Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I was looking over my literature list and noted that the vast majority of the books feature characters that are white, middle class, neurotypical, physically abled... there's a bit of diversity in there, but not much. Much of the diversity comes from being set in a different time period, not in modern fiction. My daughter is 5.5 years old. She is a very advanced reader, but prefers that books she reads to herself be simple chapter books or picture books. The picture books can be simple or quite advanced/complex, just so long as there's still a picture on every page! We do read alouds for at least 30 minutes per day, and she has no need for pictures in those (recent ones include the Mary Poppins series, Owls in the Family, and The Secret Garden). She does not do well with scary or violent themes in general. Â Any recommendations for the book list? Can either be for her to read to herself or for read aloud. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Man, I live for this sort of thing. DO YOU MIND A VERY LONG LIST? I WILL GIVE YOU A VERY LONG LIST. HOLD ON. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Tan to Tamarind was my favourite poetry book from last year. (We read a poem each morning.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Man, I live for this sort of thing. DO YOU MIND A VERY LONG LIST? I WILL GIVE YOU A VERY LONG LIST. HOLD ON. Â Â :lol: :lol: :lol: Â Don't be thinking, OP, that this will be a medium sized list or a kind of a long list. It will be a VERY LONG LIST for sure. :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Man, I live for this sort of thing. DO YOU MIND A VERY LONG LIST? I WILL GIVE YOU A VERY LONG LIST. HOLD ON. Â Â :lol: :lol: :lol: Â Don't be thinking, OP, that this will be a medium sized list or a kind of a long list. It will be a VERY LONG LIST for sure. :lol: Â Oh, I've seen some of the lists. I'm totally game for a super-long list. I'll just spread it over multiple years in my gigantic literature spreadsheet. (Yes, I have one of those.) It would be super-awesome if the gigantic list included some basic categorization or information to help me get started sorting through it, but I'll take what I get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Tan to Tamarind was my favourite poetry book from last year. (We read a poem each morning.)  Ooh, bonus because I can add it to our books for Poetry Teas! I was running low on new poetry books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Ooh, bonus because I can add it to our books for Poetry Teas! I was running low on new poetry books.  Rightio. I usually hesitate to recommend Aussie stuff because of postage, but I have found that I have to source most of my Aussie purchases from the UK or US anyway. :glare: So, if you have an animal lover, look for Jill Morris' books. The poetry isn't all that good most of the time but the illustrations are *wonderful*  I'm also going to lay on a bet that Tanaqui won't have Jim Poulter on her VERY LONG LIST. The 80's slang is cringeworthy, but it's a goodly bit of diversity. No pictures, so they'd either need to wait a few years or have you read them aloud.  The Herb Fairies books have a little it of diversity. Nothing is made of it, but not all the fairies are Caucasian. Edited January 4, 2016 by Rosie_0801 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) No, Tanaqui is well aware that her list of Australian books largely begins and ends with John Marsden and also that one about the magic pudding. (Which I've never read, just heard about.)  I'm splitting my list in two, btw. Here's the first part, the picture books. I will likely add more picture books shortly - I've gone through my list of all the picture books we've ever owned and culled the ones that fit the criteria, but we haven't bought picture books in several years, sooooo I'm going to check my list of books I browse at the library as well. If something is italicized, that means it has some scary or more advanced content, or that you might wish to pre-read it for other reasons. This list omits folktales or the like that have virtually no humans in them. Corduroy is only included because it's a classic.  Picture books  Raising Dragons Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm The Apple-Pip Princess Kid Blink Beats the World (historical non-fiction) More, More, More Said the Baby Yo! Yes? (very easy!) The Balancing Girl The Umbrella Ben's Trumpet Freedom Summer (the Civil Rights movement) On My Way to Buy Eggs Suki's Kimono Down the Road Wings by Christopher Myers (don't remember why I put this in the "preread pile" and no longer have it!) Lookin' for Bird in the Big City Metal Man The Escape of Oney Judge (slavery) The Moon Over Star My Cat Copies Me Passage to Freedom (the Holocaust, gently) The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County Jabberwocky Bright Path: Young Jim Thorpe (biography) Charlie Parker Played Be Bop The Old Man and His Door Too Many Tamales Two Mrs. Gibsons Bee-bim Bop! Where On Earth Is My Bagel? This Jazz Man The Name Jar Happy Birthday Jamela! (this is a series) Elizabeti's Doll (this is a series) No Dinner! Superhero ABC Mrs. Katz and Tush (many of Polacco's books have Jewish and/or black characters, and I cannot give a comprehensive list of them) Do Like Kyla (some very ridiculous people criticize the grammar in this book for being non-standard. I wouldn't give them the time of day.) Lon Pon Po (SCARY!) The Hello, Goodbye Window (has a sequel) Regina's Big Mistake Talkin' About Bessie Tar Beach The Snowy Day (and just about the entire Keats opus) Bigmama's (has a companion book) Odd Boy Out (Einstein is, of course, Jewish) I, Matthew Henson (pretty intense) The Other Mozart Baseball Saved Us (Japanese Internment) Smelly Socks (many Munsch books feature characters based on his multiracial family, I cannot give a complete list) Visiting Langston Freedom on the Menu (the Civil Rights movement) Dad, Jackie, and Me (autobiographical) Wilma Unlimited Umbrella Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson Lily Brown's Paintings The Quilt by Ann Jonas A Coyote Columbus Story Rough, Tough Charley (a stretch - it's not clear whether One Eyed Charley would identify as transgender today, or if they just found it easier to dress in men's clothes) The Cats in Krasinski Square (the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII) Zoom! (get this Munsch book used, it's out of print) Sukey and the Mermaid Not So Fast, Songololo Little Night Mirandy and Brother Wind Pink Paper Swans Flossie and the Fox (GET THIS) The Rain Stomper Jingle Dancer Come On, Rain The Talking Eggs (get this too) Sam and the Tigers (and this one!) The Story of Little Baba-ji Sugar Cane Just Us Women The Fairytale books by Rachel Isadora Pretty Salma A Chair for My Mother (I believe the author wrote others focusing on this family) Dancing in the Wings Kele's Secret Ten, Nine, Eight Max Found Two Sticks Cherries and Cherry Pits Mama Zooms Star of Fear, Star of Hope (the Holocaust. THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU CRY. DO NOT GET THIS YEAR, WAIT A YEAR OR THREE.) How My Parents Learned to Eat Corduroy Jojo's Flying Sidekick Jazz Baby Aunt Flossie's Hats The Wonderful Towers of Watts Jordi's Star (I think?) Jackie's Gift The All I'll Ever Want for Christmas Doll The Bat Boy and His Violin Across the Alley My Rows and Piles of Coins Slow Down, Songololo Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin Little Melba and Her Big Trombone Ellington Was Not a Street Meet Danitra Brown The Librarian of Basra Just Like Josh GibsonWaiting for the Biblioburro The Ugly Vegetables (and anything by this author) Firebird by Christopher Myers and Misty Copeland Tallchief Everybody Cooks Rice Honey, I Love Ruth and the Green Book (racism) Edited January 4, 2016 by Tanaqui 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 No, Tanaqui is well aware that her list of Australian books largely begins and ends with John Marsden and also that one about the magic pudding. (Which I've never read, just heard about.) Â You know, you could download that from Librivox now, and in two hours time, you will have levelled up in the experience (and hopefully appreciation of) NONSENSE! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I'm awaiting Tanaqui's second list before bothering to suggest anything. Â But I will say it sounds like you do a lot of older books and classics as your read alouds, Jackie. Another way to get more diversity is be willing to look at newer books. :) Â Okay, I can't help myself... for her to read to herself... Anna Hibiscus. We were at the bookstore today and ds was like, look Anna Hibiscus in the easy chapter books section. And we both smiled. Yeah... sweetest series ever. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) There's a set of Princess books published by Ali-Gator your dd might like. My dd has Princess Latifa and Princess Aziza. There are others. I know I've left a few on the shelf for being too Muslim for our non-Muslim household, but I forget which one. I think Princess Aziza is about being nice to one's mum, so dd was definitely allowed to have that one :D even though it is a little it corny. Edited January 4, 2016 by Rosie_0801 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 I'm awaiting Tanaqui's second list before bothering to suggest anything. Â But I will say it sounds like you do a lot of older books and classics as your read alouds, Jackie. Another way to get more diversity is be willing to look at newer books. :) Â Okay, I can't help myself... for her to read to herself... Anna Hibiscus. We were at the bookstore today and ds was like, look Anna Hibiscus in the easy chapter books section. And we both smiled. Yeah... sweetest series ever. Â I'm very willing to do newer books, but honestly don't know where to start. I can vaguely remember books from my childhood, but those are 30 years old and that's assuming they were new then. There's so much out there that I can't possibly sort through it all! Therefore, I need recommendations :) Â Thanks for the recommendation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 But I will say it sounds like you do a lot of older books and classics as your read alouds, Jackie. Another way to get more diversity is be willing to look at newer books. :) Â Yeah, unfortunately older books printed in the US and Europe tend to be heavy on white people (and often a lot of racism and sexism sneaks in as well.) Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Okay, onto my second list. Gosh, I hope I don't have to do a third list.  I'm splitting THIS list into easy reader chapter books, and the other sort, which you will probably have to read to her or else wait until she's older. Again, italics indicate a book with tougher themes.  As far as the easy readers go, they're not all equally easy. You still have to pre-read to guesstimate how much help she'll need. My focus here is on racial diversity - unfortunately, I have had some dismal experiences with books having to do with disability with kidlit, and am wary of recommending any on any disability I don't currently have. (Excepting Deaf Child Crossing, which is written by a Deaf woman and thus probably doesn't screw the whole subject up.) The disability I actually have is autism, and for that I say that you should aim to read books by autistics or their close relatives, and never ANY book about autism by Ann M. Martin, because she really fails every time she tries to write a book on that subject.  A note: You don't mention LGBT individuals on your list of "moar diversity! moar!" Is this because you don't want books in that area, or it didn't occur to you?  As always, it is important to pre-read. My ideas of what is appropriate for a five year old may not be the same as yours - especially as my youngest is now twice her age! Strange as it sounds, you start to forget these things.  Chapter Books - easy (many of these are series)  Zapato Power Nikki and Deja Keena Ford Ruby Lu Ruby and the Booker Boys Clubhouse Mysteries No. 1 Car Spotter The Stories Julian Tells Anna Hibiscus Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same! Calvin Coconut Lulu and the Duck Milo and Jazz Mysteries Miami Jackson EllRay Jakes Katie Woo Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear  Chapter Books - for older, or for read-alouds now. Most of these should be assumed to be series or have at least one sequel.  The Year of the Dog The Year of the Book President of the Whole Fifth Grade Journey to America (fleeing the Holocaust) Dash (the Japanese Internment) The Thing About Luck The Journey Home (and the whole series, does include the Internment) Bobby vs. Girls One Crazy Summer (I really recommend this... for when she's a little older. Deals with some heavy issues of maternal neglect and also the Civil Rights Movement) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Starry River of the Sky Pickle: The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School Ambassador and Nomad (two books, but the first is incomplete without the second. Deals with alien war and also human deportation) Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer (as an epistolary novel, this might be tough to read aloud. However, it's so darn cute that I'm recommending it to everybody right now.) El Deafo The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (I think this is semi-autobiographical. Has a few passages that might have been written differently today) The All-of-a-Kind Family (see the above note) The Birchbark House (there is a smallpox epidemic in the first book. People die, people that we care about.) The Great Greene Heist (short book, she might get the plot better in a few years) The War That Saved My Life (serious child abuse and the repercussions thereof, also, the Battle of Britain. Better wait a few years.) My Family For the War (ditto, but substitute "fleeing the Holocaust" for the child abuse) Cat Girl's Day Off The Great Wall of Lucy Wu Millicent Min, Girl Genius (she might grasp this better in a few years) Bud, Not Buddy and companion novel The Mighty Miss Malone (deals with the Depression, should be accessible to her though) Celeste's Harlem Renaissance (neglectful mom, wait two or three years) Dave at Night The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (omg I love this book) The Way Home Looks Now Lowji Discovers America Bayou Magic (haven't read this one yet!) Vanished Indian Shoes How Tia Lola Came to Stay The Girl at the Window Lowriders in Space Astronaut Academy The Hereville Books Alvin HoDragonwings (covers the San Francisco Earthquake. Part of a series, I think, though I'm pretty sure I only ever read that one) Al Capone Does My Shirts (one of the few books with an autistic character I will firmly recommend, the other being The Real Boy. You should, however, make clear that we know much more about autism than we did back then) The Grand Plan to Fix Everything (hilarious!) Prunella Bogthistle (I forget the entire title) Gaby, Lost and Found (touches on some serious subjects, best to preread and probably shelve for later) Becoming Naomi Leon (ditto) The Monster in the Mudball Edited January 4, 2016 by Tanaqui 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Â Â As far as the easy readers go, they're not all equally easy. You still have to pre-read to guesstimate how much help she'll need. My focus here is on racial diversity - unfortunately, I have had some dismal experiences with books having to do with disability with kidlit, and am wary of recommending any on any disability I don't currently have. (Excepting Deaf Child Crossing, which is written by a Deaf woman and thus probably doesn't screw the whole subject up.) The disability I actually have is autism, and for that I say that you should aim to read books by autistics or their close relatives, and never ANY book about autism by Ann M. Martin, because she really fails every time she tries to write a book on that subject. Â A note: You don't mention LGBT individuals on your list of "moar diversity! moar!" Is this because you don't want books in that area, or it didn't occur to you? Â She won't need help. She tests at high school reading level. She just prefers elementary. Don't hold back! Â Just didn't list LGBT. We're a very liberal family. Give it all to me! Â And thank you so much! I've been cross-referencing your list with my own lists (80%+ of your stuff wasn't on my list) and my library's catalog (I love my library - they have nearly everything). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Okay! I think I'm done (for now). The only book on that list with LGBT themes is Family Fletcher, but I can probably find a few more. I try to avoid the didactic ones, is all :) (Edit: Oh and btw I edited the second list. And also I think I forgot to include Precious and the Boo Hag on my first list, but darn is that scary!) Â I may do one more list of books which are appropriate as she gets older but that I'm darn certain she's not ready for now (scary or too sad) and you'll likely agree with me about. And then I'm gonna bookmark this page, and every time I need to suggest books I'll just go back to it like a pigeon. Â You know, you could download that from Librivox now, and in two hours time, you will have levelled up in the experience (and hopefully appreciation of) NONSENSE! :lol: Â Do you know how long my tbr list is? IT IS LONG. And this is with my reading a book a day. Â Edited January 4, 2016 by Tanaqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Do you know how long my tbr list is? IT IS LONG. And this is with my reading a book a day. Â Oh, don't read the Magic Pudding. It is too stupid for that. Agonising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Thank you so much! I'll be spending my free time over the next couple of days adding these to my spreadsheet. All of a sudden my reading list went from "eh, enough, but kinda homogeneous" to overflowing :hurray: Â Always happy to add more! She's a voracious reader and sometimes hard to keep up with! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 There's a set of Princess books published by Ali-Gator your dd might like. My dd has Princess Latifa and Princess Aziza. There are others. I know I've left a few on the shelf for being too Muslim for our non-Muslim household, but I forget which one. I think Princess Aziza is about being nice to one's mum, so dd was definitely allowed to have that one :D even though it is a little it corny.  Really wishing my library had these. They're likely in my daughter's sweet spot - super girly (seriously, how am I raising a kid this girly?) and she generally loves anything incorporating culture that isn't ours. The girl acted out tons of stuff from our world religion studies for months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Jabberwocky I've found so many Jabberwocky versions. Which one would you be recommending? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I just bought Where the moon meets the Mountain by Grace Lin. It's a chapter book with no pictures. Â There's also a picture book called Tikki Tikki Tembo. Â What great lists Tanaqui provided. I'll have to print this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) I wasn't done. Okay, I'm making YET ANOTHER POST in which I collect the scraps I just now remembered I forgot (and also the ones that are definitely more appropriate for her as she gets older)  Read Now-ish  The Monkey-King's Daughter George (I think? I haven't read this one myself yet) The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had Flying the Dragon A Single Shard The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond Jinx Out of Many Waters (maybe) The Inquisitor's Apprentice (maybe) Rickshaw Girl Akata Witch (preread) A Pickpocket's Tale Listen, Slowly (maybe) The Green Bicycle Esperanza Rising (maybe) The Toothpaste Millionaire The Menagerie When Life Gives You O.J. Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream Sea Glass Summer Nina and the Traveling Spice Shed Dancing Home Saving Kabul Corner (maybe) Rain is Not My Indian Name Earthsea The Wig in the Window See-Saw Girl  Wait a few years  Fatty Legs The Last Kids on Earth (this is cheating. As near as I can tell, it has one non-white character. But it's really funny, so whatevs. Just put it off a year or two) Letters From Rifka Breadcrumbs On Two Feet and Wings Seraphina Kiki Strike So You Want to Be a Wizard (you may decide to read this sooner) War Comes to Willy Freeman (and others by this author) Salvage (wait until double digits) Ruby Iyer (ditto) The Jumbies (scary!) The Lions of Little Rock The Breadwinner (you may decide to read this sooner) The Savage Fortress Blackbird Fly Brown Girl Dreaming I Lived on Butterfly Hill Red Scarf Girl Book of a Thousand Days The Unstoppable Octobia May A Long Walk to Water The Truth About Twinkie Pie Kinda Like Brothers The Zero Degree Zombie Zone Roller Girl (another cheater - we only know the main character is Puerto Rican due to one line. Also put it off, not because it's scary or inappropriate, but because she'll probably relate to the main themes better as she approaches the MC's age) Kizzy Ann Stamps Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It (probably appropriate now, but it might make more sense in a year or two) Ninth Ward Summer of the Mariposas (wait until she's double digits) Zane and the Hurricane The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 Vodnik Hammer of Witches Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Zahrah, the Windseeker (preread, you may put this earlier) Sugar The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm  Again, your ideas and mine of what's right for a five year old may differ, so you should do your own pre-reading. Edited January 4, 2016 by Tanaqui 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) I've found so many Jabberwocky versions. Which one would you be recommending? Â This one. Â There's also a picture book called Tikki Tikki Tembo. Â I loved that book as a kid. Who doesn't like reciting a string of nonsense syllables? As an adult, I've read some criticism of how the younger sibling is treated and what message kids might pick up from this, and also some concerns that it may misrepresent itself as being a Chinese story when it's not. Â Although it does appear to have some connection to a Japanese story...? Â She won't need help. She tests at high school reading level. She just prefers elementary. Don't hold back! Â It's good of you to let her read what she likes. Don't let anybody tell you to make her leisure reading all about being On Level, and definitely don't let people shame her for reading "easy books" as she gets older. Those people don't know what they're talking about, and yet they're EVERYWHERE. Edited January 4, 2016 by Tanaqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Really wishing my library had these. They're likely in my daughter's sweet spot - super girly (seriously, how am I raising a kid this girly?) and she generally loves anything incorporating culture that isn't ours. The girl acted out tons of stuff from our world religion studies for months. Â I'm not surprised your library doesn't since Ali-gator is an Australian company. They are cheap though. I think dd has one or two of the colouring books too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Oh, and as for LGBT books... I've googled it! Â So these booklists seem fairly comprehensive. I hope. The pickings are a little slim - we've got a handful of rather didactic picture books, not much in the way of middle grade fiction, and then YA teeters between issue books and romance. (I didn't google YA books this time around.) Hopefully we'll do better every year. Â Edit: Added some more books to previous comment. I am now really really really done. REALLY. Edited January 4, 2016 by Tanaqui 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 For the LGBT,etc. books... ds really liked Better Nate Than Ever, which is on all the lists. Solidly MG, but also solidly about LGBT themes. And now there's George, which is about a trans character and also MG... I really want to read it and just haven't gotten to it. However, nearly all the books on those lists that I know (except the picture book list) are ones I wouldn't do for a younger kid... not inappropriate, just mature themes. Mature being fifth graders thinking about friendships and right and wrong kind of "mature" - just better appreciated in a couple of years by most kids. Â Tanaqui's lists are great. I would also add that when you're reading nonfiction, you can also try to remember biographies of diverse figures - there are many great picture book biographies out there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 However, nearly all the books on those lists that I know (except the picture book list) are ones I wouldn't do for a younger kid... not inappropriate, just mature themes. Mature being fifth graders thinking about friendships and right and wrong kind of "mature" - just better appreciated in a couple of years by most kids. Â Yeah, the only one I know of that I'd say a 5 year old has much chance of getting is Misadventures of the Family Fletcher - and even then, there's a lot of stuff in there about just growing up. Â 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 We've only done a few from the chapter books listed. She's read Katie Woo and Alvin Ho on her own, and we did The Stories Julian Tells and All-of-a-Kind Family as read alouds (she especially loved that last one!). A few I know are on my list for older, but most I haven't heard of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) we did The Stories Julian Tells and All-of-a-Kind Family as read alouds (she especially loved that last one!)  Don't forget, it's a series! If she really loved All-of-a-Kind Family then she would probably like other "family" books - try Year of the Dog (the whole series), Tia Lola (also a series), or Family Fletcher to start with.  ...you know, come to think of it, this list is short on books featuring Jewish protagonists. Would you like a sub-list? I could add a few :p  A few I know are on my list for older, but most I haven't heard of.  I'll tell you my secret. Well, my two secrets. The first is that I really have a lot of books, and really spend a lot of time reading kidlit and YA. I enjoy those sorts of books! The second is that, in my quest to continually add more diverse fiction to my shelves, I have several sites on my feedreader - We Need Diverse Books, Disability in Kidlit, Diversity in YA, Lee and Low's blog, American Indians in Children's Literature, Rich in Color. In this way, I'm informed about new books almost before they hit bookstores. This is actually how I heard about both Family Fletcher and Unusual Chickens - they were on the WNDB summer reading list! And I adore those two books, omg so much.  Edited January 5, 2016 by Tanaqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 There are lots of good possibilities published by Groundwood: http://groundwoodbooks.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 She's too young for it right now, I think (DD would have been at 5, anyway), but The Death Defying Pepper Roux has a character (not the main one, but one of the core characters) who is a cross dresser and gay. (And not a caricature of a gay person, either.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Mid grades chapter Books with characters with disabilities in them: Wonder Out of My Mind Rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waa510 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Another place to look for a diversity of voices and experiences in books is the UUA bookstore. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Mid grades chapter Books with characters with disabilities in them: Wonder Out of My Mind Rules  I'm not a huge fan of Rules. As this review points out, the disabled characters in that book primarily serve as plot devices to promote character development in the protagonist, and not as fully realized human beings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I'm not a huge fan of Rules. As this review points out, the disabled characters in that book primarily serve as plot devices to promote character development in the protagonist, and not as fully realized human beings. My kids read that one, but I didn't. Good to know. Out of MY Mind was incredible, I thought. I have a non verbal child who cannot use a communication device & has no method of communication with us at all. I cried through most of the book. But, it's not a sad book, it was just my viewpoint of it & our family's experience that upset me. Most of the middle school kids in our local group read it around the same time & loved it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I may have skimmed to quickly but didn't notice books written by Allen Say like Grandfather's Journey or Tea with Milk. Say illustrated How My Parents Learned to Eat which I did see on the list. Â There are some good books set in Hawaii that reflect Hawaii in characters and setting. If you're interested I'll pull some titles together. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happybeachbum Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Not a book, but I did find this interesting https://www.academia.edu/2494445/_Black_in_Camelot_Race_and_Ethnicity_in_Arthurian_Legend_ http://www.historyextra.com/featuring/missing-tudors-black-people-16th-century-england  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lb20inblue Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Thanks for the list.  It can be hard to find diverse picture books for my kids to enjoy.  I truly believe that representation matters, especially in literature.   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Give Your Child the World, by Jamie Martin (she's a homeschooler and has a site as well) is a curated book list. I just reviewed it and love it. It will be a spine for much of our reading this year.   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Out of My Mind A Long Walk to Water El Deafo One Crazy Summer and sequels Inside Out and Back Again Roll of Thunder Hear my CryBud Not BuddyThe Watsons Go to BirminghamWonder Fish in a TreeMarch and sequels The Birchbark House and sequels Shooting KabulWhy I Jump Chains and sequels My Name is Maria Isabel Esperanza Rising I am Malala  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 (edited) You know, you could download that from Librivox now, and in two hours time, you will have levelled up in the experience (and hopefully appreciation of) NONSENSE! :lol:  I tired the librivox audio recording on, "The Magic Pudding". My boys and Dh listened to about 5 minutes and said it was the most insane and crazy book they ever heard - and five minutes was more than enough for a lifetime.  But if you liked that book you will like this series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._T._Anderson%27s_Thrilling_Tales Edited September 13, 2016 by Julie Smith 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suenos Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Wow. Â Just wow. Â My books to read spreadsheet just got a lot longer. Â And my trigger finger (evil "one-click" Amazon) is itchy. Â Off to the library website now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 I'm happy to see this bumped. We read quite a lot of the picture books over the last year+, and it's time to go back and make sure we hit the ones I decided to initially delay. Plus, her desire to read longer books has taken a big jump, so I need to look back through all those lists with a fresh eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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