Building Bridges

Frederick County Public Libraries supports self-education, community open dialogue, and civic engagement to cultivate meaningful relationships and foster a vibrant and strong community. On this page are excellent resources on diversity and inclusion, and we encourage you to explore them.

Recommended Reading: Children

The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung
The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung
Chinese Menu: the history, myths, and legends behind your favorite foods by Grace Lin
Chinese Menu: the history, myths, and legends behind your favorite foods by Grace Lin
A is for Ambitious by Meena Harris
A is for Ambitious by Meena Harris
Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey
Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey
My Brain is Magic : a sensory-seeking celebration by Prasha Sooful
My Brain is Magic: a sensory-seeking celebration by Prasha Sooful
How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander
How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander
The Babka Sisters by Leslea Newman
The Babka Sisters by Leslea Newman
Eyes that Weave the World's Wonders by Joanna Ho
Eyes that Weave the World's Wonders by Joanna Ho
See us bloom : poems on compassion, acceptance, and bravery by Kyunghee Kim
See us bloom : poems on compassion, acceptance, and bravery by Kyunghee Kim
Remember by Joy Harjo
Remember by Joy Harjo
Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement by Katheryn Russell-Brown
Justice Rising:12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement by Katheryn Russell-Brown
You Come from Greatness: a Celebration of Black History by Sara Chinakwe
You Come from Greatness: a Celebration of Black History by Sara Chinakwe
The Artivist by Nikkolas Smith
The Artivist by Nikkolas Smith
Big Tune by Alliah L. Agostini
Big Tune by Alliah L. Agostini
We Are Here by Tami Charles
We Are Here by Tami Charles
Imagine a Garden: Stories of Courage Changing the World by Rina Singh
Imagine a Garden: Stories of Courage Changing the World by Rina Singh
A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond
A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond
The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran
The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran
All Aboard the Schooltrain: a Little Story from the Great Migration by Glenda Armand
All Aboard the Schooltrain: a Little Story from the Great Migration by Glenda Armand
Dear Yesteryear by Kimberly Annece Henderson
Dear Yesteryear by Kimberly Annece Henderson
Forever Our Home by Tonya Simpson
Forever Our Home by Tonya Simpson
Biidigen!: Amik Says Welcome by Nancy Cooper
Biidigen!: Amik Says Welcome by Nancy Cooper
Grandma's Tipi: A Present Day Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson
Grandma's Tipi: A Present Day Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson
Spanish is the Language of my Family by Michael Genhart
Spanish is the Language of my Family by Michael Genhart
Beautiful You, Beautiful Me by Tasha Spillet-Sumner
Beautiful You, Beautiful Me by Tasha Spillet-Sumner
Forever Cousins by Laurel Goodluck
Forever Cousins by Laurel Goodluck
Only for a Little While by Gabriela Orozco Belt
Only for a Little While by Gabriela Orozco Belt
Martina has too Many Tias by Emma Otheguy
Martina has too Many Tias by Emma Otheguy
Jose and El Perro by Sylvia Lopez and Susan Rose
Jose and El Perro by Sylvia Lopez and Susan Rose
La Guitarrista by Lucky Diaz
La Guitarrista by Lucky Diaz
Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and his Son by John Para
Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and his Son by John Para
All the Places We Call Home by Patrice Gopo
All the Places We Call Home by Patrice Gopo
Emile and the Field by Kevin Young
Emile and the Field by Kevin Young
ABC Pride by Louie Stowell, Elly Barnes
ABC Pride by Louie Stowell, Elly Barnes
Big Wig by Jonathan Hillman
Big Wig by Jonathan Hillman
The Rainbow Parade by Emily Neilson
Rainbow Hands by Mamta Nainy
Rainbow Hands by Mamta Nainy
American Desi by Jyoti Rajan Gopal
American Desi by Jyoti Rajan Gopal
Isla of Adventure by Dela Costa
Isla of Adventure by Dela Costa
That's Not My Name by Anoosha Syed
Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome by Kat Zhang
It's Me, Henry by Stéphanie Deslauriers
It's Me, Henry by Stéphanie Deslauriers
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel
How We Say I Love You by Nicole Chen
How We Say I Love You by Nicole Chen
Fighting for Yes!: The Story of Disability Rights activist Judith Heumann by
Fighting for Yes!: The Story of Disability Rights activist Judith Heumann by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas by Jeanne Walker Harvey
Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas by Jeanne Walker Harvey

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Recommended Reading: Tween

Abeni's Song by P. Djèlí Clark
Abeni's Song by P. Djèlí Clark
Calling the Moon: 16 Period Stories from BIPOC Authors
Calling the Moon: 16 Period Stories from BIPOC Authors by Chaunte Lowe
Boundless by Chaunte Lowe
Boundless by Chaunte Lowe
Code Red by Joy McCullough
Code Red by Joy McCullough
Global Warning by Steven Frank
Global Warning by Steven Frank
Clouds Over California by Karyn Parsons
Clouds Over California by Karyn Parsons
Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera
Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera
Aniana Del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Méndez
Aniana Del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Méndez
Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes by Tracey Baptiste
Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes by Tracey Baptiste
Living ghosts and mischievous monsters: chilling American Indian stories by Dan C. Jones
Living ghosts and mischievous monsters: chilling American Indian stories by Dan C. Jones
Undercover Latina by Aya De Leon
Undercover Latina by Aya De Leon
Si Se Puede: The Latino Heroes who Saved the United States by Julio Ante
Si Se Puede: The Latino Heroes who Saved the United States by Julio Ante
Indigenous Ingenuity: a Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge by Deidre Havrelock
Indigenous Ingenuity: a Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge by Deidre Havrelock
The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls by James Bird
The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls by James Bird
She Holds Up the Stars by Anna Rose Johnson
The Star that Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson
She Holds Up the Stars by Sandra Laronde
She Holds Up the Stars by Sandra Laronde
I Can Make this Promise by Christine Day
I Can Make this Promise by Christine Day
The Case of Windy Lake by Michael Hutchinson
The Case of Windy Lake by Michael Hutchinson
The One who Loves You the Most by Medina
The One who Loves You the Most by Medina
Your Pal Fred. 1 by Michael Rex
Your Pal Fred. 1 by Michael Rex
Golden Girl by Reem Faruqi
Golden Girl by Reem Faruqi
Twin Cities by Jose Pimienta
Twin Cities by Jose Pimienta
Inaugural Ballers: The true story of the first US Women's Olympic basketball team by Andrew Maraniss
Inaugural Ballers: The true story of the first US Women's Olympic basketball team by Andrew Maraniss
Anne of West Philly: A modern graphic retelling of Anne of Green Gables by Ivy Noelle Weir
Anne of West Philly: A modern graphic retelling of Anne of Green Gables by Ivy Noelle Weir
Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena by Julie Dao
Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena by Julie Dao
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali
The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali
Iveliz Explains it All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Iveliz Explains it All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
Answers in the Pages by David Levithan
Moonwalking by Zetta Elliott
Moonwalking by Zetta Elliott
The Button Box by Bridget Hodder
The Button Box by Bridget Hodder
Awe-Some Days: Poems About the Jewish Holidays by Marilyn Singer
Awe-Some Days: Poems About the Jewish Holidays by Marilyn Singer
Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine
Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine
Figure it Out, Henri Weldon by Tanita S. Davis
Figure it Out, Henri Weldon by Tanita S. Davis
Counting in Dog Years: And Other Sassy Math Poems by Betsy Franco
Counting in Dog Years: And Other Sassy Math Poems by Betsy Franco

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Recommended Reading: Teen

The Women who Built Hollywood: 12 trailblazers in front of and behind the camera by Susan Goldman Rubin
The Women who Built Hollywood: 12 trailblazers in front of and behind the camera by Susan Goldman Rubin
The Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson
This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson
The Queens of New York by E.L. Shen
The Queens of New York by E.L. Shen
The Boy You Always Wanted by Michelle Quach
The Boy you Always Wanted by Michelle Quach
This is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde
This is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde
Something More by Jackie Khalilieh
Something More by Jackie Khalilieh
The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond by Amanda Glaze
The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond by Amanda Glaze
These are the Words by Nikita Gill
These are the Words by Nikita Gill
Disappearing Act: A true story by Jiordan Castle
Disappearing Act: A true story by Jiordan Castle
My name is Jason. Mine too: Our story, our way by Jason Reynolds
My name is Jason. Mine too: Our story, our way by Jason Reynolds
The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz
The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz
Global Citizenship: Engage in the Politics of a Changing World by Julie Knutson
Global Citizenship: Engage in the Politics of a Changing World by Julie Knutson
Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
The Chosen One: A First-Generation Ivy League Odyssey by Echo Brown
The Chosen One: A First-Generation Ivy League Odyssey by Echo Brown
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
The Deep Blue Between by Ayesha Harruna Attah
The Deep Blue Between by Ayesha Harruna Attah
Unequal: A Story of America
Unequal: A Story of America by Michael Eric Dyson
The Jump by Brittney Morris
The Jump by Brittney Morris
Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds
Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
All Alone with You by Amelia Diane Coombs
All Alone with You by Amelia Diane Coombs
Where to start : a survival guide to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges by Mental Health America
Where to start : a survival guide to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges by Mental Health America
The Cartographers by Amy Zhang
The Cartographers by Amy Zhang
Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline
Ahiahia the Orphan by Levi Illuitok
Ahiahia the Orphan by Levi Illuitok
In Limbo by Deborah Lee
In Limbo by Deborah Lee
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: Adapted for Young Adults by Isabel Wilkerson
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: Adapted for Young Adults by Isabel Wilkerson
Meet me in Mumbai by Sabina Khan
Meet me in Mumbai by Sabina Khan
Button Pusher by Tyler Page
Button Pusher by Tyler Page
Food Stars: 15 Women Stirring up the Food Industry by Ellen Mahoney
Food Stars: 15 Women Stirring up the Food Industry by Ellen Mahoney
Notes From a Sickbed by Tessa Brunton
Notes From a Sickbed by Tessa Brunton
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen
My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen
Baby Teeth: A Novel in Verse by Meg Grehan
Baby Teeth: A Novel in Verse by Meg Grehan
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao
DPS Only! by Xiao Tong Kong
DPS Only! by Xiao Tong Kong
Love from Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
Love from Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum
The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero
The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero
Pocho by Matt de la Pena
Pocho by Matt de la Pena

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Recommended Reading: Adult

The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush
Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide by Tahir Hamut Izgil
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir by Curtis Chin
Confrontations by Simone Atangana Bekono
The American Queen by Vanessa Miller
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady
Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang
The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay
They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us by Prachi Gupta
The Golden Screen by Jeff Yang
How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley
How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black
Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black
Insurrection by Hawa Allen
Insurrection by Hawa Allen
Getting Me Cheap: How Low-wage Work Traps Women and Girls in Poverty by Amanda Freeman
Getting Me Cheap: How Low-wage Work Traps Women and Girls in Poverty by Amanda Freeman
Unequal Cities: Overcoming Anti-urban Bias to Reduce Inequality in the United States by Richard McGahey
Unequal Cities: Overcoming Anti-urban Bias to Reduce Inequality in the United States by Richard McGahey
Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown
Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown
Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow
Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow
No Escape : the True Story of China's Genocide of the Uyghurs by Nury Turkel
No Escape : the True Story of China's Genocide of the Uyghurs by Nury Turkel
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser
Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky: Modern Plant Based Recipes Using Native American Ingredients by Lois Ellen Frank
Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky: Modern Plant Based Recipes Using Native American Ingredients by Lois Ellen Frank
The Absent Moon: A Memoir of a Short Childhood and a Long Depression by
The Absent Moon: A Memoir of a Short Childhood and a Long Depression by Luiz Schwarcz
Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina
Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina
Probably Ruby by Lisa Bird-Wilson
Probably Ruby by Lisa Bird-Wilson
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt
A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt
Commitment by Mona Simpson
Commitment by Mona Simpson
Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining our Future by Patty Krawec
Bad Mexican: Race, Empire, and Revolutions in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernàndez
Bad Mexican: Race, Empire, and Revolutions in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernàndez
My boy will die of sorrow : a memoir of immigration from the front lines by Efren C. Olivares
My boy will die of sorrow : a memoir of immigration from the front lines by Efrén C. Olivares
Ephemera: A Memoir by Briana Loewinsohn
Ephemera: A Memoir by Briana Loewinsohn
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
Confidence by Rafael Frumkin
Confidence by Rafael Frumkin
Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream by Alissa Quart
Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream by Alissa Quart
Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing
Fine: A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing
Ana María and the Fox by Liana De La Rosa
Ana María and the Fox by Liana De La Rosa
The Family Outing by Jessi Hempel
The Family Outing by Jessi Hempel
Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne
Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne
Human Blues by Elisa Albert
Human Blues by Elisa Albert
The Do-Over by Suzanne Park
The Do-Over by Suzanne Park
The Mamas: What I Learned about Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me by Helena Andrews-Dyer
The Mamas: What I Learned about Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me by Helena Andrews-Dyer
Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years by Joy Harjo
Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years by Joy Harjo
Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World by Pádraig Ó Tuama
Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World by Pádraig Ó Tuama
One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World by Michael Frank
One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World by Michael Frank
Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War: The Union Army by Adam D. Mendelsohn
Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War: The Union Army by Adam D. Mendelsohn

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Local and Regional

Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, portrait of an American hero by Kate Clifford Larson
The Lines Between Us Two Families and a Quest to Cross Baltimore's Racial Divide by Lawrence Lanahan
The Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reader by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American city by Antero Pietila
LGBT Baltimore by Louise Parker Kelley
Letters from Black America by Pamela Newkirk
Black Men Built the Capital: hidden contributions of African Americans in and around Washington, D.C. by Jesse J. Holland
Hands up, don't shoot: why the protests in Ferguson and Baltimore matter and how they changed America by Jennifer Cobbina
They Can't Kill us All (Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement) by Wesley Lowery
From Slave Ship to Harvard: Yarrow Mamout and the History of an African American Family by James H. Johnston
Frederick Douglass in Washington D.C. the Lion of Anacostia by John Muller
Finding Otho: The Search for our Enslaved Williams Ancestors by Kathy Lynne Marshall
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African-American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
The 2015 Baltimore Uprising: A Teen Epistolary by Various
Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped Into Slavery and Their Astonsihing Odyssey Home by Richard Bell
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
Nature & History in the Potomac country: From Hunter-Gatherers to the Age of Jefferson by James D. Rice
Listening to Deafness: An Old Song Sung Differently by David Morris Denton
Young Frederick Douglass: The Maryland years by Dickson J. Preston
We're Crossin' Over One by One by Cecelia Summers
The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era by Elizabeth Dowling Taylor
We're Better Than This: My Fight for the Future of our Democracy by Elijah Cummings
Up from the Meadows by Christopher E Haugh
Up from the Meadows by Christopher E Haugh
Memories of Frederick by Joy Hall Onley
Memories of Frederick by Joy Hall Onley
Living Treasures Cookbook by African American Resource Cultural and Heritage Society
Living Treasures Cookbook by African American Resource Cultural and Heritage Society
Honoring Their Paths by Deborah A. Lee
Honoring Their Paths by Deborah A. Lee
Dear old faithful Lincoln by Joy Hall Onley
Dear old faithful Lincoln : a time to reflect on the cherished memories of our school days by Joy Hall Onley
Bill Lee remembers by William O. Lee, Jr.
Bill Lee Remembers: a chronicle of black life in Frederick in the 20th century by William O. Lee, Jr.

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Resources for Parents