Recommended+Children's+Literature

=​= =Picture books=


 * **Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester, Amistad/Harper Collins Publisher Inc. 2005,** //Plot Summary:// This book is filled with colorful pages of multicultural images. It talks about race and how we are all the same deep down inside. No matter what color your skin is we all deserve the right to be treated equally. I like this book because the author uses three different ways of making the reader see the importance of accepting differences and people for who they are. This book can be read with the central theme of acceptance towards others in the society we live in. A very important question such as “Who We Are” may be posted as a pre-activity before the book is read. **Social Studies theme:** Citizenship, social issues, multicultural issues, acceptance.


 * **Day of Tears by Julius Lester. Jump at the Sun Hyperion Books for Children. Press 2005**. //Day of Tears// is a novel in dialogue written by Lester Julius who tells a story about the history of slavery. His characters describe from their perspective what slavery was like on a plantations in the South. Master Pierce Butler had to sell his 425 slaves to pay off a gambling debt in order to avoid being sent to prison. His wife Fanny Kemble (Mother of Sarah and Frances Butler) divorced him because of his gambling and because she could not live with a man who owned slaves. Emma the caregiver for his daughters was also sold during the largest slave auction in American history called the “Weeping Time” auction. Emma tried to raise the girls to be like their mother Fanny who had a good heart. The devastation of losing their mother to a divorce and Emma to another Master tore the hearts of many of the characters in the story. Emma, her husband Joe and two others escaped across the Ohio River with the help of a white abolitionist and store owner named Jeremiah Henry and the Underground Railroad. In the end Master Butler regretted selling Emma because he lost his daughter Sarah’s love and respect! Themes :SOCIAL SITUATIONS AND ISSUES, JUSTICE, HISTORICAL EVENTS OF SLAVERY, UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, MISUSE OF POWER

The Bus Ride is inspired by the true story of Rosa Parks. Every day Sara and her mother rode the bus. Sara rode it to school and her mother rode it to her job were she worked in a white ladies kitchen. African Americans were not allowed to sit in the front of the bus, so Sara and her mother always sat in the back. One morning Sara decided to come to the front of the bus and see for herself what was so special about the front of the bus. Immediately she was met with angry stares and unkind words. The bus driver ordered her to return to the back of the bus but Sara refused. This book tells the story of courage’s girl who stood up for what is right. Sara’s actions on that bus ride gained media attention as well as the attention of other African Americans. African Americans stopped riding the buses which led to the law finally being changed. **Themes: Justice, Racism, Civil Rights, Courage**
 * **//Hey, Little Ant//. By Phillip & Hannah Hoose. Illustrations by Debbie Tilley. Tricycle Press, 2004.** In this story, told and drawn from two different perspectives, a boy has an encounter with a tiny ant on a sidewalk. The boy threatens to squish the ant, but the ant pleads his case and tries to get the boy to see things from his perspective. Filled with "ant's eye" illustrations that are sure to catch kids' interest, the book builds to an ambiguous ending that forces students to think about the meaning of right and wrong. THEMES: EMPATHY, MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES, USE AND MISUSE OF POWER.
 * **If the World Were a Village: A Book About the World's People. By David J. Smith. Illustrations by Shelagh Armstrong. Kids Can Press, 2007**. In this informational picture book, the earth's population of 6.6 billion people is imagined as a village of 100. What would that village look like? How many of its people would be from each continent? How many would speak English? How many would be Muslim? How many would be able to read? How many would suffer from lack of adequate housing, water, or food? THEMES: GLOBAL ISSUES (POPULATION, HUNGER, LITERACY, POLLUTION, WEALTH AND POVERTY).
 * **The Rough-Face Girl. By David Shannon. Illustrations by David Shannon. Scholastic Inc., 1992.** To see good rewarded and evil punished, or justice, is rare. Stories, however, pass on the realities not of the everyday world but of the human heart. The Rough-face girl remains one of the most magical, mysterious and beautiful of all Cinderellas. Grown on native soil, its mystery is rooted in our own place. A native-american girl who is unjustly treated by her sisters and the village, finds her reward for being modest and having and kind heart. THEMES: EMPATHY, USE AND MISUSE OF POWER, JUSTICE.
 * **I, Doku //the tale of a basket//. Written and Illustrated by Ed Young. Philomel Books, 2004.** The story is told by the basket Doku, which means basket in Nepalese. The basket which is purchased by Yeh-Yeh his master tells of the many events that it witnesses through the life of his master. Over the years Doku is not just used to carry grain and fire wood, he is also used to carry Yeh-Yeh’s first born son and dead wife. When the son marries he is then passed on to the boy’s wife with her dowry. When Yeh-Yeh has an accident and can no longer work, Doku and Yeh-Yeh stay home to care for the child. As Yeh-Yeh grows older, his sanity is questioned and the boy and his wife make the decision to take his father to the temple and leave him there. Doku is used once again until the boy’s son runs after him and makes one request from his father, which changes his mind. Themes: morals-customs-culture-respect for elders. Carmen Guzman
 * **The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton, 1985. Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Random House Children’s Books. Illustrations by: Leo and Diane Dillon.** The People Could Fly is based on an African American folktale. This slave folktale is the storytelling and oral history of how Africans were brought to the US to become slaves. This beautiful and sad story draws you in to see how Africans freedom was cut. The folktale starts of by explaining how Africans in their native country could fly by using magic or by purchasing wings in a wing shop. This folktale of people flying was traditionally retold as soon as the slaves arrived in the US or as soon as they were taken into the plantations. The storytelling of how Africans flew to escape their owners helped slaves push through the sorrow and the pain of being slaves. This folktale is a story filled with magic, spirituality, and fantasy of how slaves could be free.The moving ta le of freedom, by the slave narratives and the fantasy of escaping is illustrated by the compellingly beautiful title story and its illustrations. This amazing book narrates in a fantasy and magical way how slaves could escape just as they did with the aid of Harriet Tubam in the Underground Railroad and the Quaker Isaac T. Hopper  Theme(s): Slavery; African Americans; United States history. //Alexandra Pérez//
 * **Honey…Honey…Lion! by Jan Brett. G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2005** In this story a honey guide bird and a honey badger have a conflict. They work together to obtain honey and share it, however, this time the honey badger does not want to share. This causes anger to the honey guide bird and plans to show the honey badger a lesson. Other animals view such an unfair act. Next morning, the honey guide bird leads him to a ferocious lion instead of a sweet honey hive. This shows the honey badger what ‘social justice’ is all about. THEMES: SOCIAL JUSTICE, SHARING, TEAMWORK, FRIENDSHIP and RELATIONSHIP.
 * **Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges, Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Published by Scholastic Inc 2004.** In this story it shows how a young girl who because she loved the color red was called by everyone Ruby would grow up with a wish to someday be able to attend an university. It seem impossible because in her Chinese customs young ladies were not allow to go to school like the boys did and learn to read and write. But Ruby didn't let that stop her. The story continued by showing Ruby's talents and ending the story by having her wish come true and being one of the first women to attend an university in China. Themes: cultural-customs, courage. //Nancy Ballesteros//
 * **The Bus Ride by William Miller, Illustrated by John Ward, Introduction by Rosa Parks, Lee & Low Books, Inc. 1998**.
 * //Martha Santiago//**

//In My Family /En Mi Familia.// This book introduces the author’s personal stories. Garza depicts memories of growing up in the traditional Mexican-American community. This book introduces family members and traditions of a Mexican family, as well as, vocabulary of foods and animals. This book can be used to make students aware of the cultural diversity around us. Also, students develop awareness of their own traditions and others. Claudia Barona
 * Social Studies Themes: ** family tree, Mexican-American traditions, immigration, ethnicity, nationality.

==__ Duck For President. __ The story is chronicles a duck frustration of doing daily chores on the farm. Duck, the main character, decides he wants a change and mobilizes the other farm animals to throw out famer Brown. Throughout the storyline Duck wins elections for farmer, governor, and even president. As he obtains each position he realizes it becomes incrementally harder. After setting out for change and searching for easier positions he realizes that he is not cut out for the increase of responsibility. Ultimately Duck returns to the comforts of the farm where he began. ==

Elizabeth Martinez
By: Doreen Cronin Illustrated by: Betsy Lewin Pub. Date: February 2000 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group Social Studies Theme: Animal Rights Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type begins when Farmer Brown hears unusual noises coming from the barn. Shortly after he realizes that what he has been hearing is a typewriter being used by his cows to write him notes. They are using the typewriter to demand heated blankets to keep them warm. Farmer Brown thinks it is an absurd request especially coming from cows, so he does not grant it. The cows then decide to go on strike. The cows write another note this time stating that the hens would also like electric blankets and both decide to go on strike. Farmer Brown decides to write back once again denying their request and saying that they need to provide him with milk and eggs. He sends his note via Duck, who remained impartial. After holding an emergency meeting, the cows sent a note where they agreed to give up their typewriter in exchange for the blankets. Farmer Brown left the electric blankets at the barn door and waited for Duck to deliver the typewriter. However, much to his dismay, the following morning he found a note from the Ducks demanding a diving board.
 * __ Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type __**

Theme: This book nicely and subtly touches on the following themes; politics, social issues, and labor issues. -Elva Garcia This story can be read to portray a picture of a childhood experience when discussing child labor, migrant families, African-American history, and families. After reading this story as a whole, classrooms can discuss the history of child labor in the United States. This story can also be used to discuss family relations as it pertains to the joys and struggles of families. THEMES: African-Americans, Family, Child Labor, Migrant Labor- **Nancy Balasa**
 * Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams**, **Harcourt Brace & Co. 1992**. //Plot Summary:// The story is about a young African-American girl that describes a day in the life of picking cotton with her family. The story is told through her voice. Her name is Shelan. Shelan describes her father’s labor and her older sibling working hard picking cotton. Shelan is not old enough to do as much work as her father and siblings do. She feels that if she were just a little older to she can carry as much cotton or more. The family works long and hard. In this story, the family portrayed works very hard and struggle but it does not diminish the love the family shares.

The Harvey Milk Story. Written by Kari Krakow. Illustrated by David Gardner. Two Lives Publishing, 2002. The story begins "On a rainy day in January, on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall, Harvey Milk was sworn into office, the first openly gay elected city official in the United States of America. Harvey Milk had made history." In making history that day, Minnie Milk's intelligent, energetic and courageous son showed the world that by not being afraid to be yourself, you can give others the courage to be proud of who they are. In this picture-book biography of an important gay-rights figure, is written by an elementary school teacher who looks at Milk's life in the context of discrimination and hope. **Themes: Bullying/Abandonment, Belonging, Discrimination, Hope**, -Fermina Figueroa This is a picture book about how one polar bear speaks out about what is happening to the world around him. He uses his gift of speech to talk to the other bears about they need to do to help the people realize how they are affecting the earth. Winston convinces all bears to protest but one. His wife refuses to attend unless he promises to stop smoking. She said it was an instrument of pollution and it was up to him to lead by example because every little bit helps no matter how small of a part it plays. Regina San Miguel
 * Civil Rights, Courage**
 * **Title:** Winston of Churchill **Author:** Jean Davies Okimoto **Year of Publication:** 2007 **Publisher:** Sasquatch Book **Social Studies Themes:** Improving global issues by working together, community, power of protest, important person in history, self expression, self improvement

=Young adult novels= ISBN:  1558851305  ||=   || In a series of poignant vignettes, Ricky Coronado takes us on his search for identity, a search made more difficult by the specter of his father's suicide and the pressures placed upon him by his strong-willed mother. Quiet, although mischievous, the young boy reports on the antics of his close-knit and often eccentric family. In his journey of self-discovery that harkens to the pioneer work of Oscar Zeta Acosta's Brown Buffalo adventures, Ricky comes to the realization that generations of hyphenated Americans have reached: the painful but rewarding **creation of a new self that combines elements of both ethnic realities.**
 * Chapter books (fiction & non-fiction)**
 * **How My Parents Learned to Eat. By Ina R. Friedman. Illustrations by Allen Say. Houghton Mifflin, 1984**. This book is about a sailor that is stationed in Japan. He is interested in a Japanese girl but is afraid to ask her to dinner. John the American sailor cannot eat with chop sticks and Aiko does not know how to eat with a fork and knife. John asks a waiter to help him with chop sticks, and Aiko asks her Uncle who lived in England to help her learn how to use a fork and knife. They finally have dinner together and they marry. The narrator, their daughter is able to eat with both utensils. THEME: CULTURAL - CUSTOMS
 * **//War Comes to Willy Freeman// by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1983.** //War Comes to Willy Freeman// is an adventure story of Wilhelmina Freeman, nicknamed Willie by her family. She is a thirteen-year-old free black girl who witnesses her father’s death by the British during the Revolutionary War. Her mother is taken prisoner to New York City. Willy disguises herself as a boy and sets out to find her mother. During her quest to find her mother Willie befriends a boy named Horace. She told him she worked for Mr. Sam Fraunces. Horace works for Mr. Fraunces and knew she was lying. She meets Mr. Fraunces and tells him her uncle is Jack Arabus, a soldier with General Washington, whom Mr. Fraunces knows. Willy confesses to Mr. Fraunces she is really a girl and he decided it would be better for to keep her disguise for now. THEMES: AMERICAN REVOLUTION, SLAVERY, RACISM.
 * //Hunger of Memory// is an autobiography of a Mexican family’s expectation for their children to pursue higher education and the prices that are paid from it. Richard Rodriguez tells the story of his lost culture and his struggle to regain it. Facing the difficulties of stereotyping, learning a new language and ultimately the struggles simulating to reaching the American Dream. He retells his educational experience from a Catholic grammar school to graduate school at Columbia and Berkeley. Theme: cultural differences, customs and education/ OMForrester
 * **Keisha To the Rescue. By Teresa Reed. Magic Attic Press, 1996.** Novel about a young African-American girl named Keisha living in a predominantly White town. The story begins with Keisha being racially profiled in a drugstore when the pharmacist accuses her of stealing. Keisha finds herself in an identity struggle as she tries to maintain her culture and roots yet at the same time tries to fit in with everyone else. Her three White best friends are true friends that love and care for Keisha. Together they form a pact that they will be best friends for ever. THEMES: RACISM, COURAGE, IDENTITY - Marcela Campos
 * **Freedom Train by Evelyn Coleman, Illustrated by David Riley, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008** __Freedom Train__ is the perfect blend of history and fiction because the there was an actual train named the Freedom train because it carried some of our countries most important and famous documents (i.e. Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, etc.). The Freedom train only stops at cities that agree to integrate crowds that gather to see the precious cargo. It is this back drop that is used to tell a story about a boy named Clyde Thomason who has been chosen to recite the Freedom Pledge. Clyde lives in Atlanta. The part of town where he lives is occupied by wealthy white residents. Clyde is nervous about reciting the Freedom Pledge and on top of that he is the focus of the class bully. An African –American boy comes to his rescue, he is stunned by the boy’s actions. Why is he so surprised? Clyde befriends William, but does not know why they can not be friends openly. Clyde has a decision to make when William’s family is threatened. Will Clyde be brave enough to speak out to protect his friend’s freedom? Themes: Freedom Train, Race relations, Schools, Family life, History and Civility— Mario Stewart
 *  ||  || **A Fabricated Fabricated Mexican Author: Rivera** Rick P. Format:  Paperback Publisher:  Arte Público Press 

This novel can be used with any cultural groups. If used with Latin American students it may help them identify some cultural traits that may be present in their daily life. This novel can also be used to introduce students to **Mexican American culture**. Something that they may find in common is that in their own way most teenagers are in search for their own identity. This book may serve as a tool for **cultural awareness** and sensitivity. [Jose L. Grimaldo] Ps. You can buy used and new books at: [|http://www.betterworldbooks.com] Better World Books is a for-profit [|social enterprise] that collects used books and sells them online to [|raise money] for [|literacy initiatives worldwide].  =Young adult non-fiction=
 * **Go and Come Back. By Joan Abelove. Puffin Books, 1998**. As this novel begins, two white women anthropologists arrive in a Peruvian jungle village to "study" an indigenous group of people, the Isabo. Told from the perspective of Alicia, a young Isabo girl, the book forces readers to question their assumptions about what is "normal" and to realize that how we see the world depends in large part on the cultural lenses through which we look. THEMES: CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING AND MISUNDERSTANDING, CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, ETHNOCENTRISM.

=Graphic novels=
 * **Maus I a survivor's tale, My father bleeds History. By Art Spiegelman. Illustrations by Art Speigelman. Pantheon Books, 1991.** A graphic novel, that begins with Artie a mouse telling his father's story, during World War II. He wants to publish his father's survival story, against the Cats who are the Germans. This story is based of Vladeks Speigelman, a Jewish surviror of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonish who tries to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. The Jews are protrayed as mice and the Nazis as cats, stereotype of how Jews were seen as mice because they hid and flea for survival. THEME: CULTURE, HISTORY, SURVIVAL, NARRATIVE, EMPATHY, COMIC, BIOGRAPHY. / CHRISTINA FERRUSQUIA

=Poetry=