MedlemWorld_Full_of_Color

The World Full of Color library is meant to be a resource for teachers, librarians, booksellers, parents, people of all ages, to find books featuring people of color where race is NOT the driving force behind the story, in which race is (in terms of the story being told) incidental.

There are many fine books about racial issues, and these are vital to young people, too. But we also need mainstream and literary books that reflect the real lives of contemporary children. These children don't see themselves primarily through the lens of the past. They are living now, in this colorful world, and need to see themselves reflected in the Harry Potters and Twilights and Ramonas of today. This list features books that avoid token multiculturalism, that include well-rounded main and secondary characters of color.

The library also features nonfiction titles about interesting, less-well-known leaders of color — artists, scientists, astronauts, etc. — to broaden the scope of what children conceive as possible paths for their future.

Book suggestions and feedback are welcome. Improvements and additions will be ongoing; please let me know if there are errors in the library or confusing organizational elements. Thank you for sharing this library with your friends and colleagues.

I'm a bookseller and children's book writer living in Vermont. I've lived in Arizona, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, and New York City, so I'm used to a vibrant world full of people from every conceivable culture, race, and ethnicity. Moving to a state as overwhelmingly Caucasian as Vermont has made me especially aware of the need for children's books to reflect the real, very diverse world in which we live.