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

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

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)

Wonky Donkey's Big Surprise

A young donkey missing her mother is excited as her father sits her down to give her a surprise. With its funny rhyming words and its charming illustrations, this Children's Choice Award Wonky Donkey sequel tells the tale of a loving family and…

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

With the Fire on High

The novel narrates the story of Emoni Santiago’s life. Emoni becomes pregnant in her senior year at high school. As a single mom, she has to manage her responsibilities towards her daughter, Abuela, school, and her passion for cooking (Amazon).

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

Wicked Like A Wildfire

Iris and Malina’s family have magical abilities also known as “gleam” which manipulates beauty. This ability only applies to the women in the family. Iris has the power to see flowers as fractured images and turns these fragmented images into…

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

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)

What About Will

Trace Reynolds is a white-Puerto Rican 12-year-old who has always looked up to his 17-year-old brother Will. But when Will suffers from a traumatic brain injury during a football game, their family starts to fall apart. Will's depression, anger…

Tags: boy/man (primary character); boy/man (secondary characters); cognitive/neurological disability/condition (secondary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; Latinx (secondary characters); middle grade book (ages 8-12); multiracial (primary character); multiracial (secondary characters); unspecified sexuality (primary character); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters)

We Are Water Protectors

In this Caldecott Medal-winning picturebook, a young Indigenous girl must rally her community to defend the Earth's water, the most sacred medicine of all, against a black snake that threatens to destroy the land.

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

We Are Not Broken

A memoir covering family relationships, love, loss, queerness, and racism experienced during the author’s time growing up in New Jersey with their brother and cousins, as they are raised together by their grandmother, whose legacy the book…

Tags: Black/african (author); Black/African (primary character); 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); non-binary (author); non-binary (primary character)

We All Play

Animals and Indigenous children play side by side. Cree words are peppered throughout the book, and a glossary at the end provides the Cree names for all of the animals depicted. There is also a guide to Cree pronunciation for those not familiar with…

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

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

Vespertine

Grey sisters are nuns that purify and cleanse the bodies of the dead so their souls can pass on. The protagonist, Artemisia, is training to become one. But when her covent is threatened by possessed soldiers, she awakens an ancient spirit, the…

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

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

This Day In June

This Day In June is a children's picture book made to introduce children to Pride Parades, and all things that happen during them. It carries a simple rhyming scheme with few words that allow the pictures to shine and show the beauty of pride. The…

Tags: American Psychological Association (publisher); Book; brown skin (secondary characters); colour illustrations; group (characters); human (secondary characters); language: English; LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); Litten, Kristyna (illustrator); Magination Press (imprint); picture book; Pitman, Gayle E. (author); Print book (hardcover); This Day In June (book); unspecified sexuality (secondary characters); white, assumed (secondary characters)

They Both Die at the End

They Both Die at the End is a story about two young men named Mateo and Rufus whose lives intersect when each gets a call telling him he is going to die that day and they connect via an app called Last Friend. This book allows readers to follow along…

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

There’s a Ghost in this House

A story young girl who lives in a haunted house but has never seen ghost. The mixed media illustration depict her hunt for a ghostly presence sound her home.

Tags: girl/woman (primary character); language: English; picture book; white, assumed (primary character)

Thelma, Pig and Friends Storybook Collection: Five Favourite Stories

A collection of modern fables that uses animals to portray a message of self acceptance.

Tags: boy/man (primary character); girl/woman (primary character); graphic novel; language: English; non-human (primary character)

The Year of Secret Assignments

This novel follows three young Australian girls, Emily, Lydia and Cassie, who attend a private school. Their English teacher assigns a penpal assignment with boys from a public school who do not have a good reputation. Their names are Seb, Matthew…

Tags: 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

The Truck Book

Take a dive into the world of trucks, with over 50 different types of trucks to learn about. Full of colourful illustrations and tons of interesting truck facts, this picture book is an excellent read for any vehicle enthusiast.

Tags: language: English; no characters; picture book

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 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)

The Scapegracers

Sideways Pike is a teenage lesbian witch who finds an unlikely friendship in the three most popular girls of her school. Together, the diverse group of friends form a powerful coven in which they explore friendship, love, and magic.

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

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

After having lost her mother and two sisters, 12-year-old Coyote has been living with her Dad in a school bus, traveling everywhere but their hometown. When she learns that the park where she had buried a memory box is about to be demolished, she…

Tags: Black/African (secondary characters); boy/man (secondary characters); girl/woman (primary character); girl/woman (secondary characters); human (primary character); human (secondary characters); language: English; Latinx (secondary characters); LGBTQ+ (secondary characters); man (author); white (author); white (illustrator); white (primary character); woman (illustrator)

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)

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