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

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

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)

Diary of a Young Naturalist

A teenager in Ireland describes his life within a year as he navigates friendships, school, and his incredible connection with nature. These diary entries follow the challenges of Dara's living with autism.

Tags: boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); cognitive/neurological disability/condition (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); white, confirmed (primary character); white, confirmed (secondary characters); young adult nonfiction

Dinosaur Dig (The Berenstain Bears)

Based on the TV/Cartoon show, Dinosaur Dig is a tie-in that follows Nick Jr’s Berenstain Bears. In this book, Brother and Sister visit the Bearsonian Museum and find a real dinosaur dig taking place! What sort of fossils will they find?

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

Elijah Of Buxton

The book follows Elijah Freeman, an 11 year old boy from Buxton, Ontario, a settlement of escaped slaves. After Elijah's friend is robbed of the money he was saving to buy his family out of captivity, Elijah journeys to the US in pursuit of the…

Tags: Black/African (primary character); Black/African (secondary characters); boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); language: English; middle grade book (ages 8-12); unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters)

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners

A Chinese girl notices that her eye shape is unlike those she sees at school. She looks to her family and culture to find the beauty and revolution in her difference.

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

For All Time

Together, Tamar and Fayard live through a thousand lives and have seen the ups and downs of life. Through all these lives lived, one thing never changed, which is their passionate love for one another. The problem is they can never see how their love…

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

Forever Birchwood

Wolf's and her friend's treehouse hideaway Birchwood, is threatened to be cut down, pushing Wolf to fight harder to protect the environment she cares deeply for. Her passion is fuelled when discovering her family’s indigenous connections as her great…

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

From the Tops of the Trees

“Young Kalia has never known life beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. The Thai camp holds many thousands of Hmong families who fled in the aftermath of the little-known Secret War in Laos that was waged during America’s Vietnam War. For…

Tags: Asian (primary character); Asian (secondary character); early reader (ages 5-9); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; picture book; unspecified gender (primary character); unspecified gender (secondary characters); unspecified sexuality (primary character)

Gabby’s Dollhouse Cat-tastic Heroes to the Rescue!

Gabby and Pandy become superheroes and defend the Dollhouse! Follow along as they save the Gabby Cats from the supervillain.

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

Girl in Pieces

This book is a great choice for someone who is going through a tough time: it has heartbreak, learning experiences, and much more. This book is about a girl who is struggling in her life and needs help.

Tags: boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); language: English; psychiatric disability/condition (primary character); straight (primary character); white (primary character); woman (author); young adult fiction

Great Too

This fun children's book is about hockey and overcoming challenges in sports. It shows children the importance of teamwork and relying on each other.

Tags: Black/African (secondary characters); boy/man (primary character); boy/man (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)

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)

Hair Love

A Black American girl learns to style and care for her curls. The stylish hairdos build her self-esteem. This story was made into an Academy Award-winning short film by the same title.

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; non-human (secondary characters); picture book; straight (secondary characters); unspecified sexuality (primary character)

Heart Sister

In this story, Emmitt's twin sister, Minnie, dies in an accident. Minnie turns out to be an organ donor. Emmitt tries to put his sister back together, in spirit. He decides to create a film and interview people who received his sisters organs. The…

Tags: boy/man (primary character); human (primary character); language: English; young adult fiction

Holding Up the Universe

Libby Strout is dubbed "America's Fattest Teen," but after her mom's death, she hopes to start the new school year as the girl who can do anything no matter her weight. Jack Masselin has the skill of fitting in except he can't recognize faces, and…

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

Hopepunk

Hope Cassidy feels out of place in her conservative Christian family. She loves listening to rock, and her sister Faith has a boyfriend. When their little sister tells their parents about Faith's sin, she disappears, and Hope decides to rebel and…

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

I Love You to the Moon and Back

I Love You to the Moon and Back is a short children’s novel recounting a parent bear and their cub from morning to night as they recall all the ways they show their love.

Tags: early reader (ages 5-9); language: English; non-human (primary character); unspecified gender (primary character); unspecified sexuality (primary character)

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)

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)

InvestiGators: Ants in Our P.A.N.T.S.

In the fourth installment of John Patrick Green's InvestiGators series, the crocodile agents at S.U.I.T are faced with a new problem when agent Brash's replacement, RoboBrash, comes equipt with giant ants. It's up to him and Mango to stop both the…

Tags: Asian (secondary characters); boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); brown skin (secondary characters); girl/woman (secondary characters); graphic novel; human (secondary characters); language: English; non-human (primary character); non-human (secondary characters)

It's a Mitig!

An educational book that teaches while entertaining children about words for nature and animals in Ojibwe language in a rhyming scheme narrative. Full of cheerful and friendly depictions of animals. Features a very helpful pronunciation guide and…

Julián is a Mermaid

Author/Illustrator Jessica Love describes her Stonewall Book Award-winning Julián is a Mermaid as "a story about a boy and his Abuela. It is a story about being seen for who we are by someone who loves us"…

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