Multicultural Fiction for Children

Fiction set in the United States and around the world with characters of different ethnicities.

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American as Paneer Pie
Artist/Author/Cast:
Kelkar, Supriya
Call Number:
JF Kelkar
Description:

An Indian American girl navigates prejudice in her small town and learns the power of her own voice.

Amina's Voice
Artist/Author/Cast:
Khan, Hena
Call Number:
JF Khan
Description:

A Pakistani American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her culture after tragedy strikes her community.

Any Day with You
Artist/Author/Cast:
Respicio, Mae
Call Number:
JF Respicio
Description:

Filipina American Kaia is devastated when her beloved great-grandfather announces that he'll be moving from Santa Monica to the Philippines.

The Birchbark House
Artist/Author/Cast:
Erdrich, Louise
Call Number:
JF Erdrich
Description:

The story of an Ojibwa girl who lives with her family on an island on Lake Superior in 1847.

The Breadwinner
Artist/Author/Cast:
Ellis, Deborah
Call Number:
JF Ellis
Description:

A courageous young Afghan girl pretends to be a boy in order to support her family.

Dragonwings
Artist/Author/Cast:
Yep, Laurence
Call Number:
JF Yep
Description:

A Chinese American boy and his father living in San Francisco want to build a flying machine like the Wright brothers.

The First Rule of Punk
Artist/Author/Cast:
Pérez, Celia C.
Call Number:
JF Pérez
Description:

After Malú and her divorced mother move from Florida to Chicago, she misses her music-loving father.

Front Desk
Artist/Author/Cast:
Yang, Kelly
Call Number:
JF Yang
Description:

After emigrating from China, Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel, despite the nasty owner, Mr. Yao.

The Heart of a Chief
Artist/Author/Cast:
Bruchac, Joseph
Call Number:
JF Bruchac
Description:

Chris lives on the Penacook Indian Reservation and worries that this will set him apart from the other kids.

Home of the Brave
Artist/Author/Cast:
Applegate, Katherine
Call Number:
JF Applegate
Description:

Sudanese war refugee Kek starts fifth grade in Minnesota.

I Can Make This Promise
Artist/Author/Cast:
Day, Christine
Call Number:
JF Day
Description:

A Suquamish/Duwamish girl uncovers her tragic family history in this contemporary tale of adoption.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Artist/Author/Cast:
Lord, Bette; Simont, Marc (Illustrator)
Call Number:
JF Lord
Description:

Ten-year-old Shirley Temple Wong has come to Brooklyn from China and finds America very strange, until she discovers baseball.

Indian No More
Artist/Author/Cast:
McManis, Charlene Willing
Call Number:
JF McManis
Description:

Regina is Umpqua, living on a reservation, until the U.S. government enacts a law saying her tribe no longer exists.

A Jar of Dreams
Artist/Author/Cast:
Uchida, Yoshiko
Call Number:
JF Uchida
Description:

Eleven-year-old Rinko grows up in a closely-knit Japanese American family in California during the Depression, a time of great prejudice.

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish
Artist/Author/Cast:
Cartaya, Pablo
Call Number:
JF Cartaya
Description:

In searching for his absentee father, a biracial boy gets closer to his Puerto Rican roots.

My Name Is María Isabel
Artist/Author/Cast:
Ada, Alma Flor; Cerro, Ana M. (Translator); Thompson, K. Dyble (Illustrator)
Call Number:
JF Ada
Description:

María doesn't want to be called Mary in this poignant story about heritage and fitting into a new environment.

Other Words for Home
Artist/Author/Cast:
Warga, Jasmine
Call Number:
JF Warga
Description:

When violence erupts near their Syrian city, Jude and her mother flee to Cincinnati to stay with family.

Our Only May Amelia
Artist/Author/Cast:
Holm, Jennifer L.
Call Number:
JF Holm
Description:

May Amelia wishes she weren't the only girl in her big Finnish American family of seven brothers.

The Red Pencil
Artist/Author/Cast:
Pinkney, Andrea Davis; Evans, Shane (Illustrator)
Call Number:
JF Pinkney
Description:

Life in Amira's peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when Janjaweed attackers arrive, forcing her to journey to a refugee camp.

Rickshaw Girl
Artist/Author/Cast:
Perkins, Mitali; Hogan, Jamie (Illustrator)
Call Number:
JF Perkins
Description:
A young girl in Bangladesh knows she must challenge tradition in order to help her impoverished family.

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