Inside: Celebrate diversity and culture with this vast collection of multicultural books for children! Includes 60+ book lists, from toddlers through big kids.
I was dismayed to discover that the number of multicultural books for children that have been published hasn’t increased during the last 18 years. All this is despite census data showing 37% of the US population consists of people of color.
This graphic is from Lee and Low publishers.
I have posted a large number of book lists focusing on multicultural books for children (some my own creations but others that I’ve happily discovered).
I am organizing them all here in hopes that more people will read multicultural children’s books. Hopefully, this will spark an interest that will lead to more books depicting people of color being published. Moreover, if you are an essay writer who needs materials to write something on multi-culture topics, this list will be a great source.
If you want to deepen your kid’s absorption of multicultural reading, then custom bookmarks and stickers would be a great choice as memory keepers and reminders. You can customize them aligned with any highlighted themes, events, and ideas in the books. Create more fun while reading. Furthermore, if you are a bookstore owner, go with some customized bookmarks and stickers with your store logo as promotional gifts, which is a great support to multiculturalism as well.
Also, anyone can create their own digital book and make it interactive by adding videos, images, and buttons with flipbook software. Children will have a great experience when flipping through the pages.
For all of my book lists, please see List of Lists: All My Book Lists (300+)
p.s. Here is another list of classic Best Books for Children from BestBooks.to website.
Multicultural books for children: 60+ Book Lists
I’ve broken down my multicultural lists by:
- Multicultural Book Lists for Kids (a catch-all for those lists that don’t fit the categories below)
- Civil Rights Movement Books for Kids
- Asian American Books for Kids with subcategories
- Korean American Books for Kids
- Japanese American Books for Kids
- Chinese American Books for Kids
- Southeast Asian Books for Kids
- Native American Books for Kids
- Hispanic American Books for Kids
- Arab American Books for Kids
- LGBTQ Books for Kids
Multicultural Book Lists for Kids
White Privilege Books for Kids
A Unit on Skin Color: Children’s Books & Videos
7 Stories About Saving Sea Creatures That Center BIPOC Protagonists
Immigration and the Refugee Experience Books for Kids
50 Must Read Diversity Picture Books
Homelessness in Children’s Books
Picture Books to Teach Gratitude
Top 1o Favorite Diversity Books For Kids By Kids
Africa Access was founded in 1989 to help schools, public libraries, and parents improve the quality of their K-12 collections about Africa.
Top 10 Multicultural Board Books for Babies and Toddlers
It was surprisingly hard to find board books with diversity and inclusive themes.
I searched my public library for the best diverse easy readers.
These books are from the 2015 Notable Books for a Global Society Award, for middle grade readers ages 8 and up.
I hope these picture books inspire readers about the power of one … just one person can do amazing things!
My favorite way to learn about new cultures is through food. Explore with me as we read (and eat as recipes are linked) around the world!
These are some of my very favorite diversity chapter books that I hope can read with your kids too!
These five books show different perspectives from the story of a young Masaii girl who wants to touch the moon to visiting family in Tanzania and The Gambia.
May all dancers of color be inspired to reach for their dreams with this book list.
This covers many ethnicities and is categorized by genre.
We are “homeschooling” world religion.
Our elementary school does an immigration unit using these chapter books. I’ve also added a few newly published books as well.
I hope this list inspires children, parents, and teachers to visit their local libraries and explore the biography bookshelves! I’ve also included many biographies below featuring diverse historical characters.
View soccer as it’s played around the world through the eyes of these picture books.
These are the Young Adult books from the 2015 Notable Books for a Global Society.
Best Multicultural YA Books for Teens
I’m new to YA so I was excited to discover this great list.
25 Diversity Authors and Illustrators for Kids Spotlighted
Civil Rights Movement Books for Kids
My kids study the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in 4th grade and I’m pleased to see a handful of important and often, award-winning, picture books, chapter books, and Young Adult books published each year.
Black History Month with Carole Boston Weatherford
HARLEM: Found Ways art exhibit and Children’s Books Reflecting Harlem
This list covers picture books, chapter books, and young adult.
If you read these picture books in order, it gives an overview of the African-American experience historically starting from slavery to the present day.
Meeting Ruby Bridges was a thrill for me and further reinforced how important it is for kids to learn about the Civil Rights Movement.
An advanced picture book that paints a portrait of Booker T. Washington as a determined young boy.
If you just want a snapshot of the Civil Rights Movement for young children, try these three books: two picture books and a chapter book.
5th Grade Social Studies And How to Make It Interesting
I have a section in this post about the Civil Rights Movement.
Asian American Books for Kids
One of the most exciting things for me about blogging was discovering Asian American books for kids.
This genre was just starting to emerge a few years ago when I started blogging. Growing up, I read extensively but I never found books that were like me — an Asian American 2nd and 3rd generation girl living in the suburbs. I’m thrilled to find that this is no longer the case.
Recognizing Children’s Books for AAPI Heritage Month (a huge list)
I love these wordless picture books by Asian and Asian American authors/illustrators so much that I made videos of them on my Instagram.
CoolAsianKids made a wonderful list of their favorite Asian American KidLit.
These books show the new diversity of Asian American KidLit as well as the high quality of this genre.
The Asian Pacific American Libraries Association has announced its 2013 literature award winners.
I created a series of posts a while back that I called Teach Me Tuesday. I wanted to explore a country using children’s books as well as different elements of their culture from art to food to artisans. This was the first post I did of this series on Vietnam (and my best one!). The Teach Me Tuesday series is here.
A friend from Sri Lanka gave me a recipe that he loved as a child and this sparked this post. Finding the books is always the toughest part for me.
The more I learned about Laos, the more I wanted to go to this mysterious, beautiful, and tragic country.
Korean American Books for Kids
I’m half Chinese and Japanese and I married a Korean. My first lists of multicultural books for children were on these three ethnicities as a way to show my children their heritage. The Korean American culture is so strong in America that this first post went viral.
This is the first post of mine ever to go viral.
I wanted to learn more about my husband’s family history so this is a very personal journey of discovery.
I don’t often do individual book reviews but finding this great Asian American book at the library made me want to post on it.
Japanese American Books for Kids
Japanese Internment Books for Kids
Learning About Japan Picture Books for Kids
For your young ninja, books to learn about Japan.
Connecting Science and Art: Hokusai’s The Great Wave
It’s amazing how a single piece of art can have a ripple effect, inspiring others all around the world and for many generations.
In Memory of Hiroshima Bombing Books and Crane Origami for Kids
WWII Internment seems to dominate Japanese American books for kids. I agree that it is an important history lesson — my mother was forced to relocate but I also hunger for books that explore other facets of being Japanese American.
Kite flying is an important ritual in Asia and I’ve rounded up every great kite flying book thanks to a little help from my friends and readers.
This was my response to a reader request.
I explore my own Japanese history in this post.
These older books explore the Japanese American internment experience during WWII, a shameful chapter in America’s history.
Chinese American Books For Kids
There is such a diversity of Chinese American books for kids from philosophy, culture, and contemporary times.
Chinese New Year Picture Books INSTEAD of Tiki Tiki Tembo
I wanted to show the breadth and depth of Chinese American books for kids. These were our favorites.
Top 10: Best Chinese New Year Books for Kids
I never had a great Chinese New Year picture book despite always doing a Chinese New Year presentation for my children’s preschool so I was determined to upgrade!
4th of July Picture Books with an Asian Twist
Fourth of July from a Chinese American immigrant’s perspective via picture books. Yep, this is what I blog about!
Lisa Yee portrays the dilemmas of modern-day Asian American kids caught between assimilation and Tiger parents.
Percy Jackson + Chinese Mythology = The Monkey King’s Daughter
A Chinese mythology action-adventure series.
Southeast Asian Books for Kids
Southeast Asian culture and books are foreign to me too so I wanted to learn more.
Top 10: Best Southeast Asian American Children’s Books (ages 2-14)
Sheela Chari’s debut mystery chapter book is award-winning!
Native American Books For Kids
My first list was criticized by Debbie Reese, the preeminent scholar on this topic, for including books that she did not feel accurately depicted the Native Americans. My response was to repost her great lists!
Contemporary Native Americans in KidLit
Do kids think that Native Americans are only the past? This list will hopefully change that!
What to read when preparing for a visit to Plimoth Plantation.
This is the list I made.
Debbie Reese’s list for middle-grade chapter books.
Debbie Reese’s list for picture books.
Debbie Reese’s list of YA books is very popular.
I am a huge fan of Joseph Bruchac, a happy discovery from chatting with my librarian when creating my list.
The author of this advanced picture book lives one town over!
Hispanic American Books for Kids
Best Bilingual Spanish Picture Books
My guest author Derek Taylor Kent comes up with his list of best bilingual Spanish picture books for kids.
I’m noticing some great Hispanic American KidLit lately across all children’s book genres!
I’m doing a round-up of Hispanic books for kids of all ages, from picture books to young adult.
Arab American Books for Kids
18 Wonderful Picture Books about the Arab World
This is my collection of the best picture books I’ve read so far about the Arab world.
27 Books for Kids About the Arab World
In the wake of the conflicts in the Middle East, I thought it especially important for kids to learn about Islam and the people of the Middle East which might also teach them tolerance in the process. There is so much negative stereotyping during a war that can color a child’s perspective.
Deborah Ellis’s Parvana series shows a realistic view of what life is like in Afghanistan for girls today. It’s heartbreaking but also so important.
Chapter book The Pharoah’s Secret by Marissa Moss discovered in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Did I find Senenmut, Hatshepsut’s love there?!
LBGTQ Books for Kids
10 Groundbreaking LGBTQ Children’s Books
Gingerbread Men in Different Cultures
To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
More lists and reviews of diverse, inclusive, and multicultural books for children from KidLit bloggers here on my Pinterest board:
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- California Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Honor Book Award
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
As always I love your lists. I too was stunned when I saw these statistics come out. Thanks for doing something incredible about it.
Hi Valarie,
Thanks so much! Yes, I found that stat totally depressing. And here I thought there was such progress with Asian American kids’ books coming out. Ok, makes me more determined that ever to promote multicultural books for kids!
Great list!
I would love for you to link up at the Mommy Archive – we’re focusing this week on favourite children’s books , Alice x
Thanks so much Alice! I added a few posts! Thanks for coming by!
Wow, Mia you have been busy! I am really shocked that so many of these books are out of print. Hardly any of these books were available to teachers and children in the large multicultural population of the school in which I recently worked.
Hi Barbara,
I actually just did a round up of my multicultural book lists from the past 3 years of blogging. I have quite a few, apparently [blushes]. Yes, so many of the books are out of print but usually a public library can request it from their network. For a school library, that is tougher. Sometimes teachers (and parents) will check out books from the public library for use in the classroom.
This is an amazing resource list! You are an inspiration! Sharing!
Thanks so much Jennifer. It was a labor of love and apparently I’ve blogged a LOT on multicultural books for kids! I just organized it because it’s hard to search my blog.
This is a tremendous resource! Thank you for sharing at the Culture Swapper!
Thanks Leanna,
This list is easier to navigate than my blog!
Have you read The Wakame Gathers? It is a family favorite of ours. Love your lists! Thanks.
Hi Shelly,
It sounds wonderful. We eat a lot of Wakame. I’ll try to get a copy at the library. Going to find the author right now. Thanks so much for your great book recommendation!
Don’t buy those stats. Why? Because they are looking at books available from MAJOR publishers (owned by whites, risk-averse, only want to do biz with their own kind, etc) whereas the unique, multicultural, bilingual books you keep reading don’t exist DO exist! They are published by smaller publishing houses like mine.
A School Library Journal article where librarians are interviewed offers other reasons why this so called news is not really. I wanted to share URL here but not allowed to do so. Here’s title so you can find it yourself: “Librarians Sound Off: Not a Lack of Latino Lit for Kids, but a Lack of Awareness.”
We are the creators of the 1st bilingual children’s book about why mommies and women serve in our military. “Good Night Captain Mama / Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá”, ISBN: 978-0-9834760-3-0, debuted on the 3 Amazon bestseller lists in July.
Keep publishing these lists please. They are important!
Graciela Tiscareno-Sato
U.S. Air Force veteran
Thanks Graciela,
Here’s the link you mentioned: http://www.slj.com/2013/01/books-media/collection-development/librarians-sound-off-not-a-lack-of-latino-lit-for-kids-but-a-lack-of-awareness/
Hi Graciela,
Good point that the stats are from major publishers but I think that is still a valid point that major publishers are NOT uping their diversity books for kids as the population changes. But it’s good to know that smaller publishing houses are focusing on multicultural books and I want to get the word out about those lesser known books as well! I added your link. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the reply. My concern is how this “news” is reported and how the impression is created that the books do not exist. If headline was that the number of books published by white male dominant risk-averse publishing houses has not increased, then it would be accurate. 🙂 See, their idea of a multicultural book is to take a 50 year-old Curious George book and make it available in Spanish. Then, Scholastic distributes it and the good old boys club makes more millions of dollars. Meanwhile, no new actual multicultural literature got added to the mix, because they rarely if ever sign “unknown” ethnic authors, and if they do, NY Times won’t review. Google “An open letter to The New York Times” to read that one in the Huffington Post. 🙂 It’s complicated, so we must stay noisy.
Graciela
Hi Graciela,
Is this the link?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/graciela-tiscarenosato/open-letter-to-the-new-yo_b_1584923.html
Why are 90% of the books reviewed by the New York Times Book Review from white authors? What’s going on behind the scenes to create such an unrepresentative body of reviews for an increasingly diverse nation of consumers? We know you receive almost 1000 books (and select only a couple dozen) each week, but 90% seems like an outrageously skewed percentage. Surely you’re receiving books written by authors from different ethnic groups with that many books coming in? What selection process do you have in place that ultimately limits your reviews to only 10% by non-white authors? Is this intentional? Is this unintentional? Have you given this any thought? Perhaps it’s time.
Why so few reviews of books written by Latinos? We know there are many thousands such books written each year, in English (many others are written in Spanish.) Are they submitted to the Book Review per your guidelines? If they are (as mine was), are they simply ignored? Considered too niche-y? Does the obvious ethnic name on the cover turn off the staff? Is it disinterest, bias, review process, makeup of the reviewing team, what?
Yes, I agree! We must stay noisy and help create this market so that it can not be ignored.
Yes, you found it. 🙂
Thanks for your great article Graciela! I’m glad that there are a lot of us trying to put the spotlight on multicultural books for kids!
all of Meg Medina’s books for Latino Kid/YA Lit. Milagros: Girl from Away, Tia Isa Wants a Car, The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass.
all of Kekla Magoon’s books but especially: The Rock and the River, Camo Girl and Fire in the Streets
Rita Garcia-Willams: PS Eleven
Thanks so much for your great book recommendations Linda!! I really appreciate you adding to the list!!!
and more books….this list is from mighty girls…..but see how many women athletes are non-wasp.
Hi Linda,
Thank you so much!!!
Hi there, just wanted to say that I love your reading lists! I always discover new and interesting books on them, so please keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks so much for your kind words Alex! You just totally made my day!
Hello i have a children’s book coming out in a couple weeks named flute tudor and thr secret order , The book is about a american boy wizard 400+ pg novel .Thats full of Chinese culture a 12 year old Chinese boy name Mao ziyang is in a fierce competition broom stick race .Flute tudor is taught martial arts by a citizen of China .Flute Tudors has a chinese american buddy and side kick name dr Bruce Cho who is 16 yrs old . Flute is born in the year of the dragon sofr backs are 18.99 and hard backs are 28.99 and ebooks are 8.99 go ti trafford.com for more info
Thanks for the heads up on your book J. J.!
Nicely done! Hi. I write children’s books in English, Spanish and French. Do you have any suggestions on how to market them?
Hi Rebecca,
I would talk to Stacey at Beachbound Books. She does book blog tour marketing. http://www.beachboundbooks.com/
Hi! Thank you so much for this list, linked over from Erica at WDWDAD.
Nitpicky request~ Your links are light blue, and especially as section headings they’re harder to see against a white background and in bright settings. Can that CSS be adjusted for something darker? (It looks GREAT in your comments when your background is black.)
THANKS.
Thanks DC! I’ll see if I can figure out how to darken them but I’m not that good at that!
I can’t believe that there has been no change in that many years! Wow! We read a variety of books with children of all ages and races; especially when we’re studying history or geography but I try to encourage the boys to pick anything that interests them and not to limit themselves. Admittedly a lot of the books we read are about animals since I have nature lovers but not all of them are. Pinned to my book boards!
Thanks so much for sharing Mother of 3! Yes, the state of diversity in children’s book publishing hasn’t changed but hopefully by raising awareness and creating demand, we all can do a small part to change this. Here’s hoping!
Your book lists are indeed a fantastic resource, Mia, and it’s great to have them collated here. The publishing figures do make depressing reading but I do believe the tide is turning – and there’s one thing for sure: generally books that encompass diversity (maybe because of their extra-tough road to publication, and that’s another point for discussion…) – they are quality books and they have durability.
Hi Marjorie,
Thanks so much for your support and all that you do as well to promote literacy through the lens of diversity. I’m hopeful that the tide is turning too!
What an amazing resource! I’m pinning this for future reference. Thanks for sharing (and co-hosting!) at #diversekidlit!
Thanks so much for sharing Beth!!
I can only imagine how many hours it took you to create these lists, but the teachers/readers of the world are paying a nod of thanks to you. This is a great post! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much Ricki,
As a mom with Japanese/Chinese/Korean kids, it’s a labor of love. There weren’t ANY books with Asian American characters in them when I grew up so I’m thrilled to support the authors and illustrators that write them now!!
What an amazing round-up thank you! I’ve been looking for diverse books to share with my children and include in our #366booksin366days reading challenge. Also I’ve just finished reading Wonder myself and cannot recommend it enough 🙂 #diversekidlit
Hi Kate,
Yay! I’m so happy that you are looking for more diversity books! The three short stories by R J Palacio that accompany Wonder are amazing too. The Julian story is my favorite. It’s now a hardcover book but you can also buy each story as an eBook which is what we did.
Here’s the news release about my NEW bilingual (English/Spanish) children’s picture book (“Captain Mama’s Surprise”), just named a finalist in the “Most Inspirational Children’s Book” category for the upcoming ILBA. I’m blessed to be one of the few Latinas who have served as Air Force officers and aviators. I believe it’s time you and your children/students see women of color up in the flight deck flying the jet in children’s literature, just like it happens every day in the real U.S. Air Force! #GenderEquity #aviation and #STEM themes together in one book series? You bet!
I’m booking school visits (in person and via Skype) for Hispanic Heritage Month, Veterans Day and Women’s History Month too. Please email me at grace@CaptainMama.com. Enjoy the news release and please do share with a teacher or librarian. “Captain Mama’s Surprise” went into national distribution (hardcover and paperback) just a couple of days ago!
Visit Capitalwirepr dot com – (Title: Latina Veteran Publisher Releases Second Bilingual Aviation Children’s Book)
Congrats Graciela! This sounds like a much needed diversity picture book!!!
Thank you so, so incredibly much for this post and your amazing lists. I’m a Korean adoptee and now that I have children myself, I’ve noticed even more than usual how few books there are that have diverse people, let alone anyone of Asian heritage. I’ve been struggling to try and find some that don’t revolve around the Chinese New Year and this is so helpful!!
Hi Stacie,
I’m SO happy that these lists are helpful for you. Here’s two for you: Multicultural Adoption Picture Books: http://www.pragmaticmom.com/2015/11/adoption-books-for-kids/
Korean American Books for Kids: http://www.pragmaticmom.com/2011/05/top-10-korean-american-childrens-books-ages-2-16/
July 31, 2017
A children’s book with a dark-skinned main character and role model
Noting a general lack of dark-skinned main characters and role models in children’s books, one adoptive mother decided to write a book of her own with her daughter as the main character. The e-book ”Siri, Superhjälten och guldringen” topped e-book sales in Sweden for the first five months after its release. And now it’s available in English!
The story and idea behind the book “Siri, the Superhero and the Gold Ring” originated from author Katarina de Verdier’s own experiences as mother to her Kenya-born adopted daughter Siri. As Siri was growing up, Katarina gained insight into and growing awareness of the fact that the norms of Swedish society do not view everyone equally. Stretching from characters in children’s books to who we see in leading positions in the labour market, a general picture emerges that society is solely made up of majority Swedes. This is why she decided to publish a book in which her own daughter plays the main character.
“I want to give my daughter a role model in the form of a main character that she can identify with. The book is based on our family’s own experiences, spiced with some added superhero tendencies,” says Katarina.
The illustrations in the book play an important role and the aim of the pictures is to reflect the reality in which we live and that families can look different.
“Skin color is not commented on directly in the book, but rather is visible in the illustrations. I want to show the beauty of brown skin and that it is something to be proud of. I also want to show the large, wealthy class of Kenyans who live just like us, eat ice-cream, drive cars and jump on bouncy castles,” says Katarina.
With no publishing deal in sight, Katarina chose to issue the book herself as an e-book. After topping Sweden’s e-book sales for five months, she decided to publish a printed version. And now the e-book is also available in English. Katarina hopes that the book industry will dare to move outside its own norms in the future.
“Now I want as many people as possible to read the book and that we together strive to change both the range of books on offer as well as society’s norms. This is what drives me,” says Katarina.
To read more about the book, go to Amazon.
The book is published in collaboration with MeR Barnkultur, a non-profit association.
Thanks for your book suggestion Katarina!
We love books lists! It gives us a great place to get information for choosing books to read before a trip. We travel with the kids and want them to learn about cultures from our destinations because we are a global society AND we are all more alike than we are different. I have created a few books lists on destinations like San Francisco, Spain, etc. – great resources for travelers.
You can never have too much information!
Let me share your book lists here:
http://theeducationaltourist.com/travel-books-for-kids/
Sharing your lists here: http://theeducationaltourist.com/kids-books-set-greece/
So many amazing suggestions! This will take us well over a year to complete! Or two! Or three!
Your blog came up in a search I was doing for sixth grade multicultural books. I love all the books you have listed and it is so helpful to see them by topic and use. If you update regularly check out CaribbeanReads. I saw that there were a few books in the food section, one on roti which I now want to read. CaribbeanReads has some others that you may find you would like to add to your lists.