Browse Items · Windows and Mirrors: Diversity in Books for Young Readers

You Should See Me in A Crown

Living in a rich white town, high school senior and anxious introvert Liz Lighty loses her financial aid for college and runs for prom queen to win a scholarship. She grapples with school drama, romance, and family issues.

Tags: Black/african (author); Black/African (primary character); Black/African (secondary characters); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; LGBTQ+ (author); LGBTQ+ (primary character); LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); straight (secondary characters); white, assumed (secondary characters)

Molly Bang Exercise

I'm Not Dying with You Tonight

Switches between the perspectives of Leena and Campbell, two teenagers trying to make it home from a football game in Atlanta, through a race-related protest-turned-riot with police presence.

Tags: Black/african (author); Black/African (primary character); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; white (author); white (primary character); woman (author)

Pinkalicious and the Babysitter

Based on the PBS Kids TV series Pinkalicious & Peterrific, Pinkalicious and the Babysitter is a tie-in that follows Maya as she babysits Peter and Pinkalicious. WhenPeter accidentally breaks his mother’s mug, Pinkalicious takes on the challenge…

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; picture book; unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); white, assumed (primary character); white, assumed (secondary characters)

What I Like About You

Nash and Halle have built a seemingly wonderful virtual connection. They have shared interests and beliefs, but Kels, Halle's fictional character, is everything she wishes she was. When Halle and her brother move in with her Grandfather and finds…

Tags: boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); Jewish (primary character); language: English; LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); white, confirmed (primary character); white, confirmed (secondary characters)

Zara Hossain Is Here

Pakistani immigrant Zara Hossain and her family have waited nine years in Texas for their green card approval. As the only Muslim girl at her catholic school, Zara tries not to create trouble for her family. But after a threatening note, the…

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); brown skin (primary character); brown skin (secondary characters); Christian (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; LGBTQ+ (primary character); LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); Muslim (primary character); straight (secondary characters); white, assumed (secondary characters); young adult fiction

Walking in Two Worlds

Bugz is a shy Anishinaabe teen girl, but online, she’s a confident video gamer. Her two worlds collide when she befriends Feng, a Muslim Uighur teen boy and fellow gamer who moves into the Rez. Together, they must learn to reconcile broken…

Tags: Asian (secondary character); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); Indigenous (primary character); language: English; Muslim (secondary characters); straight (primary character); straight (secondary characters); young adult fiction

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot

After far from athletic Greg Heffley unexpectedly earns a spot on his school's basketball team, he and his newfound teammates are faced with the highs and lows of the middle school sports season.

Tags: boy/man (primary character); graphic novel; language: English; straight (primary character)

The Thing About Spring

An exciting story about a Mouse, Bird, Bear, and Rabbit that are all excited friends for Spring looking forward to warm days, lots of good food, blooming flowers, and pleasant surprises.

Tags: language: English; non-human (primary character); non-human (secondary characters); picture book; unspecified gender (primary character); unspecified gender (secondary characters); unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters)

The Extraordinaries

This queer coming-of-age story follows Nick Bell, an ultimate fanboy with ADHD. Nick strives to be extraordinary to impress his biggest crush: Shadow Star, Nova City's mightiest hero. But, he finds that his best friend Seth could be the true love of…

Tags: boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); cognitive/neurological disability/condition (author); cognitive/neurological disability/condition (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; LGBTQ+ (author); LGBTQ+ (primary character); LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); man (author); unspecified gender (secondary characters); white (author); white, assumed (primary character); white, assumed (secondary characters); young adult fiction

Unplugged

Jett Baranov attends Oasis, a "wellness" camp that forces him to "unplug" from technology. Although unimpressed at first, Jett soon finds that Oasis is a place of friendship, mystery, adventure, and chaos!

Tags: boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; middle grade book (ages 8-12); unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); white, assumed (primary character); white, assumed (secondary characters)

Interview with Uma Krishnaswami

For this interview, I spoke with author Uma Krishnaswami. Uma has been publishing for 37 years but she has been a lifelong writer. Growing up in India and then moving first to the United States and then Canada, Uma noticed the lack of multicultural…

Human/Non-Human Chart - Kids Bestsellers 2022

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Sexuality Charts - Kids Bestsellers 2022

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Religion Charts - Kids Bestsellers 2022

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Race/ Ethnicity Charts - Kids Bestsellers 2022

Gender Charts - Kids Bestsellers 2022

Disability Charts - Kids Bestsellers 2022

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Windows and Mirrors: Omeka Guide

WindowsMirrors-OmekaGuide-2024-07-18.pdf

For the purposes of this project, this regularly-updated guide is comprised of comprehensive sections on how to create Omeka items using well-defined Dublin Core and Item Type Metadata elements, including map, tags and item relations, and on how to…

The Paper Boat

A unique wordless picturebook that tells the story of a family's flight from Communist-ruled Vietnam. The images were created from paper craft, and ants are used to parallel the experience of the refugees.

Tags: Asian (secondary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); group (characters); human (secondary characters); language: English; picture book; unspecified sexuality (secondary characters)

Grumpy Monkey

Jim is a grumpy monkey who does not want to admit it. His jungle friends suggest ways he can cheer himself up. But instead of trying to improve his mood, Jim sits with Norman, the gorilla, who lets him just feel his grumpiness. This New York Times…

Tags: boy/man (primary character); language: English; non-human (primary character); non-human (secondary characters); picture book; unspecified gender (primary character); unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters)

Singing Pebble Books Interview

An interview with booksellers Laura and Sam at Singing Pebble Books in Ottawa, Ontario, lead by Ashley Tenn. This interview is a discussion about bookselling at an independent bookstore and what roadblocks they encounter. Singing Pebble Books is a…

PJ Masks Save the School!

Preschool is never boring with Catboy, Owlette and Gekko! Join them as they try to find out who stole the school supply that just suddenly went missing.

Tags: boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); brown skin (secondary characters); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; picture book; unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); white, assumed (primary character)

Meet Cute Diary

Self-proclaimed trans romance expert Noah Ramirez is known for his blog of trans love stories, “Meet Cute Diary.” When the fictionality of the stories is revealed, Noah, who is white and Japanese on his mom’s side and Afro-Caribbean on his dad’s,…

Tags: Black/African (secondary characters); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; LGBTQ+ (author); LGBTQ+ (primary character); LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); multiracial (author); multiracial (primary character); straight (secondary characters); transgender (author); transgender (primary character); white, confirmed (secondary characters); young adult fiction

Mindy Kim and the Big Pizza Challenge (Mindy Kim Series)

In the sixth novel of the series, Mindy Kim, an Asian American child, enters a pizza trivia contest with her father. Mindy must help her father overcome some cultural differences and references that he does not understand, while her father simply…

Tags: Asian (primary character); Asian (secondary characters); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; picture book; unspecified gender (secondary characters); unspecified sexuality (primary character)

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