8 Picture Books Featuring Multicultural and Mixed Race Families

A flustered father tries to get the house ready for grandma’s visit in this hilariously ridiculous picture book sure to be a delight for kids and adults alike. Are they supposed to bathe the baby or the cat? Do they need to mop the floor or the fish bowl? It’s a romp of a picture book filled with representation, featuring a multiracial family with two dads.

When her mommy goes away on a trip, one little girl misses her usual place between her parents. Mama does her best to keep the little girl happy with movies and trips to the library, but it’s just not the same without Mommy here. Good thing work trips only last for a little while!

The aunts are coming, the aunts are coming! In this fun picture book about the trials, tribulations, and joys of family visits, a girl has to give up her room and deal with a slew of overbearing aunties when they come for a visit. It’s a picture book full of heart and humor, perfect for showcasing the love of extended families.

An American girl with German and Indian heritage wonders how to best express her cultures for Multicultural Day at school. Choosing only one doesn’t feel right. It’s stories from all three places that make her who she is, so she’ll just have to figure out how to represent all three.

How much do these adoptive parents love their daughter? A crazy-much. Their love is so crazy-much it starts bursting out of the house. As she grows up and starts school, they keep reminding her how crazy-much they have always loved her, even before the first time they met.

Matilda Macaroni is not a picky eater. In fact, she loves to try new foods, from her grandmother’s jambalaya to sushi at a sleepover. It’s her parents who have a picky palette. Now, in order to convince them to try foods that don’t come from a bag or a box, Matilda is determined to learn to cook. She’s going to learn to make all the adventurous meals she loves — and teach her parents to love them, too!

Mia and Tayja love to play pretend. They dress up as princesses and venture out on perilous quests in their imagination. They never have to pretend to be sisters, though, because they know in their hearts that’s true. Adopted sisters are real, whether dressed up in princess clothes and playing pretend or doing anything else.

A 3-year-old is determined to get ready by herself in this adorable picture book. Mom and Dad are tired and moving slowly, so this little girl decides to do the morning routine all by herself. But the disaster she leaves in her wake slows down her parents’ morning even more.