|
book nook: Multi-cultural
Hispanic
4-8 Years
I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada
A little girl learns about her heritage as she spends her Saturdays with Euro-American grandparents and her Sundays (Domingos) with her Mexican-American grandparents.
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
Rosalba goes many places with her grandmother, but one day she lets her imagination fly. Learn a few Spanish words as you follow Rosalba as she flies around town in her mind. What would you see if you flew around town?
Under the Lemon Moon by Edith Hope Fine
One night Rosalinda sees a man picking all of the precious fruit from her well-tended lemon tree. By the end of the week, her lemon tree is sick. She scours the countryside looking for someone who can give her advice to cure the tree’s illness, and spots the thief selling her lemons.
My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada
On Maria Isabel’s first day at her new school, she discovers that she has been placed in a class with two other Marias. When the teacher decides that Maria Isabel will be called “Mary”, Maria Isabel finds herself unable to respond to her new name.
Gracias, Rosa by Michelle Markel
Kate is not happy about her new baby-sitter, Rosa, who speaks little English. However, after Rosa gives Kate a cloth doll from Guatemala, Kate begins to warm to her new baby-sitter, and a special friendship forms.
9-12 Years
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza grows up on a wealthy vineyard in Mexico, but when her father dies suddenly on her thirteenth birthday her life changes. She is forced to leave all she knows behind and follow a family of former servants to America. Will she be able to live in a new country without her wealth?
The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph
Ana Rosa, who lives in the Republica Dominica, has a passion for words. All she would like to do is write books, but the President is the only one allowed to write. Ana Rosa uses her poems and writings to help us see into her life and through her difficult times.
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
Naomi and her brother Owen are happy living in a California trailer park with their Gram. When their alcoholic mother and her new boyfriend arrive, wanting to take Naomi back to live with them, Gram drives the trailer across the border to Mexico to look for the children’s biological father.
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
When eleven–year-old Tyler Paquette’s father is injured in a tractor accident, the family is forced to hire illegal Mexican migrant laborers to help run the dairy farm. Soon the Cruz family is living in a trailer on the Paquette’s property and the lives of the two families become intertwined.
The Ancestors Are Singing by Tony Johnston
A collection of poems that celebrate Mexico’s history, as well as its modern culture.
Asian
4-8 Years
Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein
Wabi Sabi, a cat in Kyoto, Japan, is determined to learn the true meaning of her name.
Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
The journey of a Japanese man who immigrated to California is told by his grandson through narration and old photographs. They both often desire to go home to Japan, but in Japan they both yearn for California.
Good-Bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong by Frances Park
8-year old Jangmi’s family is moving from Korea to America, leaving behind their culture, family, friends, language, and homeland. Jangmi didn’t want to move; will she ever be able to feel at home in America?
El Chino by Allen Say
The true story of Billy Wong, the first-ever Chinese bullfighter. Wong, having grown up hearing his father tell him “In America you can be anything you want to be,” overcame great odds to become a bullfighter.
The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
A young Vietnamese girl takes a lotus seed from the Imperial Garden to serve as a memento of the last emperor. She cherishes the seed throughout her life and is devastated when, as an old woman, her grandson takes the seed and plants it. Is the lotus seed lost from her life forever?
My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits and Gabi Swiatkowska
A Korean girl has a difficult time adjusting to her new life in America. Even her name, Yoon, looks much nicer when written in Korean than in English. A story of a young girl trying desperately to discover who she is in this new, strange place.
9-12 Years
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Katie Takeshima moves from Iowa to Georgia in the 1950’s. Although her sister, Lynn, becomes ill and her parents work under horrible conditions in a poultry plant, Lynn teaches Katie to use the Japanese word Kira-Kira, which means glittering, to describe the things of this world. Will Katie stop seeing the world as a shining place?
Kimchi & Calamari by Rose Kent
Joseph Calderaro has a problem. His teacher has just assigned an ancestor essay. Although his family is Italian, he was adopted and is Korean. Which ancestors should he research and write about?
The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto
An unexpected friendship forms when three boys – all fascinated by death – hear that an old man in their town is likely to die soon. Curious to know what death looks like, they decide to spy on the old man. Soon, however, the old man discovers them.
Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi
Ten-year-old Sookan’s relates the experiences of her family during the Japanese occupation of North Korea at the close of World War II. The Russians defeat the Japanese and begin their own occupation of the country, the conditions forcing Sookan’s family to attempt a frightening escape to South Korea.
Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park
Twelve-year-old Jade Blossom is the daughter to one of the king’s advisors in 17th-century Korea. Even for a girl born to a wealthy family, life was restricting. Jade, however, dreams of seeing the world outside of her family’s walled household.
Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam by Quang Nhuong Huynh
The author’s growing up days, in the central highlands of Vietnam, are recounted in an entertaining way. The two water buffaloes – Quang Nhuong’s favorite childhood playmates – are the particular focus of the story.
So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
A true account of the author’s own experiences, that describes the violence that forced a Japanese family to flee North Korea at the end of World War II, their terrifying escape to Japan, and the painful discoveries they make once they arrive.
Black History
4-8 Years
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter
Hidden within the lyrics of a folk song sung by slaves was a map of the route to freedom – the Underground Railroad. The story of a family who followed the drinking gourd to freedom.
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Grace loves stories and when she finds out they’re doing Peter Pan for the school play, she wants to be the lead. But when classmates tell her she can’t be the lead not only because she’s a girl, but also because she’s black, her grandma reminds her that she can be anything she wants to be.
All Kinds of Children by Norma Simon
There may be many differences between people and cultures, but all children have the same basic needs and wants.
Mapping Penny’s World by Loreen Leedy
In this book on mapmaking, a young girl begins by drawing a map of her bedroom before drawing a few maps for her dog, Penny.
Geography from A to Z: A Picture Glossary by Jack Knowlton
Paired with brightly-colored illustrations, 63 geographical terms are defined in a simple and clear manner.
The Goat in the Rug by Charles L. Blood
One day Glenmae, a Navajo weaver, decides to weave Geraldine, a goat, into a rug. Throughout the process of clipping, spinning, and finally weaving the yarn from her wool to create the rug, Geraldine learns about the great care that goes into the creation of a Navajo rug.
Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney
In this introduction to maps, the reader begins by viewing simple crayon drawings of a girl’s bedroom and house. The maps become more detailed and complex, ultimately expanding to the world.
9-12 Years
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
When ten-year-old Kenny’s brother Byron, who is thirteen and an “official juvenile delinquent”, gets into trouble one too many times, their parents decide it’s time to get him out of Flint, Michigan for awhile. The family heads south to Grandma’s house in Birmingham, Alabama, where racial tension is still strong.
Elijah Of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Elijah is the first child to be born free in a Canadian settlement of runaway slaves. Most of the town sees him as a timid boy who talks too much, but certain events lead him out of his town and he learns more about danger, adventure and the slavery that his parents fled from.
Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport
The history of Lady Liberty is told in a series of free-verse poems, each representing a different person in “her” life.
Six Million Paper Clips: The Making of a Children’s Holocaust Memorial by Peter W. Schroeder and Dagmar Schroeder-Hildebrand
When the Whitwell, Tennessee middle school began studying the German Holocaust, the students had a difficult time believing the numbers: six million Jews, dead at the hands of the Nazis. So the students set out to collect six million paper clips to better understand the reality behind the figures.
The American West: An Illustrated History by Liz Sonneborn
From the early Native Americans to the California Gold Rush, from the Civil War to the developments of the 20th century, the expansive history of the area west of the Mississippi River is condensed into seven illustrated and informative chapters.
Uncle Sam & Old Glory: Symbols of America by Delno C. West and Jean M. West
Fifteen American emblems are presented and explained, illustrated with painted woodcuts.
Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor by Russell Freedman
Using Lewis Hine’s photographs, this book explores the photographer’s involvement with the National Child Labor Committee during the early 1900s and the dangers he faced in documenting the labor conditions at the time.
Come Back, Salmon: How a Group of Dedicated Kids Adopted Pigeon Creek and Brought it Back to Life by Molly Cone
The story of school children in Washington state who worked to clean up the polluted Pigeon Creek and reclaim it as a salmon spawning ground.
Africa Is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight
This book focuses on the diversity of the 53 countries which make up the African continent.
The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History by John S. Major
A general history of the 7,000-mile trade route between China and Byzantium is combined with an account of a typical journey along the route about A.D. 700
Oh, Freedom! Kids Talk About the Civil Rights Movement with the People Who Made it Happen by Casey King and Linda Barrett Osborne
A collection of 31 interviews, conducted by fourth-grade students, exploring the civil rights movement from many perspectives.
|
