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My Papi Has A Motorcycle -Isabel Quintero

Stella Díaz Has Something to Say -Angela Dominguez

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation -Duncan Tonatiuh

The Poet X - Elizabeth Acevedo

Esperanza Rising -Pam Muñoz Ryan

-MEG MEDINA-

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Chinese American Author Study for grades 3 &4

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Chinese American Author Study for grades 3 &4

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Soñadores -Yuyi Morales

Alma Y Cómo Obtuvo Su Nombre -Juana Martinez-Neal

La Pequeña Emigrante -Enrique Parrilla

El Libro De Los Americanos Desconocidos -Cristina Henríquez

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Inaugura una exposición, lanza una edición impresa y una revista digital.

Para difundir la exploración y el conocimiento entre los niños, National Geographic inauguró una exposición, lanzó una edición impresa y una revista digital.??

La exposición Raro pero Cierto estará abierta desde el 3 de diciembre de 2014 hasta el 10 de mayo de 2015 en el Papalote Museo del Niño, de la Ciudad de México, y muestra datos sorprendentes del universo, de los animales, y del cuerpo humano.??

La edición impresa Raro pero cierto podrá adquirirse en el Papalote Museo del Niño, y la revista digital National Geographic Kids ofrece a los niños hechos sorprendentes, artículos curiosos acerca de animales, películas, juegos y ciencia, y puede descargarse en los kioskos Apple y Android.

Fotografía: Cortesía de Papalote Museo del Niño

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National Geographic para niños - National Geographic en Español

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Inaugura una exposición, lanza una edición impresa y una revista digital. Para difundir la exploración y el conocimiento entre los niños, National Geographic inauguró una exposición, lanzó una edición impresa y una revista digital.?? La exposición Raro pero Cierto estará abierta desde el 3 de diciembre de 2014 hasta el 10 de mayo de 2015 [...]

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In My Family/En Mi Familia -Carmen Lomas Garza

Life of/La Vida De Selena - Patty Rodriguez & Ariana Stein

Where Are You From?/¿De dónde eres? -Yamile Saied Méndez

My Name Is María Isabel/ Me llamo María Isabel -Alma Flor Ada

In The Country We Love/

En El País Que Amamos -Diane Guerrero

MORE SUGGESTIONS

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While books are extremely beneficial to everyone, they are particularly important for children who are learning to speak, read but also understand the world around them. Unfortunately, there is still a gap in books about communities of color written by authors of color. But as we see more diverse subject matter covered in books, we have also seen several that help children accept themselves and others just the way they are.

Below, check out five books written by Latino authors that show children that who they are is enough.

Bad Hair Does Not Exist! by Sulma Arzu-Brown

From a young age, girls with Afro-textured hair receive negative messages about their hair. Sulma Arzu-Brown - who is Garifuna - realized how damaging this was when her babysitter told Sulma that her 3-year-old daughter had pelo malo. Instead of getting upset, Arzu-Brown channeled her energy into writing Bad Hair Does Not Exist! for all the little girls who "are Black, Afro-descendent, Afro-Latinas and Garifuna."

The bilingual (Spanish and English) book is aimed at those 3 years old and older.

Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor

As a child, Sotomayor was diagnosed with diabetes, so she understands how children can feel like they stand out. In this picture book, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates all the differences that make people unique.

They Call Me Mix by Lourdes Rivas

For years, Lourdes Rivas' elementary school students asked them why they went by the word "maestre." Rivas - who uses they/them pronouns - would then explain what non-binary meant, but not in an in-depth manner. This inspired them to write They Call Me Mix/Me Llaman Maestre, a bilingual book based on Rivas' life that teaches young children about gender pronouns and how the gender binary doesn't encapsulate everyone.

PCD Has Nothing on Me! by Chloe Fernandez

At age 6, Chloe Fernandez was diagnosed with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, a genetic disorder where mucus isn't cleared from the lungs, paranasal sinuses and ears. This book is aimed at children who deal with any kind of illness and know what it means to miss going to school or other activities because of it.

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela believes she has too many names, so when she asks her dad why she got so many names, she learns the history that she carries with her. Everyone of her names is purposeful and pays honor to a member of her family.

latino literature.

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5 Children's Books by Latinx Authors That Celebrate You Just as You Are

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While books are extremely beneficial to everyone, they are particularly important for children who are learning to speak, read but also understand the world around them. Unfortunately, there is still a gap in books about communities of color written by authors of color.

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Rafe Martin is a lay Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani koan line. He is founding teacher of Endless Path Zendo, Rochester, NY, and is also an award-winning author and storyteller whose work has been cited in Time, Newsweek, NY Times, and USA Today. ...
He reads the story for us.

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Author Rafe Martin reads his book The Rough Face Girl

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Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.

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“I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again.”~ Crazy Horse

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Kunu’s Basket: A Story from Indian Island
by Lee DeCora Francis

Kunu wants to make a pack basket, like all the men on Indian Island. But it is difficult and he gets frustrated. Just when he is about to give up, his grandfather intervenes. Kunu’s Basket is a CCBC Choice of 2013 book about family bonds and traditions, as well as about being patient and gentle with yourself. Includes an author’s note about the basket making tradition of the Penobscot Nation culture. ~ Elementary School

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Indian shoesBook by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Indian shoesBook by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Book used to replace anchor text for third grade unit one Stone Fox.
This collection of interrelated stories is heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny. Cynthia Leitich Smith, acclaimed author of Rain Is Not My Indian Name, writes with wit and candor about what it's like ...

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This link has videos once you click on a book you want.

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AALBC is curating a list of the best 100 Children's books published in 2023. The books include board books, early reader, middle grade, and young adult titles ( defintion of children book categories). Here is a printable list of all the books on this list. Here is a beautiful collage of the book covers. Read more about this list ▶

Books 1 to 20 (of 113)

More Information

If you feel strongly about uplifting children through books please read and share, "Ten Steps to Promote Diversity in Children's Literature." Also, be sure to check out The Brown Book Shelf a great source to discover children's books and authors.

Keep in mind, no one list can possible include all the excellent books written by or about Black young people. Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments below.

Check out these other excellent sources for children's books;

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Top 100 Recommended African-American Children's Books - 2023

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Updated for 2023! Children Book authors, avid readers, and industry professionals contributed their favorite children's Books to a list of the, "Top 100 Recommended African-American Children's Books."

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Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

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The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron | Scholastic

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Among the stories are: Julian loses a tooth, tries to grow taller, makes a new friend, eats too much pudding, and plants a garden.

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Photo by Das Anndas

Ann Cameron was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, in 1943 in the middle of an October blizzard. She grew up on a farm on the outskirts of that small town, and from the time she could walk she loved exploring it -- picking wild violets, staring into the eyes of cows and horses and chickens, puzzling over where the sun went when it set and wanting to follow it. She says: "When I was a child I fell in love with nature, imagination, and freedom. Later my childhood friends and I made up our own games. We spent lots of time outside, skiing, hiking, biking, and fishing. Our world seemed to us almost separate from the world of adults. I think the independence my childhood friends and I enjoyed is disappearing from the life of American children today, and I want them to feel it through my books."
In third grade, Ann decided that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer."I loved to read," she says, "but I didn't know anyone who was an author. I wasn't sure I could be one. I was afraid I couldn't. Every story I wrote as a child had behind it that terrible, troubling question: was it the story of someone who could become an author? If I could advise children who want to be authors and who perhaps worry as I did, I'd tell them to read a lot, learn all they can about what makes stories beautiful, powerful, and exciting, and not worry about the future."

Ann graduated from Radcliffe College, where she studied with the poet Robert Lowell. He called one of her poems "magical" and encouraged her to keep writing. After graduating from college she worked in publishing in New York City, and studied at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she received an M.F.A. in English in 1972.

Her first book for children, The Seed, was published in 1974. The book was inspired by a seed growing on her windowsill: transformed into a story, it became a young seed in the ground afraid to grow because it had heard a terrible storm in the unknown world above it.

Ann's books about Julian Bates and his family found their beginning in stories told her by a South African friend, Julian DeWette. "I wanted to write stories that would include the emotions all children feel," Ann says. "Now that I've heard from children around the world who like my books, I'm delighted to find that I've really done it!"

In 1983, Ann visited Guatemala and decided to divide her time between New York City and Guatemala. "I'd always felt that if I lived in another culture I'd learn other ways of seeing things and become a broader person than if I knew only one culture's outlook. Now I have years of living among Guatemalan people, some of whom are living on or over the edge of poverty. This is not a good thing, and it's not right. Yet the difficulties of living in Guatemala often teach people to recognize the impermanence of life and to value each day and each other more than material things. I try to do that, too."

Ann now lives most of the year in Panajachel, Guatemala, the small town she calls San Pablo in her short novel The Most Beautiful Place in the World. She has worked to improve the Panajachel library so that Guatemalan children will have the same opportunity to read, learn, and dream that American children have. She is married to Bill Cherry, a former sailor, newspaper reporter, and editor, and retired staff director of a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. They live in view of three volcanoes, a beautiful lake, and a waterfall, in a small house with flowers growing over the roof and a lemon tree in the garden.

National Book Awards Finalist

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Photo by Das Anndas

Ann Cameron
Square Fish
Square Fish

Amanda Woods is discovering that there are some things in life you just can't change, like who your parents are or how your older sister treats you, but she is determined to change what she can. To...

Available in:

Buy

Photo by Das Anndas

Ann Cameron
Square Fish
Square Fish

Amanda Woods is discovering that there are some things in life you just can't change, like who your parents are or how your older sister treats you, but she is determined to change what she can. To...

Available in:

Buy

Photo by Das Anndas

Ann Cameron
Square Fish
Square Fish

Amanda Woods is discovering that there are some things in life you just can't change, like who your parents are or how your older sister treats you, but she is determined to change what she can. To...

Available in:

Buy

Ann Cameron
Square Fish
Square Fish

Amanda Woods is discovering that there are some things in life you just can't change, like who your parents are or how your older sister treats you, but she is determined to change what she can. To...

Available in:

Buy

g

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Ann Cameron was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, in 1943 in the middle of an October blizzard. She grew up on a farm on the outskirts of that small town, and from the time she could walk she loved exploring it -- picking wild violets, staring into the eyes of cows and horses and chickens, puzzling over where the sun went when it set and wanting to follow it.

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The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games a book by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

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Reveals the diversity crisis in children’s and young adult media as not only a lack of representation, but a lack of imagination Stories provide portals into other worlds, both real and imagined. The promise of escape draws people from all backgrounds to speculative fiction, but when people of color…

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Grace Lin - Children's Book Author and Illustrator

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Grace's first picture book in four years is now out! Co-authored with Kate Messner, the "spellbinding ode to imagination and the transformative wonder of stories" (as described by Kirkus) is for any reader, young or old.

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Enjoy Kelly Yang reading from the first chapter of THREE KEYS, the sequel to her New York Times bestselling novel Front Desk. Three Keys will be released...

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That's the message I share with children, teachers, librarians, and aspiring authors all over the world.

Do you have an idea? Write it down. Don't worry about making it "good"-just TRY.

The key is getting started. Getting those big wheels in your brain to move.

If you sputter, if you stall, no problem. Wait a little while and start it up again.

Someone needs to write the poems of the 21st century.

Someone needs to write our stories, our books, our movies, our slogans, our songs.

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That's the message I share with children, teachers, librarians, and aspiring authors all over the world. Do you have an idea? Write it down. Don't worry about making it "good"-just TRY. The key is getting started. Getting those big wheels in your brain to move. If you sputter, if you stall, no problem.