Diverse Children's Literature Recommendations

When I presented in my district about Creating Culturally Rich Environments, I had a diverse collection of books on display. A few teachers asked if I had compiled a list of the books that were out. Unfortunately, I didn't do that ahead of time, but would love to offer some of those titles here now. The grade levels are approximate and some books would work with more than one level. I'll share titles for Intermediate grades in another post.

Most of the titles should be available through our school library though I borrowed a few from the public library. You may check our catalog here. I'm only recommending titles that I've actually read. I've also used many with students. Most have been reviewed or rated on my Goodreads account if you want more information about a title.

Infant to Pre-school/Kindergarten Level

Boozhoo: Come Play With Us (English/Ojibwe) - Fond du Lac Head Start

Our Journey - Lyz Jaakola

Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns Richard Van Camp

Little You - Richard Van Camp

Book of Play! With Northwest Coast Native Art - Native Elements

Global Babies (English/Spanish)- Global Fund for Children
Listen to the Desert: Oye el desierto - Pat Mora

Colores Everywhere (English/Spanish) - San Antoinio Museum of Art

Bee Bim Bop - Linda Sue Park
Did You Hear Wind Sing Your Name?- Sandra de Couteau Orie
Please Baby Please & Please Puppy Please by Spike Lee & Tanya Lewis Lee

A Kiss Means I Love You - Kathryn Madeline Allen

We All Count (English/Cree) - Julie Flett

Fiesta Babies - Carmen Tafolla
Green is a Chile Pepper - Roseanne Thong

I Love My Hair - Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Snowball - Nina Crews

Round is a Tortilla - Roseanne Thong

Our Grandparents: A Global Album - Maya Ajmera

Tig, Toog = Hip, Hop (English/Hmong) - Catherine Hnatov

Mi Familia Calaca (English/Spanish) - Cynthia Weill

Who's in My Family: All About Families - Robie Harris
My Family is Special to Me (English/Hmong) - Bee Xiong
Tougi the Toad - Gaonou Thao

Pw zoo, Tus Me Ntshuab/Good Night Little Sea Otter (English/Hmong) - Janet Halfmann
One World, One Day - Barbara Kerley
The Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats
Ten Little Puppies/Diez perritos (English/Spanish) - Alma Flor Ada
Maria Had a Little Llama/María tenía una llamita (English/Spanish) - Angela Dominguez
The Swirling Hijaab (English/Urdu)- Na'ima B. Robert
A Nest in Springtime: A Bilingual Book of Numbers (Chinese/English) - Belle Yang
Dale, dale, dale : una fiesta de números = Hit it, hit, hit it : a fiesta of numbers (Spanish/English) - René Saldaña, Jr.

Primary Grades (K-3)
The Good Luck Cat - Joy Harjo
Jingle Dancer - Cynthia Leitich Smith
Sky Sisters - Jan Bourdeau Waboose

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match & its sequel - Monica Brown
My People - Langston Hughes & Charles Smith, Jr.
Farmer Will Allen's Growing Table - Jacqueline Briggs Martin
My Dadima Wears a Sari - Kashmira Sheth
Looking Like Me - Walter Dean Myers
JoJo's Flying Side Kick - Brian Pinkney
Baxter the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher - Laurel Snyder
Just a Minute - Yuyi Morales
Ruth and the Green Book - Calvin A. Ramsey
Rabbit's Snow Dance - Joseph Bruchac
Busing Brewster - Richard Michelson
Henry's Freedom Box - Ellen Levine
I Too am America - Langston Hughes & Bryan Collier
Soccer Star - Mina Javaherbin
Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building - Christy Hale
Here I Am - Patti Kim
Tito Puente: Mambo King - Monica Brown
What Can You Do With a Paleta - Carmen Tafolla
Big Red Lollipop - Rukhsana Khan
Gracias/Thanks - Pat Mora
Dalia's Wondrous Hair - Laura Lacamara
King for a Day - Rukhsana Khan
Silly Chicken - Idries Shah
Niño Wrestles the World - Yuyi Morales
The Blacker the Berry - Joyce Carol Thomas
The Secret Message - Mina Javaherbin
Wild Berries - Julie Flett
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message - Chief Jake Swamp
Goal - Mina Javaherbin
Little Roja Riding Hood - Susan Middleton Elya
Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic - Ginnie Lo
Viva Frida - Yuyi Morales
Ron's Big Mission - Rose Blue
Each Kindness - Jacqueline Woodson
Tiger in My Soup - Kashmira Sheth
The Story of Ruby Bridges - Robert Coles
Martin's Big Words - Doreen Rappaport
The Moccasins - Earl Einarson
My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood - Tameka Fryer Brown
Firebird - Misty Copeland
We March - Shane Evans
What Can You Do With a Rebozo - Carmen Tafolla
Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin - Duncan Tonatiuh
Tomas and the Library Lady - Pat Mora
Too Many Tamales - Gary Soto
Tap Dancing on the Roof - Linda Sue Park
The Name Jar - Yansook Choi
Ghosts for Breakfast - Stanley Todd Terasaki
Fish for Jimmy - Katie Yamasaki
The Pot That Juan Built - Nancy Andrews-Goebel
It's Our Garden - George Ancona
Los Gatos Black on Halloween - Marisa Montes
Grandfather Gandhi - Arun Gandhi
Draw! - Raúl Colón
Grandfather's Journey - Allen Say
The Ugly Vegetables - Grace Lin
A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream - Kristy Dempsey
Meet Danitra Brown - Nikki Grimes
Hungry Johnny - Cheryl Minnema
Chukfi Rabbit's Big Bad Bellyache - Greg Rodgers
Hip-Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat - ed. Nikki Grimes
My Colors My World/Mis colores mi mundo - Maya Gonzalez
Skin Again - bell hooks
Let's Talk About Race - Julius Lester
The Deaf Musicians - Pete Seeger

Primary Chapter Books
Anna Hibiscus (series) - Atinuke
The Missing Chancleta and Other Top-Secret Cases - Alidis Vicente
Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon - Ka Vang
The No. 1 Car Spotter (series) - Atinuke
Only One Year - Andrea Cheng
Ling and Ting (series) - Grace Lin
Sofia Martinez (series) - Jacqueline Jules
Precious Ramotswe''s Very First Cases (series) - Alexander McCall Smith
Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico - Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
The No-Dogs-Allowed Rule - Kashmira Sheth
The Gumazing Gum Girl (series) - Rhode Montijo
Zapato Power (series) - Jacqueline Jules
Jackson Friends (series) - Michelle Edwards
Katie Woo (series) - Fran Manushin
Ruby Lu (series) - Lenore Look
Rickshaw Girl - Mitali Perkins

Whew! That took a lot longer than I imagined it would so now I am going to relax and watch one of my favorite videos from Putumayo Kids.