Book Lists for Better Inclusion of All

Are you looking to grow in your knowledge of racism? Are you looking to be a better scout leader when it comes to being not just tolerant but actually anti-racist? Several Rovers in the South of BPSA have put together this list of recommendations to help you with your personal journey of growth. We can’t ask anyone else to educate us on this, we each have to do our own work as adults.

Books for Rovers

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Race by Robin DiAngelo
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD.
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

Books for Otters

It can also be hard to find books with children who are BIPOC. It is far more common to find books depicting African Americans in urban settings than in nature. Here is a list, that is by no means comprehensive, but a great starting point for Otter and Chipmunk storytimes.

Reading books with children with a wide variety of skin tones helps them view themselves and others more positively. It helps children to see themselves in others and relate to other people better when they read books with a wide variety of people. Hopefully, this list gives you some ideas for some storytimes with your otters.

Books with African American Children in Nature​

• The Hike by Alison Farrell
• Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal (Illustrator)
• Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
• Hiking Day by Anne Rockwell and Lizzy Rockwell (Illustrator)
• Joshua by the Sea by Angela Johnson and Rhonda Mitchell (Illustrator)
• Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beard Shaw (Illustrator)
  • This book also comes in a Spanish language version.
• Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter by Kenard Pak
  • This is actually part of a series, a book for each change in season.
• Rainbow Stew by Cathryn Falwell

Children’s Books with Asian Americans

• Grandfather Tang’s Story by Ann Tompert
• One Leaf Rides the Wind by Celeste Mannis
• Kite Flying by Grace Lin

Stories of Modern Native American Children

• Sky Sisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose and Brian Deines (Illustrator)
• Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smit, Ying-Hwa Hu, and Cornelius Van Wright (Illustrator)

Stories with Hispanic Children

• Call me Tree by Maya Christina Gonzalez
• Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Gender Inclusion

• Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman and Eda Kaban (Illustrator)
• Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
• Rory’s Rainbow by Melissa Piva

This is not an exhaustive list, by far. But we hope it is somewhere for you to start. Do you have a suggestion for a book or other media to share? Please post it below!