives. This hands-on series lets them discover history with projects, facts, photographs, costumes, and maps. Tested projects reinforce traditional lessons and research. A powerful, graphic style combines with informative, sensitive text.

…….

The Hate You Give
by Angie Thomas

Young Adult/Teen
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

…….

All American Boys
by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Young Adult/Teen
Rashad is absent again today. That’s the sidewalk graffiti that started it all…
Well, no, actually, a lady tripping over Rashad at the store, making him drop a bag of chips, was what started it all. Because it didn’t matter what Rashad said next—that it was an accident, that he wasn’t stealing—the cop just kept pounding him. Over and over, pummeling him into the pavement. So then Rashad, an ROTC kid with mad art skills, was absent again…and again…stuck in a hospital room. Why? Because it looked like he was stealing. And he was a black kid in baggy clothes. So he must have been stealing. And that’s how it started.

…….

The Day You Begin
by Jacqueline Woodson

Ages 4-11
There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it’s how you look or talk, or where you’re from; maybe it’s what you eat, or something just as random. It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it. Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael Lopez’s dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.

…….

Hair Love
by Matthew A. Cherry

Zuri’s hair has a mind of its own. It kinks, coils, and curls every which way. Zuri knows it’s beautiful. When mommy does Zuri’s hair, she feels like a superhero. But when mommy is away, it’s up to daddy to step in! And even though daddy has a lot to learn, he LOVES his Zuri. And he’ll do anything to make her—and her hair—happy. Tender and empowering, Hair Love is an ode to loving your natural hair—and a celebration of daddies and daughters everywhere.

…….

This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work
by Tiffany Jewell

Young Adult
This book is written for the young person who doesn’t know how to speak up to the racist adults in their life. For the 14 year old who sees injustice at school and isn’t able to understand the role racism plays in separating them from their friends. For the kid who spends years trying to fit into the dominant culture and loses themselves for a little while. It’s for all of the Black and Brown children who have been harmed (physically and emotionally) because no one stood up for them or they couldn’t stand up for themselves; because the colour of their skin, the texture of their hair, their names made white folx feel scared and threatened. It is written so children and young adults will feel empowered to stand up to the adults who continue to close doors in their faces. This book will give them the language and ability to understand racism and a drive to undo it. In short, it is for everyone.

…….

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
by Duncan Toantiuh

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Méndez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Méndez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

…….

Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice
by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard

Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children’s questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues.

…….

The Undefeated 
by Kwame Alexander

This poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.

…….

Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt de la Pena

Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don’t own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn’t he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty—and fun—in their routine and the world around them.

…….

Antiracist Baby
by Ibram X. Kendi

Antiracist Baby introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism. Providing the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest age, Antiracist Baby is the perfect gift for readers of all ages dedicated to forming a just society.

…….

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights
by Mikki Kendall

The ongoing struggle for women’s rights has spanned human history, touched nearly every culture on Earth, and encompassed a wide range of issues, such as the right to vote, work, get an education, own property, exercise bodily autonomy, and beyond. Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists is a fun and fascinating graphic novel-style primer that covers the key figures and events that have advanced women’s rights from antiquity to the modern era. In addition, this compelling book illuminates the stories of notable women throughout history–from queens and freedom fighters to warriors and spies–and the progressive movements led by women that have shaped history, including abolition, suffrage, labor, civil rights, LGBTQ liberation, reproductive rights, and more. Examining where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going, Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists is an indispensable resource for people of all genders interested in the fight for a more liberated future.

…….

The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope and Apartheid in South Africa
by Phil Bildner

Grades 1-4. Hector loves soccer and dreams of playing with the (white) boys from another part of Johannesburg, but apartheid and racism are too prevalent. When, over the years, Nelson Mandela is released from prison and elected president, and then the beloved Bufana Bufana national soccer team wins the African Cup of Nations finals, Hector and one of the white boys bond over the soccer win and forge a new friendship.
…….

Chocolate Me!
by Taye Diggs

Grades Preschool-2. A young boy who is teased and questioned about being different (“chocolate me”) wishes for different skin, hair and a different nose, but his mother helps him see himself in a special way and to love what he sees when he looks in the mirror.
…….

Amazing Grace
by Mary Hoffman

Grades Preschool-2. Grace has a wonderful imagination and lots of experience acting out exciting adventures and playing roles. So when her teacher announces that the class will put on “Peter Pan” Grace wants to play the lead. Grace doubts herself when classmates tell her she can’t play that role because she’s a girl and because she’s black, but her mother’s and grandmother’s love and support remind her that she can do and be anything.
…….

Skin Again
by Bell Hooks

Grades K-3. A brief call to look beyond the skin we’re in to who we are inside: “The skin I’m in/is just a covering./If you want to know who I am/you have got to come inside/and open your heart way wide.”
…….

Let’s Talk About Race
by Julius Lester

Grades 1-5. Lester uses his own story to emphasize that we all have stories, and that race is only one small part of our stories.
…….

Goin’ Someplace Special
by Patricia C. McKissack

Grades 1-5. In 1950s Nashville, for the first time, Tricia Ann’s grandmother gives her permission to go to her “someplace special” on her own, reminding her to “hold yo’ head up and act like you b’long to somebody.” Along the way Tricia Ann faces bigotry, hatred and discrimination. She feels nearly ready to give up on getting to her “someplace special” until she meets a woman who gives her renewed courage and determination, telling her, “You are somebody, a human being — no better, no worse than anybody else in this world.” When Tricia Ann finally gets to her “someplace special,” she smiles at the sign that says “Public Library: All Are Welcome.”
……

Busing Brewster
by Richard Michelson

Grades 1-4.Brewster is (mainly) looking forward to first grade. But when his mother tells him and his brother Bryan that they’re going to be bused to Central, which is mainly a white school, the boys are trepidatious. When the bus arrives on the first day, there are white adult protestors shouting and even throwing rocks. Things don’t get better inside when a white student starts an incident and Brewster, Bryan, and the boy Bryan calls “Freckle-face” end up in detention all day in the library. With the words of his mother in his head (“Maybe you’ll be president someday, Brewster.”), Brewster is befriended by the librarian, who begins to teach him how to read, and Bryan and “Freckle-face” end up bonding.
…….

Mr. Lincoln’s Way
by Patricia Polacco

Grades 1-4. Mr. Lincoln is “the coolest principal in the whole world” but he struggles to reach “Mean Gene,” a student who bullies and uses racial epithets learned from his bigoted father. When Mr. Lincoln discovers Gene’s interest in birds, the two of them end up creating a habitat in the school’s atrium that becomes a bird paradise, including for a pair of nesting Mallards. And Mr. Lincoln is able to help Gene find kindness for other people as he feels kindness for the birds.
…….

Desmond and the Very Mean Word
by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams

Grades 1-5. When a group of boys shout “a very mean word” at a young Desmond, he wants to hurt them back, rather than take the advice of his mentor, Father Trevor, and forgive them. “When you forgive someone, you free yourself from what they have said or done. It’s like magic.” When Desmond gets a chance for retribution, it doesn’t help, and he eventually learns the power of forgiveness.
…….

Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You
by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Grades 5 – Adult.  A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism–and antiracism–in America.   A relatable, understandable, adaptation by Reynolds of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped From the Beginning, told in a way that is accessible for a younger/teen audience, with a forward  written by Kendi. “This is not a history book.  This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.” A must read!

 

The Skin You Live In
by Michael Tyler

Grades Preschool-3. This rhyming poem celebrates the diversity in our skin and all the things we do in our skin: “… the skin you have fun in; the skin that you run in; the skin that you hop, skip and jump in the sun in ….”
…….

The Other Side
by Jacqueline Woodson

Grades K-4. Clover and Annie live on separate sides of a fence that divides the “black side” and “white side.” Both girls have been told not to cross the fence, but no one said anything about sitting on top of it.
…….

Drum Dream Girl
by Margarita Engle and Rafael López

The story of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, the Chinese-African-Cuban girl who became a professional bongo player despite Cuba’s taboo against female drummers.
…….

The Twins’ Little Sister
by Hyewon Yum

A story in which twins compete for their mother’s attention – and their baby sister’s affection – and finally learn to share.
…….

Marvelous Cornelius
by Phil Bildner and John Parra

Inspired by the life of Cornelius Washington, a sanitation worker in the French Quarter of New Orleans, who helped the city recover after Hurricane Katrina.
…….

A is for Activist
by Innosanto Nagara

A is for Activist is an ABC board book written and illustrated for the next generation of progressives: families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that activists believe in and fight for.
…….

All the Colors We Are Todos Los Colores de Nuestra Piel The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color
by Katie Kissinger
Grades Preschool-3

This bilingual (English/Spanish) book, with bright photographs, offers children a simple but accurate and effective explanation of the three ways we get our skin color (genetics, melanin, the sun) and emphasizes that our skin color is just one “of the many ways people are special and different from each other.” The end of the book includes a couple of follow-up activities.
…….

Baby Faces
by Margaret Miller

This book catches some of the classic expressions that moms and dads are always trying to elicit when Grandma and Grandpa are visiting: smiles, pouts, wrinkly noses, and more. This new mini edition of the original best-selling board book is perfect for little hands.
…….

 Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle

A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck–all parade across the pages of this delightful book. Children will immediately respond to Eric Carle’s flat, boldly colored collages. Combined with Bill Martin’s singsong text, they create unforgettable images of these endearing animals.
…….

Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills
by Renee Watson and Christine Robinson

Born to parents who were both former slaves, Florence Mills knew at an early age that she loved to sing, and that her sweet, bird-like voice, resonated with those who heard her. Performing catapulted her all the way to the stages of 1920s Broadway where she inspired everyone from songwriters to playwrights. Yet with all her success, she knew firsthand how prejudice shaped her world and the world of those around her.

…….

It’s Okay to Be Different
by Todd Parr

Helps children feel it is “all right” to ask questions about differences.
…….

A Color of His Own
by Leo Lionni

One day a chameleon has an idea to remain one color forever by staying on the greenest leaf he can find. But in the autumn, the leaf changes from green to yellow to red . . . and so does the chameleon. When another chameleon suggests they travel together, he learns that companionship is more important than having a color of his own.
…….

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald No Combina
by Monica Brown and Sara Palacious

Try as she might, in a world where everyone tries to put this biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl into a box, Marisol McDonald doesn’t match. And that’s just fine with her.
…….

“More More More,” Said the Baby
by Vera B. Williams

Vera B. Williams’s tribute to babies and the people who love them is a happy celebration—you won’t be able to stop smiling while reading the catchy refrains. This book is composed of three vignettes, each showing a grown up (daddy, grandma, mommy) playing with a baby. The three families are diverse: a white child, a bi-racial child and an Asian-American – all equally loved, all equally playful. At the end of each vignette the babies are tucked into bed by their loving grownup. A Caldecott Honor book.

…….

Shades of People
by Shelley Rotner  and Sheila Kelly

Cocoa, tan, rose, and almond—people come in lots of shades, even in the same family.
…….

The Colors of Us
by Karen Katz

Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.
…….

The Other Side
by Jacqueline Woodson

Clover’s mom says it isn’t safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups’ rules by sitting on top of the fence together.

…….

Mother for Choco
by Keiko Kasza

Choco wishes he had a mother, but who could she be? He sets off to find her, asking all kinds of animals, but he doesn’t meet anyone who looks just like him.
…….

And Tango Makes Three
by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, Illustrated by Henry Cole

At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo got the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own.

…….

Too Many Mittens
by Florence and Louis Slobodkin

Because the whole neighborhood knows the twin boys have lost a red mitten, whenever one is found it is taken to their house, until soon the twins must start a service to return surplus red mittens to their proper owners.
…….

Click Clack Moo Cows That Type
by Doreen Cronin

Farmer Brown’s cows love to type but problems REALLY begin when his cows start leaving him notes. Come join the fun as a bunch of literate cows turn Farmer Brown’s farm upside-down.
…….

Pancakes With Chocolate Syrup
by Rebekah Barlow Rounce

Young girls are sure to enjoy this cheerful, colorful celebration of two sisters of two different races, by a mother who adopted a child from Ethiopia. Beginning with an fun ode to pancakes (hence the title), the main focus of this upbeat children’s book celebrates the sisters’ differences (hair, skin, and eyes), with a constant refrain of embracing love. A great book celebrating mothers, daughters and diversity.
…….

Welcome Home Little Baby
by Lisa Harper

Baby-4 years
This a sweet adoption book for parents of babies adopted from Ethiopia, other African countries, as well as for parents adopting African American babies is a cozy way to welcome your adopted baby home. A short poem is illustrated with white parents with an adorable black baby girl in various fun, familiar settings.
…….

All Kinds of People
by Sheri Safron and Emma Damon

This entertaining lift-the-flap book vividly portrays the diversity in a very positive format, with colorful images of children of all different sizes, hair types, skin tones, temperaments and personalities. Each page is unique and humorous, with plenty of action through pop-ups, pullouts, lift the flaps and more. An upbeat way to introduce the concept of diversity for ages from toddler through kindergarten.
…….

Colors Come from God Just Like Me
by Carolyn A. Forche

Written for the author’s Ethiopian grandchild; this book celebrates all colors. Follow a young African American girl as she discovers God’s Creation and delights in its many colors. Through her adventures she realizes that she is also an amazing creation of God as she affirms “God made me a beautiful brown!”
…….

Is That Your Sister?: A True Story of Adoption
by Catherine Bunin, Sheri Bunin et al

Shows two adopted children from two different racial backgrounds.
…….

Girls Hold Up This World
by Jada Pinkett-Smith

From the publisher: Artistic photographs enhance the positive message of Jada Pinkett Smith’s inspiring poem. A renowned actress and loving mother, Smith brings warmth and heart to this celebration of young women. While so many girls today struggle with self-doubt, this poem focuses on the power ALL girls have within them, regardless of color or creed.
…….

Of Many Colors: Portraits of Multiracial Families
by Gigi Kaeser

Based on an award-winning photo exhibit, this book documents the feelings and experiences of Americans who live in multiracial families. Of Many Colors tells the stories of thirty-nine families who have bridged the racial divide through interracial marriage or adoption. In these pages, parents and children speak candidly about their lives, their relationships, and the ways in which they have dealt with issues of race.
…….

Black, White, Just Right!
by Marguerite W. Davol

A bi-racial little girl enjoys the traits of both her white and black parents, and their similarities and differences with her, in this cheerful children’s book.

…….

Chicken Sunday
by Patricia Polacco

After being initiated into a neighbor’s family by a solemn backyard ceremony, a young Russian American girl and her African American brothers’ determine to buy their gramma Eula a beautiful Easter hat. But their good intentions are misunderstood, until they discover just the right way to pay for the hat that Eula’s had her eye on.

…….

Two Mrs. Gibsons
by Toyomi Igus

The biracial daughter of an African American father and a Japanese mother fondly recalls growing up with her mother and her father’s mother, two very different but equally loving women.
…….

All the Colors of the Earth
by Sheila Hamanaka

Celebrate the colors of children and the colors of love–not black or white or yellow or red, but roaring brown, whispering gold, tinkling pink, and more.
…….

Children Just Like Me
by Anabel Kindersley and Barnabas Kindersley

Wonderful photographs of people and places.
…….

 Black is Brown is Tan
by Arnold Adoff and Emily Arnold McCully (Illustrator)

Black is brown is tan is a story poem about being, a beautiful true song about a family delighting in each other and in the good things of the earth. Children who are all the colors of the race, growing up happy in a house full of love.
…….

The Hello, Goodbye Window
by Norton Juster and Chris Raschka

The author of The Phantom Tollbooth has a picture book!  A young girl loves visiting her grandparents who have an inviting kitchen window you can climb into, look out of, and see your reflection in. The text takes us on a journey with the child as she describes her special relationship with her Poppy and Nanna. She has both African-American and white grandparents. A Caldecott Award winner.
…….

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match / Marisol McDonald no Combina
by Monica Brown

Red-headed half-Scottish half-Peruvian Marisol bounces off the page with great enthusiasm and loves her mismatched life. When her friend, Ollie, challenges her to “match”, Marisol finds she is unhappy with life as a conformist. This is a great story that emphasizes the importance of embracing and accepting one’s uniqueness. (Text is in both English and Spanish.) A Pura Belpré Honor Award Book.
…….

You Were the First
by Patricia MacLachlan and Stephanie Graegin

A tender book in which parents, one Asian, one Caucasian, narrate their child’s firsts. “You were the first to cry.” You were the first to smile.” As the child grows a bit, the first change. Such as, “You were the first to dig.” It’s a sweet book which would make a terrific new baby gift or a special book to read to an older sibling.
…….

Everywhere Babies
by Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee

Every day, everywhere, babies are born. They’re kissed and dressed and rocked and fed–and completely adored by the families who love them. With an irresistible rhyming text and delightfully endearing illustrations, here is an exuberant celebration of playing, sleeping, crawling, and of course, very noisy babies doing all the wonderful things babies do best. Frazee does a great job of including people from all different walks of life in her illustrations.
…….

Grandfather Counts
by Andrea Cheng and Ange Cheng

This book focuses primarily on the intergenerational relationship between a young girl and her grandfather. Helen speaks English, Gong Gong speaks Chinese, and through the act of counting in their respective languages, they form a bond. The girl’s biracial identity forms a backdrop, but is not the main focus of the book.
…….

Dumpling Soup
by Jama Kim Rattigan

Marisa lives in Hawaii and her family members are Korean, Hawaiian, Japanese and Chinese. The extended family gathers together on New Year’s Eve to make dumpling soup. Marisa worries that no one will like her non-so-perfect dumplings but the warm, family, festive atmosphere (and some help from grandma) ensures that everyone has a wonderful time. Includes a 4 language glossary.
…….

I Love Saturdays y Domingos
by Alma Flor Ada and Elivina Savadier

A wonderfully uplifting story about a girl who spends Saturdays with her English-speaking grandparents and Sundays with her Spanish-speaking abuelos. She describes the joys of each visit and the reader instantly sees the parallels and how much the family loves one another. In the end, everyone comes together for the little girl’s birthday. There are a lot of Spanish words and phrases but no glossary, but English-only readers will have no problem understanding the story.
…….

 Jalapeno Bagels
by Natasha Wing and Robert Casilla

Pablo needs to bring in something to school for International day. He debates whether or not to bring in his mother’s delicious Mexican baked goods or his father’s challah. From the title you can guess his decision! This book is sure to make you hungry so have a snack handy. Includes a Yiddish and Spanish glossary.

…….

My Two Grannies and My Two Grandads
by Floella Benjamin and Margaret Chamberlain

Both books have similar themes: one grandparent is from the Carribbean, the other from England. Each has a very different personality from the other. However, with the help of their grandchild, they learn to appreciate each other’s difference and make a little music in the meantime.
…….

Oscar’s Half Birthday
by Bob Graham

Teaches how ordinary moments connect us with others and the world around us. In this book, Oscar’s family takes an outing to the park to celebrate Oscar’s 6 months of life with his biracial family.
…….

Brown Like Me
by Noelle Lamperti

A wonderful book for preschool and elementary age children, Brown Like Me is a fun and inventive way to encourage young children in multi-racial families to take pride in themselves and their appearance.
…….

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist
by Cynthia Levinson

Meet the youngest known child to be arrested for a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963, in this moving picture book that proves you’re never too little to make a difference.
…….

Hair Like Mine
by LaTashia M. Perry

Hair Like Mine is a fun and easy read following a little girl who doesn’t like that her naturally curly hair looks different from the other kids around her. On her quest to find someone with hair like hers, she soon realizes we are all unique and special in our own way.
…….

Sometimes People March
by Tessa Allen

Available 9/01/20
With a spare, inspiring text and gorgeous watercolor illustrations, this is a timeless and important book for activists of all ages. Throughout American history, one thing remains true: no matter how or why people march, they are powerful because they march together.

…….

Dig.
by A. S. King (Author)

Young Adult/Teen
King’s new young adult novel, Dig, appears extraordinary. Not only does it discuss the way whiteness operates, but it interrogates the silence (common in children’s books) around racism and white privilege. Best of all, it offers pathways for a young reader to critique that silence. A white writer, King is deeply invested in unsettling her reader, through both narrative technique and subject matter. As she says in her acknowledgements note, “This book is supposed to be uncomfortable. I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry.”
…….

 

African American and Russian Culture
by
A story of intergenerational,interracial friendship and creativity. This popular author has many other titles that are appropriate for teaching tolerance.

See Cultural Diversity Books pages with links for where to purchase:

• http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Childrens-Prejudice-Racism/zgbs/books/3135(link is external)
• http://humaneeducation.org/blog/2014/06/26/14-childrens-picture-books-exploring-race-racism/(link is external)
• http://www.raceconscious.org/childrens-books/(link is external)
• http://http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2014/10/childrens-books-with-multiracial-families.html(link is external)
• http://www.comeunity.com/adoption/books/0multiracial.html(link is external)
• http://www.cli.org/blog/closing-the-diversity-gap-in-childrens-books/(link is external)