Multicultural and Diversity
Books dealing with different parts of the world, different cultures, or differences in social standing or disabilities
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
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New York has a big park which has a Zoo. The zoo has all animals and their families, even penguins. Every year around a certain time the girls notice the boys and the reverse, except Silo and Roy. They were both male, and stayed with each other. They slept, played, and were with each other every day. They were in love. When male penguins Silo and Roy attempt to hatch an egg-shaped rock and find no success in their efforts, the zookeepers decide to place a fertilized penguin egg in their cage and end up with little baby Tango. They lived happily and swim, play and see each other every day in the Zoo to this day.
Berry Magic by Teri Sloat and Betty Huffman
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Long ago, the only berries on the tundra were hard, tasteless, little crowberries. As Anana watches the ladies complain bitterly while picking berries for the Fall Festival, she decides to use her magic to help. Anana sings under the full moon turning four dolls into little girls that run and tumble over the tundra creating patches of fat, juicy berries: blueberries, cranberries, salmonberries, and raspberries. The next morning Anana and the ladies fill basket after basket with berries for the Fall Festival. Thanks to Anana, there are plenty of tasty berries for the agutak at the festival and forevermore.
Bully by Patricia Polacco
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Lyla finds a great friend in Jamie on her first of school, but then decides to join the cheerleading squad and leaves Jamie. He is left behind and Lyla is with the popular girls now, how bully him and everyone else in the school. She eventually is smart enough to get out of their click, and go back to Jamie. Once this happens the girls post nasty things online and text people mean things about Lyla and Jamie. They get caught for it, and in the end they try to decide if going back to school is worth it.
Coming on Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson
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Ada Ruth’s mother must go to Chicago to find a job. Since all the men are fighting in the war they are letting women work on the railroad. Her mom tells her she loves her more than anything in the world more than rain more than snow, and also that she will be sending her money in mail soon. She leaves and Ada Ruth is with her grandma. Days go by and still no letter from her mom. She gets sad, but keeps thinking about her mom working hard with the men, and waiting for the letter, and her to come home. Grandma and Ada Ruth go for walks looking for animals for stew in the cold weather. They go back home where grandma tells her she will see the world, and maybe travel by railroad. They soon get a letter from her mother from the postman, both of them were happier than ever. Money was falling from the envelope and the first line said “tell Ada Ruth I’ll be coming home soon”. They kept reading the letter and all Ada Ruth can think of is her mother working hard, and loving her more than anything in the world.
Elmer by David McKee
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In a herd of elephants there were tall, short, fat, skinny ones and they were all the same color, all but Elmer. He was a patchwork elephant and had all colors on him. He was always making people laugh and always telling jokes. As much as he could keep the others happy he was not. One day he walked into the woods and passed all the other animals saying hi. He walked further and found what he wanted. A bush with elephant colored berries. He took them and smashed them on his body. He was now grey. He walked back through the woods passed the animals that did not recognize them; he then went back to the heard who did not notice him either. Something was wrong with them, but he didn’t know what. He let out a big BOO and scared the elephants, he started laughing and so did the other ones. Once this happened it started raining and his color came off. They noticed it was Elmer, and started laughing even more. Because of this being his best joke ever all the elephant declared that day his day. One this day they would paint themselves colorful, and Elmer would paint himself normal.
I Hate English by Ellen Levine
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This title is about a girl that moves from China to America named Mei Mei. She moves to New York, and is faced with the challenge of learning the English language. She is reluctant to learn the language and refuses to speak it, continuing to speak Chinese, until a tutor comes to the center in her community to help her learn how to speak English.
I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada
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There is a girl who has grandparents from different parts of the world. The weekends are her favorite days because she gets to spend them with her family. On Saturday she visits her Grandma and Grandpa. They are European American and their culture is very similar to everyone in the US. On Sunday she visits her mom’s parents, her Abuelito y Abuelita. While she visits her grandparents, she get two different views on how to live life, and has a very diverse background. Her mom’s parents speak Spanish and have a Spanish oriented culture where as her dads parents live like the American family. Their food, and customs may be different, but the one thing they have in common, is the love for their grandchild, which is above all else.
In Jesse's Shoes by Beverly Lewis
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This book is about a boy named Jesse who has special needs. Jesse's sister doesn't understand the things that Jesse does and wishes that he would just be normal. Children are always making fun of Jesse and his sister gets embarrassed by him and tries to stay away. Jesse's sister asked her dad why Jesse can't be normal and he tells her that she needs to walk in Jesse's shoes. Jesse's sister takes her dad's advice and walks in Jesse's shoes. She realized that Jesse is just like you and I and by the end of the story she is sticking up for her brother. This is a good book on showing that you should never be mean to a child who has special needs, and to teach students how to act around their classmates.
The Legend of The Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaola
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This is a Native American legend about a young girl who is willing to give up her most cherished possession to save her people from the drought and famine that threaten to wipe them entirely off the map. The Comanche tribe's shaman returns from a consultation with the Great Spirits to convey an urgent message to all members of the tribe: The land's lack of productivity is a direct result of the people's continually growing selfishness, he says, and until the Comanche people sacrifice their most important possession, the lasting dry season will not recede. Amidst all the adults of the tribe who rationalize why it can't possibly be their favorite possession that the Great Spirits want, the young girl She-Who-Is-Alone, who has lost both her parents to the drought, makes an emotionally charged sacrifice that will sweep across all barriers of culture and time.
Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine
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This is a sensitively-written story of the human heart's ability to repair itself from loss and tragedy and to reinvest in life. In the story of Caitlin Smith, the answer is "a lot." Caitlin is a 10-year-old pre-adolescent with Asperger's Syndrome; her mother has died years before; her brother Devon is killed in a random shooting at his school, along with a teacher and another student. Already withdrawn and painfully shy, Caitlin is pushed to the very edge of insanity by the loss of her beloved brother. Her surviving father is practically paralyzed by his grief and pain, and often unavailable to Caitlin emotionally.
New Shoes for Silvia by Johanna Hurwitz
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Silvia can't wait to try on her present from Tia Rosita: new shoes as red as the inside of a watermelon. The shoes are too big for Silvia to wear, but that doesn't stop her from finding lots of ways to enjoy them while she waits for her feet to grow. She puts her toys in them, and walks them around the house. Each month she finds a different need for her shoes until the day she forgets about them. Time goes by and she remembers them, and tried them on. They finally fit her, and now she has a brand new pair of shoes that was worth the wait.
One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
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Farah feels alone, even when surrounded by her classmates. She listens and nods but doesn’t speak. It’s hard being the new kid in school, especially when you’re from another country and don’t know the language. Then, on a field trip to an apple orchard, Farah discovers there are lots of things that sound the same as they did at home, from dogs crunching their food to the ripple of friendly laughter. As she helps the class make apple cider, Farah connects with the other students and begins to feel that she belongs.
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
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Tar Beach is told from the perspective of Cassie Louise Lightfoot, a young girl living in New York City in view of the George Washington Bridge. In the evenings, while Cassie’s parents play cards with the next door neighbors, Cassie and her brother, Be Be, lay on mattresses on one corner of Tar Beach (the roof top of their tenement building). During these unsupervised moments, Cassie flies away from Tar Beach to claim the city for her own. The very act of flying over a building or bridge makes it hers as she is the only one in the city free enough to fly. As Cassie flies over the city, she tells the story of her family’s hardships and claims different locations within the city in order to help her family overcome these situations.
Two Homes by Claire Masurel
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Alex has a mom and a dad. They both have their own houses where Alex has his own room, where he lives. His coats have their own spot in both houses; he had toys at both houses, friends, bathrooms, and bedrooms. He has two of everything, and has each at both houses. When he’s at his moms his dad calls, and when he’s at his dads, his mom calls. He loves both of his parents no matter what, and no matter where he is, and he is loved which is what matters most of all.