English & Spanish 4+ Latinx Family Bilingual Books Big Families Confidence Self-Esteem Laurenne Sala & Zara González Hoang summary Mi Casa is My Home is a beautiful celebration of family and spending time with them! Readers are treated to a house tour from Lucía, our narrator who lives with her big family in their casa….
Category: Self Expression
The People Remember
English & Swahili 4+ Black Culture & Identity History Enslavement Forced Migration Empowerment Activism Ibi Zoboi & Loveis Wise summary The People Remember is on an entirely separate plane of existence from other books. It combines the best aspects from different genres and produces a breathtaking experience. Poetry, history, narrative arcs & illustrations that should…
When We Say Black Lives Matter
English 5+ Black Lives Matter White Supremacy Racism Empowerment Maxine Beneba Clarke summary When We Say Black Lives Matter was published in Australia last year, and has finally made its way across the pond to gut punch North American readers in the most poignant way possible. The stunning artwork that Beneba Clarke has created to…
The Insiders
English & Spanish MG LGBTQ Friendship Bullying Queer Friendships Latinx Family Moving New School Fantasy/Magic Mark Oshiro summary Ahh middle school. Hormones, moving to new schools, wanting to look cool…secret rooms that respond to your needs? Maybe not for all of us, but for Héctor and his new middle school this seems to be the…
Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem
English 4+ Poetry Social Change Empowerment Music Amanda Gorman & Loren Long summary Change Sings joined the bookshelf ranks yesterday, and woah buddy it’s incredible. Amanda Gorman graced the inaugural stage and blew all of our minds with her powerful words, and she’s here to do it again with her picture book. Filled with hope…
The Proudest Color
English 4-8 Social-Emotional Learning New school BIPOC Narratives Self-Esteem Confidence Sheila Modir, Jeff Kashou, & Monica Mikai summary Zahra experiences her emotions as colors, and is about to start school. Something that Zahra understands is that while emotions are fleeting and sometimes unseen by those around her, her glowing brown skin is perceivable immediately. When…
Partly Cloudy
English & Creole MG SEL Family Friendship New Schools Forest Fires Racism Tanita S. Davis Cover Art: Geneva Bowers summary From Tanita S. Davis of Serena Says (which has a melodramatic and lovely narrator) comes Madalyn from Partly Cloudy. Madalyn really loves naps, and I appreciate that personality quirk. She’s moved in with her Great…
When Langston Dances
English Any Age! Black Boy Joy Ballet Dance Perseverance Following Dreams Kaija Langley & Keith Mallett summary Full disclosure: Kaija is a close friend of mine. However, even if we had never met (which is honestly very distressing to think about) I would be just as obsessed with this book. Black boy joy? Check. Following…
A Kid is a Kid is a Kid
English 3+ Conversation Starters New Kids Gender Stereotypes Ability Friendship SEL Back to School Sara O’Leary & Qin Leng summary I looooove A Family is a Family is a Family, it’s one of the books I always include on recommendation lists. Now, a follow-up is out and I might be even more in love with…
Hold That Thought!
English 4+ Nonbinary Protagonist Friendship Support Ideas SEL Creativity Bree Galbraith & Lynn Scurfield summary Pointed nonbinary representation in books? YES PLEASE. So everyone knows I’m a Bree Galbraith fangirl (in a totally not weird definitely not creepy way), and her latest release is gorgeous in every way. In our story, Finn wakes up in…