By Aleah Gornbein
This fall, there is an absolute plethora of diverse picture books to share with young readers! There are stories about the Black, Brown, and Asian experience, familial and friendship relationships of all types, queer, Muslim, and Jewish families, and nonfiction books about incredible people in the United States and around the world.
While there are even more books being published that could fit on this list, it’s worth noting that some identities are more represented than others. Nonetheless, you should be able to pick any book off this list and have meaningful reading time with a child in your life whether it’s looking through a window to another’s experience or looking into a mirror’s reflection of your own. Happy reading!
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September Releases
Bubbie & Rivka’s Best-Ever Challah (So Far!) by Sarah Lynne Reul (Jewish)
Release date: September 20, 2022 | Abrams
Description: Two aspiring young bakers learn that practice makes for special together time—and delicious challah.
ISBN: 9781419758980
Hana’s Hundreds of Hijabs by Razeena Omar Gutta (South Asian/Muslim), illustrated by Manal Mirza (South Asian/Muslim)
Release date: September 20, 2022 | Barefoot Books
Description: When her collection of hijabs gets out of hand, Hana shares her talents and belongings with her community.
ISBN: 9781646866205
Making Happy by Sheetal Sheth (Indian American), illustrated by Khoa Le (Vietnamese)
Release date: September 20, 2022 | Barefoot Books
Description: When a girl’s mother gets sick, she and her family learn to find much-needed joy and laughter.
ISBN: 9781646866229
Forever Cousins by Laurel Goodluck (Indigenous/Mandan, Hidatsa and Tsimshian member), illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Indigenous/Navajo, Kiiyaa’áanii (Towering House Clan) and Naakai Dine’é (Mexican Clan))
Release date: September 20, 2022 | Charlesbridge
Description: In this Native American story, two cousins who have been separated each worry that the other hasn’t missed her.
ISBN: 9781623542924
Mama in Congress: Rashida Tlaib’s Journey to Washington by Rashida and Adam Tlaib (Palestinian/Muslim), illustrated by Olivia Aserr (Egyptian/Irish American)
Release date: September 20, 2022 | HarperCollins/Clarion
Description: When Yousif Tlaib asks about his mother’s new job in Congress, his older brother, Adam, fills him in—with some help from Mom herself.
ISBN: 9780358683438
My Diwali Light by Raakhee Mirchandani (Indian American), illustrated by Supriya Kelkar (Indian American)
Release date: September 20, 2022 | Little, Brown
Description: Devi and her family celebrate Diwali traditions together.
ISBN: 9780316339339
Bonnie’s Rocket by Emeline Lee (East Asian), illustrated by Alina Chau (Indonesian-Chinese)
Release date: September 27, 2022 | Lee & Low
Description: Bonnie’s father is an engineer for the Apollo 11 space mission; while Baba is away working, Bonnie designs, builds, and tests her own model rocket with the support of Baba’s encouraging letters.
ISBN: 9781643790695
Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree/Canadian-American), illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis)
Release date: September 27, 2022 | Greystone
Description: This picture book adaptation of Sainte-Marie’s song is a love letter to Indigenous communities.
ISBN: 9781771648073
Shine Bright by Kheris Rogers (Black), illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe (Black)
Release date: September 27, 2022 | HarperCollins
Description: When Imani’s confidence is shaken by peers who tell her she’s too dark, she turns to her sister for a loving reminder that she’s wonderful just the way she is.
ISBN: 9780063064782
Dear Black Child by Rahma Rodaah (Black/Muslim), illustrated by Lydia Mba (Afro-Spanish)
Release date: September 27, 2022 | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray
Description: This is a moving and lyrical tribute to and affirmation of Black children around the world.
ISBN: 9780063091979
October Releases
Remembering Mom’s Kubbat Halab by Medeia Sharif (Kurdish-American), illustrated by Paran Kim (Korean)
Release date: October 1, 2022 | Albert Whitman
Description: When a loved one dies, remembering them through shared experiences and the ways they expressed their love, helps with loss.
ISBN: 9780807569320
Santiago’s Dinosaurios by Mariana Ríos Ramírez (Mexican), illustrated by Udayana Lugo
Release date: October 1, 2022 | Albert Whitman
Description: Even though he doesn’t speak English, Santiago finds a way to connect to his new classmates—through dinosaurios.
ISBN: 9780807572306
Mariana and Her Familia by Mónica Mancillas (Mexican), illustrated by Erika Meza (Mexican)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray
Description: A heartwarming picture book about a young girl on her first trip to visit family in Mexico, who learns there is no language barrier when it comes to love.
ISBN: 9780062962461
Indigo Dreaming by Dinah Johnson (Black), illustrated by Anna Cunha (Brazilian)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | HarperCollins
Description: Two Black girls—on different sides of the sea—wonder about how they are intricately linked by culture even though they are separated by location.
ISBN: 9780063080201
The Little Toymaker by Cat Min (East Asian)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Levine Querido
Description: The adorable little Toymaker makes wonderful toys, not for children, but for their grandparents and other older folk, helping them embark on a journey of memory and newfound joy.
ISBN: 9781646141807
The Boston Chocolate Party by Tami Lehman-Wilzig and Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz (Jewish), illustrated by Fede Combi (Argentinian)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Behrman/Apples & Honey
Description: Set during the American Revolution, this story tells of Sephardic Jews’ involvement in the chocolate trade.
ISBN: 9781681155760
Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book by Tonya Bolden (Black), illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Afro-Puerto Rican)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | HarperCollins/Quill Tree
Description: This nonfiction book spotlights the Black postal worker from Harlem who created the Green Book, a guide to help African Americans stay safe while traveling during segregation.
ISBN: 9780062967404
The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford—Ally, Activist, and Co-Founder of PFLAG by Rob Sanders (LGBTQIA+), illustrated by Sam Kalda (LGBTQIA+)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | APA/Magination
Description: The true story of Jeanne Manford, who decided to start a group to help families of LGBTQ people while marching with her son in New York City’s 1972 Christopher Street Parade.
ISBN: 9781433840203
Payden’s Pronoun Party by Blue Jaryn (LGBTQIA+/nonbinary), illustrated by Xochitl Cornejo (Mexican-American, LGBTQIA+/nonbinary)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Page Street
Description: In this celebration of all gender identities, a child goes on a quest to discover the perfect pronouns.
ISBN: 9781645675587
What Shall We Play Now? by Taghreed A. Najjar (Palestinian-Jordanian), illustrated by Charlotte Shama
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Crocodile
Description: Raya and Samar have fun playing with a piece of cloth in this story celebrating imagination and creativity.
ISBN: 9781623718091
My Family and Other Families: Finding the Power in Our Differences by Lewis and Richard Edwards-Middleton (LGBTQIA+), illustrated by Andy Passchier (LGBTQIA+/nonbinary)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | DK
Description: A gentle and light-hearted tale about friends, family, and ferris wheels, this book depicts a world where there are all kinds of families, and they are all equal.
ISBN: 9780744059816
Brown Is Beautiful by Supriya Kelkar (Indian American), illustrated by Noor Sofi (Kashmiri-American)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Macmillan/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Description: On a hike with her grandparents, an Indian American girl makes note of all the things in nature that are brown, too, and collects mementos to show her baby brother.
ISBN: 9780374389529
Kimchi, Kimchi Every Day by Erica Kim (Korean)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Soaring Kite
Description: Readers explore the different ways to eat kimchi in a rhyming tale that also teaches the days of the week.
ISBN: 9781953859273
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel (Jewish), illustrated by Susan Gal (Jewish)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Scholastic Press
Description: This is the true story of how Yaffa Eliach recovered thousands of her town’s photographs that were lost in WWII and used them to create a permanent exhibit in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
ISBN: 9781338225891
The Unbreakable Thread by Emily Joof (Gambian-Malian), illustrated by Asma Enayeh (French Syrian/Muslim)
Release date: October 4, 2022 | Soaring Kite
Description: A bittersweet celebration of the everlasting bond between a mother and child through the changing phases of their lives.
ISBN: 9781953859259
Phoenix Gets Greater by Marty Wilson-Trudeau (Indigenous/Anishinaabe Kwe), illustrated by Megan Kyak-Monteith (Indigenous/Inuit, LGBTQIA+)
Release date: October 11, 2022 | Second Story Press
Description: An Indigenous boy who struggles with feeling different embraces his true self when his supportive parents teach about Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people—those who have both masculine and feminine spirits.
ISBN: 9781772602531
Black Gold by Laura Obuobi (African), illustrated by London Ladd (Black)
Release date: October 11, 2022 | HarperCollins
Description: This lyrical picture book is a joyous, poetic, celebration of Black children and a reminder of the Universe’s unconditional love in stunning verse and captivating collage.
ISBN: 9780063015760
The Tray of Togetherness by Flo Leung (Cantonese-Canadian)
Release date: October 15, 2022 | Owlkids
Description: A girl and her family prepare to host a Lunar New Year celebration.
ISBN: 9781771474627
Beautiful You, Beautiful Me by Tasha Spillett-Sumner (Cree/Trinidadian), illustrated by Salini Perera (Sri Lankan)
Release date: October 15, 2022 | Owlkids
Description: A child who looks different from her mother finds beauty and belonging with her mother’s loving support.
ISBN: 9781771474528
Mama’s Home by Shay Youngblood (Black), illustrated by Lo Harris (Black)
Release date: October 18, 2022 | Random/Make Me a World
Description: An intergenerational community of women take care of a girl during the week her mother is away for work, showing that Mama’s home can be anywhere as long as there’s love.
ISBN: 9780593180228
Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner (white) and Margaret E. Powell (Black), illustrated by Erin Robinson (Black)
Release date: October 18, 2022 | Chronicle
Description: An inspiring picture book biography about the amazing Ann Lowe—the first nationally-known African American fashion designer.
ISBN: 9781452161600
The Talk by Alicia D. Williams (Black), illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu (Nigerian-American)
Release date: October 18, 2022 | S&S/Atheneum/Dlouhy
Description: All Black and Brown kids get The Talk—the one that could mean the difference between life and death in a racist world.
ISBN: 9781534495296
When Words Have Power by Lisa Chong (Asian), illustrated by Kaitlin Yang (Taiwanese)
Release date: October 25, 2022 | West Margin
Description: With gentleness and empathy, this beautiful story follows a young boy as he learns how a word that may seem funny to one person can be hurtful to another.
ISBN: 9781513134857
November Releases
My Fade Is Fresh by Shauntay Grant (Black), illustrated by Kitt Thomas (Saint Lucian-American, LGBTQIA+)
Release date: November 1, 2022 | Penguin Workshop
Description: A girl learns the importance of speaking up for what she wants while at the barbershop.
ISBN: 9780593387085
Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon by Ying Chang Compestine (Chinese American), illustrated by Joy Ang (Asian-Canadian)
Release date: November 1, 2022 | Abrams
Description: In this version of the classic fairy tale, Little Red, who lives in a village near the Great Wall and trains in kung fu, must defend herself and her grandmother.
ISBN: 9781419737282
Not Done Yet: Shirley Chisholm’s Fight for Change by Tameka Fryer Brown (Black), illustrated by Nina Crews (Black)
Release date: November 1, 2022 | Lerner/Millbrook
Description: Free-verse poetry chronicles Chisholm’s fight for fairness and change on her journey to becoming the first Black woman ever elected to Congress— and, in 1972, the first woman to run for president.
ISBN: 9781728420080
Year of the Cat by Richard Ho (Chinese), illustrated by Jocelyn Li Langrand (Chinese)
Release date: November 1, 2022 | HarperCollins/Greenwillow
Description: A legendary race determined the order of the animals in the Chinese zodiac calendar . . . but what happened to Cat, the one animal who never received a year? Rat, Cat, and their eleven friends star in this funny animal adventure that introduces young readers to both the Chinese zodiac and the importance of apologizing.
ISBN: 9780062976826
Deborah’s Tree by Jane Yolen (Jewish), illustrated by Cosei Kawa (Japanese)
Release date: November 1, 2022 | Kar-Ben
Description: This book retells the story of Deborah, the only female judge in the Bible.
ISBN: 9781728438955
My Paati’s Saris by Jyoti Rajan Gopal (South Asian), illustrated by Art Twink (autistic, trans, person of color)
Release date: November 8, 2022 | Penguin/Kokila
Description: A Tamil boy explores his love for his grandmother and her colorful sari collection in this tale of expressing your true self.
ISBN: 9780593324608
A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters by Duncan Tonatiuh (Mexican-American)
Release date: November 15, 2022 | Abrams
Description: An Aztec girl tells her brother how their parents create painted manuscripts, or codices.
ISBN: 9781419749421
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Aleah Gornbein currently works in publicity at Scholastic, the largest children’s books publisher in the world. She liked school so much she went back to get a Master’s in Publishing a year after graduating college. As someone who has yet to read a story with all of her identities represented, her goal is to help put diverse books into the hands of kids. You can find her shouting about books on TikTok, Twitter (@
