There’s nothing more powerful than a story to connect us, to help us understand each other, and to build empathy.

In sharing books with young people, you will be giving them the opportunity to see that everyone’s story deserves to be told, to read widely, and to understand and expand their world.

In the list below, you’ll find recommendations of books that feature Black and Indigenous people to read to children. These are compiled from the folks at Embrace Race, as well as authors and NY Times editors. Some are explicitly about racism and others are stories with non-white protagonists. They are broken down roughly by age range.

Of course, when seeking out picture books that feature Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC), it can still be challenging to know how to choose a good book from among what’s available on the “diverse books” market. Check out the guide from Embrace Race here as you build your home library.

Ages 0-3

More More More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams

“Here are Little Guy, Little Pumpkin, and Little Bird. Their grownups love them. So will you.” More More More Said the Baby is a sweet tribute to babies and the people who love them. Little Guy and his father are white, Little Pumpkin is African-American with a white grandmother, and Little Bird and her mother are both Asian-American. Vibrant gouache paintings illustrate the love in these multiracial families beautifully.

Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora

Perfect to read with babies, this book shows a little one playing peekaboo with various family members. It’s a bright and happy book that is guaranteed to make you smile.

Global Babies by The Global Fund for Children

See babies from all around the world! This book is a collection of beautiful photographs that show little ones from all around the globe. It’s a great tool for teaching about our big, wide world and all of the special people in it.
My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith

This sweet book is a celebration of the small things that bring great joy. The illustrations show beautiful Indigenous children cultivating happiness in the everyday moments of life.

Ezra Jack Keats’s books about Peter (“The Snowy Day,” “A Letter to Amy,” “Hi, Cat!,” “Whistle for Willie”)

“I love all of Ezra Jack Keats’s books about Peter, because they show a black boy in the city and the stories are just about his curiosity, his bravery and his being a kid. They are beautiful meditations on the interiority of black childhood without trauma while still feeling very black.”

— Kaitlyn Greenidge, NYT Parenting contributor

Baby Dance by Ann Taylor

My baby is eight months old, and he loves to be held in the air, spun in a circle, and danced with. This book captures that moment of parental love and joy in a way that kids and adults will love.

Ages 3-5

“Saturday,” written and illustrated by Oge Mora

“This book is pure joy. A mom and her daughter, Ava, always look forward to Saturdays because it’s the one day of the week they get to spend together without school or work. On this particular Saturday, though, they experience a series of disappointments. Nothing seems to be going as planned. Still, thanks to Ava they figure out a way to enjoy their time together. A quiet yet profound picture book.”

— Matt de la Peña, a Newbery Medal-winning author of seven Young Adult novels and five picture books, including “Last Stop on Market Street”

“Hair Love,” by Matthew A. Cherry. Illustrated by Vashti Harrison.

“Written by a former N.F.L. wide receiver and now an Oscar-winning short film, ‘Hair Love’ tells the story of a black father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time and the special bond they share.”

— Meena Harris, author of “Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea”

Ages 5-8

“Each Kindness,” by Jacqueline Woodson. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis.

“A new girl, Maya, shows up at school, and the whole class, including Chloe, our main character, shuns her because she’s shabbily dressed and seems different. This goes on for a while, and then Maya is suddenly gone, and Chloe realizes she’s missed her chance to be kind. This is a powerful picture book that bravely ends with regret.” — Matt de la Peña

“The Youngest Marcher,” by Cynthia Levinson. Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton.

“It’s one of the more shocking and little-known stories of the civil rights movement: In 1963, the City of Birmingham jailed hundreds of kids for joining the Children’s March. Among them was 9-year-old Audrey Faye Hendricks, taken from her family to spend a week behind bars, eating ‘oily grits’ and sleeping on a bare mattress. Levinson and Newton keep her story bright and snappy, emphasizing the girl’s eagerness to make a difference and her proud place in her community.” — Maria Russo, former children’s book editor at The New York Times

The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler and David Lee Csicsko - With the ease and simplicity of a nursery rhyme, this lively story delivers an important message of social acceptance to young readers.

We’re Different, We’re the Same by Bobbi Kates and Joe Mathieu - Muppets, monsters, and humans compare noses, hair, and skin and realize how different we all are. But as they look
further, they also discover how much we are alike.

Jalani and the Lock by Lorenzo Pace - In this story based on true events, the fictional Jalani, a freed slave, gives the lock that held him in chains to his eldest child as a symbol of his enslavement.

My Name is Sangoel by Karen Williams and Khadra Mohammed - Sangoel is a refugee. Leaving behind his homeland of Sudan, where his father died in the war, he has little to call his own other than his name, a Dinka name handed down proudly from his father and grandfather before him. When Sangoel and his mother and sister arrive in the United States, everything seems very strange and unlike home.

Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story by Ruby Bridges - This is the true story of an extraordinary little girl who helped shape our country when she became the first African-American to attend an all-white school in New Orleans.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney (works for 3rd-5th grade children, too) - A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A. by Diana Cohn - Carlitos' mother is a janitor. Every night, he sleeps while his mother cleans in one of the skyscrapers in downtown L.A. When she comes home, she waves Carlitos off to school before she goes to sleep. One night, his mamá explains that she can't make enough money to support him and his abuelita the way they need unless she makes more money as a janitor. She and the other janitors have decided to go on strike.

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi - Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name?

I Am Mixed by Garcelle Beauvais - Jay and Nia are the children of two worlds, and as they'll discover, they can enjoy the best of both.

All the Colors We Are by Katie Kissinger - This bilingual (English/Spanish) book offers children a simple, scientifically accurate explanation about how our skin color is determined by our ancestors, the sun, and melanin.

These Hands by Margaret H. Mason - In this powerful intergenerational story, Joseph learns that people joined their hands together to fight discrimination so that one day, their hands--Joseph's hands--could do anything at all in this whole wide world.

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman - Grace loves stories, whether they're from books, movies, or the kind her grandmother tells. So when she gets a chance to play a part in Peter Pan, she knows exactly who she wants to be.

The Streets are Free by Kurusa - This inspiring book is based on the true story of the children of the barrio of San Jose de la Urbina in Caracas, Venezuela. There are no parks where they live, and the children must play in the streets.

I’m New Here by Anne Sibley O’Brian - Young readers from all backgrounds will appreciate this touching story about the assimilation of three immigrant students in a supportive school community.

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.

My Name Is Jorge: On Both Sides of the River by Jane Medina - Jorge is trying to learn the ways of his new country. He wants to fit in at school, but he doesn't want to forget his homeland, Mexico. His family is still doing things like they're in the old country, but Jorge wants to find out everything he can about his new country--on the other side of the river.

Teach Us Your Name by Huda Essa - This fun yet meaningful story was created to empower children to teach others how to pronounce their names correctly.

IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All by LaToya Council & Carolyn Choi - A welcoming resource for conversations about equality and social justice that shows readers how identities are made up of myriad influences.

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