Diverse Children’s Books I Love

Today I want to share some of my favorite diverse children’s books that I love. Recognizing, celebrating, and understanding diversity and representation is extremely important inside our classrooms. One of the best ways to do this is by the use of diverse books inside your classroom library.

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1. Cece Loves Science by Kimberly Dering and Shelli R. Johannes

I absolutely love this book. It includes a diverse family while walking students through the scientific process. It’s amazing.

2. Love by Matt de la Peña and Loren Long

This beautifully illustrated book talks about all the different ways we show love as human beings. It’s beautiful and a great addition to your classroom.

3. All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman

This book is AMAZING at showing a variety of students. It follows a group of children through a day in school, where they learn and grow from each other. It’s beautiful.

4. Basically anything by Jacqueline Woodson. ALL of her books are amazing. Every. Single. One.

• The Other Side
• The Day You Begin
• Each Kindness

5. Followed by anything by Eve Bunting. Again. SO good.

• A Day’s Work
• Fly Away Home
• One Green Apple

6. A Different Pond by Bao Phi 

This is a beautiful story about a Vietnamese family who fish early in the morning for food. As they fish, the father tells his son about another pond in Vietnam.

7. Islandborn by Junot Díaz

The best description of this book comes from Amazon. They write, ”

So when Lola’s teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can’t remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby. But with the help of her family and friends, and their memories—joyous, fantastical, heartbreaking, and frightening—Lola’s imagination takes her on an extraordinary journey back to The Island.  As she draws closer to the heart of her family’s story, Lola comes to understand the truth of her abuela’s words: “Just because you don’t remember a place doesn’t mean it’s not in you.””

8. Drawn Together by Minh Le

A wonderful story about a boy who visits his grandfather. They don’t speak the same language and struggle to find a common bond, until they start drawing. It’s a beautiful story about love, family, and connections.

9. Festival of Colors by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal

The colors used in this book are BRILLIANT. They are so bright and engaging. It follows a brother and sister as they prepare for Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors.

10.  Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown

Marisol is a biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American who struggles to be herself as people try to fit her into one box. It’s a beautiful story about being yourself and loving who you are.

There are SO many more books out there that I could share. Luckily, more and more diverse books are being written so that ALL students can feel represented.