Kids' Books with Non-white Characters
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Children's Books with Asian Main Character
Dec 2004
Does anyone have recommendations for engaging children's books (5-10 age range) with Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander/Hapa main characters? Even better are books with a multicultural cast including at least one Asian. I checked the BPN website and saw a great list of books but none with Asian protagonists. Thanks!! Cindy
We just had our Book Fair, and the author was a local Asian woman who wrote a book called Almond Cookies and Dragonwell Tea. Its not widely available, but you can find it on Amazon or have a local bookseller order it for you. The author btw is Cynthia Chin Lee and the book is about an Asian girl who befriends a Caucasian girl and introduces her to some of her family's customs. Not sure if this is what you are looking for or not. Maybe try the library first. Hilary
''The Squiggle'' by Carole Lexa Schaefer is a whimsical tale about a little girl in Chinatown who finds a bit of string while out on a walk with her preschool class. It turns into everything from a full moon to a dancing New Year's Dragon. Beautiful watercoler drawings from Pierr Morgan make it a real favorite in our house.
There's a book called, I think, 1,000 cats? Which retells an old (Japanese?) legend about a boy and a cat spirit. Sorry I can't be more specific about the above title. I know, however, that I've come across dozens of good kids' books featuring Asian main characters. I'm sure you'll get a lot of good titles from this list...or have you asked the children's librarian at Albany or Berkeley libraries? Good luck, Julie
these are on the younger end of your age range but we've enjoyed Jan Brett's Daisy Comes Home (up to 7 years?) and Molly Bang's The Paper Crane. Amy Tan has written some children's books which I haven't checked out yet. Sorry no multi-cultural books are coming to mind presently. Chris
Our family really likes books by Yumi Heo. One of our favorites is: Father's Rubber Shoes. New York: Orchard Books, 1995. Story synopsis: Yungsu misses Korea terribly until he begins to make friends in America. Enjoy! Gail
There are a wealth of API related books available by the publisher Island Heritage. Many of the stories do have ties to Hawaii but some of the picture books include folktales from Asia. The books presented on the website are just a sample of the books published by Island Heritage over the years. I'm sure if you were to do a sort on Amazon.com you may come across out-of-print titles that may also be useful. http://www.islandheritage.com/multimedia/childrens_books/books.h tml
For older children, you may want to look at books by authors such as Laurence Yep and Yoshiko Uchida. Caroline
Check out your local library, there's plenty of books for children featuring Asian main and only characters! Esp. at the Lafayette Library. Maybe because of the big Asian community there. Some of our faves are:
Ruby's Wish
The Name Jar
A pair of red clogs
Yoko
Yoko's paper cranes
My children love these stories. We read them over and over and over...... There are also plenty of Chinese New Year stories and olde Asian tales avaiable in the library. The Story Teller book shop (independent in Lafayette) also carries books with Asian main characters. Happy reading!!!
Where can you find good books for your kids? Remember there are professionals who have dedicated their lives to answering this question: your friendly neighborhood children's librarians! The Berkeley Public Library has many good booklists, including one called ''The Best of Both Worlds; Children's books on the Asian Experience in America,'' available online at: http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/kids/gdbooks.html Or you can try San Francisco Public Library's online booklists, including ''Our Asian Heritage: Books for Young People on the Asian American Experience,'' at: http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/sfplonline/kids/booklist.htm A Children's Librarian
If you go to the Japantown mall in San Francisco, there's a huge bookstore with a childrens books section that's got all kinds of childrens books with Asian main characters, for all different ages. Spike's mom
Check out Eastwind Bookstore's website: http://www.ewbb.com/ They have two stores: One in Berkeley (on University Ave and Shattuck), and one in SF. They have books that should fit your criteria. Lily
There are lots of great ones-- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson comes to mind as an oldie but goodie. The Cooperative Children's Book Center publishes a list of ''50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Know'' which includes books with Asian protagonists as well as a variety of other ethnicities. You can read it online at http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailListBooks.asp?idBookLists=42 Elizabeth
You might try books by Allen Say. One of our favorites is ''Emma's Rug.'' River
If you don't live too far from the Oakland Library Chinatown branch you might want to spend a little time there. My local branch told me they have a good selection of Asian themed books for kids. It's something I plan to do over our winter break with my child. I've also recently learned that parking is quite reasonable in the center the library is housed in. anonymous
''Ruby's Wish'' & ''Round is a Mooncake'' have Asian protaganists. Both are from Chronicle Books and are lovely, Ruby's Wish especially. They also have one called ''Ten Mice for Tet'', (can you tell I used to work there?) and while the mice aren't technically Asian, it's a beautiful counting book with Asian themes. stephanie
Books by Laurence Yep are great (Laurence is a Montery resident, who was born in China, so the name is not mispelled). He writes for different ages and in different genres (mysteries, folk stories, history-based fiction, etc.)
East Wind in Berkeley carries his books and many other good books. Berkeley Public Library has several of his books also.
My son is currently reading the ''Tiger's Apprentice'' book 1 and he's really enjoying it. We were lucky to have him visit our school, Berkwood Hedge, a couple of years ago when he read from ''Tiger's Apprentice'' and ''Rainbow People''.
I highly recommend Laurence Yep's books. Rosa
This is a picture book with beautiful illustrations and the story is compelling:
Author: Yee, Paul
Title: Ghost train / written by Paul Yee ; illustrated by Harvey Chan
Publisher: Toronto : Groundwood Books, 1996
The story is about a 19th century Chinese girl who is an artist whose father comes to the US west coast to work on the railroads. He sends for her, but by the time she arrives he has died in an accident. In dreams he guides her to use her art to free the souls of the many Chinese whose lives were lost in the building of the railroads. Sounds grizzly, but the story is poignant and sweet and the artwork is outstanding.
It looks like it is still in print and available at amazon.com, where there is a more detailed synopsis. - Charis
This recommendation could also go for books with strong girl characters. I'm surprised this did not come up before unless it has to do with Disney. Mulan, at least the Disney character (there is another Mulan out there but I don't know the differences), is a terrific character. She totally kicks the bad guys' behinds by using her smarts. She starts out failing to get the matchmaker's good graces and then gets the Emperor's gratitude for saving the nation. I love the movie and you can get a book as well. Sharon
I highly recommend Lee and Low Books, a small publisher based in New York. Here's their mission statement: Lee & Low Books is a children's book publisher with a specific focus on multicultural themes. What this means to us is that we publish stories that children of color can identify with, but that all children can enjoy.
If you do an advanced search on their website, you will find a list of books with Asian American themes: http://www.leeandlow.com/ Comparative Lit Major Mom
For the family who are looking for books with positive Asian characters, please check out the catalog Asia For Kids (www.asiaforkids.com or 1-800-888-9681) They offer a wealth of materials ranging from books with Asian American characters, books about Asian cultures, educational toys and classroom activity sets. anon
Books on Native Peoples for 4.5 year old
Dec 2003
Hi, I am looking for recommendations of books about Native Peoples to share with my 4.5 year old. We'd particularly enjoy historical fictions, simple biographies and folk tales. Thanks in advance. Ashley
Believe it or not, our daughters LOVED the American Girl Kaya series. I have seen them at Costco and at Barnes and Noble. I, quite frankly, could not put them down (I kept reading after the girls went to bed). We have a seven year old and a four year old, and they both loved them. They are fiction, but were written with the input and advice of a Native American committee of Nez Perce as well as Native American historians. Mary
I highly recommend that you use Oyate, a non-profit based in Berkeley, as a resource to find books. Their website has a catalog (and a list of books to avoid!). www.oyate.org
''Oyate is a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly, and so that all people will know our stories belong to us.'' (From their website) Deborah
Oyate is a publisher and distributor of books by and about Native cultures in North & South America, including Canada. They have a fantastic selection for all ages! You can order from their website www.oyate.org, email the director Beverly Slapin at oyate [at] oyate.org or you can call her at 848-6700 and make an appointment to meet and pick up books. She's in Berkeley.
I discovered them at a book fair and found them to have really everything you could ask for, stories, how to books (such as crafts or building projects), history from Native perspectives, etc. I think you find what you want there. Have fun! nadja
We've really enjoyed reading ''Back in the Beforetime: Tales of the California Indians'' by Jane Louise Curry. The book is a collection of Native California-themed folk tales featuring Coyote the Trickster and other animal characters that kids seem to love. The reading level is 9-12 years old but my son enjoyed hearing the stories starting at around 5 years old. I've also read some of the shorter ones to a group of kindergartners at a Sunday school class and they loved it. Amazon has several used copies and one new copy (additional copies are on order) for under $10. --Sharon
Pact's multicultural booksource has a section for preschoolers on Native American books. Here are some titles and authors from the booksource. Baby Rattlesnake by Te Ata, The first strawberries by Joseph Bruchac, Fox song by Joseph Bruchac, The girl who loved wild horses by Paul Groble, The magic of spider woman by Ileana C. Lee, Mamma's little one by Kristina Heath, The mud family by Betsy James, The rough face girl by Rafe Martin, The story of jumping mouse by John Steptoe, Two pairs of shoes by Estehr Sanderson, The worry stone by Marianna Dengler. Hope this helps. f.c
Many thanks to all who responded to my query about books on native peoples. Anyone else following this thread may want to add to their list books by Paul Goble. My son (age 4.5) also really enjoyed a book set in Yosemite called 'Two Bear Cubs' by Souci and Souci. Ashley
Books for young readers with non-white characters
2001
A great resource for teachers and parents looking for books with non-white main characters is Violet Harris' (ed.) Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom. she's got reams of recommendaitons, divided by ethnicity. I have copies of her chapters on Mexican-American and African-American kids in literature, if you'd like to borrow them. In the former, she recommends Gary Soto's Taking Sides and Pacific Crossing (he's a local author, too!); she also suggests Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. In the latter, she suggests all of Mildred Taylor's novels (song of the trees, etc.), Virginia Hamilton's Justice trilogy (and everything else by her, too!), Joyca Carol Thomas' Marked by Fire, Mildred Walter's Second Daughter, Yarbrough's The Shimmershine Queens, and Rita Williams-Garcia's Sisters on the Home Front. There are ltos more, but these are a good start. Sorry I didn't write in in answer to your first request! Jessica
I did happen to recall a wonderful series of short chapter books, geared toward younger readers, with (mostly) black characters. The first is Stories Julian Tells, and there are several more in the series. They are delightful. Also, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell is about an Aleutian native. Call It COurage, by Armstrong Sperry (I think) is about a Polynesian boy. Wendy
Bright Lights Bookstore (www.brghtlghts.com?), Bucket of Books (www.bucketofbooks.com), Lee and Low Books (www.leeandlow.com) sell multicultural books that you can buy on the web.
the Arrowhead Library System (http://als.lib.wi.us/AACList.html) maintains an african american children's literature list from picture books to chapter books.. and there is the Multicultural Book Reviews: http://www.isomedia.com/homes/jmele/joe.html granted, their selections are few and most are about overcoming hardship but there are a few interesting ones in there ! -- Carrie
non-white protaganists in chapter books: PAACT, ad adoption organization that focuses on families with children of color, has a list of books about race & culture as well as adoption. Check it out at http://www.pactadopt.org/. Also try multicultural resources for children at http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/multipub.htm. Look for Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African-American ChildrenFs Books. And talk to your local children's librarian!
Most of these were listed on my first e-mail but they are all really great and have characters that are exactly like what you are talking about. My daughter has enjoyed them all and has read them all a number of times. I'm not sure what age you are looking for so you might want to check age appropriateness.
Marisol and Magdalena by Veronica Chambers About two friends of Panamanian decent living in New York. They are separated when one of them spends a year in Panama with her grandmother. There is a new sequel about the two girls and their quincea1eras. called Quincea1era Means Sweet Fifteen
Esperanza Rising by Pam Mu1oz Ryan About wealthy girl from Mexico during the Great Depression who loses everything, moves to California and ends up working in a labor camp.
The Amah by Laurence Yep About girl of Chinese decent living in San Francisco who wants to be a ballerina. She has a hard time when her mom ends up being the caretaker of another girl who is also twelve.
A Jar of Dreams by Yoshiko Uchida About a Japanese family living in Berkeley during the Great Depression and their struggle to make ends meet while confronting racism. Also
Journey Home has to do with a young girl and Japanese internment.
Carlota Scott O'dell About a young Mexican girl living in Californian during the Mexican-American war. She is a real tomboy and ends up fighting against the US with the neighboring rancheros.
Also Island of the Blue Dolfins Liza
For a pre-teen or early teen, the Cheeta Girls chapter books are pretty good. Most of the characters are African American. The most recent book includes a white girl who is the half-sister of one of the African American girls. Dianne
If you are interested in chapter books by and about African Americans, you might try Marcus Book Store (3900 MLK Jr. Way, 652-2344) as a resource. http://www.marcusbooks.com
I've found it useful to take the advice of the experts -- children's librarians. The American Library Association's Coretta Scott King Award has identified and honored lots of great chapter books over the years; see http://www.ala.org/srrt/csking/index.html. (This site includes detailed reading-level information.) ALA also sponsors the Pura Belpre award for children's literature about the Latino cultural experience, although it's much newer and so has not honored that many books yet. http://www.ala.org/alsc/belpre.html The Berkeley Public Library (like a lot of other libraries) maintains lists of suggested books in many different categories. Some good ones are on being Asian-American (http://www.infopeople.org/bpl/booklist/bestboth.html), Latino (http://www.infopeople.org/bpl/booklist/leamos.html) or just plain different (http://www.infopeople.org/bpl/booklist/beingdif.html). It's also been my experience that most children's librarians *love* being asked for specific recommendations. Jane
Counted three on our bookshelves (plus one from the library). With the exception of The Diddakoi, these books are about true-to-life kids, with true-to-life problems (as opposed to fantastical, Harry Potter type adventures): Roosevelt Grady-Louisa Shotwell Bud, Not Buddy-Christopher Paul Curtis In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson-Bette Bao Lord The Diddakoi-Rumer Godden Still looking for more, however! Mara
October 2001
I run a book project called Reach Out and Read, and we give used books away in the waiting room at Kaiser in Richmond and new ones to children when they come for a well check up. I received a donation one day after 9/11/01, and in the bag was the book Whoever You Are by Mem Fox. It's beautifully illustrated and the message is about how There are little ones just like you all over the world, and even though their skin may be different or their homes may be different, their hearts are just like yours and their smiles are just like yours...joys are the same, love is same, tears are the same, blood is the same etc... I would love to see all parents here in the USA reading this book as a reminder to the ADULTS about children everywhere.
Like many of you, my heart is heavy these days as I think of the children in NY who have lost their parents, homes, and schools, and as I think of children in the Middle East who are suffering and afraid. Mem Fox is a great children's writer and story teller. Her new book for parents is called Reading Magic. It gives great suggestions about reading to your child from birth, and she really communicates the value in having fun while you read. She will be here for a book tour on Nov. 1st in Corte Madera at the Book Passage at 1:00PM. At Kaiser in Richmond we will continue to give her book Whoever You Are to children ages 3-5 years, as a part of our program. I suggest you may want to check it out, and give a gift to the young children, and adults, in your life. Rona
1998 From: Julianna
In a recent UCB Parents message a parent was asking about multicultural books for a list she/he is putting together for her/his child's class. I deleted it but since I saw this flyer I thought I would pass on this information:
The Educational Loft Program, presented by USF School of Education, will lead an evening discussion on: Awe and Imagination in the World of Multicultural Children's Books led by Daphne Muse. Thursday April 30, 1998 6:30-8pm Univ. of San Francisco - Harney, Room 232 (located on Golden Gate Ave next to Gleeson Library). For queries or additional information, call (415) 422-6525 . No charge for this event.
Daphne Muse has published more than 150 feature articles, reviews and commentaries. She is an employee of UCB, a research coordinator for the McNair Scholarship Program if those who can't make the talk want to get in touch with her.
From: Aleta
Harding Elementary School has a Multicultural Committee and lending library. Please call the school at 525-0273 and leave a message for the Multicultural Committee asking for a list of books they have and maybe set up a time to meet with them. Good luck.
From: Dianne
The Berkeley Public Library (Children's Dept) used to have a list of highly recommended multicultural books. Check with the children's librarians there; they are very helpful and knowledgeable. You might also check their web site (not sure of web address), and can send inquiries by email and they will get back to you.
From: Greg
One great resource is the Children's Literature Web Guide
One of the links on the home page is Lots of Links, which includes Best Books lists for 1994-1997, as well as lists for specific subjects. In my quick scan I didn't see any specifically multicultural lists, but I did see headings for Jewish Religion and Culture, Latino People, History, and Culture, Native American Books, and Multiracial Families, among others; and I'm sure a more thorough perusal of this site will turn up many other lists.
Another terrific web site is Berkeley Public Library's Librarians Index to the Internet
The Kids page has links to many resources, including the Children's Literature Web Guide mentioned above.
You didn't say how big your list has to be. If what I've given you so far is overkill, you may want to head to the children's room at BPL's Central Library , at Kittredge and Shattuck. It seems to me that in the past I've seen staff- created reading lists of the type you're seeking; even if my memory is faulty one of the librarians should be able to help out. I know that there are a number of bibliographies to multicultural children's literature in print. Hope this gets you started!
From: Alice
A great resource for multi-cultural books is Let's Hear it for the Girls this book lists and describes 375 books for readers 2-14 that have strong female characters and many are multi-cultural. It is published by Penguin and is compiled by Bauermeister & Smith. I have found some great relatively unknown books which my family has really enjoyed.
From: Natasha
The Berkeley Public Library's children's staff has produced a number of lists suggesting children's books by topic and age group. For instance: African American Folklore and Poetry All Together Now; Recent Multicultural Books for Children Children's books on the Asian Experience in America 9/93 Cornbread and Cornrows; African American Fiction for Children 2/96 Families and Friends; African American Picture Books 1/96 Freedom's Children; True Stories for Children about African Americans They also maintain in-house bibliographies on a variety of topics, including social issues, multicultural titles. You may need to focus on what is meant by multicultural. Are you looking for books with characters of many colors, or are you looking for books which portray aspects of different cultures within the U.S., or are you looking for world cultures? And does multicultural mean ethnicity, or also include sexual orientation, religion, etc.? Obviously your school has something in mind when they give you an assignment such as this, but I find that commonly used words such as multicultural or diverse often have many different interpretations. Here are a couple of good websites: Books with Multiracial Families http://deeptht.armory.com/~web/fambooks.html Children's Literature Web Site (many lists) http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html>
Hello!
My kid is a teen now, but reading to her remains such a happy memory. Here is a website that has some good resources: https://www.amightygirl.com/books
Happy reading!
This doesn't fully respond to your post, but I strongly recommend ashaybythebay.com bookstore as a great resource. They have books on their website by age category and also a series/chapter book section. I've also found them to be incredibly responsive and helpful when I've contacted them. Happy reading!
For finding new book recommendations, try asking the librarians at your public library or Oakland Public Library for recommendations! They have these awesome book bundles and like to have diverse characters: https://oaklandlibrary.org/category/tags/book-bundles
You might want to check out the Laurie Halse Anderson trilogy chains, ashes, forge... it might be too advanced still for you guys, but the narrators and protagonists are black kids during the revolutionary war and it’s a powerful story.
When I was a kid, I really liked The Babysitter's Club. There were seven girls in the series and each had their own story - there was a Japanese American, African American, a Californian, redhead, the tomboy, New Yorker. Each book is a story about one of the girls - there are at least 100 books. I was drawn to "Kristy" because she opened up the babysitter club business, so I thought it was empowering that girls these age were that organized! I think I started reading these in third grade (1989). I gave my collection to my niece who is currently in fourth grade and she loves them. I'm sure it's pretty dated by now, and also the author wrote discussed stereotypes of that time. worth a shot for when your daughter is a bit older!
For fun reading, at her age now, she might ilke Amelia Bedelia, which is about a maid who makes a lot of mistakes cleaning houses, but makes up for it with her baking. The newer Berenstain Bears books are good too - ones written by their son, after the original authors passed. She might be outgrowing those though.
I’m so excited to recommend Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park to you. You may have heard about it already it made quite a splash last year. It is a specific rejoinder to the Little House books… embracing what’s wonderful about those books while making important changes to the way frontier stories are told that include the perspectives of displaced native people and the overlooked non white heroes in this part of American history, as well as giving us important lessons about racism that are applicable in any time.
After we read Prairie Lotus, we ended up eagerly devouring the entire works of Linda Sue Park! They’re mostly historical fiction with elementary school aged protagonists. The best one featuring a girl that I would recommend to an early chapter book reader would be Seesaw Girl, although the best book of the lot is A Single Shard, although it features two male characters.
You are right about the "old-fashioned" (e.g. thoughtlessly, casually sexist and racist) milieu of many of our favorite books from childhood. I have taken to reading a book before sharing it with my grandchildren. Turns out Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson and the Beverly Cleary books contain assumptions not really acceptable to modern awareness. We do love Pippi Longstocking and the Oz books, and recommend them wholeheartedly. A friend with reading-age children say they like the "feisty feminist" Lumberjanes books by Mariko Tamaki, which look fun if I can just get past the illustrations.
Hi- check out embracerace.org. Under the resources tab they have a section for lists of diverse children’s books.
If you personally haven't re-read the books from your childhood that you are thinking about sharing, I'd start there. Some of mine have had aspects that are not acceptable, but my kid has been old enough to discuss the issues and it's been a good learning experience alongside the story. I felt like others were really far off the mark and the issues were ones that he's not developmentally ready to tackle in meaningful ways yet. There are a lot of newer books with diverse characters who have lead and authentic roles in the stories and I've come to love them alongside my child, for example, the Dragon Masters series and the Upside Down Magic series.
Hi!
I've always prioritized reading diverse books with my girls too and once they got to the chapter books stage, it was definitely harder to find diverse books. But they are out there! Here are some of the ones we enjoyed:
The Sofia Martinez series
The Jannah Jewels series (this was our favorite and I liked it so much I gifted it to so many people who also loved it).
Meet Yasmin
Katie Woo
Ling and Ting
Zooey and Sassafras series
Jasmine Toguchi series
Juana and Lucas
Nikki and Deja series
Book Uncle and Me
Also this great org has awesome diverse book suggestions by grade (including chapter books)--you have to sign up but it is worth it. I started a book club with some friends thanks to their lists and curriculum: https://girlsleadership.org/resources/book-club-sign-up-form/
Also, the good thing about this reading stage is that the chapter book stage doesn't last long. Once she moves into middle grade books, there are many options for diverse books again, thankfully. Of course the publishing world still needs to publish many, many more diverse stories, but we have been able to find a lot we love. I liked this list once you get to that stage to get started: https://www.incultureparent.com/10-diverse-middle-grade-novels-for-olde…
Happy reading!
Hi! I have been thinking about this, too, because a friend recently asked for suggestions. My daughter is older now (12), but when she was younger I read the Little House on the Prairie series to her and her younger brother. They both (but especially her), like realistic fiction -- they loved thinking about what life was like for Laura and her family and how different it is to our life now. It generated a lot of discussion. I also made sure that we talked about the Ingalls' bigotry against Native Americans, and what it might feel like to an African American to read about Pa dressing up in blackface. At the time, and now too, I felt it was a teachable moment. But I have lately wondered if that is true. Even though we talked about it, is that enough? Or were they too young to understand what I was trying to teach them? Did their love for the characters lead them to conclude their behavior was OK? I am curious what other folks think.
I would also love to hear suggestions as my 9 year old son is a reluctant reader, but is engaged if the series captures his imagination. He read some of the Akissi books (graphic novels), all of Avatar and Zita the Spacegirl. Together we are reading Harry Potter -- again a series with white main characters -- so maybe our next series could have more diversity. (We are a white family.) Thanks all!
A good transition from picture books to chapter books is the Julian and Huey series by Ann Cameron. They center on the adventures of Julian, Huey and Gloria. The boys are brothers and Gloria is their friend. All the characters are African-American. The illustrations are great. And the stories are humorous, imaginative and thoughtful.
Contact the library! Librarians spend a lot of time thinking about this exact question. Oakland Public Library has a service called Book Me where you fill out an online form describing what you like or what you're looking for and a librarian emails you personalized recommendations. When I've used this I've gotten really amazing responses with lots of titles to choose from. There is also a "great reads" page on the "kids" part of OPL's website that has lists of kids' books about characters of color and lists of other resources to check out: https://oaklandlibrary.org/kids/great-reads Other libraries offer similar services and probably also have lists of recommendations ready to go.
We're just starting to read chapter books in my household, but so far we've loved the Zoey & Sassafras series by Asia Citro. They're about a Black girl protagonist and her scientist mom, and their secret work helping magical animals (dragons, unicorns, etc) by doing science experiments.
Grace Lin's Pacy Lin books have a sort of Ramona-like feel (in that they're about daily life and trials & tribulations of school, friends, & family - not as wacky as Ramona) but with a Taiwanese-American protagonist. They're also Lunar New Year-themed, so now is an appropriate time to start them! Year of the Dog is the first one in the series.
I completely related to this post! There are a lot of ways to come at this. My daughter really loved the entire Little House series and I was grateful that I read it to her rather than having her read it herself (we started around age 5). There is A LOT of racism in old books (we also read Mary Poppins and Pippi Longstocking). I found this to actually be a tangible way to have discussions about racism and other prejudices with her so we would pause whenever we came to a part where something came up and talk about it. I was actually glad to be reading books with overt racism in them because we had a lot to talk about, in terms of history and how people thought back then — and how some people still think today. I think if you are ready and willing to stop reading when something hard or inappropriate comes up it can start conversations naturally that might be hard to have otherwise.
There are also some more modern books that have strong girls of color in them (Zoey and Sassafrass; some of the chapter books from the Rebel Girl series; Anna Hibiscus; The Great Cake Mystery). There's also an excellent series about a girl named Violet Mackerel. If you get the Australian printings (rather than American), Violet becomes best friend's with a Black little girl when she moves in next door and their friendship is lovely. My daughter now reads these to herself at 8, she loves them so much. Good luck in your search :)
Hello, dear fellow parent! I love that you are on the hunt for good books. I have recently re-read Anne of Green Gables, and I did not find anything in there to cause cringing. Of course, as you note, all of the characters are white. (Me, too.) The Laura Ingalls Wilder books are also pretty solid; the main thing is that Laura's mother is quite openly racist - but Laura describes it pretty clearly. I think that the main issue with Charlotte's Web is also likely to be that again, everyone is white.
I just asked my 20 year old avid reader whether she has any recommendations; she mentioned a great app called We Read Too, which has recommendations for books by and about people of color for each age group. I hope this is helpful!
https://www.wereadtoo.com/
There seem to be a bunch of great book recommendations on this site: https://feministbooksforkids.com/books-about-black-girls/
Here are some suggestions, mostly for kids 8/ 9/ & 10+:
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (set in West Oakland)
A good Kind of Trouble by Lisa M. Ramee
For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama Lockington
Jada Sly: Artist & Spy by Sherri Winston
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
The Vanderbeekers of 141st St by Karina Yan Glaser
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Blended by Sharon Draper
Children's literature is getting more & more diverse and representative of the big beautiful global mosaic. Enjoy that precious reading aloud time! I miss it with my now nearly grown kids :)
You don't say how old your child is but if they're in the 8-12 range, I have really enjoyed reading books by Jewell Parker Rhodes with my daughter (10). She writes from the perspective of BIPOC persons and the content, while heavy, is relevant to today's current events.
Yes! It is so tricky. Some books from my childhood I let go of altogether because my values were too different, especially ones for the 5-8 range. I never want to spend all that time on a read aloud that I am not comfortable with. As my kid got to the 8-12 range we talked more and compared/contrasted some of those "classics" vs contemporary books, many with non-white protagonists. My friend hosted a book club that compared/contrasted Little House with the Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. They are both the first books in a series set in the same region of the US. My kid did not want to keep reading the Ingalls series after reading the chapters with very dehumanizing descriptions of Indian people. She knew those people from the Birchbark books and it did not feel right to her. Some wonderful series: One Crazy Summer trilogy (set in Oakland in the first book!) and Birchbark House series. Mildred D. Taylor has a moving series for 4th-5th grade up too that we read in parallel.
Some series we enjoyed when my daughter was read aloud age with non-white authors and characters: Ann Cameron has a series that starts with "Stories Julian Tells." These a great pretty easy stories for early readers early read aloud. Grace Lin has a series that starts with the book "Year of the Dog". We read these when my daughter was in third grade and several times after. Mildred Taylor wrote a series about an African American family in the south during the depression. First book is "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry." These are written for older children and contain more graphic details about what it means to grow up Black in America. Appropriate for 5th or 6th grade and up. Also in case you do not know about them Little Feminist book club has a subscription series for 7-9 years that will have more currently written books I haven't had the pleasure to read. https://littlefeminist.com/giftshop/
Great question, thanks for asking
Some recommendations: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and The Birchbark House
I hear you on this. Our 3yo has really enjoyed the Zoey and Sassafras series, about a Black girl (and her cat) who use the scientific method to help sick and injured magical animals — it’s not an #OwnVoices series since the author is white, fwiw. And while there’s a bunch of good Instagram accounts out there that highlight books with good representation, my recommendation is to make use of Oakland Library’s free Book Me service and get some recs that are really tailored for your kid.
Hi! There are some great lists compiled online of chapter books for girls with POC main characters! Try this one, compiled by the Chicago Public Library: Juvenile chapter book series for 1000 Black Girl Books! https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/list/share/381551987/1151590940 Or I guess, technically, the list was started by the Grass Roots Community Foundation: https://grassrootscommunityfoundation.org/1000-black-girl-books-resource-guide/
Here are a few that were favorites when my daughter was that age:
She liked Whoopi Goldberg’s series about the Sugar Plum Ballerinas too, though I quickly tired of them!
Feminist Books for Kids has some great lists that include some of these and many others.
A few off the top of my head:
One Crazy Summer (Rita Williams-Garcia...takes place in Oakland)
Esperanza Rising (Pam Munoz Ryan)
Becoming Naomi Leon (Pam Munoz Ryan)
Underground Abductor (Nathan Hale graphic novel)
Sadako and the 1000 paper Cranes (Coerr)
Alvin Ho (series)
I Am Malala (kids version)
Brown Girl Dreaming
I HIGHLY recommend you talk to a children's librarian at your local branch. They LIVE for this kind of question/problem, and will offer lots of choices.
Hi! I totally feel the same way about reading with my daughter, though she isn't ready for chapter books yet. I'm a librarian and mixed race (my daughter is mixed race, too), so I think about diversity and representation in books a lot. If you haven't looked at We Need Diverse Books' (WNDB) Where to Find Diverse Books resources (https://diversebooks.org/resources-old/where-to-find-diverse-books/), I highly recommend it. Great resources for finding books that don't have white protagonists and I'm biased being a librarian, but I do recommend looking at the awards lists for some great titles (linked from the WNDB page). Book Riot also has tons of articles and lists and other resources for finding books (https://bookriot.com/category/childrens/) and have a ton of different newsletters you can sign up for (for free) to get notices of new books coming out. I hope these resources help. Also (again biased because I'm a librarian), you can always ask your children's librarian at your local public library for recommendations--they'll probably have a lot of great suggestions, too!
I have a younger kid and have been thinking about making edits to books (gender is my big issue at the moment - like his beloved Good Night Construction site book in which all the trucks are "he" when they should be "they"). At some point when he realizes that we've made edits to the books, we can discuss why more. I've already told him that I don't like the Curious George books because the adults are always yelling at George when he's just curious and trying to be helpful and they leave him alone instead of helping him. He still likes the books but hopefully I'm showing him that we can and should be critical about stories. And I never choose them to read.
I wonder if the same could be true for some of the books that you loved and want to share with your daughter. Could they open the door for discussion about issues in the past and how they affect the current issues in this country? Laura Ingalls Wilder in particular writes some really racist stuff toward native peoples that I remember cringing at as a kid but also didn't have parents who addressed it. Pairing her books with books written by native people might help her understand the context better and why Laura's family was part of the problem (some of which is addressed in "Pioneer Girl," a recent biography about her). At the very least, you can talk about it and help her be a critical consumer of historical information - who's story is being told? Who's isn't? There's also a lot of issues with female roles in historical novels and I remember reading them and being so thankful that I had more choices in my life than the female protagonists and I think it made me a stronger feminist. A lot of the books that you mention also stuck with me because of the relationships of children to other children and general struggles in growing up, which taught me some social-emotional skills.
However, there are lots of new and wonderful chapter books out there should you choose to ditch these older books - your librarian or daughter's teacher should be able to make some recommendations, in addition to lists that you can search for on the internet. I've also been learning that I need to read books before my kid so I know if there are any issues!
Yoshiko Uchida's novels about growing up Japanese-American in Berkeley, and the internment camps, are wonderful. (Uchida was about to graduate from Cal Berkeley when she and her family were rounded up and sent to Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno and later to Topaz, Utah.) Her style is very clear and straightforward, but she packs a lot of quiet moral authority as well. Suitable for kids about 9 to 12.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/yoshiko-uchida/211207/
Thanks for asking this question, curious to see what replies you receive as I am wondering too.
I can highly recommend any of Grace Lin’s books, with Where the Mountain Meets the Moon being one of our very favorites. Beautifully written!
I highly recommend talking to Mr. Michael, the children's librarian at the Claremont Branch (the corner of Ashby in Elmwood) of the Berkeley Public Library. My son met him when his class went to the library and he requested we visit to get more book suggestions from Mr. Michael. I am not sure what his schedule is now, but we used to visit him in the library on Wednesday afternoons. He has wonderful suggestions! Absolutely love Mr. Michael!
I stumbled upon the Heidi Heckelbeck series by Wanda Coven and just love reading them with my daughter, who is almost 5. The stories are sweet yet relatable (with a little bit of magic thrown in), and the adventures and emotions keep my daughter engaged. I also like that the pictures are sparse, so the focus remains on reading the words. We can finish the whole book, which is about 10 chapters, in one sitting. Good luck! I'll be printing out the other replies and going book hunting...
A sweet series that you can find in the Berkeley Public Library: Zoey and Sassafras!