Representation Matters: Book Suggestions for a Multicultural Library

As you build a library for young people in your family or synagogue, prioritize books that include diversity, multiculturalism, antiracism, and prejudice reduction. This list of books is a great place to start.

Picture Books

• As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson: This is a beautiful and inspiring tribute to a little-known alliance in American history. 
• Buen Shabat, Shabbat Shalom by Sarah Aroeste, illustrated by Ayesha L. Rubio: With a Ladino word introduced on each page, a Sephardic Jewish family prepares to celebrate Shabbat.
• Belle, the Last Mule at Gee's Bend by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud: This historical fiction book tells the story of how Belle the mule contributed to the civil rights movement.
• If This Bus Could Talk by Faith Ringgold: Hear the story of Rosa Parks as told by the bus.
• Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Laura Rappoport: A picture book biography of the Civil Rights leader
• Jackie’s Gift by Sharon Robinson: The author calls this book, “A story to help people look beyond race and religion and into people's hearts.”
• Jalapeno Bagels by Natasha Wing: A Mexican-Jewish child learns that food represents both parts of his heritage. Includes Yiddish and Spanish glossaries! 
• Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester: Take a look at how each human represents a unique story.
• The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson: Two girls strike up a friendship across a fence that divides white from Black residents in their small town. 
• Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinckney: This picture book celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Woolworth’s Lunch Counter Sit-in in Greensboro, NC.
• Ezra's Big Shabbat Question by Aviva L. Brown, illustrated by Anastasia Kanavaliuk: Meet Ezra, an American Jewish boy with big ideas and an even bigger family. He has a question about if he can do an action on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest.

Chapter Books and Books for Older Elementary-Aged Children

• Always an Olivia: A Remarkable Family History by Carolivia Herron, illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau: An elderly Black grandmother passes on the story of the family’s Jewish origins to her young granddaughter, Carol Olivia.
• Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Philip Hoose: A biography of Claudette Colvin, a teenager who was frustrated by injustice and – before Rosa Parks – sat down to fight it.
• Hot Pursuit: Murder in Mississippi by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon: A later elementary appropriate account of Mikey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chauncey, the three young civil rights activists who were murdered in Mississippi in the summer of 1964.
• Stealing Home by Ellen Schwartz: A biracial boy is left orphaned in 1947 and has to learn to cope with a lack of acceptance from his family while learning to accept the different sides of himself.
• The War Within by Carol Matas: After General Ulysses Grant issues an order expelling all Jews from the territory under his control, young Hannah Green begins to question many of the values she took for granted, including slavery.
• When Hurricane Katrina Hit Home by Gail Langer Karwoski: The story of two very different children who were both affected by Hurricane Katrina and how they learn what is important in the aftermath of the storm that changed their lives.
• Whirlwind by Carol Matas: Two young immigrants to Seattle in 1942 bond as they endure taunting from their peers because of their origins. 

Additional Resources

UnderstandingPrejudice.org also provides an amazing bibliography to help you identify other books you may wish to explore. Not all the books are available for purchase, but it links to all books to Amazon that are available, even if out of print.

Looking for books and other recommendations for adults? To help guide those who are curious about antiracism and allyship on the right track, the Union for Reform Judaism has assembled a robust list of resources that provide an informative and engaging look into institutional racism, privilege, and the lived experiences of Jews of Color. See "Books, Films, and More to Delve into Antiracism Work," a robust and ever-growing list of media.