Diverse Books to Inspire a Love of Learning

by Leanna

Inspire a love of learning in your children or students with these beautiful new diverse children’s books. They cover topics from philosophy and art to science, technology, geography, and math, so you’re sure to find something for everyone!

Disclosure: I received complimentary copies of the books below for review purposes; however, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Diverse Books to Inspire a Love of Learning

Did you ever think of teaching your baby coding? Well, neither did I before I received this beautiful set of board books from the amazing Girls Who Code. These eye-catching books are a playful way to inspire a love of learning and teach very young children that code is all around them – from their everyday world (Baby Code!) to the music they love (Baby Code! Music), the art they create (Baby Code! Art), and the way they play (Baby Code! Play). The text even includes actual code! I have to admit, I was skeptical about how much little ones would really understand of these concepts, but my toddler loves these books. She enjoys seeing pictures of babies doing things she loves – like painting or building a tower – and the explanation of how this relates to coding (Mommy can use coding to copy Baby’s painting without using paint, a computer can use code to make a block with a 3-D printer!) is very easy for them to grasp.

I (Heart) Art: The Work We Love from The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a gorgeous book guaranteed to turn any reader – young or old – into an art lover. I love that it encompasses such a variety of media and artists and that it is divided into themes, including people, animals, and transportation. And it can be enjoyed at different levels – younger children may simply enjoy the 150+ works of art, while older children can read more about the works in the accompanying text. This is a book to be savored and enjoyed again and again.

I have to admit that when I received Eggsistential Thoughts by Gudetama the Lazy Egg and its companion Gudetama’s Guide to Life, I wasn’t sure how to approach them. Were they philosophy books for kids, or satire? Fortunately my kids got Gudetama and his lazy attitude right away. They loved him! They laughed and laughed at the drawings (especially his little bottom), but they also imbibed some philosophical concepts, such as conflict management and optimism vs pessimism. Because ultimately Gudetama is profound and comical at the same time. Find out more about the Gudetama phenomenon in the context of Japanese culture, and just trust me, your kids will love these books, and so will you!

Another book sure to inspire a love of learning is The Girl With a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague, a lovely picture book biography about a young African-American girl who pursued her dream of becoming an engineer, despite the racism and sexism she faced every step of the way. Encouraged by her family, Montague’s hard work and determination eventually paid off. She won over those that were initially against her, and she is now credited with pioneering new methods of ship design. I love that this beautiful picture book includes at the back a timeline of Montague’s life, a more in-depth biography for older children, and even an interview with Montague herself!

Did you know that the first person to publish a book of photographs was a woman? Learn more in the new picture book The Bluest of Blues: Anna Atkins and the First Book of Photographs. The ethereal illustrations portray Anna’s fascination with plant life and her work as a botanist. She used incredibly detailed drawings to record her findings, but when cyanotype photography came along, she turned to this new technology instead. Her 1843 book on British algae is considered the first book of photographs ever published. A lovely tribute to this pioneer of science and art.

In many ways, Yasmin is a typical second grader: curious, full of energy, and still gaining confidence in her own talents. Her map of the neighborhood helps her when she gets lost at the Farmer’s Market, and she overcomes her initial frustration in order to contribute to a group project at school. But in the new early chapter book Meet Yasmin!, we also learn that in many ways Yasmin is beautifully unique: she calls her father Baba rather than Daddy, her mother wears a hijab, and Yasmin loves to dress up in her mom’s colorful saris. Her family is Pakistani-American, and while the stories are ones any child can relate to, the cultural richness comes through in the details: a portrait of Malala in Yasmin’s bedroom, her mother ordering naan bread at the bakery. But what really shines through is the sparkling spirit of this young girl, especially her curiosity and love of learning. Bonus materials at the back include information about Pakistan, a recipe, and a craft idea!

Fun Books That Are Also Educational (Shh!)

STEM Books with Strong Female Characters

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents, and educators.

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Medallion Level Sponsors Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org. Super Platinum: Make A Way Media GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV, Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press, SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls, BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift, T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield,

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board

Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini, Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Claudia Schwam, Lori DeMonia, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE. Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup, Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media!

MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party. GO HERE for more details. FREE RESOURCES From MCBD Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: https://wp.me/P5tVud-1H Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/ Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.