DEI Book Awards | Friends Select School

DEI Book Awards

Friends Select’s annual DEI Book Awards are presented by our lower school and celebrate the power of storytelling and inclusion. This event was launched in 2023 to continue the legacy of Linda Patterson—a beloved Friends Select educator who retired in 2021 after teaching in Friends Select’s lower school for 32 years—who was committed to encouraging students and colleagues to embrace diversity and creating a learning environment where members of our community can be their authentic selves. The DEI Book Awards continue to honor children’s literature that uplifts diverse voices and promotes equity, justice, and belonging in our communities. 

This year’s DEI Book Awards will be held on Wednesday, May 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the Race Street Meetinghouse. Gathering in a space rich with Quaker history reminds us of our ongoing commitment to truth, peace, and inclusion. Come be inspired, connect with others, and recognize the authors and titles making an impact on young minds. Learn more and RSVP here.

For our DEI Book Awards, Friends Select is proud to partner with Hakim’s Bookstore, which is Philadelphia’s oldest Black-owned bookstore, dating back to the late 1950s. Books are available for purchase through this partnership.

Nominees for the 2025 DEI Book Awards:

Slice of Life: The Linda Patterson Award

• Braver Than Brave, by Janet Summer Johnson 
• No More Señora Mimí, by Meg Medina 
• My Daddy Is a Cowboy, by Stephanie Seals 
• Millie’s Big Decision, by Ian Eagleton 

Best Biography 

• Fighting With Love: The Legacy of John Lewis, by Lesa Cline-Ransome (author) and James E. Ransome (illustrator)
• Call Me Roberto, by Nathalie Alonso 
• Mamie Takes a Stand, by Marie Chan
• A Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison, by Carole Boston Weatherford 
• Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples, by Carole Boston Weatherford

Kids' Choice Award

• The Ofrenda That We Built, by Jolene Gutierrez 
• Benita and the Night Creatures, by Maria Llanos 
• Honk Honk, Beep Beep, Putter Putt! by Rukhsan Kahn
• We Are Definitely Human, by X. Fang 

Best Book That Explains Race and Equity

• I See Color, by Valerie Bolling 
• We Who Produce Pearls, by Joanna Ho
• The Doll Test, by Carole Boston Weatherford (author) and David Elmo Cooper (illustrator)
• Barrio Rising, by Maria Dolores Aguila 

Best Book That Celebrates Identity

• Dancing Hands, by Joanna Que (author) and Charina Marquez (illustrator)
• Métis Like Me, by Tasha Hilderman 
• Two New Years, by Richard Ho 
• A Face Is a Poem, by Julie Morstad 
• American Desi,  by Jyoti Rajan Gopal 

PAST WINNERS