This collection contains materials on the topic of biracial diversity from the DIVerse Families bibliography. Biracial stories contain children, teenagers, and adults who are a product of two racial groups. These stories often portray biracial children and teenagers where their parents are of two different races. A topic that is regularly covered is racial identity.
Racial diversity displayed in families continues to expand as people from different racial backgrounds overcome the hurdles and stigma of mixed race relationships, marriage, and children. Often these stories reveal themes involving racism and prejudice.
Browse by Racial Diversity:
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Obama: Only in America
Carole Weatherford
From birth to election as the first African-American president of the United States, this biography tells the story of Barack Obama through lyrical prose and primary-source quotes from his speeches throughout.
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Odd One out
Nic Stone
High school juniors and best friends Courtney and Jupe, and new sophomore Rae, explore their sexuality and their budding attractions for one another.
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Off-Color
Janet McDonald
Fifteen-year-old Cameron living with her single mother in Brooklyn finds her search for identity further challenged when she discovers that she is the product of a biracial relationship.
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Ojiichan's Gift
Chieri Uegaki
A young girl finds a way to give the gift of a traditional Japanese garden back to her beloved grandfather and accept a difficult change.
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Olu's Dream
Shane W. Evans
Olu begs his father to be allowed to stay up and finish a project, but his father insists that he go to sleep, promising that he can have fun overnight, too.
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One April Morning: Children Remember the Oklahoma City Bombing
Nancy Lamb
Conversations with children from the Oklahoma City area about their feelings at the time of the bombing of the Federal Building and afterwards.
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One Word from Sophia
Jim Averbeck
Sophia tries varied techniques to get the giraffe she wants more than anything in this story about the nuances of negotiation. Sophia has one true desire for her birthday. But she has Four Big Problems in the way: Mom, Dad, Uncle Conrad ... and Grand-mama. Will her presentations, proposals, and pie charts convince them otherwise? Turns out, all it takes is one word.
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Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices
Mitali Perkins
Let's face it: Talking about race can be difficult. It's a slippery subject, rife with as many perspectives as there are people in the world. But laughter gets us talking. It has the power to break down barriers and draw us closer together. In Open Mic, acclaimed author and speaker Mitali Perkins invites us to listen in as ten authors for young adults-some familiar, some new-step up to the mic and share their stories about what it's like growing up between cultures.
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Oscar's Half Birthday
Bob Graham
To celebrate his half birthday, Oscar, his parents, and his sister go out for a picnic. Oscar is six months old today, but the truth is that no one can wait for his whole birthday. So there's nothing else for Mom and Dad to do but pack some sandwiches, park Oscar in his stroller, and take older sister Millie-handmade fairy wings attached-to the "half country" of their urban park for a half-birthday party.
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Out of Darkness
Ashley Hope Perez
Loosely based on a school explosion that took place in New London, Texas in 1937, this is the story of two teenagers: Naomi, who is Mexican, and Wash, who is black, and their dealings with race, segregation, love, and the forces that destroy people.
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Picnic in the Park
Joe Griffiths and Tony Pilgrim
A charming picture book for children which shows that families are diverse and come in all shapes and sizes.
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Radio Silence
Alice Oseman
What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong? Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret -- not even the person she is on the inside. But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken. Caught between who she was and who she longs to be, Frances' dreams come crashing down. Suffocating with guilt, she knows that she has to confront her past. She has to confess why Carys disappeared. Meanwhile at uni, Aled is alone, fighting even darker secrets. It's only by facing up to your fears that you can overcome them. And it's only by being your true self that you can find happiness. Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.
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Rainbow Effect: Interracial Families
Kathlyn Gay
Uses interviews with members of interracial/interethnic families to explore problems faced by "mixed" children in such areas as family, school, dating, and adoption.
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Ramona Blue
Julie Murphy
Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever. Since then, it's been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she's fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she's destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever. The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona's friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he's talked her into joining him for laps at the pool. But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is just a fluke. Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and love are more fluid than they seem.
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Rock & Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story
Sebastian Robertson
Canadian guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson is known mainly for his central role in the musical group the Band. But how did he become one of Rolling Stone's top 100 guitarists of all time? Written by his son, Sebastian, this is the story of a rock-and-roll legend's journey through music, beginning when he was taught to play guitar at nine years old on a Native American reservation. Rock and Roll Highway is the story of a young person's passion, drive, and determination to follow his dream.
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Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist
Chuck Bednar
Profiles the life and career of the civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
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Saga, Volume One
Brian K. Vaughan
When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.
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Saints and Misfits
S. K. Ali
Fifteen-year-old Janna Yusuf, a Flannery O'Connor-obsessed book nerd and the daughter of the only divorced mother at their mosque, tries to make sense of the events that follow when her best friend's cousin--a holy star in the Muslim community--attempts to assault her at the end of sophomore year.
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Sammy Goes Flying
Odette Elliott
Sammy dreams of flying. His older siblings are going on a school trip to an aeroplane museum. But Sammy is too small to go. Then Grandma plans a magical day out just for Sammy.
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See No Color
Shannon Gibney
Alex has always identified herself as a baseball player, the daughter of a winning coach, but when she realizes that is not enough she begins to come to terms with her adoption and her race.
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Seraphina
Rachel Hartman
Seraphina is a half-dragon, descended from a dragon mother who took human form and a father who has no particular fondness for Seraphina’s kind. Not that anyone else does either. Hers is a world where dragons and humans live and work side by side—but below the surface, tensions and hostilities are on the rise. Seraphina guards her true self with all of her being, but when a member of the royal family is brutally murdered, she’s suddenly thrust into the spotlight, drawn into the investigation alongside the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian. As the two uncover a sinister plot to destroy the wavering peace of the kingdom, Seraphina’s struggle to protect her secret becomes increasingly difficult . . . and its discovery could mean her very life.
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Seven Ways We Lie
Riley Redgate
A chance encounter tangles the lives of seven high school students, each resisting the allure of one of the seven deadly sins, and each telling their story from their seven distinct points of view.
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Shades of Difference: Why Skin Color Matters
Evelyn Nakano Glenn
Shades of Difference examines the significance of skin color in different societies around the world and its effects on relations between and within racial groups.
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Shades of People
Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly
An author and photographer join forces in this pictorial essay on skin color, demonstrating the different appearances children can have, but reminding the reader that they are still children that enjoy the same things. Like a wrapped gift, the authors' message is that skin is just a covering and that you cannot tell what someone is like from the color of their skin.
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Shanghai Messenger
Andrea Cheng
A free-verse novel about eleven-year-old Xiao Mei's visit with her extended family in China, where the Chinese-American girl finds many differences but also the similarities that bind a family together.