Hello friends,
A while ago I had made a post about how we need more read more diverse books and watch more diverse shows. I was sharing about how I wanted to engage in content that had perspectives and experiences completely different than my own, because I find for me, that’s how my heart changes the best. That the deepest parts of my empathy comes from consuming things that allow me to read or see the thoughts that reflect the experiences of people that I could never have the possibility know. With how everything is going in the world right now, I think that it is incredibly important to continue to share these stories to help us all build more empathy and to make some real changes in the way we treat those who society has deemed less than.
As a former bookseller and forever lover of books, I thought I would compile a list of books for you to check out by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour). This is by no means a complete list, there are so many incredible books and stories told by people of colour that I could never possibly know them all. Some I have personally read, some I had customers tell me that they loved, some are just from the hours of research that I have been doing to compile this list because I want to find something for everyone. What is so beautiful and wonderful about books, is that they tell stories with hard hitting conversation starters in so many different ways. It could be a memoir, it could be a contemporary fiction, it could be a poem, sci-fi, fantasy, anything. And the thing is, if you’re reading a book by someone who is BIPOC that isn’t directly talking about race, if you look hard enough, pay attention, you may just find their life experiences tied into their stories.
So, without further a do, my non-definitive list of books that you should check out by Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour authors. I have only included some of their works, there are some authors who have quite the collection of stories not listed that you should also check out. I have my list organized by age group, because I also firmly believe that a lot of these important conversations start very very young, but that anyone of any age can get something from almost any of the age groups. For example, the beautiful thing about children’s picture books is that it helps start those conversations with our little ones, but they also break it down easy so we adults can blatantly see something to get us thinking. Children’s books are magical like that.
I should also note that I have put in brackets a general identifier for each book’s author to help you find a perspective that you would like to learn a little more about. There are so many cultures, differences and everything in between within each group (Ie. for Indigenous folks there are Mi’kmaq, Cree, Maori, Cherokee, and so many others, within Asian there is Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian and more,) so for the sake of simplicity and as not to speak on more of what I am still in the process of being educated on and do not want to speak out of term, I have left them pretty general. Please forgive me if I have missed something or been a little off the mark. I’m trying to do as much research as possible, but I’m also learning as I do this, and it has become far bigger than I could have ever dreamed.
Baby & Toddler Fiction & Non-Fiction (0-5)
– A Different Pond by Bao Phi (Asian)
– Wild Berries by Julie Flett (Indigenous)
– Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer: L’alfabet di Michif / Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet by Julie Flett (Indigenous)
– A Day with Yahyah by Nicola I. Campbell (Indigenous)
– Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell (Indigenous)
– We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp (Indigenous)
– I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison (Black)
– Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry (based on the Oscar winning short that you can watch here) (Black)
– Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña (Hispanic/Latino)
– Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee (Black)
– Joy by Joyce Carol Thomas and Pamela Johnson (Black)
– Whose Toes are Those by Jabari Asim (Black)
– Welcome Precious by Nikki Grimes (Black)
– Baby Blessings: A Prayer for the Day You Are Born by Deloris Jordan (Black)
– My Papi has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero (Hispanic/Latino)
– Bee-Bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park (Asian)
– Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin (Asian)
– Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox by Danielle Daniel
– Hiawatha and the Peacemaer by Robbie Robertson (Indigenous)
– Turning Pages by Sonia Sotomayor (Hispanic/Latino)
– Thundermaker by Alan Syliboy (Indigenous)
– Dear Juno by Soyung Park (Asian)
– Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia (Indian)
– The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi (Asian)
– When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson (Indigenous)
– Coyote Tales by Thomas King (Indigenous)
– The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Asian)
– Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Asian)
– Mango, Abuela and Me by Meg Medina (Hispanic/Latino)
– Imani’s Moon by Janay Brown-Wood (Black)
– You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith (Indigenous)
– I Am Enough by Grace Byers (Black)
– What’s My Superpower? by Avaiq Johnston (Indigenous)
– Alma by Juana Martinez-Neal (Hispanic/Latino)
– Islandborn by Junot Díaz (Hispanic/Latino)
– Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai (Middle East)
– Just a Walk by Jordan Wheeler (Indigenous)
– Up Home by Shauntay Grant (Black)
Young Readers Fiction & Non-Fiction (6-8)
– Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbi Michiko Florence (Series) (Asian)
– Shai & Emmie Star in Break and Egg! By Quvenzhané Wallis (Series) (Black)
– Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison (Black)
– Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke (series) (Black)
– Little Sister Is Not My Name by Sharon M. Draper (Series) (Black)
– Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look (Series) (Asian)
– Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look (Series) (Asian)
– Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi (Series) (Middle East)
– Sarai and the Meaning of Awesome by Sarai González (Series) (Hispanic/Latino)
– Lola Levine Is Not Mean! by Monica Brown (Series) (Hispanic/Latino)
– Little Shaq by Shaquille O’Neal (Series) (Black)
– Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee (Series) (Asian)
– Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han (Asian)
– Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton (Indigenous)
– A Stranger at Home by Christy Jordan-Fenton (Indigenous)
– Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee (Series) (Asian)
– Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina (Series) (Hispanic/Latino)
– Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami (India)
– Get Read for Gabí by Marisa Monte (Series) (Hispanic/Latino)
– Brand New School, Brave New Ruby by Derrick Barnes (Series) (Black)
Middle Grade Fiction & Non-Fiction (9-12)
– Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed (Middle East)
– Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga (Middle East)
– Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (Series) (Asian/India)
– The Sky Under Our feet by Nadia Hashimi (Middle East)
– One Half From the East by Nadia Hashimi (Middle East)
– Dragon Pearl by Hoon Ha Lee (Asian)
– Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
(Hispanic/Latino)
– Betty Before X by Ilysah Shabazz (Black)
– Tight by Torrey Maldonado (Black)
– The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez (Hispanic/Latino)
– Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya (Hispanic/Latino)
– The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya (Hispanic/Latino)
– The House that Lou Built by Mae Respicio (Asian)
– Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson (Black)
– The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller (Asian)
– The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
(Black)
– Blended by Sharon M. Draper (Black)
– Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (Black)
– Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
(Black)
– A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee (Black)
– My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi (Black)
– Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (Series) (Black)
– Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan (Middle East)
– The Crystal Ribbon by Celeste Lim
(Asian)
– I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day (Indigenous)
– Makoons by Louise Erdrich (Indigenous)
– I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis (Indigenous)
– Indian No more by Charlene McManis and Traci Sorell (Indigenous)
– Keep It Together, Keiko Carter by Debbi Michiko Florence (Asian)
– The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin (Series) (Asian)
– Ghost by Jason Reynolds (Series) (Black)
– My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D. Villanueva (Asian)
– This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell (Black)
– Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights by Malala Yousafzai (Middle East)
– I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai (Middle East)
Young Adult Fiction & Non-Fiction (13-18)
– The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Black)
– On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (Black)
– The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Hispanic/Latino)
– With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (Hispanic/Latino)
– Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Aceved0 (Hispanic/Latino)
– American Street by Ibi Zoboi (Black)
– Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Black)
– Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi (Short Story Compilation) (Black)
– Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds (Black)
– A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi (Middle East)
– Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (Middle East)
– Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi (Asian)
– Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi (Asian)
– Dear Martin by Nic Stone (Black)
– Jackpot by Nic Stone (Black)
– Odd one Out by Nic Stone (Black)
– Shuri: A Black Panther Novel by Nic Stone (Black)
– To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han (Series) (Asian)
– When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (Series) (India)
– From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon (India)
– Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Series) (Black)
– A Song of Wraith and Ruin by Rosanne A. Brown (Black)
– The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (Black)
– Parachutes by Kelly Yang (Asian)
– American Panda by Gloria Chao (Asian)
– Calling My Name by Liara Tamani (Black)
– Frankly in Love by David Yoon (Asian)
– Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon (Black)
– The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Black)
– Descendant of the Crane by Joan He (Asian)
– Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan (Please note that this book deals with rape and sexual assault) (Series) (Asian)
– The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (Indigenous)
– Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali (Middle East)
– Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali (Middle East)
– Once Upon an Eid edited by S.K. Ali (Short Story Compilation) (Middle East)
– A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena (Middle East)
– The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena (Middle East)
– The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe (Black)
– Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds (Black)
– Loveboat Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen (Asian)
– This Places: 150 Years Retold by Kateria Akiwenzie-Damm & others (Indigenous)
– Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth (Indigenous)
– Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Indigenous)
– Fire Starters by Jen Storm and Scott B. Henderson (Indigenous)
– The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Indigenous)
– Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (Black)
– Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro (Black)
– Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Series) (Black)
– A Blade so Black by L.L. McKinney (Series) (Black)
– The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo (Asian)
– Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo (Asian)
– Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Series) (Middle East)
– Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (Asian)
– Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan (Black)
– Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (Black)
– Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera (Hispanic/Latino)
– We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai (Middle East)
– Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi (Middle East)
– Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano (Hispanic/Latino)
– The Distance Between Us: Young Reader Edition by Reyna Grande (Hispanic/Latino)
– Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation by Monique Gray Smith (Indigenous)
General Fiction
– Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (Asian)
– Swing Time by Zadie Smith (Black)
– White Teeth by Zadie Smith (Black)
– Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (India)
– The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (India)
– A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi (Middle East)
– The Pearl That Broke Its Shellby Nadia Hashimi (Middle East)
– The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (Hispanic/Latino)
– The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende (Hispanic/Latino)
– The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi (India)
– An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (Black)
– Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee (Asian)
– The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (Black)
– The Illegal by Lawrence Hill (Black)
– The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (Asian)
– The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu (Asian)
– Beloved by Toni Morrison (Black)
– Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (Black)
– The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison (Black)
– The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Black)
– Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Asian)
– One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (Hispanic/Latino)
– Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (Asian)
– Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (Asian)
– Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (Series) (Asian)
– Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (Black)
– Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal (India/Asia)
– The Break by Katherena Vermette (Indigenous)
– Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese (Indigenous)
– Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson (Indigenous)
– Birdie by Tracey Lindberg (Indigenous)
– Daughters are Forever by Lee Maracle (Indigenous)
– Difficult Women by Roxanne Gay (Black)
– An Untamed State by Roxanne Gay (Black)
– Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (Black)
– Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Black)
– The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Middle East)
– The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu (Series) (Asian)
– The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (Series) (Black)
– The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang (Series) (Asian)
– Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope (Series) (Black)
– Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno–Garcia (Hispanic/Latino)
– The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera (Series) (Hispanic/Latino)
– Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (Series) (Indigenous)
– Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones (Indigenous)
– Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich (Indigenous)
– In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams by Tahir Shah (Middle East)
– Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (Middle East)
Adult Non-Fiction
– Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Indigenous)
– Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga (Indigenous)
– The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King (Indigenous)
– One Story, One Song by Richard Wagamese (Indigenous)
– All the Way by Jordin Tootoo (Indigenous)
– The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew (Indigenous)
– The Right to be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic, and the Whole Planet by Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Indigenous)
– Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay (Black)
– Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxanne Gay (Black)
– Not that Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxanne Gay (Black)
– We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Black)
– Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins (Black)
– Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper (Black)
– Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon (Black)
– I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Black)
– Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (Black)
– Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love and so Much More By Janet Mock (Black)
– Sister Outsider By Audre Lorde (Black)
– So You Want To Talk About Race By Ijeoma Oluo (Black)
– The Fire Next Time By James Baldwin (Black)
– The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander (Black)
– The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism For The 21st Century By Grace Lee Boggs (Black)
– This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Racial Women of Color by Cherrie Moraga (Hispanic/Latino)
– How We Fight White Supremacy by Akiba Soloman and Kenrya Rankin (Black)
– Decolonizing Academia: Poverty Oppression, and Pain by Clelia O. Rodríguez (Hispanic/Latino)
– Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard (Black)
– The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistence and Power by Desmond Cole (Black)
– How to An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (Black)
– On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope by DeRay Mckesson (Black)
– When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele (Black)
– Black Lives Matter in the Great White North by Syrus Marcus Ware (Black)
– Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers (Black)
– Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Middle East)
– The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV (Asian) and Desmond Tutu (Black)
– More Than Enchanting: Breaking Through Barriers to Influence Your World by Jo Saxton (Black)
– Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan (Asian)
– Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Expression of the Jesus Way by Richard Twiss (Indigenous)
– Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injustice by Eric Mason (Black)
– United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity by Trillia J. Newbell (Black)
– The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Chruch’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby (Black)
– Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconcilation by LaTasha Morrison (Black)
– Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi (Middle East)
– I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai (Middle East)
– A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose by Samra Zafar (Middle East)
– Becoming by Michelle Obama (Black)
– I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to my Daughter by David Chariandy (Black)
– Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Black)
– Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics by Fredrick Luis Aldama (Hispanic/Latino)
Poetry/Essays/Etc
– Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (India)
– The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur (India)
– Love Looks Pretty on You by Lang Leav (Asian)
– Love and Other Misadventures by Lang Leav (Asian)
– North End Love Songs by Katherena Vermette (Indigenous)
– Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations by Richard Wagamese (Indigenous)
– The Winter We Danced: Voices from the Past, the lFuture and the Idle No More Movement by The Kino-Nda-Niimi Collective (Indigenous)
– #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native America by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Indigenous)
– Native Poetry in Canada: A Contemporary Anthology by Jeanette Armstrong (Indigenous)
– Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (Black)
– Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith (Black)
– Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Black)
– Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry by Maya Angelou (Black)
– Inward by Yung Pueblo (Hispanic/Latino)
– A Psalm for Us by Reyna Biddy (Hispanic/Latino/Black)
– Corazón by Yesika Salgado (Hispanic/Latino)
– Love Me Like the Stars by Alesia Carter (Hispanic/Latino)
– Love Poems by Pablo Neruda (Hispanic/Latino)
– Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli (Hispanic/Latino)
– The Essential Rumi by Rumi (Middle East)
– The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (Middle East)
– Mind Platter by Najwa Zebian (Middle East)
– The Nectar of Pain by Najwa Zebian (Middle East)
Graphic Novels
– They Called Us Enemy by George Takei (Asian)
– American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Asian)
– Ichiro by Ryan Inzana (Asian)
– Black Panther, Vol. 1: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Series) (Black)
– Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Roxanne Gay (Black)
– The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Middle East)
– Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi (Middle East)
– Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Volume 1 by Hope Nicholson (Indigenous)
– Pemmican Wars: A Girl Called Echo Vol. 1 by Katherena Vermette (Series) (Indigenous)
–The Outside Circle: A Graphic Novel by Patti Laboucane-Benson (Indigenous)
– Maggie the Mechanic by Jaime Hernández (Hispanic/Latino)
– Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia (Hispanic/Latino)
– Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia (Hispanic/Latino)
– Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero (Hispanic/Latino)
– The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury by Brandon Thomas (Black)
– Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans by Roland Owen Laird Jr (Black)
There are so, so many more books by BIPOC, but this compiled list is a place to get you started. And I want to thank my fellow former book sellers and close friends Abbey and Keri for helping with some of these titles, as well as the countless blogs, libraries and GoodReads lists that helped me in my research for these books.
If you have other books that you know of by BIPOC that are great, please let me know. I think that learning about other perspectives is incredibly important in building empathy and loving those around us.
Stay safe. I love you all.
Sprinkled in star dust... 