Special Collections
Multicultural Books for Children and Teens
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When My Name Was Keoko
by Linda Sue ParkSun-hee and her older brother, Tae-yul, live in Korea with their parents. Because Korea is under Japanese occupation, the children study Japanese and speak it at school. Their own language, their flag, the folktales Uncle tells them-even their names-are all part of the Korean culture that is now forbidden. When World War II comes to Korea, Sun-hee is surprised that the Japanese expect their Korean subjects to fight on their side. But the greatest shock of all comes when Tae-yul enlists in the Japanese army in an attempt to protect Uncle, who is suspected of aiding the Korean resistance. Sun-hee stays behind, entrusted with the life-and-death secrets of a family at war.
The Composition
by Antonio SkármetaIn a village in Chile, Pedro and Daniel are two typical nine-year-old boys. Up until Daniel's father gets arrested, their biggest worry had been how to improve their soccer skills. Now, they are thrust into a situation where they must grapple with the incomprehensible: dictatorship and its inherent abuses. "The Composition" is a winner of the Americas Award for Children's Literature and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award.
I Love Saturdays y Domingos
by Alma Flor AdaA girl discuses the differences between her father's American parents and her mother's Mexican parents. Discuses de una muchacha las diferencias entre los padres americanos de su padre y los padres mexicanos de su madre.
The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond
by Brenda WoodsCoretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods’ moving, uplifting story of a girl finally meeting the African American side of her family explores racism and how it feels to be biracial, and celebrates families of all kinds. Violet is a smart, funny, brown-eyed, brown-haired girl in a family of blonds. Her mom is white, and her dad, who died before she was born, was black. She attends a mostly white school where she sometimes feels like a brown leaf on a pile of snow. She’s tired of people asking if she’s adopted. Now that Violet’s eleven, she decides it’s time to learn about her African American heritage. And despite getting off to a rocky start trying to reclaim her dad’s side of the family, she can feel her confidence growing as the puzzle pieces of her life finally start coming together. Readers will cheer for Violet, sharing her joy as she discovers her roots. .
Shades of Black
by Sandra L. PinkneyPoetic text celebrate the beauty and diversity of African American children.
Through My Eyes
by Ruby Bridges and Margo LundellOn November 14, 1960, a tiny six-year-old black child, surrounded by federal marshals, walked through a mob of screaming segregationists and into her school. From where she sat in the office, Ruby Bridges could see parents marching through the halls and taking their children out of classrooms. The next day, Ruby walked through the angry mob once again and into a school where she saw no other students. The white children did not go to school that day, and they wouldn't go to school for many days to come. Surrounded by racial turmoil, Ruby, the only student in a classroom with one wonderful teacher, learned to read and add. This is the story of a pivotal event in history as Ruby Bridges saw it unfold around her. Ruby's poignant words, quotations from writers and from other adults who observed her, and dramatic photographs recreate an amazing story of innocence, courage, and forgiveness. Ruby Bridges' story is an inspiration to us all.
My People
by Langston HughesLangston Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribute to his people has been cherished for generations. Langston Hughes (1902-1967) is one of America's most beloved and cherished chroniclers of the black experience. Best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes's work was consistently groundbreaking throughout his forty-six year career.
What Can You Do with a Paleta?
by Carmen Tafolla and Magaly MoralesWhere the paleta wagon rings its tinkly belland carries a treasure of icy paletasin every color of the sarape . . .As she strolls through her barrio, a young girl introduces readers to the frozen, fruit-flavored treat that thrills Mexican and Mexican-American children. Create a masterpiece, make tough choices (strawberry or coconut?), or cool off on a warm summer's day--there's so much to do with a paleta.
Jingle Dancer
by Cynthia Leitich SmithJenna, a contemporary Muscogee (Creek) girl in Oklahoma, wants to honor a family tradition by jingle dancing at the next powwow. But where will she find enough jingles for her dress?
The Crossover
by Kwame Alexander2015 Newbery Medal Winner
2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner
"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell.
He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander.
Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
A New York Times Bestseller
Quilted Landscapes
by Yale StromTwenty-six young people of different ages and nationalities describe their experience of leaving their countries and immigrating to the the United States.
The Tree Is Older Than You Are
by Naomi Shihab NyeA wonderful collection of poems and stories, this book contains works by Paz, Morelos, Castellanos as well as many other well-known Mexican authors. The works are presented in the original Spanish & translated on the following page.
Inside Out and Back Again
by Thanhha LaiNo one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.
For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by...and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape...and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the National Book Award
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken MochizukiA Japanese American boy learns to play baseball when he and his family are forced to live in an internment camp during World War II, and his ability to play helps him after the war is over.
Abuela
by Arthur DorrosWhile riding on a bus with her grandmother, a little girl imagines that they are carried up into the sky and fly over the sights of New York City.
Grandfather Counts
by Andrea ChengWhen her mother's father comes from China, Helen, who is biracial, develops a special bond with her grandfather despite their age and language differences.
Giving Thanks
by Jake SwampChief Jake Swamp has delivered the Thanksgiving Address throughout the world, as well as at the United Nations, and he prints it in this book that all might know it.
The Freedom Summer Murders
by Don MitchellA gripping true story of murder and the fight for civil rights and social justice in 1960s Mississppi.On June 21, 1964, three young men were killed by the Ku Klux Klan for trying to help black Americans vote as part of the 1964 Fredom Summer registration effort in Mississippi. The disappearance and brutal murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner caused a national uproar and was one of the most significant events of the civil rights movement.The Freedom Summer Murders tells the tragic story of these brave men, the crime that resulted in their untimely deaths, and the relentless forty-one-year pursuit of a conviction. It is the story of idealistic and courageous young people who wanted to change their county for the better. It is the story of black and white. And ultimately, it is the story of our nation's endless struggle to close the gap between what is and what should be.
Morning on the Lake
by Jan Bourdeau WabooseA Native American boy relates his encounters with wild creatures in three episodes: "Morning," "Noon" and "Night."
House of Purple Cedar
by Tim Tingle"The hour has come to speak of troubled times. It is time we spoke of Skullyville." Thus begins the House of Purple Cedar, Rose Goode's telling of the year when she was eleven in Indian country, Oklahoma. The Indian schools boys and girls had been burned, stores too. By the time the railroad came, all of Skullyville had been burned.
Silver People
by Margarita EngleOne hundred years ago, the world celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, which connected the world&’s two largest oceans and signaled America&’s emergence as a global superpower. It was a miracle, this path of water where a mountain had stood—and creating a miracle is no easy thing. Thousands lost their lives, and those who survived worked under the harshest conditions for only a few silver coins a day. From the young "silver people" whose back-breaking labor built the Canal to the denizens of the endangered rainforest itself, this is the story of one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, as only Newbery Honor-winning author Margarita Engle could tell it.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
by Christopher Paul CurtisA wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up.
Newbery Honor book
The Rock and the River
by Kekla MagoonCoretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award winnerIn this &“taut, eloquent first novel&” (Booklist, starred review), a young Black boy wrestles with conflicting notions of revolution and family loyalty as he becomes involved with the Black Panthers in 1968 Chicago.The Time: 1968 The Place: ChicagoFor thirteen-year-old Sam, it&’s not easy being the son of known civil rights activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older (and best friend), Stick, begins to drift away from him for no apparent reason. And then it happens: Sam finds something that changes everything forever.Sam has always had faith in his father, but when he finds literature about the Black Panthers under Stick&’s bed, he&’s not sure who to believe: his father or his best friend. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore.Sam wants to believe that his father is right: You can effect change without using violence. But as time goes on, Sam grows weary of standing by and watching as his friends and family suffer at the hands of racism in their own community. Sam beings to explore the Panthers with Stick, but soon he&’s involved in something far more serious—and more dangerous—than he could have ever predicted. Sam is faced with a difficult decision. Will he follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?
Ninth Ward
by Jewell Parker RhodesTwelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. She doesn't have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya's visions show a powerful hurricane--Katrina--fast approaching, it's up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm.Ninth Ward is a deeply emotional story about transformation and a celebration of resilience, friendship, and family--as only love can define it.