Our world is filled with amazing sources of multicultural book ideas, websites, authors, organizations and other resources to help your family incorporate diverse books into your reading process.
Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents
This is an index of hundreds of book lists so you can find the books you need.
More Resources:
Children’s Book Council (CBC) is the national nonprofit trade association of children’s book publishers, dedicated to supporting and informing the industry and fostering literacy.
The CBC’s Diversity Initiative is dedicated to increasing the diversity of voices and experiences contributing to children’s and young adult literature.
CBC Diversity-Resources for Teachers and Librarians: This list of resources for teachers and librarians is just a sampling of the many websites, books, articles, etc. out there for educators to tap into to enrich their students’ reading.
TeachUNICEF Activity Sheet on being a Global Citizen for kids
Children’s Literature Diversity Awards:
The American Indian Youth Literature Awards identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians.
APALA (Asian Pacific American Librarians Association) recognizes individual works related to Asian/Pacific American experiences (either historical or contemporary) or Asian/Pacific American cultures.
The South Asia Book Award is given annually for up to two outstanding works of literature, from early childhood to secondary reading levels, which accurately and skillfully portrays South Asia or South Asians in the diasporas, that is the experience of individuals living in South Asia, or of South Asians living in other parts of the world.
The Scholastic Asian Book Award recognizes children’s writers of Asian origin who are taking the experiences of life, spirit, and thinking in different parts of Asia to the world at large. The award also aims to promote the understanding of the Asian experience and its expression in innovative and creative forms.
Pura Belpré honors Latino writer and illustrators. whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.
The Américas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States.
The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award to honor authors and illustrators
who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience.
Coretta Scott King Book Awards recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.
Children’s Africana Book Award (CABA) is given each year by Africa Access, in conjunction with the ASA, for the best Africana works for children.
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience. Bibliography of Children’s Books about the Disability Experience
Stonewall Book Award recognizes English-language works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.
The Lambda Literary Awards identify and celebrate the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books of the year and affirm that LGBT stories are part of the literature of the world.
The Middle East Outreach Council‘s Middle East Book Awards recipients celebrate citizen activism, heroism, inventive genius, and cultural heritage.
Arab American National Museum Book Awards is a literary program created to honor books written by and about Arab Americans.
Arab American Book Award is a literary program created to honor books written by and about Arab Americans. The program generates greater awareness of Arab American scholarship and writing through an annual award competition and educational outreach.
Middle East Studies Association Book Awards (MEOC) established the Middle East Book Awards in 1999 to recognize books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to understanding of the Middle East.
The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. 2016 Winners here.
The Notable Books for a Global Society (NBGS) list was developed to help students, teachers, and families identify books that promote understanding of and appreciation for the world’s full range of diverse cultures and ethnic and racial groups.
The Carter G. Woodson Book Award is presented to exemplary books written for children and young people each year at the NCSS (National Council for the Social Studies) Annual Conference.
Lee and Low New Voices Award is an annual award given by LEE & LOW BOOKS to an unpublished author of color for a picture book manuscript. The award was established to combat the low numbers of authors of color in children’s book publishing and to help new authors break into the field.
The Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards for beautifully crafted, compelling books, telling complex stories that delight, inspire, and deepen the understanding of young people.
LEE & LOW BOOKS is a award-winning children’s book publisher focusing on diversity. Our books are about everyone, for everyone. Our goal is to meet the need for stories that all children can identify with and enjoy. We publish picture books, middle grade, and YA titles, including bilingual books under our CBP imprint and science fiction and fantasy under our Tu Books imprint.
Wisdom Tales Press: Wisdom Tales Press is a children’s book imprint of World Wisdom for the purpose of sharing the wisdom and beauty of cultures around the world with young readers and their families.
First Book and Stories for All
The following Associations of Ethnic Librarians are Affiliates of the American Library Association.
- American Indian Library Association (AILA)
- Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
- Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)
- Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA)
- Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA)
- The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA)
The FarFaria app on Itunes or GooglePlay has a digital library of 900+ books, many of which are folktales from around the world and which feature children from all backgrounds.
Find more diversity, multicultural, and inclusive books on our Multicultural Children’s Book Day Pinterest Board. Follow on Pinterest to get daily updates.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.