Multicultural Books for Children

This booklist was contributed by Appleton Public Library Children's Services Staff, 1/09 

Picture Books for Young Children

• Abuela by Arthur Dorros (1991)
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.
• Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff (0060287764 )
Describes in verse a family with a brown-skinned mother, white-skinned father, two children, and their various relatives.
• Fire Race: a Karuk Coyote Tale about how Fire Came to the People by Jonathan London (1993)
With the help of other animals, Wise Old Coyote manages to acquire fire from the wicked Yellow Jacket sisters.
• Fox Song by Joseph Bruchac (1993)
After the death of her Indian great-grandmother, Jamie remembers the many special things the old woman shared with her about the natural world.
• Honey I Love and Other Poems by Eloise Greenfield (1978)
Titles include "I Look Pretty," "Fun," "Riding on the Train," "Harriet Tubman," and "By Myself."
• I Love My Hair by Natasha Tarpley (1997)
A young African American girl describes the different, wonderful ways she can wear her hair.
• More, More, More, Said the Baby: 3 Love Stories by Vera B. Williams (1990)
Three babies are caught up in the air and given loving attention by a father, grandmother, and mother.
• My Way: a Margaret and Margarita Story by Lynn Reiser (2007)
Parallel text in Spanish and English portrays Margaret and Margarita, who mirror one another as they fix their hair, greet their friends, and engage in other routine activities, each in her own special way.
• The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews (2004)
A collection of nursery rhymes, both familiar and lesser known, illustrated with photographs in a city setting.
• Pio Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes (2003)
A collection of more than two dozen nursery rhymes in Spanish, from Spain and Latin America, with English translations.
• Round is a Mooncake: a Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong (2000)
As a little girl discovers things round, square, and rectangular in her urban neighborhood, she is reminded of her Chinese American culture.
• What a Wonderful World by George Weiss (1995)
Children put on a puppet show using the words to the song "What a Wonderful World," made famous by Louis Armstrong.