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

In the Key of Nira Ghani

Nira, an aspiring trumpeter, fights to pursue her musical passions, which oppose the expectations of her traditional Guyanese parents. With its themes of family, friendship, and romance, this coming-of-age story explores the realities of a…

Tags: 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; unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); white, assumed (secondary characters); young adult fiction

Indivisible

After Mateo's parents have been taken to separate deportation centers, he must navigate life in the United States with his younger sister Sophie while going to school, maintaining relationships, exploring sexuality, and learning about immigration…

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

Little Messy Marcy Su

Marcy Su sets out to clean up her room and herself before her grandparents arrive. By the time they get there, she and her room look great, but the rest of the house is a mess. The delightful picturebook contains elements of Chinese culture…

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

Lost in Time

Mimi is a part of the Blue Bloods family line. She must face a blood trial with her twin brother Jack, where in the end only one of them will survive. However, everything they thought about the gate has turned out to be a lie. Mimi must save the only…

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

Love in the Library

A short recollection of how Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s grandparents met during their time in a Japanese internment camp. A story about love as persistence and resistance in times of hardship.

Tags: boy/man (primary character); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); language: English; picture book; straight (primary character)

Made in Korea

Two entrepreneurial Korean American teens fall in love as they compete in sales at their respective Korean beauty businesses. Despite their blossoming relationship, the rivalry is strong and only one business can succeed!

Tags: Asian (primary character); Asian (secondary character); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; straight (primary character); straight (secondary characters)

Merry Christmas, Anne

A holiday book inspired by L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Anne explores friendship, thankfulness, and showing appreciation around Christmastime.

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

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)

Mockingjay

This final book of The Hunger Games trilogy follows Katniss Everdeen as she discovers District 13 and becomes the opponent of President Snow. She also seeks to find her lost love, who was captured and brainwashed.

Tags: Black/African (secondary characters); boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); language: English; straight (primary character); straight (secondary characters); white, confirmed (primary character)

Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites

This is a children’s picture book based on a true story about an American chef of Japanese descent. Niki Nakayama is a famous chef and the reader embarks on an adventure as she faces criticism and as she strives to learn about the culinary arts.

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

Once Upon a Broken Heart

A love story that winds between reality and fantasy. It is the story of Evangeline Fox who turns to the Prince of Hearts to her stop the wedding of her husband on another woman and to heal her heart (Amazon).

Tags: girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); language: English; straight (primary character); young adult fiction

One Last Stop

Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop is a romance novel about a girl who gives up on love but ends up falling for someone who was unexpected.

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

Operation Sisterhood

Bo and her mother lived a quiet life before moving to her stepfather's home in Harlem. With three new sisters, pets, and a new life, she is unsure how to fit in.

Tags: Black/African (primary character); Black/African (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); group (characters); human (primary character); language: English; middle grade book (ages 8-12); unspecified sexuality (primary character)

Outside Over There

When her baby sister is abducted by goblins, Ida must enter a strange and bizarre world to rescue her. As noted on the Harper Collins website, this book has been the recipient of multiple awards, including the National Book Award, New York Times Best…

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

Peg+Cat: The Sleepover

Sleepover time! Peg +Cat invites their 4 Pirate + parrot friends over for a slumber soiree. Unfortunately, the pirates get homesick! This causes a big problem… What will they do to save the sleepover?

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

Peppa’s Pizza Party

It's Pizza Time! Based on the TV/Cartoon show, Peppa’s Pizza Party is a tie-in that follows Nick Jr’s Peppa Pig and her family as they make the dough, prepare the ingredients, and assemble their own homemade pizzas.

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

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)

Pride

This novel is an updated version of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It brings in themes of cultural identity, class, and gentrification in a romance setting. It discusses diversity and hardship in the teenage years and reimagines a classic story.

Tags: Black/African (primary character); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); language: English; Latinx (primary character); unspecified sexuality (primary character); young adult fiction

Pups to the Rescue! (Paw Patrol)

This beautiful book has paw patrol stickers for you to use on all the pages! Ryder and his dogs all have different capacities and tools, which is was makes the team so great. In this book, you will learn all about Marshall, Chase, Skye, Rubble, Rocky…

Tags: boy/man (primary character); girl/woman (primary character); human (primary character); language: English; non-human (primary character); picture book; unspecified sexuality (primary character)

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)

Remember to Dream, Ebere

Ebere's mother tells her to always dream as big as possible, and she does. This book praises imagination, hope, and a child's potential for greatness.

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; picture book; unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters)

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

Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven

Raven and Garfield have both experienced traumatic life events and have their own hidden secrets. They meet for the first time in Nashville as both try and seek answers from Slade Wilson. A YA romance story about trust and acceptance.

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); comic book; girl/woman (primary character); language: English; non-human (primary character); non-human (secondary characters); straight (primary character); straight (secondary characters)

Tempted (House of Night #6)

Tempted is the sixth novel in the House of Night Seriesof young adult novels about teens who are marked to become "vampyres." In this novel in the series, Zoe Redbird, who has both Cherokee and white heritage, strives to understand her connection…

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); Indigenous (secondary characters); language: English; LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); multiracial (primary character); non-human (secondary characters); straight (primary character); young adult fiction

The Beatryce Prophecy

A fantasy/fable about prophecy and storytelling, set in medieval times. The protagonist has her head shaved, is disguised as a boy, and hidden by monks. She has an unpleasant goat as an animal companion.

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

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