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1- Spend a few minutes choosing a resources on this page. Take some time to quickly review them.
2- Enter the title of the source
3- List highlights, strengths, weaknesses.
4- BRIEFLY reflect on: Would be a good site to visit to familiarize yourself with titles before working with students or placing a book order?.

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Review Resources In the effort to add to your toolkit of wonderful resources to reference when looking for quality titles for your...

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NAME: YOUR NAME
Resource: Middle East Book Award

Highlights:

-Recognizes books for children and teens that contribute to meaningful understanding of the Middle East.

-Awards go back to 2000.

Strengths:

-Award winners are selected each year in 3 categories -

- Picture Books, Youth Literature, and Youth Nonfiction.

-Includes a brief review of each winner.

Weaknesses:

-Does not specify the recommended age for all of the books;

- only some books include a suggested age.

Reflection:

-One of my goals has been to add more books to our library about people from the Middle East. This will be a helpful resource for identifying those books.

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The Middle East Outreach Council established the Middle East Book Award in 1999 to recognize books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to understanding of the Middle East. For purposes of this award, the Middle East is defined as: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Books that are nominated for awards are judged on the authenticity of their portrayal of a Middle Eastern subject, as well as on their characterization, plot, and appeal for the intended audience. A committee of MEOC members, including teachers, librarians, outreach coordinators, and other educators select award winners (and, if deemed appropriate, honorable mention titles) in three categories.
​
The Middle East Book Award, along with our sister programs (the Américas Award, the Children's Africana Book Award, the Freeman Book Awards (East/Southeast Asia), and the South Asia Book Award), is pleased to recognize exemplary titles in globally focused literature for younger readers.

List of all Middle East Book Award winners (2000-2022)
Download File

Lists of recognized titles by category

Simply worded plot- or subject-driven text, accompanied by large images on most pages, intended for very young readers.

Reference or other non-fiction -e.g., biography-intended for ​K-12 audiences or their teachers

Plot-driven books (with or without illustrations); collections of poetry; and/or memoirs appropriate for young adult readers in middle and high school.

THE 2023 MIDDLE EAST BOOK AWARD TEAM

Middle East Book Awards Co-Chair

Middle East Book Awards Co-Chair

Nominations
Co-Coordinator

Nominations
​Co-Coordinator

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Middle East Book Award, given by the Middle East Outreach Council

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The Middle East Outreach Council established the Middle East Book Award in 1999 to recognize books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to understanding of the Middle East. For...

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Name - Tammy

RESOURSE: "Colours of Us: All About Multicultural Books"

Highlights:

Easy to navigate and understand

Lots of diverse books and different age groups

Lots of recommendations of different books with a synopsis and overview

Weaknesses

Some categories of the site have more selections then other categories

Not sure how often the site is updated

The sheer amount of books can be intimidating and one might not know where to look.

Reflection

I have already started sharing this link to my coworkers and peers. A strong collection of resources that educators an librarians can use.

I love how easy it was to navigate, which is a huge plus in my eyes.

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Apart from the over thousand multicultural children's books by subject that I feature on my blog, I have listed (and will keep listing!) many more children's books by age (from babies to young adults) and by ethnicity (from African, Hispanic, Asian to diverse).

Enjoy browsing the lists below - and don't forget to check out the multicultural toys and multicultural clothes, too!

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Multicultural Children's Books - Lists - Colours of Us

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Apart from the over thousand multicultural children's books by subject that I feature on my blog, I have listed (and will keep listing!) many more children's books by age (from babies to young adults) and by ethnicity (from African, Hispanic, Asian to diverse).

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AudioFile

Highlights: They have a homepage of lots of new audiobooks spanning a variety of genres. You can browse by genre, lists of recommended books, awards, a magazine, resources, and so much more.

Strengths: It is specific to audiobooks so it recommends based on the quality of the book AND audio, if you've ever listened to a book with a bad audio reader you've suffered.

Weaknesses: It is specific to audiobooks, there may be a book that is only in audio and someone may want a physical book.

Reflect: Personally I want to use this site to find my next favorite audiobook. In the library setting, I could use this to recommend books with great audio to help struggling readers better grasp their ability to read by using audiobooks paired with physical books to strengthen their skills through follow along.

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Audiobook Reviews & Recommendations | Kirkus Reviews

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Discover the latest audiobook reviews and recommendations from Kirkus Reviews.

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Name: Ashley Hill

Resource: The Children's Book Review

Highlights: Author and Illustrator written interviews with capability to listen on Spotify.

Can sort books by age and subject

Weaknesses: some/most books have summaries and not reviews. There is limited ability to search for a specific books.

Reflection: I love the author and illustrator interviews for engaging students with the creators of this book. I don't think I'd use this website for book reviews when there are others that are easier to search.

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The Children's Book Review | Growing Readers Every Day

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1000s of the best new and popular books for young readers of all ages and grades, including picture books for young children, young adult and teen novels!

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Name: Robyn Templeton

Resource: Diverse Book Finder

Highlights/Strengths:

-Easy to search database of diverse books.

-Can sort through results based on typical filters like genre, audience, form, but also more unique filters like disability representation, author lived experience, tribal affliation, immigrant representation, and more.

-Includes a collection analysis tool as well to be able to reveal strengths and gaps in the racial/cultural representation within collections.

-They also have their own blog with a collection of resources and discussions of many different topics.

Weaknesses:

-It could be nice to have reviews of books within the database along with the description to get a greater sense of the merits of the book. Because while they do state that just because a book is in their collection that doesn't mean it's necessarily recommended and there are then links to recommended reading lists/blogs. It might be a little easier for the user if reviews and recommendations are embeded with the general database.

This is definitely a site I would use to familiarize myself with all kinds of multicultural books and also to help analyze my collection to see where there may be gaps.

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Diverse BookFinder | Identify & Explore Multicultural Picture Books

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Are you looking for multicultural children’s books? We’ve got you covered! You can search our circulating collection of picture books (2002-present), explore our quick lists, then borrow our books from your own library through interlibrary loan. We believe that too many children are left out of main…

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Amanda Vander Haar

Resource: We Need Diverse Books

Highlights:

strong advocacy and discovery resource for building inclusive collections

programs that connect diverse titles to real student needs

Strengths:

site is highly aligned with school library values

Its focus on diverse creators and publishing pipelines gives you context beyond a simple “good book/bad book” review

Weakness:

it may not give the balanced evaluative detail you need for every purchase decision

Reflection: WNDB is a helpful tool for finding diverse books and supporting inclusive collections, which fits well with school librarianship and MLIS coursework. Its strength is advocacy and discovery, but it should be paired with more traditional review sources because it is not a neutral review site.

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Ginni Leeman

Resource: School Library Journal Reviews

Highlights:

The website offers a way to search in a variety of ways for a material (date, category, author/illustrator, publisher, and tags)

Offers a large variety in categories of books ("Best of, Booklists, Books, Collections, Media, Reference, Series Made Simple, More)

Easy to navigate and simple design

Reviews seems to be published often in all categories

The "More" category consists of tech which is good to include for a resource

Weaknesses:

It is not freely accessible, you have free access to limited reviews/articles.

Reflection:

Overall I feel this is a good source to have if I had open access to it, but I appreciate the layout and design as well as the search categories that are available for review. I also thought it was good to see that most, if not all, of the categories had very recent posts and multiple within the same month or even week.

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Resource: Disability in Kidlit

Highlights:

brief summary

author, publisher, IBSN included

search by disability, genre, publication year, limit to middle grade or YA

reviews by authors (includes info about the author of the review at the end of review)

tags for each review

Reflection:

I like this resource, but they are on an indefinite hiatus. There are no recent updates.

I like that their goals are for readers, educators, writers, publishers, etc. All

contributors must be disabled.

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2.Disability in KidLit

3.

Highlights:

Books are all focused on characters that have some type of disability. This can help fulfill a need for this type of book. There were many resources listed with lengthy reviews.

Strengths: Quantity of books, in-depth reviews

Weakness: Most recent book was from 2017, no target audience listed

4. I think this could be a good resource to use, but you'll need to dedicate a significant amount of time reading the reviews to evaluate each book.

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Disability in Kidlit - Reviews, articles, and more about the portrayal of disabilities in children's fiction

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Despite some reservations, our reviewer would recommend this contemporary novel about young Bat - and the reviewer's ten-year-old goddaughter agrees.

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NAME: Sara Durbin

RESOURCE: School Library Journal (SLJ)

Highlights:

Features a mixture of individual reviews, starred reviews, and booklists that compile titles with similar topics or themes.

Strengths:

Specific audience focus of school librarians and school library media coordinators, meaning reviews and booklists are geared towards that audience and school library collections

Each book has a recommended age or grade level

While not explicitly designed to focus on promoting diverse titles, there are many booklists and reviews that highlight diverse books

Weaknesses:

Many reviews and articles are behind a paywall

Includes titles that span from a reading age of 0-18, so many titles may not be applicable to your specific school

Reflection:

I find that SLJ provides a really solid overview of upcoming and recent titles to look out for when doing collection development

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Maria Shropshire

Highlights: WNDB is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in children's and young adult literature. The site provides resources for educators, librarians, parents, writers, and students to help locate and promote diverse books. It offers mentorships, grants, workshops, and book donation programs that support marginalized authors, illustrators, and readers.

Strengths: The organization has a clear goal of ensuring all readers can see themselves reflected in books while also learning about others. WNDB not only promotes diverse books but also helps writers, illustrators, and publishing professionals through mentorships and financial support. The site provides book recommendations, professional resources, grants, and classroom support materials that can be used in schools and libraries.

Weaknesses: While there are many recommendations and links, users may need to click through several pages to find specific grade levels or topics. Users seeking resources for adult literature may find limited content. New users may feel overwhelmed by the number of programs, initiatives, and resource pages available.

Reflection: As a teacher and future school librarian, I think it is important for students to see themselves represented in books and learn about others. I can see myself using this site in the future to find diverse books and resources for my classroom and library.

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Name: Hannah Brown

Enter the title of the source:  Association of Jewish Libraries

About:

The Association of Jewish Libraries is an international, professional organization that fosters access to information and research in all forms of media relating to all things Jewish. The Association promotes Jewish literacy and scholarship and provides a community for peer support and professional development.

List highlights, strengths, weaknesses:

Has annual awards in multiple categories, including the Sydney Taylor book award for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience

Embedded database with award winners (and way to sort them)

They host a conference

They have an updated blog offering recent news

You can sort by some fields (title, publication year, genre category), and expand the selected book to get a short summary. It is a little hard, if you are interested in a specific type of story, to potentially find it though.

There is some indication of grade level/age, but it's a little vague. May need to look at another source for this information.

Reflection

This appears to be a good source for books that may not otherwise make a list.

I could see this providing some mirrors and windows for students.

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Donna and Richard Harris Jewish Libraries, Archives, & Collections Around the World Explore The Sydney Taylor Portal Explore Happening this month Find out about our current events Read More Annual Conference Annual Conference Read More AJL News The latest news about AJL Read More Need Information? Contact Us The Leading Authority on Judaic Librarianship.

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Holly Knotts

Common Sense Media

Highlights

-brief overview of a book that highlights its content, themes, age appropriateness, educational value, and any potential concerns for young readers and their families.

Strengths

-You can select an age and then content limits for books

-gives a summary of what parents need to know for each book

-has parent and kids reviews in a separate section

-it also has a rating level for each of the following categories

*Violence and Scariness

*Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

*Language

*Products & Purchases

*Sex, Romance & Nudity

Weaknesses

-It is a paid site, but it seems like you can get to a lot without logging in

Reflection

-This would be a very helpful resource to be able to add appropriate books to the library. I would be able to justify choices to parents who would have questions about whether the book would be age-appropriate.

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Name: Tiffany Bryant

Resource: Asian Pacific American Librarians Association

Highlights: Supports Asian Pacific and Pacific Islander Librarians

Strengths: Recruits Asian Pacific and Pacific Islander Librarians; has awards for multiple genres

Weaknesses: Limited to certain demographics

Reflection: Awesome to know there is a support system for this group of Librarians specific to their needs.

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Name: Alyson Gooch

Resource: DBF (Diverse Book Finder)

Highlights:

The DBF group focuses on creating collections where children and young adults can see themselves in the books they read.

A database of thousands of books with BIPOC characters published or distributed in the United States.

This site originated at Bates College in Maine in 2010

Strengths:

A vast collection of books with BIPOC characters housed in a database that is easily navigable.

Books range from early readers through secondary school age.

Very attractive website

Weaknesses:

Cannot search by publisher

The books included in this collection should not be considered "recommended".

Reflection:

I have been searching for resources for BIPOC students as our library collection desperately needs to strengthened.

Very easy to navigate and find new releases specific to age range

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Diverse BookFinder | Identify & Explore Multicultural Picture Books

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Are you looking for multicultural children’s books? We’ve got you covered! You can search our circulating collection of picture books (2002-present), explore our quick lists, then borrow our books from your own library through interlibrary loan. We believe that too many children are left out of main…

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Name: Janee' Lashley

Resource: Rich in Color

Highlights/Strengths:

Focuses only on YA books written by or starring BIPOC authors and characters, so the diversity filter is already done for you

Goes beyond just reviews; it links out to other great diversity-focused sites like We Need Diverse Books, Latinxs in Kidlit, and American Indians in Children's Lit, so it's a one-stop starting point

Reviews tell you where they got the book (bought it, borrowed it, received an ARC), which helps you trust what you're reading

Weaknesses:

It's YA only, so you won't find picture books or early readers here, not a direct match for my K–2 students.

Doesn't cover self-published books, which means some culturally rich indie titles get left out

Doesn't post as frequently as bigger review sources, so newer releases might not show up right away

Reflection:

This site is geared toward YA, so it's worth bookmarking for those working with that age group, especially when you're planning collection development or want to get familiar with BIPOC authors. Representation in books really matters. This is the kind of site that helps you make intentional choices rather than just grabbing whatever's popular. I'd definitely visit it before placing an order or building a display around diverse voices.

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Rich in Color - Reading & Reviewing Diverse YA Books

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blackgirlmagic #Common Core #groupdiscussion #WeNeedDiverseBooks Anthology asian ya author interview authors banned books week blacklivesmatter black love book lists book reviews contemporary debut author diverse worlds diversity evaluating literature fantasy group discussion horror julie kagawa lgbtq lgbtqia new releases ownvoices queer comics queer ya racism recommendation: borrow it someday recommendation: get it now recommendation: get it soon recommendation: just skip it recruiting retelling retellings reviews romance summer reads superhero tu books Women's History Month year in review Zetta Elliott Zettasbooks

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Olivia Ghilarducci

Highlights:

-Trusted, long-running source for youth literature

-Strong mix of book reviews, essays, and opinion pieces

-Helpful for finding high-quality, vetted book recommendations

-Written by librarians, educators, and authors so it feels credible and informed

-Includes awards and curated lists that highlight standout books

Weaknesses:

-A lot of content is behind a paywall

-Can feel a bit dense and text-heavy

-Navigation takes some getting used to with so many sections

-More professional-focused, so it’s not super casual or beginner-friendly, and its very plain looking

Reflection:

-This feels like a solid go-to when I need reliable book ideas or want to dig deeper into children’s literature

-I wouldn’t use it for quick browsing, but it’s great when I’m planning or researching

-It’s more professional than fun, but that’s also what makes it useful for school/library work

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Board books don't tend to win major awards. True, a handful have been named ALA Notable Children's Books, including one of my all-time favorites, Global Babies by the Global Fund for Children. Many a Caldecott winner has later been republished in board book format, and some work well, notably Kevin Henkes's Kitten's First Full Moon. But beyond those outliers, I've never seen a board book with a big gold sticker adorning its small frame.

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The Horn Book Magazine and The Horn Book Guide are the most distinguished journals in the field of children's and young adult literature and the core of our company. Founded in 1924 by Bertha Mahony to herald the best in children's literature, more than eighty-five years later, we are still following her lead.

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Ashlie Vann

Resource: Lee and Low Books

Highlights:

Diverse and Multicultural Literature – The site specializes in children's and young adult books that feature a wide range of cultures, backgrounds, languages, abilities, and experiences. Their goal is to help all students see themselves reflected in books while learning about others.

Resources for Educators and Librarians – The website provides lesson plans, discussion guides, book activities, webinars, and teaching resources that can be used in classrooms and libraries.

Book Collections by Topic

Bilingual and Multilingual Books – The site includes Spanish-English bilingual books

Support for Inclusive Libraries

Weaknesses:

Limited to one publisher's collection

Not all resources are free

Less useful for older teens and adults

Strengths: Easy to search and browse – Books can be filtered by grade level, theme, culture, genre, and reading level, making it simple to find appropriate titles.

Supports multilingual learners

High-quality, award-winning titles

Useful for collection development

Reflection: I think Lee & Low Books is a great site to explore before working with students or placing a book order. It makes it easy to learn about books, authors, themes, and grade levels, which helps when selecting titles for a library or classroom. I also like that it focuses on diverse stories and perspectives, making it a useful tool for finding books that connect with a wide range of students.

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1. Katie Hilliard

2. Latinxs in Kid Lit

3. Highlights: Spotlight tabs are really good and include more than just the books that you typically see mentioned over and over again which is nice. Weaknesses: Not all of their links are active, so I'm not sure how often they update the website. I wish the summary also included a review and info on the copyright date/age recommendation.

4. Reflection: A source for when you want something a little off the beaten path so to say when you keep seeing the same books mentioned everywhere.

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Exploring the world of Latinx YA, MG, & children’s literature

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Highlights Lee and Low Books

ADA compliant site

Users can select audience for collections

Largest multicultural book publisher in the United States

Award winning high quality books

Everything from decodables to young adult books

Wide selection of bilingual and Spanish books

Teacher guides and classroom collections

Weaknesses

Not free- need to purchase collections or materials

Some genres have more books than others

Reflection:

I already know that I am going to share this with my lower grade friends because I think that the diverse collection of multicultural decodable books is amazing! I know I will look her when I am a librarian to support our ML students and for books that act as a mirror for ALL students.

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Name: Tamika Bierlein

Resource: Rich in Color

Highlights/ Strengths: I liked that the titles that first appear on the home screen were new releases. The site showcased Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) characters or was written by BIPOC authors. It showcased Young Adult Fiction that is perfect for middle graders. The site did have a social media presence.

Weakness: The website was clunky to navigate. The website had inactive links. The titles mainly provided summaries rather than reviews.

Reflections: I don’t know if this would be the first site I would look to for BIPOC books/titles. The site was confusing to navigate, but I wanted the most recent title. This site may be a jumping-off point.

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It’s June so it’s officially Pride month! And because there is a plethora of books across all genres with LGBTQ leads, I thought I’d give a quick book list to […] Read More

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Name: Meagan Gill

Resource: Diverse Book Finder

Highlights: This website has catalogued picture books featuring Black and Indigenous Peoples and People of Color (BIPOC) since 2002 and have added early readers, chapter books, middle grade books, and young adult books since 2022.

Strengths: They have well over 7,000 books that they've included in the collection, including books published in 2026, and you can filter on many different categories such as Disability Representation, Gender Representation, etc.

Weaknesses: I love the Recommended Books section (discussed below in my Reflections), but I'd love to see more topics included as well as updated lists; I don't believe the lists have been updated in a few years.

Reflection: I particularly love the Recommended Books section where you can find lists of books on particular topics such as clean water or immigrant/refugee experience. My childrens' school is an IB school and the students have to do research work on global impact topics. This would be a wonderful resource to help them find relevant books.

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Diverse BookFinder | Identify & Explore Multicultural Picture Books

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Are you looking for multicultural children’s books? We’ve got you covered! You can search our circulating collection of picture books (2002-present), explore our quick lists, then borrow our books from your own library through interlibrary loan. We believe that too many children are left out of main…