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

The Other Black Girl

The Other Black Girl is about a twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant named Nella Rogers. Rogers is tired of being the only black employee at Wagner Books, where she works. She becomes friends with Hazel, another black girl who she quickly becomes…

Tags: Black/African (primary character); Black/African (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); wh; white, confirmed (secondary characters); young adult fiction

The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince follows a young woman named Jude who wants nothing to do with her mortality and hopes to be accepted into the High Court of Faerie. To win a place in the court she has to win over Prince Cardan because he despises humans.

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); language: English; non-human (secondary characters); straight (primary character); straight (secondary characters); white, confirmed (primary character); young adult fiction

Such a Fun Age

Such a Fun Age is a novel about a young black woman named Emira Tucker, a babysitter who is accused of kidnapping the white child she is babysitting. She begins working for a wealthy white woman named Alix Chamberlain who, is only concerned about her…

Tags: Black/African (primary character); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; straight (primary character); straight (secondary characters); white, confirmed (secondary characters); young adult fiction

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)

Lang, Suzanne

Lang is a New York Times bestselling author of children's books. She is also a children's television writer and producer.

Tags: author; straight (author); white (author); woman (author)

Lang, Max

Lang is a twice Academy Awards and Oscar's nominated film director and illustrator. He works for Nickelodeon and illustrates books by his wife, Suzanne Lang.

Tags: animator; author; director (film); man (illustrator); straight (illustrator); white (illustrator)

The Couch Potato

A couch potato believes it can live life sitting on a sofa in front of a wall of screens—that is until the power goes out and forces the couch potato to play outside. Being in nature reminds the couch potato that fresh air, exercise, and human…

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (secondary characters); 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)

Wume, Cindy

Based in Taipei, Taiwan, Wume is primarily an illustrator, using a range of materials and drawing inspiration from humanity and nature. She loves plants and animals.

Tags: Asian (author); Asian (illustrator); unspecified sexuality (author); unspecified sexuality (illustrator); woman (author); woman (illustrator)

John, Jory

John is a #1 and #2New York Times bestselling author and two-time E.B. White Read-Aloud Award winner. In addition to adult and children's books, he has also written fortheNew York Times,The Guardian, theSan Francisco Chronicle, Buzzfeed, and more.

Tags: author; man (author); unspecified sexuality (author); white (author)

Oswald, Pete

Oswald is a father, husband, #1New York Times bestselling illustrator, Annie Award- and Oscar-nominated animator, children's book author, and painter. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Tags: animator; illustrator; man (illustrator); unspecified sexuality (illustrator); white (illustrator)

The Bookshop Cat

A cat finds a job in a children's bookshop, where he helps children of many races and genders come together over books.

Tags: Asian (secondary characters); Black/African (secondary characters); boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); brown skin (secondary characters); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (secondary characters); language: English; non-human (primary character); non-human (secondary characters); picture book; white, assumed (secondary characters)

Don't Ask Me Where I'm From

When Liliana Cruz, a first-generation Latina, is accepted into an elite and predominantly white high school, she chooses to white-wash herself in order to fit in. However, as family secrets unravel and racial tensions begin to rise, Liliana is left…

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; Latinx (primary character); Latinx (secondary characters); unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); white, confirmed (secondary characters); young adult fiction

Garnu, Elena

Elena Garnu is a Spanish artist, illustrator, and graphic designer. She has worked with a variety of publishers, including Simon & Schuster. Her art style consists of a blend of realistic, feminine portraits and elements of nature. She is the…

Tags: artist; graphic designer; illustrator; unspecified sexuality (illustrator); white (illustrator); woman (illustrator)

De Leon, Jennifer

Jennifer De Leon is the award-winning author of the essay collection White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing, andis presently the Assistant Professor ofCreative Writingat Framingham State University. Born of Guatemalan descent, she often…

Tags: author; Latinx (author); professor; unspecified sexuality (author); woman (author)

Refugee

Refugeefollows three children escaping three different traumatic situations: in the 1930s, a Jewish boy named Josef escapes Nazi Germany; in 1994, a girl named Isabel tries to leave Cuba to go to America; and in 2015, a Syrian boy named Mahmoud is on…

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

Deeplight

In this fantasy story, the Gods have disappeared for over 30 years and divers search for some of their remains. Hark finds a divine heart to save his best friend Jelt, but the divine does not seem to mingle well with the human. The book follows two…

Tags: boy/man (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); young adult fiction

Tokyo Ever After

Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom…

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

The Boi of Feather and Steel

This book is the second one in the queer witchy fantasy duologyMetamorphosis(sequel toThe Girl of Hawthorne and Glass). The three main characters are Eli, a female white assasin, Tav, a black magic queer boi, and Kite, a blue-skinned witch. In the…

Tags: Black/African (primary character); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); language: English; LGBTQ+ (primary character); non-binary (primary character); non-human (primary character); white, assumed (primary character); young adult fiction

Cooper, Susan

Cooper is an English children’s author best known for her young adult fantasy series The Dark is Rising. She was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1976 and the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 2012, recognizing her lifetime contribution to writing for teens.

Tags: author; unspecified sexuality (author); white (author); woman (author)

Ellis, Carson

In addition to writing and illustrating her own picture books, Ellis is well-known for her illustrations in children’s books like Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead, and her husband Colin…

Tags: author; illustrator; unspecified sexuality (illustrator); white (illustrator); woman (illustrator)

The Shortest Day

Carson's illustrations accompany the text of Cooper's poem "The Shortest Day," initially written for stage performances. The book explores the celebration of the year's shortest day in the past and in the present, showing many races, genders, and…

Tags: Asian (secondary characters); boy/man (secondary characters); brown skin (secondary characters); girl/woman (secondary characters); group (characters); human (secondary characters); language: English; picture book; white, assumed (secondary characters)

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