Celebrate Different Cultures, Identities, and Experiences, Offering a Literary Journey Beyond Boundaries
As you read through these pages, you'll learn that diversity is more than just a theme—it's a celebration. It's a celebration of the many ways in which strength is found in accepting differences. Whether you want to extend your cultural horizons or simply lose yourself in a gripping story, these various book recommendations offer the key to unlocking fresh perspectives and ideas that will stay with you long after the final page has been turned.
DIVERSE CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Welcome to Our Table
by Laura Mucha - Ed Smith - Harriet Lynas
Find out what children eat all around the world in this beautifully illustrated book, written by bestselling poet and author Laura Mucha, alongside trained chef and food writer Ed Smith. From biltong to biryani, papaya to passionfruit, and ramen to roti, there are so many different dishes and delicacies all around the world. In this fascinating book, young children can learn all about what people in other countries eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as where our food comes from, and the stories, cultures, and traditions behind what we eat. A unique, warm-hearted book that will teach children understanding, empathy, and respect, and inspire a love of food and flavor. With engaging, colorful artwork on every page by award-winning illustrator Harriet Lynas.
My Name
by Supriya Kelkar - Sandhya Prabhat
My Name is an inspiring picture book that encourages kids to celebrate themselves and all the things that make them unique, especially their name.
Your name means you're different
Your name means you're you
When an Indian American boy starts school in a new classroom, one child can't pronounce his name properly, which leads to giggles amongst his classmates. Later at home, his parents remind him of how special he is -- and how his unique name reflects that.
With lush illustrations by Sandhya Prabhat, award-winning author Supriya Kelkar writes a stunning tribute to the word that identifies each of us the very most -- our name, reminding readers of the beauty in celebrating difference, taking pride in uniqueness, and helping others to do the same.
A Family Like Ours
by Frank Murphy - Alice Lee - Kayla Harren
Everyone's family is unique--and good! From sprawling extended families and close-knit units to adopted and chosen families, A Family Like Ours celebrates all those important connections we build over the years. Regardless of what yours looks like, family is a place for support, safety, growth, and inspiration. What is special, surprising, or sensational about your family?
DIVERSE TEEN AND YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
I'm Not Here to Make Friends
by Andrew Yang
When Sabine Zhang is picked for Hotel California, a teen reality show with an all-Asian cast, she jumps at the opportunity. As one of few Asians at her high school in the Midwest, she's always felt as if she was playing a side character in someone else's story. But on this show, she'll finally have a chance to step into the spotlight.
All Yoona Bae wants is to get away. The girls at church think she's mean, her mom thinks she's a troublemaker, and she's tired of fighting against her unearned bad reputation. So when she's invited to appear on Hotel California, Yoona sees it as an opportunity to chill out, make some friends, maybe even get a tan.
But life on the show isn't all sunshine and self-actualization. The producers want drama at all costs, even if it means pitting Sabine and Yoona against each other. With the season finale looming, can the girls figure out a peaceful way forward, before they lose control of their own narratives?
The Scarlet Alchemist (Original)
by Kylie Lee Baker
Zilan dreams of becoming a royal alchemist, of providing for her family by making alchemical gold and gems for the wealthy to eat in order to stay young forever. But for now, she's trapped in her impoverished village in southern China, practicing an illegal form of alchemy to keep food on the table--resurrecting the dead, for a price.
When Zilan finally has the chance to complete her imperial exams, she ventures to the capital to compete against the best alchemists in the country in tasks she'll be lucky to survive, let alone pass. On top of that, her reputation for raising the dead has followed her to the capital, and the Crown Prince himself seeks out her help, suspecting a coming assassination attempt.
The more Zilan succeeds in her alchemy, the more she gets caught in the dangerous political games of the royal family. There are monsters lurking within the palace walls, and it's only a matter of time before they--and secrets of Zilan's past--catch up with her.
by Omar Epps - Clarence A Haynes
The sequel to Nubia: The Awakening, the epic fantasy from actor and producer Omar Epps and writer Clarence A. Haynes! A powerful saga of three teens, the children of refugees from a fallen African utopia, who must navigate their newfound powers in a climate-ravaged New York City.
Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho were among the first of a new generation of Nubians to awaken to extraordinary powers--gifts their parents lost when they fled their island home decades ago. And now that Uzochi has been declared a Nubian catalyst, everyone expects him to lead.
But what should be a time of rebirth and celebration is instead one of turmoil. The so-called sky king, Krazen St. John, is bent on harnessing Nubian gifts for himself, and he has assembled a special, superhuman militia to do his bidding, putting a ruthless Lencho in charge.
Facing down his cousin feels insurmountable for Uzochi, even with Zuberi at his side, but now there's more at stake than the hostile government of Tri-State East. Uzochi's training has led him to discover an ancient, forgotten force hungry for conquest--and it won't stop until all of Tri-State East . . . and possibly the world . . . is under its control.
DIVERSE ADULT BOOKS
Everything's Fine
by Cecilia Rabess
On Jess's first day at Goldman Sachs, she's less than thrilled to learn she'll be on the same team as Josh, her white, conservative sparring partner from college. Josh loves playing the devil's advocate and is just...the worst.
But when Jess finds herself the sole Black woman on the floor, overlooked and underestimated, it's Josh who shows up for her in surprising--if imperfect--ways. Before long, an unlikely friendship--one tinged with undeniable chemistry--forms between the two. A friendship that gradually, and then suddenly, turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both.
Despite their differences, the force of their attraction propels the relationship forward, and Jess begins to question whether it's more important to be happy than right. But then it's 2016, and the cultural and political landscape shifts underneath them. And Jess, who is just beginning to discover who she is and who she has the right to be, is forced to ask herself what she's willing to compromise for love and whether, in fact, everything's fine.
A stunning debut that introduces Cecilia Rabess as a blazing new talent, Everything's Fine is a poignant and sharp novel that doesn't just ask will they, but...should they?
The Color of Dance: A Celebration of Diversity and Inclusion in the World of Ballet
by Takiyah Wallace-McMillian
For decades the prominent image of a ballet dancer has been a white body with pale clothing. It took 75 years for American Ballet Theatre to have its first African American female principal dancer, Misty Copeland. When TaKiyah Wallace-McMillian went to enroll her three-year-old daughter into her first ballet class, she immediately saw this lack of diversity and representation--even on her local dance studio's website. Within weeks TaKiyah, a freelance photographer, began shooting a project she called Brown Girls Do Ballet, which eventually became an Instagram hit and a nonprofit organization that provides resources, mentorship, inspiration, and encouragement to young dancers of color worldwide.
For her first book, The Color of Dance, TaKiyah traveled around the United States seeking out dancers of African, Asian, East Indian, Hispanic, and Native American ancestry. With these more than 190 breathtaking images of colorful ballerinas of all ages and levels, both amateur and professional, TaKiyah gives a voice to dancers who have been underrepresented for too long.
With dozens of quotes throughout from ballerinas themselves, The Color of Dance redefines what this classically Eurocentric art form has looked like for centuries and will inspire dancers--and all of us--to pursue our dreams no matter what barriers are put in front of us.
A Smatter of Minutes
by Franciska Soares
Are we all subject to the violence and secrets of our mind, forever marked by them?
Haunted by the memory of her parent's gory murders, Abigail Moore's life is shaped by a nebulous feeling of guilt. She is sent off to her loving grandmother who is fashioned from the same clay as she is. Gramme Kathleen lives in a small close-knit Roman Catholic community on Gloriosa Street, a street that crackles with the energy of its people; people who live secret lives camouflaged, rendered almost invisible in a country that teems with billions - India.
On her grandmother's death Abigail is set adrift once more and decides to return to New Zealand, the country of her birth. There she is reunited with her step-brothers Robert and Kenneth. Though they are strangers to her, she cannot deny the tenuous link she shares with them - memories of that terrifying night.
Memory, they say can be imperfect, and can throw up surprises, as Abigail soon discovers. Will the truth she uncovers rouse the murderer into striking again? Will she be his next victim?
To readers who need a thrilling murder/mystery to tantalize the senses, and for those who are given to rooting for the underdog in hopes she'll someday blunder into the amazing person she's meant to be - this one's for you.
This is a coming-to-wisdom story written by the author of They Whisper in my Blood. There's nuanced character growth and zippy prose. An across-the-board assault on the senses.