A SCHOOL LIKE MINE
Author: Written and Edited by Penny Smith and Za
Origin: Multicultural
Theme: School, Culture, Diversity
Grades: PreK-6

This is another book that should be in every elementary classroom. Children and schools are highlighted fr...

ABECEDARIOS--MEXICAN FOLK ART ABCS IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH
Author: Cynthia Weill and K.B Basseches
Origin: Mexico
Theme: Animals, Alphabet, Art
Grades: K-1

The famous animal wood carvings of Oaxaca are used to illustrate the alphabet in both English and Spanish.

ARMANDO AND THE BLUE TARP SCHOOL
Author: Edith Hope Fine and Judith Pinkerton Jos
Origin: Mexico
Theme: School, Dreams
Grades: 2-5

Based on a true story about David Lynch, a teacher, who founded a school in Tijuana, Mexico along side of a...

ART FROM HER HEART--FOLK ARTIST CLEMENTINE HUNTER
Author: Kathy Whitehead
Origin: African-American
Theme: Dreams, Challenges, Art
Grades: 2-4

This is the remarkable story of Clementine Hunter who worked and lived on a plantation in Louisiana. Cleme...

BLACKER THE BERRY, THE
Author: Joyce Carol Thomas
Origin: United States; African-American
Theme: Identity, Ancestors
Grades: Pre K-3

The poetry celebrates the many shades of black. This book received the 2008 Coretta Scott King Illustrator...

BOOK FIESTA! CELEBRATE CHILDREN'S DAY/BOOK DAY/ CELEBREMOS EL DIA DE LOS NINOS/EL DIA DE LOS LIBROS
Author: Pat Mora
Origin: Multicultural
Theme: Celebrations, Literacy
Grades: PreK-1

A wonderful celebration of the joys of reading with a letter from the author and suggestions for celebratin...

BREAKING THROUGH
SENDEROS FRONTERIZOS
Author: FRANISCO JIMENEZ
Origin: CALIFORNIA
Theme: Migrant workers, Illegal Immigration
Grades: 5-8

Having come from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fi...

BREAKING THROUGH
SENDEROS FRONTERIZOS
Author: Francisco Jiménez
Origin: California
Theme: Migrant workers, Illegal Immigration
Grades: 5-8

Having come from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fi...

BUFFALO SONG
Author: Joseph Bruchac
Origin: American West
Theme: Endangered Species, Dedication, Compassion
Grades: K-4

Here is an inspiring story of the first efforts to save the buffalo, an animal sacred to Native Americans a...

CESAR: SI, SE PUEDE!/ YES, WE CAN! (ENGLISH)
CÉSAR: SI, SE PUEDE! (SPANISH)
Author: Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Origin: California
Theme: Challenges, Farm Labor
Grades: 2-5

Through poems, illustrations, and story clips, the author tells the story of César Chavez and his importanc...

CHILDREN FROM AUSTRALIA TO ZIMBABWE: A PHOTGRAPHIC JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD
Author: Maya Ajmera & Anna Rhesa Versola
Origin: Multicultural
Theme: Diversity
Grades: K-6

This book should be a reference in every elementary classromm in the United States.

CHILDREN OF THE USA
Author: Maya Ajmera, Yvonne Wakim Dennis etal.
Origin: United States
Theme: Culture, Identity, Diversity
Grades: K-6

Every state is respresented by a city and the diverse population of children living there. A wonderful boo...

COME JUNETEENTH
Author: Ann Rinaldi
Origin: USA
Theme: Slavery: Freedom
Grades: 5-7

Ann Rinaldi brings history to life in this vividly showcased novel. Two years after Lincoln issued his Eman...

DANCE, NANA, DANCE/BAILE, NANA, BAILE
Author: Retold by Joe Hayes
Origin: Cuba
Theme: Culture, Traditions
Grades: 4-5

Joe Hayes' many trips to Cuba have inspired these stories which represent the cultures of Spain, Africa, an...

DOG WHO LOVED TORTILLAS, THE/LA PERRITA QUE LE ENCANTABAN LAS TORTILLAS
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Origin: All Latin-American countries
Theme: Siblings, Animals, Family, Coping with difficulties
Grades: PreK-3

When Gabriela and her brother Little Diego get a puppy named Sofie, they fight over who she belongs to, but...

DOÑA FLOR: A TALE ABOUT A GREAT WOMAN WITH A GREAT BIG HEART
DOÑA FLOR: UN CUENTO DE UNA MUJER GIGANTE CON UN GRAN CORAZON
Author: Pat Mora
Origin: South West
Theme: Belonging, Dreams, Tall Tales
Grades: 2-4

Doña Flor is a giant lady with a big heart. When her neighbors are terrorized by a mountain lion, Flor set...

ENRIQUE'S JOURNEY
Author: Sonie Nazario
Origin: Honduras; United States
Theme: Challenges, Family
Grades: 9-12

Based on the Los Angeles Times newspaper series, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, gives us the story of a...

FIRST TORTILLA, THE
Author: Rudolfo Anaya
Origin: Mexico
Theme: Traditions, Challenges, Culture, Legends
Grades: 1-3

A blue hummingbird guides Jade to the volcano of the Mountain Spirit. Through Jade's gift the village peop...

FRIDA--VIVA LA VIDA! LONG LIVE LIFE!
Author: Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Origin: Mexico
Theme: Challenges, Dreams
Grades: 4-6

Biographical poems about the life of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. The author's poems and the artist's pain...

GOING HOME, COMING HOME (BILINGUAL)
Author: Truong Tran
Origin: Vietnam
Theme: Family, Traditions, Travel
Grades: PreK-3

This moving bilingual picture book, from an author and artist who are both Vietnamese American, tells a con...

I AM AMERICA AND AMERICA IS ME
Author: Charles Smith Jr.
Origin: Multicultural
Theme: Diversity, Similarities-Differences
Grades: PreK-3

Brilliant full-color photographs depict vivacious children of different ethnic and racial backgrounds as th...

LEGEND OF HONG KIL DONG, THE
Author: Anne Sibley O'Brien
Origin: Korea
Theme: Traditions, Legends, History
Grades: 2-5

Hong Kil Dong, the son of a powerful minister, is not entitled to his birthright because his mother is a co...

LET IT SHINE-THREE FAVORITE SPIRITUALS
Author: Illustrator-Ashley Bryan
Origin: African-American
Theme: Traditions
Grades: K-5

Three famous spirituals are illustrated in vivid cut paper pictures. This book would be a wonderful music ...

LOS GATOS BLACK ON HALLOWEEN
Author: Marisa Montes
Origin: Mexican-American
Theme: Celebrations, Day of the Dead
Grades: K-3

An easy to read, rhyming text that incorporates Spanish words, highlighting a monster ball at a haunted hou...

NAVAJO LONG WALK: THE TRAGIC STORY OF A PROUD PEOPLE'S FORCED MARCH FROM THEIR HOMELAND
Author: Joseph Bruchac
Origin: Native-American
Theme: U.S. History, Challenges, Conflict & Resolution
Grades: 3-5

In January of 1864, Kit Carson led the army into Canyon de Chelley, the heart of the Navajo nation. Homes,...

POET SLAVE OF CUBA--A BIOGRAPHY OF JUAN FRANCISCO MANZANO, THE
Author: Margarita Engle
Origin: Cuba
Theme: Relationships, Slavery, Poetry
Grades: 6-12

A haunting book about the life of Juan Francisco Manzano, born into slavery in 1797. He is taken from his ...

PRISCILLA AND THE HOLLYHOCKS
Author: Anne Broyles
Origin: African-American
Theme: U.S. History, Hope, Courage
Grades: 2-5

A young African-American girl was sold away from her mother as a slave and later sold to a Cherokee Indian....

REACHING OUT
Author: Francisco Jiménez
Origin: California
Theme: Challenges, Family
Grades: 7 to 12

From the perspective of the young adult he was then, Francisco Jiménez describes the challenges he faced in...

REACHING OUT
Author: Francisco Jiménez
Origin: California
Theme: Challenges, Family
Grades: 7 to 12

From the perspective of the young adult he was then, Francisco Jiménez describes the challenges he faced in...

STORYTELLER'S CANDLE, THE/LA VELITA DE LOS CUENTOS
Author: Lucia González
Origin: Puerto Rico; New York
Theme: Traditions, Celebrations, Belonging
Grades: 1-4

The year is 1929. Two cousins, newly arrived in New York from Puerto Rico, are introduced to the wonders o...