Ages: 3 to 6 years

Local author!

Description: Meenu loves Magic Hair Days, when Mommy mixes sweet-smelling oils together and massages the potion into Meenu's scalp and hair. It always leaves Meenu with a fuzzy, magical feeling. And after bath time, when Mom washes the oils out, Meenu's hair is soft and shining.
When Meenu decides one day to mix the oils without any help, she discovers something's wrong: No matter how many oils she mixes, the magic just isn't there! What is she missing? But when Mommy comes to help, massaging Meenu's head, the fuzzy, magical feeling returns! Was it really in the oils, or something else?

Themes: Cultural traditions, family, memory, joyful traditions

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Ages: 4 to 8 years

Description: In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world.

While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes —and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself?

Themes: Self-love, individuality, self-expression, queerness, pride in being different

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Ages: 4 to 8 years

Description: Former SNL writer and comedic rising star Julio Torres takes readers on a journey through the lives and intimate dramas of some of the unsung shapes of our time in this picture book inspired by his HBO special My Favorite Shapes.

Shapes. You’ve heard of them. You might have even interacted with a few. But do you really know them? From plucky Plunger, who wishes to defy his shape and become a beautiful vase, to other household objects with dreams of a life beyond their predestined roles, I Want to Be a Vase takes readers on an essential and visually stunning journey through the lives and intimate dramas of often-overlooked household appliances.

Very funny!

Themes: Being different, finding your place in the world, dreaming, uniqueness

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Ages: 5 to 8 years

Description: "Jojo, come dance!" Lola (grandma) calls, inviting him to leap between the clapping and slapping bamboo poles and dance the traditional Filipino dance, tinikling, with her. Whirling, twirling, and singing in Tagalog, Jojo tries but trips. Lola dances between the two poles easily, the same way she dances between their American and Filipino cultures--Jojo knows that dance! And finally, spinning and hopping to the rhythm of his life, he's dancing the tinikling and learning what it means to celebrate your roots and also find your place in a new homeland.

Themes: Migration, belonging, identity, intergenerational relationships, fitting in

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Ages: 4 to 8 years

Description: Names are more than just names.  Names reveal generational ties and histories, weaving an intricate tale of the past. Names—and correctly saying them—are important. Names carry hopes, dreams, traditions, personality, ancestry, and legacy.

This book presents 6 children who each introduce themselves by name, and what their names mean to them. These captivating kids of Chinese, Tongan, Persian, Navajo, Mexican, and Ghanaian descent also honor their ancestors and cultural histories.

Includes a pronunciation guide!

Themes: celebrating diversity, pronunciation, empathy, culture, heritage

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Ages: 4 to 8 years

Description: Inspired by the author’s own childhood, this is the powerful story of a young boy’s culinary journey 400 years into the past to reconnect with his African roots. For Kofi, a first-generation Ghanaian American boy, home is a country called Ghana. But it’s a place he’s never been. When tasked to bring a dish that best represents his family’s culture to school for a potluck lunch, Kofi is torn. With the help of his grandfather, Kofi learns the hardship and resilience his family has endured—and how food has always been an integral part their story and culture.

Author is an acclaimed chef! Includes a recipe!

Themes: Reclaiming culture & identity, first-generation children, food, celebrating one’s cultural identity

Ages: 4 to 9 years

Description: A young child discovers the magic of his own uniqueness through the storytelling of his two grandmothers from different sides of his family.

He quests into two very different forests, as his grandmothers help him discover two different, but equally enchanting, truths about dragons.

Eastern and Western mythologies coexist and enrich each other in this warm celebration of mixed cultural identity.

Themes: Cultural heritage, identity, celebrating our unique backgrounds

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Ages: 4 to 8 years

Description: A little boy wants a chance to shine on his own but discovers that being apart from his large and lively Native family isn’t necessarily better in this heartwarming and humorous picture book.

When Russell gets a part in the school play, he lights up like a shining star—and he can’t wait to tell his big, boisterous Native family the exciting news. But catching their attention when they all gettogether feels impossible; no matter where they go, they seem to be too noisy, too many, and just too much!

Russell decides to keep his big debut to himself and fly solo for once…but being alone may not be the answer. After all, there’s no such thing as too much love, and when he needs them most, his great big family knows how to be just enough.

Themes: Family, need for validation, support, being different, belonging

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Ages: 3 and under

Description: In this colorful and touching board book that celebrates what makes each of us unique, a little creature that's not quite a bird and not quite a bunny—it's "neither"—searches for a place to fit in.

In the Land of This and That, there are only two kinds: blue bunnies and yellow birds. But one day a funny green egg hatches, and a little creature that's not quite a bird and not quite a bunny pops out. It's neither!

Neither sets out to find a new home and discovers a very different place, one with endless colors and shapes and creatures of all kinds. But when a blue bunny and a yellow bird with some hidden differences of their own arrive, it's up to Neither to decide if they are welcome in the Land of All.

Themes: diversity, uniqueness, fitting in, differencesbringing people together

Ages: 3 years and under

Description: A multicultural boardbook for little foodies,celebrating dumplings from kitchens all over the world.  Everyone is welcome at this dumplingcelebration!  A multicultural celebrationthat speaks to the ways in which food brings people together and teaches usthat differences are something to love and appreciate!  

Themes: cultural heritage, food, celebrating differences, sharing joy

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