June is National Caribbean American Heritage Month. It honors the impact and contributions of Caribbean Americans to American society and culture and is celebrated throughout the country with festivals and events. This year we'd like to encourage you to celebrate it through books so we've compiled reading lists for kids and teens (many available as e-books) that explore the Caribbean American experience and introduce young readers to notable Caribbean Americans.

This list was created by NYPL's School Outreach team.

Elementary

Across the Bay by Carlos Aponte

All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

Anna Carries Water by Olive Senior

Auntie Luce's Talking Paintings by Francie Latour 

Bravo! By Margarita Engle

Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa by Veronica Chambers 

Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

Eight Days: A Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat

Every Little Thing by Bob Marley & Cedella Marley

The Field by Baptiste Paul 

Grandma’s Records by Eric Velasquez

Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares

How Tia Lola Came to Stay Visit by Julia Alvarez

Islandborn (Lola) by Junot Diaz

Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Juan Bobo Goes to Work: A Puerto Rican Folktale by Marisa Montes

A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice by Nadio Hohn

Look Back! by Trish Cooke

Luis Paints the World by Terry Farish

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy

Martí’s Song for Freedom / Martí y sus versos por la libertad by Emma Otheguy

My Mommy Medicine by Edwidge Danticat

Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez 

One Love By Cedella Marley 

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Aldamuy Denise

Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford

Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx by Jonah Winter

Tia Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina  

Upper Elementary to Middle Grade

Ana María Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle by Hilda Eunice Burgos

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Forest World by Margarita Engle

Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega

Gone to Drift by Diana McCaulay

Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender 

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya

The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz

Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg

Silver Meadows Summer by Emma Otheguy

Young Adult

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

The Art of White Roses by Viviana Prado-Núñez

Becoming Maria by Sonia Manzano

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle

How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

In the Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Learning to Breathe by Janice Lynn Mather

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

This Train is Being Held by Ismee Williams

Water in May by Ismee Williams

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!