Dana's Rec Room: 100+ Read-aloud books by OwnVoices and BIPOC authors

Recommended titles from children's-book expert Dana Gaskin Wenig

I gathered this collection from many excellent websites. I’m sure I missed some important titles, please drop us a line if you have a title for us. Maybe we’ll start a list of recommendations from our readers! The focus of this list is to offer as many picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, poetry, and history books for children, all written by authors with lived experience of the material. Reading books by people with varied life experience helps round out the big picture of who we all are. It helps us see the whole world. 

When I was growing up there weren’t many books featuring characters who weren’t white. I remember A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats fondly, and one called, One Small Blue Bead by Byrd Baylor. These two books, as much as I loved them, were not written by people who could tell those stories from the inside out. They were not #OwnVoices, but they made me think, opened me up to stories other than my own, and I have never forgotten them. 

This list is, to the best of my ability, all #OwnVoices books, all written by authors who speak with authority about what it is to be Black, to be Indigenous, to be a person of color, to be LGBTQ+. These stories deserve to be savored, and how better to savor them than to read, or listen to them be read, out loud.

— Dana

Dana’s 100+

Alphabetical by author.

Across the Bay, by Carlos Aponte

And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems, by Maya Angelou

A Child’s Introduction to African American History: The Experience, People, and Events That Shaped Our Country, by Jabari Asim, illustrated by Lynn Gaines

Anna Hibiscus’ Song, by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia

The Pencil, by Susan Avingaq

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

I Am Every Good Thing, by Derrick Barnes

El Deafo, by Cece Bell

Your Name Is a Song, by Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow

Brown Boy Joy, by Dr. Thomishia Booker

More Than Anything Else, by Marie Bradby, illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet

Grandma’s Purse, byVanessa Brantley-Newton

Ruby Bridges Goes To School: My True Story, by Ruby Bridges

Black Girl Magic: A Poem, by Mahogany L. Browne, illustrated by Jess X. Snow

Imani’s Moon, by Janay Brown-Wood (Illustrated by Hazel Mitchell)

Me & Mama, by Cozbi A. Cabrera

A Day With Yayah, by Nicola I. Campbell

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood, by Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell, and Rafael López

All Because You Matter, by Tami Charles

Hair Love, by Mathew A. Cherry (Illustrated by Vashti Harrison)

The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi

Firebird, by Misty Copeland (Illustrated by Christopher Myers)

Bigmama’s, by Donald Crews

The Watsons Go to Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis

Chocolate Me!, by Taye Diggs, illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Mixed Me, by Taye Diggs, Illustrated by Shane W. Evans 

Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration, by Samara Cole Doyon, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

Meet Yasmin!, by Saadia Faruqi 

Birdsong, by Julie Flett

Kimotinâniwiw Itwêwina / Stolen Words, by Melanie Florence (Author) Gabrielle Grimard (Illustrator) Dolores Sand (Translator)

Cora Cooks Pancit, by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore 

George, by Alex Gino

Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship, byNikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Call Me Tree: Llámame árbol, by Maya Christina Gonzalez 

Look What Brown Can Do!, by Marie Harris, illustrated by Neda Ivanova

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, by Vashti Harrison and Kwesi Johnson

Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History, by Vashti Harrison and Kwesi Johnson

Happy to Be Nappy, by bell hooks, Illustrated by Chris Raschka

Lullaby (for a Black Mother), by Langston Hughes (Illustrated by Sean Qualls) 

My People, by Langston Hughes, photography by Charles R. Smith Jr.

That Is My Dream!: A Picture Book of Langston Hughes’s Dream Variation, by Langston Hughes

Awâsis and the World-famous Bannock, by Dallas Hunt

Rapunzel, by Rachel Isadora 

My Grandma and Me, by Mina Javaherbin, illustrated by Lindsey Yankey

Daddy Calls Me Man, by Angela Johnson, Illustrated by Rhonda Mitchell

The Wedding, by Angela Johnson, illustrated by David Soman

Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream, by Deloris Jordan and Roslyn M. Jordan, illustrated by Kadir Nelson 

Sweetest Kulu, by Celina Kalluk and Alexandria Neonakis

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh, by Supriya Kelkar, illustrated by Alea Marley

Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes, by Hena Khan, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini

Under My Hijab, by Hena Khan, illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel

No Kimchi For Me!, by Aram Kim 

The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story, by Thao Lam

Drawn Together, by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat

Ty’s Travels: All Aboard! (My First I Can Read), by Kelly Starling Lyons

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, by Kevin Noble Maillard

Alma and How She Got Her Name, by Juana Martinez-Neal 

Hands Up!, by Breanna J. McDaniel

Miami Jackson Gets It Straight, by Patricia and Frederick McKissack (Illustrated by Michael Chesworth)

Goin’ Someplace Special, by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Chasing Space: An Astronaut’s Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances, by Leland Melvin

Don’t Touch My Hair, by Sharee Miller

Saturday, by Oge Mora

Thank you, Omu!, by Oge Mora 

Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales 

From Far Away, by Robert Munsch, Saoussan Askar 

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, by Kadir Nelson

The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson 

Sparkle Boy, by Lesléa Newman  

Sulwe, by Lupita Nyong’o, Illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, Barack Obama

The People Shall Continue, Simon J. Ortiz

Dear Juno, Soyung Pak and Susan Kathleen Hartung

Priya Dreams of Marigolds and Masala, Meenal Patel

If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks, Faith Ringgold

The Field, Baptiste Paul, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara

My Brother Charlie, Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete, Illustrated by and Shane Evans

Last Stop on Market Street, Matt de la Peña

Love, Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Loren Long

Hey Black Child, Useni Eugene Perkins, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Ghost, Jason Reynolds

Tar Beach, Faith Ringgold

The Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom, Teresa Robeson, illustrated by Rebecca Huang

You Matter, Christian Robinson

I Got the Rhythm, Connie Schofield-Morrison and Frank Morrison

I Got the School Spirit, Connie Schofield-Morrison

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, Margot Lee Shetterly

Counting Descent, Clint Smith

My Heart Fills With Happiness / Ni Sâkaskineh Mîyawâten Niteh Ohcih, Monique Gray Smith

You Hold Me up, Monique Gray Smith

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, Traci Sorell 

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, John Steptoe

Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance, Eleanora E. Tate

The Blacker the Berry, Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

The Piñata That the Farm Maiden Hung, Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Sebastia Serra

Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You, Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by James E. Ransome

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library, Carole Boston Weatherford (Illustrated by Eric Velasquez)

Sumo Joe, Mia Wenjen 

Venus and Serena: Serving From The Hip: 10 Rules for Living, Loving, and Winning, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Hilary Beard

Gone Crazy in Alabama, Rita Williams-Garcia

Each Kindness, Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

The Other Side, Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Pecan Pie Baby, Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Sophia Blackall

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, Natasha Yim 

Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon

Grandpa Cacao: A Tale of Chocolate, from Farm to Family, by Elizabeth Zunon