Global Babies
Global Fund for Children · 2007
Photographs of babies from around the world show how they are cared for and loved in different cultures.
Books by topic
Diverse Books
Children need books that show them themselves and books that show them others. A well-built shelf includes stories by and about people of many backgrounds, languages, family structures and abilities — and treats those stories as ordinary, joyful and complex, not only as lessons.
Use this shelf alongside our classroom-library audit guide if you are reviewing a collection.
- Picture Books
- Early Readers
- Chapter Books
- Middle Grade
- Graphic Novels
- Nonfiction & Biography
- Science & Nature
- History & Biography
- Fantasy & Imagination
- Diverse Books
- Feelings & Social-Emotional Learning
- Classroom Favorites
- Teen Reading
47 books
Sorted from youngest suggested age. Age ranges are editorial estimates.
Peekaboo Morning
Rachel Isadora · 2002
A toddler plays peekaboo through the morning, discovering family members, a puppy, and toys.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Mem Fox; illustrated by Helen Oxenbury · 2008
Babies born in different places and circumstances are celebrated in rhyme — each with ten little fingers and ten little toes.
Whose Toes Are Those?
Jabari Asim; illustrated by LeUyen Pham · 2006
A rhyming celebration of a baby's toes, ending with an affectionate answer to the title question.
The Snowy Day
Ezra Jack Keats · 1962
Peter explores his city neighborhood after a snowfall, making tracks, snow angels, and a snowball he tries to save in his pocket.
Alma and How She Got Her Name
Juana Martinez-Neal · 2018
Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela thinks her name is too long, until her father explains the family story behind each part.
Last Stop on Market Street
Matt de la Peña; illustrated by Christian Robinson · 2015
CJ rides the bus across the city with his grandmother after church, and she helps him see beauty in the people and places along the way.
A Likkle Miss Lou
Nadia L. Hohn; illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes · 2019
A picture-book portrait of the young Louise Bennett Coverley, who grew up to celebrate Jamaican language in poetry and performance.
Across the Bay
Carlos Aponte · 2019
Carlitos, who lives in Cataño with his mother and abuela, secretly takes the ferry across the bay to Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, to search for his absent father.
Dreamers
Yuyi Morales · 2018
The author's account of arriving in the United States with her infant son and finding a home, a language, and hope in a public library.
Islandborn
Junot Díaz; illustrated by Leo Espinosa · 2018
Lola, asked to draw a picture of the island her family came from, gathers memories from neighbors and relatives because she left as a baby.
Julián Is a Mermaid
Jessica Love · 2018
After seeing three women dressed as mermaids on the subway, Julián creates his own mermaid costume — and his abuela responds with love.
Mango, Abuela, and Me
Meg Medina; illustrated by Angela Dominguez · 2015
When Mia's grandmother moves in from far away, the two must find ways to understand each other across Spanish and English.
Planting Stories
Anika Aldamuy Denise; illustrated by Paola Escobar · 2019
The story of Pura Belpré, the first Puerto Rican librarian in the New York Public Library, who brought bilingual storytelling to children.
Too Many Tamales
Gary Soto; illustrated by Ed Martinez · 1993
On Christmas Eve, Maria tries on her mother's ring while making tamales — and then fears it is lost inside one of them.
Waiting for the Biblioburro
Monica Brown; illustrated by John Parra · 2011
In rural Colombia, Ana waits for the traveling library that arrives by burro, and then writes her own story.
A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr.
David A. Adler; illustrated by Robert Casilla · 1989
A straightforward picture-book biography of Dr. King covering his childhood, work, and legacy.
Be a King
Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by James E. Ransome · 2018
Readers are encouraged to carry Dr. King's lessons into their own lives and classrooms, paired with scenes from his life.
I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King Jr.; illustrated by Kadir Nelson · 2012
The text of Dr. King's 1963 speech at the March on Washington, illustrated with paintings by Kadir Nelson.
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
Katheryn Russell-Brown; illustrated by Frank Morrison · 2014
The story of jazz trombonist and composer Melba Liston, who taught herself to play as a child and went on to tour and arrange music in a male-dominated field.
Martin's Big Words
Doreen Rappaport; illustrated by Bryan Collier · 2001
A picture-book biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that weaves his own words into the narrative.
The Name Jar
Yangsook Choi · 2001
Unhei, newly arrived from Korea, considers choosing an American name, and her classmates fill a jar with suggestions.
Let the Children March
Monica Clark-Robinson; illustrated by Frank Morrison · 2018
A fictionalized account of the 1963 Children's Crusade in Birmingham, Alabama, when young people marched for civil rights.
Mario and the Hole in the Sky
Elizabeth Rusch; illustrated by Teresa Martinez · 2019
The story of Mexican chemist Mario Molina, whose research on CFCs helped lead to action to protect the ozone layer.
My Brother Martin
Christine King Farris; illustrated by Chris Soentpiet · 2003
Dr. King's older sister recalls their childhood in Atlanta and the experiences that shaped his commitment to justice.
Separate Is Never Equal
Duncan Tonatiuh · 2014
The story of Sylvia Mendez and her family's legal fight to end school segregation of Mexican-American children in California in the 1940s.
The Golden Flower
Nina Jaffe; illustrated by Enrique O. Sánchez · 1996
A retelling of a Taíno creation story from Puerto Rico about how the island and its sea came to be.
The Stories Julian Tells
Ann Cameron; illustrated by Ann Strugnell · 1981
Julian, his little brother Huey, and their father in a collection of linked stories about family life and Julian's imagination.
Ways to Make Sunshine
Renée Watson; illustrated by Nina Mata · 2020
Ryan Hart tries to stay positive through a move and her family's changing circumstances, finding ways to "make sunshine" for herself and others.
El Deafo
Cece Bell · 2014
Cece Bell's graphic memoir about losing her hearing as a child and using a powerful hearing aid that makes her feel like a superhero.
Front Desk
Kelly Yang · 2018
Ten-year-old Mia Tang runs the front desk of the motel her immigrant family manages, while dealing with an unfair owner and injustice toward guests.
Esperanza Rising
Pam Muñoz Ryan · 2000
Esperanza and her mother leave a privileged life in Mexico for a farm labor camp in California during the Great Depression.
Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition
Margot Lee Shetterly · 2016
The true story of Black women mathematicians who worked at NASA's Langley center and contributed to the U.S. space program.
Inside Out & Back Again
Thanhha Lai · 2011
A verse novel about ten-year-old Hà, who flees Vietnam with her family in 1975 and resettles in Alabama.
Merci Suárez Changes Gears
Meg Medina · 2018
Sixth-grader Merci navigates a private school as a scholarship student while her grandfather's memory begins to change.
New Kid
Jerry Craft · 2019
Jordan Banks, who wants to go to art school, instead starts seventh grade at a mostly white private school and navigates two worlds.
One Crazy Summer
Rita Williams-Garcia · 2010
In 1968, three sisters travel to Oakland to spend the summer with the mother who left them, and attend a Black Panther summer camp.
The Crossover
Kwame Alexander · 2014
Twin brothers Josh and Jordan are basketball stars, but their bond and their family are tested; told in verse.
Brown Girl Dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson · 2014
Jacqueline Woodson's memoir in verse about growing up in South Carolina and Brooklyn in the 1960s and 1970s and finding her voice as a writer.
The Last Cuentista
Donna Barba Higuera · 2021
Petra, one of the last humans to leave Earth, wakes on a new planet to find that a collective has erased memories — except hers and her stories.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
Christopher Paul Curtis · 1995
A funny family road trip from Michigan to Alabama turns serious when the family witnesses the aftermath of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Mildred D. Taylor · 1976
Cassie Logan's family fights to keep their land and dignity in Depression-era Mississippi amid racism and violence.
American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang · 2006
Three intertwined graphic-novel storylines about identity, stereotypes, and belonging, including the Monkey King of Chinese legend.
Long Way Down
Jason Reynolds · 2017
In sixty seconds on an elevator ride, fifteen-year-old Will — intent on revenge for his brother's death — meets ghosts from his past.
March: Book One
John Lewis, Andrew Aydin; illustrated by Nate Powell · 2013
The first volume of Congressman John Lewis's graphic memoir about his life and the civil rights movement.
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas · 2017
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter witnesses a police officer shoot her childhood friend and must decide whether to speak out.
The Poet X
Elizabeth Acevedo · 2018
Xiomara, a teen in Harlem, finds her voice through slam poetry while navigating her strict mother and her own questions about faith.
Related guides
Books for National Hispanic Heritage Month, by Age
Picture books, biographies and novels for National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15), organized by age, with classroom and family ideas for year-round use.
Classroom Library Audit: A Printable Checklist for Range, Representation and Condition
A step-by-step checklist for auditing a classroom or school library: formats, levels, nonfiction, representation, languages, disability, condition, weeding.
Reading in Bilingual and Multilingual Families: Home Language, Dual-Language Books and More
Why reading in your home language matters, how to use bilingual and translated books, books about families living across languages, and how the library can help.