Finding Diverse Books

Get started with these resources

In addition to the booklists on Reading Rockets, there are many other great online resources to help you find diverse books for children of all ages. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison has compiled data on children’s and young adult books by and about Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) (opens in a new window) published since 1985.

• Where to Find Diverse Books (opens in a new window) from the team at We Need Diverse Books
• Selecting and Using Culturally Responsive Children’s Books (opens in a new window) from the Office of Head Start National Center on Cultural & Linguistic Responsiveness
• Social Justice Books (opens in a new window) from the Teaching for Change Project
• Brightly (opens in a new window) from Penguin Random House

Free and low-cost book programs

• Stories for All Project (opens in a new window) from First Book
• We Need Diverse Books in the Classroom (opens in a new window) from We Need Diverse Books

Choosing culturally relevant books

• Rubric to Evaluate Asian American and Pacific Islander Youth Literature (opens in a new window) from Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
• Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books (opens in a new window) from Teaching for Change
• Tips for Choosing Culturally Appropriate Native Books and Resources (opens in a new window) from Colorín Colorado
• Choosing Children’s Books: Cultural Relevance Rubric (opens in a new window) from Colorín Colorado
• Culturally Relevant Books in the ELL Classroom (opens in a new window) from Colorín Colorado
• Diversifying Your Classroom Book Collections? Avoid these 7 Pitfalls (opens in a new window) from KQED MindShift

Reading Rockets’ Book Finder

Create your own customized list of fiction and nonfiction books! Search through more than 5,000 books on Reading Rockets — by author, illustrator, age, reading level, genre, format, topic, and country or region. Browse Book Finder ›

Book recommendations from Colorín Colorado

• Finding Diverse Books Across Different Topics and Genres (opens in a new window)
• Books for kids that celebrate a wide range of cultures, languages, and experiences (opens in a new window)

Book recommendations from the National Education Association

• Read Across America Calendar (opens in a new window)
• Find Your Book (opens in a new window)
• Books by Theme (opens in a new window)

Award-winning books

• American Indian Youth Literature Awards (opens in a new window)
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (opens in a new window)
• Coretta Scott King Book Awards (opens in a new window)
• Pura Belpré Awards (opens in a new window)
• Schneider Family Book Awards (opens in a new window)
• Walter Dean Myers Awards (opens in a new window) (We Need Diverse Books)