Matt de la Peña
Ages 3–8
The team behind the Newbery Medal winner and Caldecott Honor book Last Stop on Market Street and the award-winning New York Times bestseller Carmela Full of Wishes once again delivers a poignant and timely picture book that's sure to become ...
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We keep this on the shelf for families of all kinds — a story kids can feel, not just a lesson adults want to teach.
Ages 3–8. Especially helpful for celebrating the family you have — chosen or given.
Ask: How does this family show love — in big ways or small ones?
Bedtime tip: after the last page, ask one question and wait — silence is where the story sticks.
Two titles that deepen the same conversation.
Ages 3–8
A Different Pond"As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation.
Ages 3–8
Alma and How She Got Her NameAlma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela thinks her name is too long — until Daddy shares the family stories behind each piece. A Caldecott Honor gem.
Ages 3–8
And Tango Makes ThreeIn the zoo there are all kinds of animal families. But Tango's family is not like any of the others. This illustrated children's book fictionalizes the true story of two male penguins who became partners and raised a penguin chick in the Central Park Zoo.
Ages 8–12
As Brave As YouGenie's summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia. The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he's ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into, he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.
Ages 3–8
Asha's mumsFor ages 4-8. When Asha's lesbian mums become an issue for the teacher and the curiosity of classmates, Asha responds that having two mums is not a big deal. They are a family.
Ages 3–8
Blue WillowA little girl, who wants most of all to have a real home and to go to a regular school, hopes that the valley her family has come to, which so resembles the pattern on her treasured blue willow plate, will be their permanent home.
Ages 8–12
Brown Girl DreamingA New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Red at the Bone, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse.
Ages 3–8
CalvinIn this joyful and impactful picture book, a transgender boy prepares for the first day of school and introduces himself to his family and friends for the first time. Calvin has always been a boy, even if the world sees him as a girl.
