Join us, as we celebrate BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) Authors
Our libraries are expanding their resources to include diverse authors and characters so that our learners find themselves reflected in their reading. We want our students to have options when choosing books, and we want those options to be as diverse as the kids in our schools.
With collaboration from teachers, we have compiled a list of book suggestions. The best part is, it is hard to keep these books on the shelf!
We invite you to enter a book draw to win your own copy of one of these books. There will be 50 winners, but most of these will be in our school libraries. Happy reading!
We will announce the contest winners shortly.
Kindergarten – Grade 2
Hair Love
By Mathew Cherry
Zuri’s hair has a mind of its own. It kinks, coils, and curls every which way. Zuri knows it’s beautiful. When Daddy steps in to style it for an extra special occasion, he has a lot to learn. But he LOVES his Zuri, and he’ll do anything to make her — and her hair — happy.
The Proudest Blue
By Ibtihaj Muhammad
A powerful, vibrantly illustrated story about the first day of school–and two sisters on one’s first day of hijab–by Olympic medalist and social justice activist Ibtihaj Muhammad.
The Colors of Us
by Karen Katz
Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighbourhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.
Grades 3-4
Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream
By Deloris Jordon and Roslyn M. Jordan
Michael Jordan’s mother and sister team up for this heartwarming and inspirational picture book about faith and hope and how any family working together can help a child make his or her dreams come true.
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story of the Underground Railroad
By Ellen Levine
A stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist.
Black is a Rainbow Color
by Angela Joy
A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on.
Grades 5-8
When the Stars Scattered
by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.
The Crossover
By Kwame Alexander
In this Newbery Medal–winning middle grade novel in verse, twelve-year-old twins and basketball stars Josh and Jordan Bell must learn to deal with problems on and off the court as they navigate homework, first crushes, family and, of course, basketball.
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement.
Grades 9-12
Legends and Teachings of Xeel’s, the Creator
By Ellen Rice White
Snuneymuxw Elder and storyteller, Ellen White, shares four stories handed down to her from her grandparents and their ancestors.
The Shoe Boy: A Trapline Memoir
By Duncan McCue
Duncan takes us on an evocative journey that explores the hopeful confusion of the teenage years, entwined with the challenges and culture shock of coming from a mixed-race family and moving to the unfamiliar North.
When Dimple Met Rishi
By Sandhya Menon
Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family—and from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.”
