Children's Book Press is a nonprofit publishing house founded in 1975 that promotes cooperation and understanding through multicultural and bilingual literature, offering children a sense of their culture, history and importance.

Children's Book Press makes a difference in the world. Our books help equip children with a love of reading and a sense of possibility. We connect kids to their rich and varied cultures, their home languages, their emerging identities and to each other. We inspire them, validate them, mirror their worlds and expand their horizons. We support families, building literacy and interaction. Because of our collaborative work with partners, authors and artists, society as a whole is more enlightened, more mutually understanding and more connected.

When Harriet Rohmer founded CBP over thirty years ago with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, she established the country’s first publisher to focus exclusively on quality multicultural literature for children. CBP’s earliest books presented folktales and legends based on the oral traditions of indigenous peoples from across the Americas. Soon, under Rohmer’s leadership, CBP expanded its editorial vision to include stories set in the contemporary United States, poetry collections, and multicultural anthologies. Rohmer—recognizing the value of a multilingual society—was also a tenacious advocate of bilingual books, and pioneered the publishing of children’s books in a bilingual format. Her commitment to multicultural and bilingual children’s literature, and to fostering emerging authors and artists, forever changed the children’s publishing landscape. CBP’s books have gone on to win numerous awards, including the prestigious Coretta Scott King Award and Pura Belpré Award from the American Library Association.

Today, CBP continues Rohmer’s legacy, publishing contemporary stories for, by, and about people from the Latino, African American, Asian American, Native American, and multiracial communities.

“Through the ongoing support of those who buy our books and funders who believe that art and literature can improve the lives of children, we have been able to grow as a premiere publisher of multicultural and bilingual books for children. When a child opens a book and sees someone like herself or himself, it has the power to change that child’s life and create an ongoing relationship to reading.”

—Harriet Rohmer, Founder

Our books embody our commitment to a diverse, pluralistic, and equitable society. Here are a few other things that make us different:

CPB is mission-driven. We are innovators who challenge the status quo. As one of the first publishers in the country to focus on quality multicultural children's literature, our top priority has always been to fill a social and political need for authentic storytelling by communities of color. Today, our books continue to break new ground. As a nonprofit independent publisher we take risks, understanding that our work is part of a larger movement towards a children's literature of inclusion.

CBP tells authentic stories. We are committed to a creative process that includes authors and artists from the communities represented in their work. We seek to share the stories and experiences of groups that have been historically underrepresented or misrepresented by others in literature, in the hope that these stories provide an intercultural understanding of the reader's own, and of other, cultures. The feedback of teachers, librarians, community members, and native speakers (in the case of bilingual books) also helps us present an authentic, culturally accurate product with integrity.

CBP is committed to bilingual literature and literacy. We have been publishing books in a bilingual format for over 30 years. We believe in the value of knowing more than one language and the mind-expanding power of reading. Bilingual books not only affirm and validate a child's identity and culture, but also help them build a solid foundation to achieve literacy in any language.

CBP provides free Teacher's Guides. Since 2002, CBP has created, distributed, and posted free online Teacher's Guides to accompany a broad selection of our books. The guides enable CBP to serve all children, but especially under-served, low income, and immigrant students, by helping teachers bring students' experiences and home stories into the classroom. These comprehensive guides offer cross-curricular activities; are developed by experienced educators; and are based on California state standards, which are easily adaptable to the standards of other states.

CBP builds Community Partnerships. CBP is dedicated to providing children and their families, caregivers, and educators with greater access to quality books and resources. There is a full-time CBP staff member dedicated solely to building partnerships with organizations that serve children, in particular low-income and culturally diverse students, through various community outreach activities. These activities provide opportunities for children of all backgrounds to see themselves reflected in literature and, in doing so, foster enthusiasm for reading. We also partner with institutions to organize large-scale book giveaways; offer free online Teacher's Guides developed by educators to foster literacy across the curriculum; coordinate author/artist presentations; and offer professional development workshops for teachers.

If you would like to reproduce text or art from Children's Book Press publications, please submit your request in writing. Be sure to include references to the specific pages you would like to reproduce, your intention regarding the reproduced work, your budget (if any) for the project, deadlines, and, if you plan on using the materials in a printed publication, list price and print run.