Expand Your Literary Horizons: Embracing Reading Without Walls

🌎 When you pick up a book, how often do the characters share similar experiences as you, and how often do they look like you? With this blog post, we encourage you to read more books about people who may live in different places than you or have different experiences than you based on their cultures and identities. 

💛 One of the greatest gifts of reading is that we can be transported to other places from wherever we are simply by turning the page. This beautiful collection of picture books shines a light on the lived experiences of a variety of people all over the world. 

For more book recommendations, visit our Bookshop.

Zonia’s Rainforest

Author/Illustrator: Juana Martinez-Neal | Publisher: Candlewick

Zonia’s Rainforest is about a little Asháninka girl who lives in the Amazon rainforest. It beautifully showcases her bond with nature and her environment, and follows her along one day as she explores and plays in the rainforest. She visits well-known animal friends, like a family of sloths and a speedy jaguar, and revels in the beauty and wonder of her home.

Zonia is shaken when she comes across a patch of land that’s been ruined by deforestation. This book teaches us about the strength and resilience of the Asháninka community, and are reminded of the importance of acting as stewards and caretakers of our planet. This book includes informative backmatter about the Asháninka people and the Amazon rainforest.

This Land: The History of the Land We're On

Author: Ashley Fairbanks | Illustrator: Bridget George |Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Before my family lived in this house, a different family did, and before them, another family, and another before them. And before that, the family lived here, not in a house, but a wigwam. Who lived where you are before you got there?

This Land teaches readers that American land, from our backyards to our schools to Disney World, are the traditional homelands of many Indigenous nations. This Land will spark curiosity and encourage readers to explore the history of the places they live and the people who have lived there throughout time and today.

Mi Ciudad Sings

Author: Cynthia Harmony | Illustrator: Teresa Martinez |Publisher: Penguin Workshop

As a little girl and her dog embark on their daily walk through the city, they skip and spin to the familiar sounds of revving cars, clanking bikes, friendly barks, and whistling camote carts. But what they aren't expecting to hear is the terrifying sound of a rumbling earthquake...and then...silence.

 With captivating text and lively, beautiful illustrations, this heartwarming story leaves readers with the message that they can choose to be strong and brave even when they are scared, and can still find joy and hope in the midst of sadness.

Come and Join Us: 18 Holidays Celebrated All Year Long

Author: Liz Kleinrock | Illustrator: Chaaya Prabhat |Publisher: HarperCollins

Who says the holidays only happen in the winter? Every day’s a holiday when you live in a world as diverse as ours! From Juneteenth to Vesak, and Yom Kippur to Día de las Muertos, the festivities never end.

Come and join us and learn about eighteen holidays celebrated by a diverse group of children in this inviting and joyful picture book written by renowned antibias and antiracist educator, Liz Kleinrock of Teach and Transform, with vibrant illustrations by Chaaya Prabhat.

This book is useful for discussing holidays in the classroom and can be an enjoyable resource for making sure no one holiday is more valued than the other.

Holidays featured include: Seollal, Holi, Nowruz, Passover, Vaisakhi, Vesak, Juneteenth, Homecoming, Onam, Obon, Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur, Makahiki, Día de los Muertos, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Ramadan & Eid al-Fitr

Halal Hot Dogs

Author: Susannah Aziz | Illustrator: Parwinder Singh |Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Every Friday after Jummah prayer at the masjid, Musa's family has a special Jummah treat. They take turns picking out what the treat will be, but recently the choices have been . . . interesting. Week one, Mama made molokhia. It's perfect for sharing, but gives us molokhia teeth for days! Week two, Baba burned the kufte kebabs on the grill. Week three, Seedi made his favorite riz b'haleeb-creamy rice pudding with pistachio sprinkled on top with an unexpected ingredient. Last week, Maryam brought jellybeans. . . . Finally, it's Musa's turn to pick, and he picks his favorite-halal hot dogs! But actually getting to eat this deliciousness turns into a journey riddled with obstacles. Will he ever get his favorite tasty treat?

Where Three Oceans Meet

Author: Rajani Larocca | Illustrator: Archana Sreenivasan |Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Sejal, Mommy, and Pati travel together to the southern tip of India. Along the way, they share meals, visit markets, and catch up with old friends.

For Pati, the trip retraces spaces she knows well. For Mommy, it’s a return to the place she grew up. For Sejal, it’s a discovery of new sights and sounds. The family finds their way to Kanyakumari, where three oceans meet, and delight in making it to the end of the earth together.

This own voices picture book celebrates the beauty of India and the enduring love of family.

My Day with the Panye

Author: Tami Charles | Illustrator: Sara Palacios |Publisher: Candlewick

In the hills above Port-au-Prince, a young girl named Fallon wants more than anything to carry a large woven basket to the market, just like her Manman. As she watches her mother wrap her hair in a mouchwa, Fallon tries to twist her own braids into a scarf and balance the empty panye atop her head, but realizes it’s much harder than she thought. BOOM! Is she ready after all? Lyrical and inspiring, with vibrant illustrations highlighting the beauty of Haiti, My Day with the Panye is a story of family legacy, cultural tradition, and hope for the future. Readers who are curious about the art of carrying a panye will find more about this ancient and global practice in an author’s note at the end.

Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers: A Story Inspired by Loujain AlHathloul

Author: Lina Alhathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery | Illustrator: Rebecca Green |Publisher: minedition

Loujain watches her beloved baba attach his feather wings and fly each morning, but her own dreams of flying face a big obstacle: only boys, not girls, are allowed to fly in her country. Yet despite the taunts of her classmates, she is determined to do it—especially because Loujain loves colors, and only by flying can she see the color-filled field of sunflowers her baba has told her about. Eventually, he agrees to teach her, and Loujain's impossible dream becomes reality—and soon other girls dare to learn to fly.

Based on the experiences of co-author Lina AlHathloul's sister, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Loujain AlHathloul, who led the successful campaign to lift Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving, this moving and gorgeously illustrated story reminds us to strive for the changes we want to see—and to never take for granted women's and girls' freedoms.

Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine

Author: Hannah Moushabeck | Illustrator: Reem Madooh |Publisher: Chronicle Books

As bedtime approaches, three young girls eagerly await the return of their father who tells them stories of a faraway homeland—Palestine. Through their father's memories, the Old City of Jerusalem comes to life: the sounds of juice vendors beating rhythms with brass cups, the smell of argileh drifting through windows, and the sight of doves flapping their wings toward home. These daughters of the diaspora feel love for a place they have never been, a home they cannot visit. But, as their father’s story comes to an end, they know that through his memories, they will always return.

 A Palestinian family celebrates the stories of their homeland in this moving autobiographical picture book debut by Hannah Moushabeck. With heartfelt illustrations by Reem Madooh, this story is a love letter to home, to family, and to the persisting hope of people that transcends borders.

Water Day

Author: Margarita Engle | Illustrator: Olivia Sua | Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Water days are busy days,

grateful, laughing,

thirsty days.

A small village no longer has a water supply of its own, but one young girl and her neighbors get by with the help of the water man. When he comes to town, water flows like hope for the whole familia, and everyone rejoices.

If Dominican Were a Color

Author: Sili Recio | Illustrator: Brianna McCarthy | Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

If Dominican were a color, it would be the sunset in the sky, blazing red and burning bright.

If Dominican were a color, it’d be the roar of the ocean in the deep of the night,

With the moon beaming down rays of sheer delight.

The palette of the Dominican Republic is exuberant and unlimited. Maiz comes up amarillo, the blue-black of dreams washes over sandy shores, and people’s skin can be the shade of cinnamon in cocoa or of mahogany. This exuberantly colorful, softly rhyming picture book is a gentle reminder that a nation’s hues are as wide as nature itself.

What is a Refugee?

Author: Elise Gravel | Publisher: Ann Schwartz Books

Who are refugees? Why are they called that word? Why do they need to leave their country? Why are they sometimes not welcome in their new country? In this relevant picture book for the youngest children, author-illustrator Elise Gravel explores what it means to be a refugee in bold, graphic illustrations and spare text. This is the perfect tool to introduce an important and timely topic to children.

My Two Border Towns

Author: David Bowles | Illustrator: Erika Meza | Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Early one Saturday morning, a boy prepares for a trip to The Other Side/El Otro Lado. It's close--just down the street from his school--and it's a twin of where he lives. To get there, his father drives their truck along the Rio Grande and over a bridge, where they're greeted by a giant statue of an eagle. Their outings always include a meal at their favorite restaurant, a visit with Tío Mateo at his jewelry store, a cold treat from the paletero, and a pharmacy pickup. On their final and most important stop, they check in with friends seeking asylum and drop off much-needed supplies.

My Two Border Towns by David Bowles, with stunning watercolor illustrations by Erika Meza, is the loving story of a father and son's weekend ritual, a demonstration of community care, and a tribute to the fluidity, complexity, and vibrancy of life on the U.S.-Mexico border.