1_•J FAMILIES GRANDPARENT
A boy goes to visit his grandfather. They seem to have nothing in common. They can’t even speak the same language. That is, until they start drawing together and bridge the gaps between one another.
1_•J FAMILIES
Zuri wants her hair to look special and she doesn’t want to bother here dad because he’s tired. She goes through the different ways that her hair is special. Zuri tries to do her hair by watching a video. Then her dad tries to help her, but doesn’t have much luck. They finally find a hair tutorial that Zuri’s dad can follow along to. When Zuri’s mom sees her, she says Zuri’s hair is beautiful. This book shows the complexities of natural/afro textured hair and shows a loving Black family
1_•D WATER
In this award-winning book, a young girl explores all the ways water is around her and in the world. Back matter explains the water cycle and the different forms of water. Includes a note about conserving water.
1_•S MYSTERY
A young boy looks for his dog Bongo. He asks his grandma, the delivery man, his family, “where’s bongo?” He looks everywhere until he finds where his stuffed dog was hiding. A great incidendal picture book showing an Afro Latinx (Puerto Rican) family.
Nino Wrestles the World, by Yuyi Morales
1_•T SUPERHERO
Niño wrestles with different creatures from Mexican folklore. A fun way to incorporate a different language (Spanish) in a read-aloud.
1_•N SPANISH
Quinito introduces readers to the idea of opposites in his life in this bilingual picture book.
1_•J SELF I-LIKE-ME
A dark-skinned girl, Sulwe learns to love her dark skin. Sulwe is the darkest skinned member of her family. She is described as being “the color of midnight.” Sulwe wishes that she could be a lighter color, like her mother and sister. A shooting star shows Sulwe that the color of her skin is beautiful. This book shows a Black family that ranges in skin color. It also shows how Sulwe has to go on an emotional journey to reach self acceptance.
1_•K COMMUNITY
In this award-winning picture book, Omu makes herself a delicious stew. The amazing smell reaches different members of the community who all come to ask Omu for a little bit of her delicious stew. Soon, everyone who was fed by Omu gathers together to thank her and bring her dinner. A lovely story of a multicultural community coming together. This can be a great jumping off point to talk about different kinds of communities where people live.
1_•X WORDLESS LAM
A young girl has moved into a new house. She is too shy to make friends with the kids outside. She instead peels back the wallpaper in her room and is transported to a different world. Then she gains the courage to make friends with the new children she sees.
1_•J FAMILIES
A father’s letter to his daughter celebrates the family’s multicultural identity: Latinx, Muslim, Indigenous. This is a great book to show the diversity of Latin America and Latinx people.