Books like Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina
By Monica Brown
For the kid who mismatches their socks on purpose and gets asked why — Marisol McDonald is proof that not matching is its own kind of matching. Bright, bilingual, and unapologetically herself.
A Puerto Rican girl grows up surrounded by love and pride in her Taíno and African heritage, but painful treatment from the world slowly dims her sense of her own beauty — until her community rallies to wake her up again.
After spotting three dazzling mermaids on the subway, a boy transforms his home into a lagoon of imagination, fashioning his own mermaid costume from a curtain and some ferns.
A celebration told through many young voices, each one honoring the beauty of their own brown skin and finding themselves reflected in the natural world around them.
A seven-year-old girl preparing to paint her self-portrait walks through her neighborhood with her mother and discovers that brown skin comes in as many shades as cinnamon, honey, and chocolate.
A born builder who once made a tower from diapers and glue faces a teacher who despises architecture — until a class picnic goes wrong and his skills turn out to be exactly what's needed.
An exclamation point stands out among a page full of periods, bending and shrinking to try to fit in — until a question mark helps him discover exactly what he's for.
An introduction to gender identity for young readers, explaining that some people are boys, some are girls, and some are both, neither, or somewhere in between.
A child notices that black isn't in the rainbow, then traces the color through everyday things and through the history, culture, and legacy of Black people and community.
A boy sets out to find his father, the Lord of the Sun, and must pass through four ceremonial chambers — the kiva of lions, snakes, bees, and lightning — to prove he belongs.
A boy settles into the barber's chair for a fresh cut, and with every snip of the clippers feels himself transform into something sharper, prouder, and more sure of who he is.
