10 Diverse Children's Books
Recommended by Margaret Polizos Peterson, Assistant Clinical Professor and Co-Director of UMDWP
“Through pictures and words, it illuminates the artistic process and the beautiful and fierce spirit of Frida Kahlo. Written in both English and Spanish, it portrays many images from the artist’s work. It was both a Caldecott Honor book and winner of the Pura Belpré award for illustrations in 2015.”
Recommended by Erin Donn, Center for Young Children Teacher
“Through the poetically crafted text and beautiful illustrations, De La Pena and Long create a book that textually and visually represent experiences that all young children can relate to.”
Recommended by Shenika Hankerson, Assistant Professor, Language, Literacy, and Social Inquiry
“Skin Again explores the connection between race and identity and offers children an accessible way of understanding, celebrating, and respecting diversity.”
Recommended by Ana M. Taboada Barber, Associate Professor, Special Education
“I love this book because it teaches adults and children about the importance of names, and of being respectful towards all names, and the people that carry them.”
Recommended by Ayanna Asha Baccus, Associate Clinical Professor, Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership
“In the novel, Cassie Logan and her brothers learn about racism, survival, and family. They navigate friendships and experiences in Jackson, Missippi.”
Recommended by Ayanna Asha Baccus, Associate Clinical Professor, Teaching and Learning, Policy and leadership
“It is an award-winning picture book that tells the story of how two children, one African American and one white, begin to overcome racial barriers and develop a friendship. It uses a fence to describe segregation and is written from a child’s point of view.”
Recommended by Tabitha Kidwell, Instructor, Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership
“Readers learn about the similarities that support friendships among people from very different backgrounds— and about the differences that make those friendships special.”
Recommended by Marie Sinnicki, Secondary Education-English Major in the College of Education
“Engle’s enchanting memoir is told through her imaginative verse lines. She describes her experience growing up as a Cuban-American, caught between two worlds and constantly flying between them. While at times the gap seems insurmountable, she discovers that language and writing can help give her the wings to connect the two parts of her into one.”
Associate Clinical Professor, Diversity Officer, Director, Office of Teacher & Leader Education
“The picture book provides readers a brief window into stereotypes of women, particularly in STEM fields. The Pilot can serve as a historical resource because the setting is September 11, 2001, in New York City. Throughout the story, the main character reminisces about the occurrences of that day.”
Recommended by Jennifer Albro (PH.D. ’18), Lead Clinical Faculty - Literacy, DC/Urban Teachers, Johns Hopkins University Graduate School of Education
“I Love Saturdays y domingos shares the cultural and linguistic experiences of a young bilingual girl who spends her weekends visiting her two sets of grandparents: her father’s parents who hail from New York and speak English and her mother’s parents who are from Mexico and speak Spanish when their granddaughter comes to visit. Celebrating her two beautiful and special worlds, this book illustrates how one girl embraces her bilingual and bicultural identities and explores how they can come together to make her a unique individual.”
Originally published in the College's alumni magazine, Endeavors Summer 2019 issue.
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