MrsWeasley Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I love A Mighty Girl website, and I'd love to see something like that with protagonists of color. In lieu of that, I'd love to recommendations for an eight year old (excellent reader but I'd like to shy away from mature content) with protagonists of color, especially books with protagonists of color who aren't slaves. I definitely want my kids to know about slavery, but sometimes it seems like the only books with protagonists of color are slaves. What are your recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'm guessing by 'color' you're referring to other ethnic minorities, not just African-American? The first set below has African-American protagonists, the others are of other ethnicities (Latino and Native American). I can also think of some with Asian-American protagonists, if you also want those. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry - and the other novels in the series Bud, not Buddy The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963 Sounder Esperanza Rising The Circuit Julie of the Wolves Island of the Blue Dolphins I'm sure there are lots more, but these are the ones I could think of off the top of my head - my kids read all of them. I strove to give them books from many points of view. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Bud not Buddy was a favorite of my boys. The Toothpaste Millionaire is also good. Also, several of the books by Laurence Yep such as Dragonwings and Dragon Gate. The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps, Chang's Paper Pony and Wagon Wheels would also be easier reads. For Native Americans, any book by Kenneth Thomasma. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 True Meaning of Smekday - Adam Rex (mixed race protagonist, awesome book, audio version has a great performer) I'm reading the sequel, Smek for President One, Crazy Summer - ? Garcia-Williams (only half-way through as a read a loud, so I can't completely endorse it yet) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Are you familiar with Diversity in YA? They have a tumblr, and they do often feature middle grade novels. By mature content I take it you mean "no explicit sex, no graphic violence"? Let me see... (Not gonna list sequels or companion novels separately.) One Crazy Summer The Conch Bearer Dragonwings The Grand Plan to Fix Everything Milicent Min, Girl Genius Cat Girl's Day Off The Birchbark House Esperanza Rising Fatty Legs Year of the Dog Breadcrumbs Galaxy Games Alvin Ho The Monster in the Mudball The Great Wall of Lucy Wu The True Meaning of Smekday Lowji Discovers America The Red Pyramid Bud, Not Buddy Celeste's Harlem Renaissance Dave at Night Boy at the End of the World Princeless (graphic novel) Dash A Diamond in the Desert A Wizard of Earthsea Akata Witch (has some violence) A Jar of Dreams Where the Mountain Meets the Moon A Single Shard The Puppeteer's Apprentice I Rode a Horse of Milkwhite Jade The Monkey King's Daughter Vanished by Sheela Chari Seaglass Summer The Watsons Go to Birmingham Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear Kimchi and Calamari Seesaw Girl The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (some violence, kids are kidnapped) Hidden Roots (haven't read this one yet!) There's probably some I've forgotten. I'll check my shelves and my kindle after we do math and spelling and all. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'm sure there are lots more, but these are the ones I could think of off the top of my head - my kids read all of them. I strove to give them books from many points of view. There are, but you gotta work at it (and the situation for disability representation is, if anything, even worse). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 There are, but you gotta work at it (and the situation for disability representation is, if anything, even worse). Yeah, I did work at it. I think it's very important. A great one from the point of view of someone with a disability is Out of My Mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Yeah, I did work at it. I think it's very important. Ditto. Of course, what we need more than a single comprehensive booklist is for all of us, when asked for book recommendations, to stop and first say "Let's suggest a book by or about a minority before I suggest Little House/LotR/Harry Potter for the 257th time". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 There are several more for disabilities out there like Rules (sibling with autism), Wonder (physical deformity/rare condition), The Thing About Georgie (midget), The London Eye Mystery (autism), Joey Pigza (ADHD/learning issues), Small Steps (cerebral palsy), Wonderstruck (deaf) ... I strongly second One Crazy Summer and PS. Be Eleven (there's a new one coming out soon too!). I feel like One Crazy Summer is one of the best books for seeing the world through a really different lens for most white kids. As such, I feel like it should be required reading. Brown Girl Dreaming is also amazing. And, of course, everything by Christopher Paul Curtis should be included. #weneeddiversebooks http://weneeddiversebooks.org/ 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Gregor the Overlander 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Gregor the Overlander I strongly believe Gregor and his family are intended to be read as African-American, but for the life of me I can't find a clear description of any of them in the books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I strongly believe Gregor and his family are intended to be read as African-American, but for the life of me I can't find a clear description of any of them in the books. Yes... I've seen that there are online discussions about whether he's black or white (or something else). His skin is always described as darker than the Underlanders, but I imagine my skin is too. However, something about the way Collins talked about her original vision for the book when I read an article about them made me feel like they were African American. I feel like she made a really deliberate decision to leave out their race (a similar to in Hunger Games with Rue, etc. - though she was a lot less clear in her descriptions in this case...). I have very... mixed feelings about that. I think white readers have been taught through context (which is to say, the mounds of children's books that are all about white kids) to assume that unless someone is said the be black, they must be white. Therefore, if she hoped to make any sort of statement, it was lost. Really, I almost feel like whatever you assume, there's a world of potential racist accusation in there - if you assume Gregor is black because he's a poor inner city kid, what does that say? If you assume he's white because his race is never spelled out, what does that say? But maybe she just didn't want to make a statement. She avoided race very clearly in Hunger Games... I dunno... You can tell I've thought about this waaaay too much. I think if someone wants to read the books thinking of them as black, that's cool. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 China Mieville's "Un Lun Dun" is a fabulous book with an East Asian Briton, Female protagonist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two was excellent. Sonlight has LOADS of books with of nonwhite protagonists. Check the time period for what you want (Asia, middle east, civil rights) and crosscheck the books and you'll find a ton. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 http://www.cbcdiversity.com/post/101172634819/weneeddiversebooks-diverse-middle-grade https://www.kirkusreviews.com/lists/best-middle-grade-books-celebrate-diversity/ http://blog.leeandlow.com/2013/12/13/book-list-13-funny-middle-grade-books-with-diverse-characters/ http://www.hbook.com/2014/07/choosing-books/guide-cultural-diversity-middle-grade-fiction/#_ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Yes... I've seen that there are online discussions about whether he's black or white (or something else). His skin is always described as darker than the Underlanders, but I imagine my skin is too. However, something about the way Collins talked about her original vision for the book when I read an article about them made me feel like they were African American. I feel like she made a really deliberate decision to leave out their race (a similar to in Hunger Games with Rue, etc. - though she was a lot less clear in her descriptions in this case...). I have very... mixed feelings about that. I think white readers have been taught through context (which is to say, the mounds of children's books that are all about white kids) to assume that unless someone is said the be black, they must be white. Therefore, if she hoped to make any sort of statement, it was lost. Really, I almost feel like whatever you assume, there's a world of potential racist accusation in there - if you assume Gregor is black because he's a poor inner city kid, what does that say? If you assume he's white because his race is never spelled out, what does that say? But maybe she just didn't want to make a statement. She avoided race very clearly in Hunger Games... I dunno... You can tell I've thought about this waaaay too much. I think if someone wants to read the books thinking of them as black, that's cool. :) I choose to assume he's black because he's completely undescribed physically and his middle sister is described in one single sentence as having her hair in braids, which is not the usual way to refer to pigtails on a white (or Hispanic, or Asian) kid. (I happily make that same assumption about Angelina in Harry Potter, for pretty much the same reason.) Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two was excellent. Yes, but maybe not for an eight year old? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 A few of these being mentioned probably aren't great for most 8 yos. Like Un Lun Dun as well... and I probably wouldn't think of The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm for that age either... But they're not inappropriate... Depends on the reader... Joseph Bruhac, who wrote Code Talkers, has a bunch of other books though. Children of the Longhouse is perfect for an 8 yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I probably wouldn't think of The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm for that age either... Really? I was ten the year it came out, read it then. (I read everything the year it came out back then. EVERYTHING.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Really? I was ten the year it came out, read it then. (I read everything the year it came out back then. EVERYTHING.) Well, yeah, at 10. But the OP said her kid was 7. It's just such a complex book with some dark themes in places - like the kidnapping and so forth. These things are always so weird, though, right? Like, every time I say I wouldn't suggest something for such and such an age, people get offended. I really don't mean it that way... I just always think that some books will be more meaningful if read a year or two later. You can never read a book for the first time again. I don't believe in stopping kids from reading many books - so if they ask and it's not just completely inappropriate (like when ds started looking at our graphic novel shelf at age 7 and asked about Watchmen, for example) then I say let them read. But I also don't introduce a lot of books until I think it's just the right age. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I strongly believe Gregor and his family are intended to be read as African-American, but for the life of me I can't find a clear description of any of them in the books. Well, he is of course darker than the Underlanders because they are especially pale, but it is also clear that he is considered unusual among the Overlanders they have seen, because his darker skin colour allows them to identify him as being related to his father. And there are some descriptions IIRC of having curly hair which also might be suggestive. The other thing is, while it would be hard to put this in any objective terms and i wouldn't depend on it, I suspected they were a black family even before there was any description of what they looked like, just because of the speech patterns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Okay, that's it, I'm just gonna write to the author and ask. Also! I went to The Strand today and picked up in the advance reader section (and in color, too!) a copy of Roller Girl. Mighty girl? Check! Protagonist of color? Identified as Puerto Rican... but that's definitely not the focus of the book. Appropriate for upper elementary? I think so. And it's already in print. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purduemeche Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basketcase Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Another option for disabled main characters: Follow My Leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Blue Balliett's books 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth The Egypt Game The Golden Goblet Mara, Daughter of the Nile Amos Fortune, Free Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes The Crossover (like Brown Girl Dreaming, it's a novel in verse and a recent Caldecott winner...or was it Newbery?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 The Egypt Game An old favorite! But the sequel is not worth mentioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Yolanda's Genius 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austen Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Eddie Red: Mystery on the Museum Mile (new mystery series with an African-American protagonist) Books by these authors: Jaqueline Woodson Christopher Paul Curtis (his latest, a historical, The Madmen of Piney Woods, is really good) Sharon Draper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Roll of Thunder *is* an amazing book but if injustice makes your child upset it may be worth saving for later. Superb book though and one I think every student should read. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 A few of these being mentioned probably aren't great for most 8 yos. Like Un Lun Dun as well... and I probably wouldn't think of The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm for that age either... But they're not inappropriate... Depends on the reader... DS8 quite enjoyed "Un Lun Dun"... However the OP refers to upper elementary in the first post with no age listed... that would imply 4th-6th grade to me... Many of the books listed might be advanced for 8yo yet completely proper for a 11yo, 5th grader... If you want lower elementary books, "Tooth Paste Millionaire" or Erdrich's "Birchbark House" might be better options... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Trying to think of some that haven't already been mentioned... Mockingbird (Aspergers) Om-Kas-Toe (Blackfeet) the Akimbo series (Akimbo and the Lions, etc, African) Gypsy Girl (half-Roma/half-Irish) Momo (race never specified, but hints at Italian) All-of-a-Kind Family (Jewish) Kaya, an American Girl (Nez Perce) Tikta'Liktak (Inuit) the Girls of Many Lands series - Neela (India), Minuk (Eskimo), Spring Pearl (Chinese), Leyla (Turkish), Saba (Ethiopian) Royal Diaries series - Anacaona (Haitian), Nzinga (Angolan), etc. Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (Jewish) The Moorchild (half-fairy/half-white, ostracized because of her "mixed race" status) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Nancy farmer has some.wonderful books set in Africa. My son loved The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm as a read out loud when he was 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I didn't see Lion Boy mentioned, there are three books in the series, they were excellent and no rated R stuff. The hero and his family are black, living in a future-ish London. He has asthma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsWeasley Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 DS8 quite enjoyed "Un Lun Dun"... However the OP refers to upper elementary in the first post with no age listed... that would imply 4th-6th grade to me... Many of the books listed might be advanced for 8yo yet completely proper for a 11yo, 5th grader... If you want lower elementary books, "Tooth Paste Millionaire" or Erdrich's "Birchbark House" might be better options... When I was a kid, elementary school was k-4 and middle school was 5-8. Where we live now, elementary is k-5 and jr. high is 6-8. I personally have never seen sixth grade in an elementary school, but I'm sure that's a regional thing. I was thinking the 3-5 grade range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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