| African
American |
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Deetlefs,
R. The
Song of Six Birds. Illustrated by L. Gilbert. New York:
Dutton Children’s Books, 1999 (K-3) |
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Wishing
to make beautiful music, Lindiwe captures the songs of six
birds in her new flute. |
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Lester,
J. What
a Truly Cool World. Illustrated by J. Cepeda. New York:
Scholastic, 2000 (K-2) |
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Bursting
with folk-art style paintings, this witty and inspirational
creation story is both joyful and outrageously funny. |
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Lester,
J. Why
Heaven is Far Away. Illustrated by J. Cepeda. New York:
Scholastic, 2002 (K-3) |
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In
this playful sequel to "What a Truly Cool World," God,
His wife Irene, His secretary Bruce, and the angel Shaniqua
have a problem to solve. When God gives snakes poison to
protect themselves, he doesn’t expect them to bite
everything in sight. Now, all at once, people and animals
are climbing up the ladders connecting heaven and earth,
creating chaos in God’s kingdom! But with a little
help from Shaniqua and Irene, God has everyone dancing down
the ladders to earth. The snakes get other kinds of defenses
(as well as a talking to,) and the ladders get pulled up
to prevent further ruckuses, which is why heaven is far away. |
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| McKissack,
P. C. A
Million Fish . . . More or Less. Illustrated by D. Schutzer.
New York: Dragonfly, 1996 (K-3) |
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Patricia
McKissack, winner of the Caldecott Honor, the Newbery Honor
award, and the Coretta Scott King Award, spins an original
yearn about the Louisiana bayou, paying tribute to the American
tall tale and the timeless tradition of the “one that
got away.” |
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McKissack,
P. C. Dark
Thirty: Tales of the Supernatural. Illustrated by B.
Pinkney. New York: Yearling, 1998 (4-6) |
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A Newbery
Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award-winning collection
of ten eerie tales about African-Americans evinces the feelings
of the South and promises spine-tingling suspense. |
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McKissack,
P. & Moss, O. J. Precious
and the Boo Hag. Illus. K. Brooker. Atheneum/Anne Schwartz,
2005 (1-3) |
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When
Precious’s bellyache keeps her from helping in the
fields, she is left at home alone, with Mama’s strict
instructions to let no one inside the house for any reason,
no matter what. This admonition is reinforced by Brother’s
warning that if she is not careful, Pruella the Boo Hag might
sneak in. Frightening Boo Hags tell lies and are rude, and
try to get children to disobey their mamas. Worst of all,
they change shapes, so they are hard to recognize. The authors
have produced an enchanting tale that is a pinch scary but
a peck of fun. Find a comfy chair, gather an audience, and
enjoy this wonderful book. |
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Mendez,
P. The
Black Snowman. Illustrated by C. Byard. New York: Scholastic
Trade, 1991 (K-3) |
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Through
the powers of a magical kente, a black snowman comes to life
and helps young Jacob discover the beauty of his black heritage
as well as his own self-worth. |
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Myers,
C. Wings. New
York: Scholastic Trade, 2000 (K-3) |
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A
shy girl narrates the story of Ikarus Jackson, a new boy
at school whose huge wings are mocked by his classmates,
even though he can fly beautifully. Bravely, the girl scolds
his tormentors and compliments him, producing a welcome smile
in her new friend. The somewhat simplistic story is interpreted
with dramatic, sophisticated collages using incongruous photographic
images to create a vibrant cityscape. |
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Nolen,
J. Big
Jabe. Illustrated by K. Nelson. New York: HarperCollins,
2000 (1-4) |
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When
Addy finds a little boy floating down the river in a basket,
she’s surprised. When he calls to the fish to jump out
of the river and into Addy’s wagon, she’s speechless.
And when the fish obey, she knows for a fact that life on the
Plenty Plantation is about to change! In this original tall
tale, Jerdine Nolen has created a hero with the strength of
fifty men, a heart as big as all outdoors, and a mysterious
gift for spiriting slaves away to freedom. |
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Ringgold,
F. Aunt
Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky. Illus.
by J. Davis. NY: Crown Publishers, 2005 (3-5) |
| |
An
imaginative blend of fact and fantasy depicts the escape
from slavery as Cassie Louise Lightfoot encounters the great
Harriet Tubman and a strange train in the sky. |
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Ringgold,
F. Tar
Beach. New York: Dragonfly, 1996 (3-5) |
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Cassie
Lightfoot, a black girl growing up in Harlem in the 1930s,
has a dream--to be free to go wherever she wants for the
rest of her life. One night, up on “Tar Beach”,
the rooftop of her family’s apartment building, her
dream comes true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over
the city, claiming everything she sees as her own. >>> more |
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| Latino/Hispanic
American |
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Dorros,
A. Abuela. Illustrated
by E. Kleven. New York: Puffin Books, 1997 (K-3) |
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While
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. |
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Dorros,
A. Isla. Illustrated
by E. Kleven. New York: Dutton Books, 1995 (K-3) |
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When
Rosalba and Abuela get together, adventure is in the air.
Together they fly to la isla, the island where Abuela grew
up, on the magic of Abuela’s storytelling. The story
celebrates the importance of family and of family place as
naturally and unobtrusively as it incorporates the Spanish
words and phrases of Abuela. |
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Mohr,
N. The
Magic Shell. Illustrated by R. Gutierrez. New York:
Scholastic, 1995 (2-4) |
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Struggling
to live in the middle of two cultures, a young Dominican immigrant
is torn between the values he finds in his new home in New
York City and those he remembers from his family birthplace
in Santo Domingo. |
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Ryan,
P. M. Mice
and Beans. Illustrated by J. Cepeda. New York: Scholastic
Trade, 2003 (K-3) |
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Rosa
Maria loves to cook big meals for her big family, and she’s
determined to make her youngest grandchild’s birthday
party a special occasion. But when important items start to
disappear from her kitchen, she doesn’t know what to
think. You will delight in uncovering the clues that lead to
a very funny surprise. Vibrant paintings with brilliant comic
touches, a winsome main character, jaunty rhythms, and playful
refrains make Mice and beans a feast for the eyes and ears. |
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Soto,
G. Chato
and the Party Animals. Illustrated by S. Guevara. New
York: Putnam, 2000 (K-3) |
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Chato,
the coolest cat in el barrio, loves to party - but not his
best buddy, Novio Boy. Birthday parties always make him blue. "I'm
from the pound," he tells Chato. "I don't know when
I was born. I never knew my mami. I never even had a birthday
party, or nothing." So Chato plans the coolest surprise
party for Novio Boy, inviting all of el barrio, and cooking
up a storm. But he forgets the most important thing - inviting
Novio Boy! Luckily, just as everyone starts remembering all
the things they used to love about their long-lost friend,
the birthday boy arrives with his own surprise - himself! |
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Soto,
G. Chato
Goes Cruisin’. Illustrated by S. Guevara. Putnam
Juvenile, 2005 (1-4) |
| |
Chihuahua!
What are two low-riding cats to do when they sign up for a
cruise and end up on a ship full of dogs? Chato and Novio Boy
try to have fun, but they’re miserable watching endless
games of Bark at the Moon. When the two cool cats go for help,
they see the cruise they were meant to be on—a catamaran
full of cats. This ocean adventure is sure to garner the laughs. |
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Soto,
G. Chato’s
Kitchen. Illustrated by J. Cepeda. New York. Paper
Star, 1997 (K-3) |
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Chato,
the coolest cat in East L.A., and his buddy, Novio Boy, prepare
to serve up a special housewarming party for their new neighbors,
a family of mice, in which their guests are also the main course,
but the mice bring along their own guest, Chorizo, the toughest
dog in the barrio. |
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Soto,
G. The
Cat’s Meow. Illustrated by J. Cepeda & C.
Soto. New York: Little Apple, 1997 (2-4) |
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Unconventional
in more ways than one, this chapter book gives primary-grade
readers their first taste of magic realism when Graciela’s
cat, Pip, begins speaking in Spanish. Pip plays a cagey game
for a while, alternating Spanish words with "meow," until
Graciela becomes thoroughly frustrated, by the cat and by the
uncomprehending humans in whom she confides. |
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Wisniewski,
D. Rain
Player. New York: Clarion Books, 1995 (K-3) |
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To bring
rain to his thirsty village, Pik challenges the rain god to
a game of pok-a-tok. |
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| Native
American |
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Erdrich,
L. Grandmother’s
Pigeon. Illustrated by J. Lamarche. New York: Hyperion
Press, 1999 (1-4) |
| |
A year
after Grandmother hitches a ride on the back of a porpoise,
her family finds a nest of three eggs in her bedroom. The eggs
hatch, and the family soon discovers that the squabs belong
to an extinct species of passenger pigeons. Rich, expressive
illustrations rendered in acrylic and colored pencil perfectly
complement the poignant work of magic realism. |
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Momaday,
N. S. Circle
of Wonder: A Native American Christmas Story. Albuquerque,
NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1999 (4-6) |
| |
A mute
Indian child has an extraordinary experience one Christmas
when, following a figure who seems to be his beloved grandfather
who has died, he becomes part of a circle in which he, animals,
nature, and all the world join in a moment of peace and good
will. |
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|
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| Asian
American |
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Armstrong,
J. Chin
Yu Min and the Ginger Cat. Illustrated by M. Grandpre.
New York: Random House. 1996 (4-6) |
| |
The proud
and haughty widow Chin Yu Min finds happiness and humility
through her friendship with a mysterious ginger cat in an original,
moving and beautifully told story of Chinese culture. |
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Flack,
M. The
Story About Ping. Illustrated by K. Wiese. New York:
Viking Press, 1977 (K-1) |
| |
A
little duck finds adventure on the Yangtze River when he
is too late to board his master's houseboat one evening. |
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| Lobel,
A. Ming
Lo Moves the Mountain. New York: Mulberry Books, 1993 (K-3) |
| |
A wise
man tells Ming Lo how to move the mountain away from his house. |
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