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It's been a decade since Cathy Mere & Mandy Robek began the #pb10for10 tradition (follow this hashtag on Twitter for lists). Each August and February (for #nf10for10), educators are flooded with amazing titles and suggestions from colleagues. I have offered my own lists a few times over the last decade, and eagerly awaited the abundance of curated lists from educators everywhere to inform and inspire my teaching and learning.

This year I have chosen a few old favorites and ones that I have newly discovered. These are books to be read and reread all year.
I've intentionally chosen books to use to teach writing that feature BIPOC authors and/or characters and diverse storylines. My plan is to use these as mentors with students and share with teachers to use in writers' workshop. The beauty of these books is that you can read and decide for yourself how to use them. They honor identity and strength within us, they support topic choice, structure, language, dialogue, imagery, small action, and provide examples of many beautiful craft techniques.

We are gifted by so many authors and possibilities. For this list, the hardest part was choosing just 10!

With picture book love to all,
Mary Anne

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Thank You, Omu! written and illustrated by Oge Mora

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Thank You, Omu! written and illustrated by Oge Mora

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by Oge Mora ; illustrated by Oge Mora ‧

Omu makes a stew so delicious everyone in the neighborhood follows their noses to her door.

Omu (which means "queen" in Igbo-Omu is black) is making a "thick red stew in a big fat pot" for her dinner. She tastes it, saying it'll be the most delicious supper she's ever had, while out the window drifts the scent of the "scrumptious" stew until it reaches a little boy. The story is peppered with synonyms for "scrumptious" (itself repeated throughout), allowing readers the chance to discuss and expand vocabulary. When the little boy follows the smell to Omu's door, she kindly offers to share her stew with him. So begins a veritable parade of neighborhood residents who, led by the smell, end up at Omu's door. The collage art adds texture, depth, and distinctiveness to each character. Omu shares her thick red stew with all and receives grateful thanks in reply. Alas, when Omu looks for her own supper, she finds her pot empty. The expressive illustrations convey her despondency as she answers yet another knock at her door to find...that the multiracial neighbors she shared with are back! This time, they have gifts in hand and are ready to make her a wonderful supper, which turns into another shared meal and a dance party.

A lovely story of giving and community founded in Nigerian culture. Delectable. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)

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by Oge Mora ; illustrated by Oge Mora ‧ Omu makes a stew so delicious everyone in the neighborhood follows their noses to her door. Omu (which means "queen" in Igbo-Omu is black) is making a "thick red stew in a big fat pot" for her dinner.

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Your Name is a Song written by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Luisa Oribe

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Your Name is a Song written by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Luisa Oribe

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WRITTEN BY JAMILAH THOMPKINS-BIGELOW AND ILLUSTRATED BY LUISA URIBE
★ "This lovely celebration of African American culture, featuring a Muslim family, offers a fresh way to look at the tradition of creating new names. . . A delightful celebration." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review ★ "Simultaneously imparts a strong spark of sensibility and envelops readers in a warm embrace through an overdue, crucial lesson about the significance of honoring every individual's cultural identity..." -- School Library Journal, starred review
Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. Your Name is a Song is a celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names.
ISBN: 978-1943147724
RETAIL PRICE USD $16.99 · Full Color Hardcover Picture Book

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Your Name Is a Song - The Innovation Press

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WRITTEN BY JAMILAH THOMPKINS-BIGELOW AND ILLUSTRATED BY LUISA URIBE ★ "This lovely celebration of African American culture, featuring a Muslim family, offers a fresh way to look at the tradition of creating new names. . . A delightful celebration."

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SkySisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Brian Deines

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SkySisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Brian Deines

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Illustrated by Brian Deines

Two Ojibway sisters set off across the frozen north country to see the SkySpirits' midnight dance. It isn't easy for the younger sister to be silent, but gradually she begins to treasure the stillness and the wonderful experiences it brings. After an exhilarating walk and patient waiting, the girls are rewarded by the arrival of the SkySpirits --- the northern lights --- dancing and shimmering in the night sky.

This powerful story, with its stunning illustrations, captures the chill of a northern night, the warmth of the family circle and the radiance of a child's wonder.

Awards & Reviews

2005 - First Nation Communities Read, Short-listed

2001 - Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award, Short-listed

2001 - CCBC Choices 2001, Cooperative Children's Book Center, Winner

2000 - Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award, Canadian Library Association, Short-listed

2000 - Skipping Stones Honor Award, Skipping Stones Magazine, Winner

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Illustrated by Brian Deines Two Ojibway sisters set off across the frozen north country to see the SkySpirits' midnight dance. It isn't easy for the younger sister to be silent, but gradually she begins to treasure the stillness and the wonderful experiences it brings.

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You Matter written and illustrated by by Christian Robinson

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You Matter written and illustrated by by Christian Robinson

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by Beth Ferry ; illustrated by The Fan Brothers ‧

Ferry and the Fans portray a popular seasonal character's unlikely friendship.

Initially, the protagonist is shown in his solitary world: "Scarecrow stands alone and scares / the fox and deer, / the mice and crows. / It's all he does. It's all he knows." His presence is effective; the animals stay outside the fenced-in fields, but the omniscient narrator laments the character's lack of friends or places to go. Everything changes when a baby crow falls nearby. Breaking his pole so he can bend, the scarecrow picks it up, placing the creature in the bib of his overalls while singing a lullaby. Both abandon natural tendencies until the crow learns to fly-and thus departs. The aabb rhyme scheme flows reasonably well, propelling the narrative through fall, winter, and spring, when the mature crow returns with a mate to build a nest in the overalls bib that once was his home. The Fan brothers capture the emotional tenor of the seasons and the main character in their panoramic pencil, ballpoint, and digital compositions. Particularly poignant is the close-up of the scarecrow's burlap face, his stitched mouth and leaf-rimmed head conveying such sadness after his companion goes. Some adults may wonder why the scarecrow seems to have only partial agency, but children will be tuned into the problem, gratified by the resolution.

A welcome addition to autumnal storytelling-and to tales of traditional enemies overcoming their history. (Picture book. 4-6)

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by Beth Ferry ; illustrated by The Fan Brothers ‧ Ferry and the Fans portray a popular seasonal character's unlikely friendship. Initially, the protagonist is shown in his solitary world: "Scarecrow stands alone and scares / the fox and deer, / the mice and crows. / It's all he does.

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Come On, Rain! written by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Jon J. Muth

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Come On, Rain! written by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Jon J. Muth

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Karen Hesse, Author, Jon J. Muth, Author, Jon J. Muth, Illustrator Scholastic Press $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-590-33125-8

More By and About This Author

""Up and down the block,/ cats pant,/ heat wavers off tar patches in the broiling alleyway./ Miz Grace and Miz Vera bend, tending beds of drooping lupines,"" as a whole neighborhood waits for rain. The narrator, Tessie, is the first one to see the ""clouds rolling in,/ gray clouds, bunched and bulging under a purple sky,"" and she engineers a joyful rain dance with her three friends, Jackie-Joyce, Liz and Rosemary. The long-sought rain ""freckles our feet, glazes our toes./ We turn in circles,/ glistening in our rain skin."" According to Hesse's bio on the jacket flap, this text contains her initial exploration of motifs used first in her Newbery Medal-winning novel, Out of the Dust. With poetic and immediate language, she again captures the cleansing experience of rainfall after a long dry spell. In an auspicious debut, Muth's illustrations showcase an impressive range of perspectives, from the opening urban skyline to the subtle indication of the oncoming storm in the ruffling of a curtain to the girls' view looking up at their mothers from where they're dancing in the street. His inventive design sense and use of watercolors--smudges of shadow, glistening sidewalks and foggy city-scapes--are remarkable. This is an impressive tribute to those experiences that leave us ""purely soothed,/ fresh as dew,/ turning toward the first sweet rays of the sun."" Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

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Children's Book Review: Come On, Rain by Karen Hesse, Author, Jon J. Muth, Author, Jon J. Muth, Illustrator Scholastic Press $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-590-33125-8

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Karen Hesse, Author, Jon J. Muth, Author, Jon J. Muth, Illustrator Scholastic Press $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-590-33125-8 More By and About This Author ""Up and down the block,/ cats pant,/ heat wavers off tar patches in the broiling alleyway./ Miz Grace and Miz Vera bend, tending beds of drooping lupines,"" as a whole neighborhood waits for rain.

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The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family written by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly.

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The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family written by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly.

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A young girl admires her older sister's "first-day hijab" in this team effort by hijabi Olympian Muhammad ( Proud, 2018) and YA novelist Ali ( Love From A to Z, 2019).

Mama takes Asiyah and Faizah to the hijab shop so that Asiyah can pick out her "first-day hijab." Mama likes pink, but Asiyah picks out "the brightest blue." Faizah has a new backpack and light-up shoes for the first day of school, but when Asiyah walks out in her blue hijab, "It's the most beautiful first day of school ever. / I'm walking with a princess." Once they arrive at school, the reactions of other children alternate with spreads depicting Faizah's thoughts about Asiyah's hijab, which are paired with Mama's words. A girl whispers, asking Faizah about the hijab. But "Asiyah's hijab isn't a whisper"; according to Mama, "It means being strong." These spreads show Aly's close-up illustrations of a smiling Asiyah, with her blue hijab extending into an image of "the sky on a sunny day" or "the ocean waving to the sky." Faizah triumphs over the misunderstandings and bullying she witnesses, her pride in her sister still intact. This sensitive representation of family relationships that provide a loving coat of armor against the world's difficulties is memorable and inspiring. Bullies are depicted as faceless shadows, emphasizing the importance of discounting what they say. Faizah's family is black; the other schoolchildren are multiracial.

Triumphant and true. (Picture book. 4-10)

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A young girl admires her older sister's "first-day hijab" in this team effort by hijabi Olympian Muhammad ( Proud, 2018) and YA novelist Ali ( Love From A to Z, 2019). Mama takes Asiyah and Faizah to the hijab shop so that Asiyah can pick out her "first-day hijab."

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Jabari Jumps written and illustrated by Gaia Cornwall

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Jabari Jumps written and illustrated by Gaia Cornwall

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Cornwall captures the exquisite tingle of Jabari's fear and excitement, which gives the book its drama. The visual details - the way the little sister's tiny hand grips her father's back while her father holds her brother's hand - give the book its heart.
-The New York Times Book Review

There are plenty of picture books reassuring kids who don't quite achieve their own goals when they want to (see, for example, Ashley Spires's The Thing Lou Couldn't Do, BCCB 4/17), but here Cornwall celebrates success earned through overcoming fears and through reliance on the supportive presence of a loving parent...Pool season is right around the corner, and this funny and joyful outing will put everyone in the mood for a dip.
-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Mixed-media images in serene muted colors, high-rise buildings above the tree line, and the intriguing addition of faded newsprint accents strengthen the urban feel of the illustrations. Jabari's story will help assuage the fears kids experience when faced with a new and daunting adventure. A terrific seasonal storytime read-aloud that's perfect for one-on-one sharing.
-School Library Journal (starred review)

In her debut, Cornwall places her loving black family at the center, coloring the swimming pool and park beyond in minty hues and adding whimsy with digitally collaged newspaper for skyscrapers...This simple and sincere tale of working up courage to face fears makes quite a splash.
-Kirkus Reviews

The dialogue and text are straightforward and make a nice pairing with the creatively chosen angles for the illustrations...a welcome piece for any summertime collection.
-Booklist

A daunting gaze downward, past Jabari's toes that curl around the edge of the board, makes the water look incredibly far away, and when seen from behind, he seems as high up as the skyscrapers in the distance. It's a lovely, knowing account of a big "first" in a child's life.
-Publishers Weekly

Against a backdrop of warm brown skin tones and cool aqua water, debut author-illustrator Cornwell presents an empowering and celebratory story. Young readers will root for Jabari as he prepares to take a leap of faith.
-The Horn Book

Anyone who has hesitated on the brink of something daunting-a brave act or a big decision-will feel a rush of kinship with the small protagonist of Gaia Cornwall's picture book "Jabari Jumps".
-The Wall Street Journal

Beautifully done.
-People

It's a summertime rite of passage: jumping off the diving board for the first time. In Jabari Jumps (Candlewick, ages 4-8) Gaia Cornwall brings to vivid life this moment for one little boy...For young listeners, this lovely book is a reminder that the best summers have both challenging surprises and fun.
-The Washington Post

A little boy has finished his swimming lessons and is trying to get up the courage to jump off the diving board in this utterly charming debut picture book with a valuable lesson about conquering your fears from a gifted author-illustrator
-Buffalo News

For a little lightheartedness "Jabari Jumps" (Candlewick, 2017; 15.99) is just the ticket. Gaia Cornwall wrote and illustrated this charming story of Jabari who goes to the swimming pool with his father and younger sister and promises that this is the day he will jump off the diving board...Young readers will want to hear or Jabari's challenge again and again.
-The Gazette

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Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall: 9781536202908 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Cornwall captures the exquisite tingle of Jabari's fear and excitement, which gives the book its drama.

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A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui

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A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui

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A fishing trip is not just a fishing trip in this poignant, semiautobiographical tale. As a young boy growing up in a Vietnamese refugee family in Minneapolis, Phi would wake up "hours before the sun comes up" to go fishing with his dad.

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We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past written by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Diane Greenseid

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We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past written by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Diane Greenseid

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The teaming of Woodson and Greenseid is a marriage made in heaven: vivacious, finger-snapping prose and electric paintings full of attitude.

The scene is an urban park where a family picnic is gathering speed. A grandmother and the young narrator arrive with fried chicken, biscuits, and quick, stunning comments on each and every family member as they appear, sometimes as asides and sometimes with hoots and sass. Every contribution to the picnic table is judged, and the folks who come empty-handed are in for a good ribbing: "Nobody can eat that smile you brought for the cameras, Moon Pie." Bible-thumpers show up, as do cousins mean, sweet, and shifty. Grandma's paramour appears, and everyone awaits Cousin Martha's arrival, with her dreaded dry apple pie-"You better eat every bite of it so you don't hurt Martha's feelings." For that sentiment is the heart of this book: Despite the teasing and joking, the gathering of the grand African-American extended family brims with love and acceptance.

When they sit down at a table of plenty-with two luxurious store-bought cakes as Cousin Martha's contribution-and the narrator says, "You should have been there," readers will have to agree. (Picture book. 4-8)

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WE HAD A PICNIC THIS SUNDAY PAST | Kirkus Reviews

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The teaming of Woodson and Greenseid is a marriage made in heaven: vivacious, finger-snapping prose and electric paintings full of attitude. The scene is an urban park where a family picnic is gathering speed.

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Dictionary For A Better World by Irene Latham & Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini

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Dictionary For A Better World by Irene Latham & Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini

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Instead of an ordinary dictionary, poets Latham and Waters have alphabetized their vision of "a better world."

This compilation of alphabetized words offers readers opportunities to reflect upon vocabulary that uplifts and acts to improve human connection and community. Each word is introduced with a poem and a quote, often from children's literature, that provide a deeper expression of the chosen word. These are followed by an anecdote that offers personalized context. "Compassion," for instance, presents an aubade about siblings who care for their sick mother before walking together to the bus stop. In Amini's textured collage, two young black children "steep Mama / in hugs and blankets," their love and concern glowing from the page. A quote from Julius Lester instructs readers that "there is nothing we need to understand to be compassionate with each other," and Latham offers her musing on what compassion means to her. Finally, under the rubric "Try It!" are prompts that elicit engagement to amplify the word as action. Unlike many alphabet books, there is not always just one word per letter; some letters gather several words together. This collection is best summed up in the last poem, "The Etymology of Progress": "What makes the world / a zinger / is remembering / we're all in this... / together."

A creative and inspirational resource suitable for a broad range of ages and uses. (authors' note, bibliography, further reading, resources, index, thanks) (Poetry. 8-14)

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DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD | Kirkus Reviews

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Instead of an ordinary dictionary, poets Latham and Waters have alphabetized their vision of "a better world." This compilation of alphabetized words offers readers opportunities to reflect upon vocabulary that uplifts and acts to improve human connection and community.