This collection contains materials from the DIVerse Families bibliography organized by Grades PK-1.
DIVerse Families is a comprehensive bibliography that demonstrates the growing diversity of families in the United States. This type of bibliography provides teachers, librarians, counselors, adoption agencies, children/young adults, and especially parents and grandparents needing to empower their children with materials that reflect their families.
Browse by Grade Level:
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And Baby Makes 4
Judith Benjamin
One of her moms is pregnant! What will this mean for a child who will soon be an older sibling? Her mothers prepare her for the big change in their family, and finally the baby arrives. The girl feels confused and ambivalent, but she grows at last toward happy acceptance of the baby and of her new status in the family.
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An Ellis Island Christmas
Maxinne Rhea Leighton
Papa has already left Poland, and Krysia longs to see him again. "First we must cross the ocean to get to Ellis Island in America," says Mama. "That's where Papa is waiting for us." Saying goodbye to her home is hard, and the ocean voyage is long and stormy, but finally, on Christmas Eve, Krysia sees the Statue of Liberty! Dennis Nolan's richly rendered illustrations powerfully evoke the uncertainty, wonder, and hope of this young immigrant's experience. An Ellis Island Christmas is a holiday story to treasure, year after year.
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A New Barker in the House
Tomie DePaola
Twins Moffie and Morgie are excited when they hear that their family is adopting a three-year-old Hispanic boy.
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Angryman
Gro Dahle
There's someone in the living room. It's Dad. It is Angryman. Boj's father can be very angry and violent. Boj calls this side of his father's personality "Angryman." When Angryman comes no one is safe. Until something powerful happens... Gro Dahle's astute text and Svein Nyhus's bold, evocative art capture the full range of emotions that descend upon a small family as they grapple with "Angryman." With an important message to children who experience the same things as Boj: You are not alone. It's not your fault. You must tell someone you trust. It doesn't have to be this way!
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An Mei's Strange and Wondrous Journey
Stephan Molnar-Fenton
A picture book illustrated by the award-winning artist of Lullaby Raft follows the life of a six-year-old orphaned girl born in China, who is adopted and brought to America, where she learns to adjust to her new, unfamiliar home.
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A Place in My Heart
Mary Grossnickle
Charlie, a chipmunk adopted by a family of squirrels, begins to wonder about his birthparents but is afraid that asking questions will upset his family.
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A Plan for Pops
Heather Smith
Lou spends every Saturday with Grandad and Pops. They walk to the library hand in hand, like a chain of paper dolls. Grandad reads books about science and design, Pops listens to rock and roll, and Lou bounces from lap to lap. But everything changes one Saturday. Pops has a fall. That night there is terrible news: Pops will be confined to a wheelchair, not just for now, but for always. Unable to cope with his new circumstances, he becomes withdrawn and shuts himself in his room. Hearing Grandad trying to cheer up Pops inspires Lou to make a plan. Using skills learned from Grandad, and with a little help from their neighbors, Lou comes up with a plan for Pops.
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Apt. 3
Ezra Jack Keats
On a rainy day two brothers try to discover who is playing the harmonica they hear in their apartment building.
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Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?
Sarah Savage
When Tiny moves to a new town, Buster, the class bully, wants to know if Tiny is a boy or a girl but others wonder why it matters to him.
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A Tale of Two Daddies
Vanita Oelschlager
A young girl describes how her two daddies help her through her day, including her poppa cooking eggs and toast, her daddy fixing her knee when she is hurt, and both fathers being there for her when she needs love.
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A Tale of Two Mommies
Vanita Oelschlager
A young boy describes to two other children how his two mommies help him with all his needs.
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At My House What Makes a Family is Love
Dee Dee Walter
What makes a family? A single mom? Two Dads? This book talks about all the different families. Families are ever changing in today's society. This shows that all families should be embraced and celebrated. Families are what makes them and the ultimate connecting factor is love.
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A Very Important Day
Maggie Rugg Herold
Two-hundred nineteen people from thirty-two different countries make their way to downtown New York in a snowstorm to be sworn in as citizens of the United States.
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A Very Special Critter
Gina Mayer and Mercer Mayer
In this wise and funny picture-book adventure, a special student joins Little Critter's class at school. The new student uses a wheelchair, and Little Critter is worried. Will his classmate be very different? Will the class know how to act around him? It's an honest, realistic look at ways kids deal successfully with the unknown -- mixed with a big dollop of Mercer Mayer humor for good measure.
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Babu's Song
Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
In Tanzania, Bernardi's mute grandfather makes him a wonderful music box and then helps him realize his dream of owning a soccer ball and going to school.
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Baby's First Words
Stella Blackstone and Sunny Scribens
Brief text relates the daily activities of a city baby with two daddies by featuring terms for objects, actions, and sounds. On die-cut board pages with tabs.
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Ballerino Nate
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
After seeing a ballet performance, Nate decides he wants to learn ballet but he has doubts when his brother Ben tells him that only girls can be ballerinas.
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Bedtime for Baby Teddy
Tamara Arc-Dekker
Created for babies and young children, this happy and simple bedtime storybook reflects the familiar nighttime activities and routines of children and their lesbian parents. With basic text and gentle images this book offers a cozy story time moment for both children and mothers.
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Ben Has Something to Say: A Story About Stuttering
Laurie Lears
In order to help a neglected dog which he sees at a junkyard, Ben, who stutters, begins to confront his fear of speaking.
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Ben's Family (All Kinds of Families)
Elliot Riley
Easy reader introduces a young baseball player and his mother, highlighting their family dynamics and celebrating diversity.
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Be Quiet, Marina!
Kirsten DeBear
A story of how two girls, one with cerebral palsy and one with Down syndrome, become friends.
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Be Who You Are
Todd Parr
Picture book encouraging kids to be proud of what makes them unique, where they come from, and how they express themselves and see the world.
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Black is Brown is Tan
Arnold Adoff
Describes in verse a family with a brown-skinned mother, white-skinned father, two children, and their various relatives.
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Black, White, Just Right!
Marguerite W. Davol
A girl explains how her parents differ in color, tastes in art and food, and pet preferences, and how she herself is different too but just right.
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Boats for Papa
Jessixa Bagley
Buckley and his Mama live in a cozy cabin by the ocean. He loves to carve boats out of the driftwood he finds on the beach nearby. He makes: big boats long boats short boats and tall boats, each one more beautiful than the last, and sends them out to sea. If they don't come back, he knows they've found their way to his papa, whom he misses very much.