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