Written by: Samuel Narh Illustrated by: Jo Loring-Fisher For ages: 3-7 years Language: English and some Ghanian Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Family, Biracial Family, Love, Imagination. Summary: This is a really cute story about a young girl named Maisie and her parents. Her father is African, and while the ethnicity of her mother is not specifically mentioned, she appears to be of…
Tag: poc-centric narratives
Little People Big Dreams: Ella Fitzgerald
Written by: Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara Illustrated by: Bàrbara Alca For ages: 4-7 years Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Historical Figures, Women in Music, Musicians, Trailblazers, Biography, Black Culture & Identity. Summary: Ella was a young girl fascinated with performing and music. When she was 15, her mother died and radically changed her life. Running away from a reform school,…
Pies From Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Summary: Georgia Gilmore is both a mother of 6 and a cook at a lunch counter during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She is inspired to do more fundraising for the boycott, and for the community organizing and activism surrounding segregation. Georgia spearheaded efforts of local women who cooked secretly in their homes and then sold it…
Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons: An Enslaved Woman Fights for Freedom
Written by: Gwendolyn Hooks Illustrated by: Simone Agoussoye For ages: 9-12 years old Language: English Topics Covered: Enslavement, Historical Figures, Historical Events, POC-Centric Narratives, Black Culture & Identity, American History. Summary: Ona Judge is a woman enslaved by George Washington. Yes, that George Washington. Ona is very intelligent, and in moving around with the Washingtons to various cities, she becomes aware that she could…
Grobblechops
Written by: Elizabeth Laird, based on a story by Rumi Illustrated by: Jenny Lucander For ages: 4-7 years old Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Family, Growing Up, Social-Emotional Growth. Summary: Grobblechops opens with a little boy named Amir and his dad getting ready to go to bed. Amir is pretty worried that a monster might be hanging around, and Amir’s dad doe…
This is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
Written by: Jacqueline Woodson Illustrated by: James Ransome For ages: 5-9 years Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Black Culture & Identity, The Great Migration, Family, History, Community, Growing Up, Own Voices, Historical Events. Summary: This story of family legacy is framed using a rope, and all of its different uses throughout its time with the family, and told in first…
Firebird
Written by: Misty Copeland with Charisse Jones Illustrated by: Christopher Myers For ages: 4 years and up Language: English Topics Covered: Trailblazers, POC-Centric Narratives, Poetry, Ballet, Historical Figure, Historical Events, Art, Growing Up, Hard Work, Inspiration. Summary: This book is a beautiful conversation between trailblazing ballerina Misty Copeland and a young hopeful. Lyrical text and flowing illustrations help capture the long…
Color Outside the Lines: Stories About Love
Written by: Adam Silvera, Samira Ahmed, Michelle Ruiz Keil, Danielle Paige, Eric Smith, Sangu Mandanna, Elsie Chapman, Anna-Marie McLemore, Lauren Gibaldi, Kelly Zekas & Tarun Shanker, Lori M. Lee, Caroline Tung Richmond, Karuna Riazi, L.L. McKinney, Tara Sim, Lydia Kang Edited by: Sangu Mandanna For ages: YA Language: English predominantly Topics Covered: LGBTQ, LGBTQ Relationships, Growing Up, POC-Centric Narratives, Love, Family, Supernatural,…
Common Threads: Adam’s Day at the Market
Written by: Huda Essa Illustrated by: Mercè Tous For ages: 4 years and up Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Global Community, Family, Diversity, Kindness, Clothing, Islam, Culture & Traditions. Summary: Adam and his parents go to the outdoor market one day, and he sees a bright blue jay. Following it, Adam doesn’t realize he’s left his parents behind until he tugs…
When Aidan Became a Brother
Written by: Kyle Lukoff Illustrated by: Kaylani Juanita For ages: 4 years and up Language: English Topics Covered: BIPOC Protagonists, Gender Identity, Family, LGBTQ Youth, Trans Experience, Gender Stereotypes, Growing Up, Pregnancy, Siblings, Social-Emotional Learning, Empathy. Summary: Since it’s Corrie’s birthday, she wanted to post a book that she’s currently loving and can’t stop talking about. This book is SO cute, we’re…