Toron Curriculum Library: Celebrating Diversity: Home

Illustrations and simple text explore ways in which children are alike and some ways they may be different.

The story of Helen Keller, who learned to read and write despite being deaf and blind, and became an activist who fought for the rights of disabled people.

Twenty-six amazing women; twenty-six amazing stories. From Amelia Earhart, pilot and adventurer, to Zora Neal Hurston, writer and anthropologist, learn about the hardships and triumphs that inspired each woman to change the world around her. Detailed collages and illustrations draw from various events in the women's lives.

Hoang describes the daily activities of his family in San Rafael, California, and the traditional culture and customs that shape their lives.

African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic-American children describe their families' cultural traditions.

This visually stunning book showcases twenty HIspanic American men and women who have made outstanding contributions to the arts, politcs, science, humanitariansim, and athletics. SInce our nation's founding, individuals whose roots are in the Spanish-speaking countries have contributed immeasurably to the rich diversity that is America's melting pot. Chronicled here are their struggles and triumphs--what they faced and overcame on their way to great accomplishments. Gorgeous portraits by renowned artist Raúl Colón complement sparkling biographies by California poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera of César Chávez, Sonia Sotomayor, Ellen Ochoa, Roberto Clemente, and many more.

Martin kept refining: Painting with a preacher's fine brush, a light shade of wisdom here, a darker shade of frustration there, the darkest shade of "for whites only" everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr. was a preacher, a poet, and a brilliant orator, among many other things. The night before the 1963 March on Washington he sat down to write, with the voices and opinions of men he trusted echoing in his room at the Willard Hotel. Their thoughts, and the inspiration of so many artists and activists who came before him, contributed to the crafting of one of the most powerful speeches ever written, known today as the 'I Have a Dream' speech. In lyrical prose and strikingly illustrated by the renowned Jerry Pinkney, this is a book about Martin Luther King Jr. like no other.

Discover a world of celebrations! This entertaining book introduces kids to 14 holidays, from Brazilian Carnaval, Chinese New Year, Bastille Day, and the Cherry Blossom Festival to Purim, Holi, Eid al-Fitr, Day of the Dead, and Halloween. As in the popular What's On Your Plate?, each spread showcases a different holiday, offering background, cultural context, vocabulary words, photographs, and instructions for festive projects.

Introduces Kwanzaa, the holiday in which Afro-Americans celebrate their cultural heritage.

This book is about the Stonewall Riots, a series of spontaneous, often violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBTQ+) community in reaction to a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The Riots are attributed as the spark that ignited the LGBTQ+ Movement. The author describes American gay history leading up to the Riots, the Riots themselves, and the aftermath, and includes her interviews of people involved or witnesses, including a woman who was ten at the time. Profusely illustrated, the book includes contemporary photos, newspaper clippings among other period objects. A timely and necessary read, The Stonewall Riots helps readers to understand the history and legacy of the LGBTQ+ movement.

A four-year-old boy loves dressing up in princess clothing. "A nonfiction picture book about acceptance ... to give children and adults a tool to talk about unconditional friendship.

In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful--and very awkward--hearing aid.

From the legendary civil rights activist and author of the million-copy selling Warriors Don't Cry comes a powerful, timely new memoir about growing up in the segregated South. Civil rights heroine Melba Patillo Beals puts readers right in her saddle oxfords as she struggles to understand--and fight back against--the laws that told her she was less just because of the color of her skin.

Presents the history of hip-hop including how it evolved from folktales, spirituals, and poetry, to the showmanship of James Brown, to the culture of graffiti art and breakdancing that formed around the art form.

Jean-Michel Basquiat was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful.

Gyo Fujikawa's iconic children's books are beloved all over the world. Now it's time for Gyo's story to be told--a story of artistic talent that refused to be constrained by rules or expectations. Growing up quiet and lonely at the beginning of the twentieth century, Gyo learned from her relatives the ways in which both women and Japanese people lacked opportunity. Her teachers and family believed in her and sent her to art school and later Japan, where her talent flourished. But while Gyo's career grew and led her to work for Walt Disney Studios, World War II began, and with it, her family's internment. But Gyo never stopped fighting--for herself, her vision, her family and her readers--and later wrote and illustrated the first children's book to feature children of different races interacting together.

2020 Caldecott Medal Winner
2020 Newbery Honor Book Winner
2020 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner
The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree. Originally performed for ESPN's The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes.

Shares a story of loving who you are, respecting others and being kind to one another.

A young boy named Nathan explains about his Autism Spectrum superpowers, how they affect him, and ways friends can help out when his superpowers spiral out of control.

A child is sent to find a younger brother at dinnertime and is introduced to a variety of cultures through encountering the many different ways rice is prepared at the different households visited.