(Books List)

Rubys Wish by Shirim Yin Bridges

(Amelia Bloomer Project Award)
In the Chinese culture, especially in the old times, woman desired to
get married. Ruby on the other hand wants to break away from the
traditional cultural expectations and go to college. This story is based
off of the authors grandmother and captures the story of going against
the culture of ones own and following your own dreams and the
struggle to do that.
Bridges, S. (2002). Rubys Wish. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
(Newbery Honor Award)
Named after her father, Jack; Jacqueline and her three sisters move to
the south to live with their grandparents. In Greenville, racism and
segregation exist, but Jacqueline believes in peace and comes to find
that even some of the white people in Greenville are respectful and
treat her family like human beings.
Woodson, J. (2014). Brown Girl Dreaming. New York. Nancy Paulsen
Books

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

(Newbery Honor Award)
Frannie is a 6th grader growing up in the 70s in an all African American
school, and one day a new student arrives to her classroom causing
chaos; he is the only white boy in the whole school. This book
highlights religion, race, hope and understanding and what it is like to
grow up right after segregation has been outlawed.
Woodson, J. (2007). Feathers. New York. Penguin Young Readers Group.

Mixed me by Taye Diggs

Mike has lots of energy, Mike has crazy hair, Mike is a mixed race child
who has to answer to many questions of being mixed race. Mikes

confidence in who he is as a mixed race individual is refreshing to see

and the message of the book is easy to connect with.
Diggs, T. (2015). Mixed me. London. Macmillian Publishers.
Ill give you the sun by Jandy Nelson
Jude and Noah are extremely close; they are twins. At thirteen, Noah
falls in love with a boy next door and Judy becomes a daredevil- fast
forward three years later, they arent speaking to each other. This book
captures the emotions of love, loss, family and betrayal.
Nelson, J. (2014). Ill give you the sun. London. Walker Books.
Inside out and back again by Thannha Lai
(Young Peoples Literature and Newbery Honors)
Ha and her family are forced to move to the United States due to the
Vietnam War. They board a NAVY ship and flee the country to spend a
few month in a refugee camp. They family ends up moving to Alabama
and Ha struggles to learn English, confront bullies and find strength to
be resilient through all the struggles she faces as she becomes
accustomed to a new country and culture.
Lai, T., Shappell, R., Harper., & HarperCollins (Firm). (2011). Inside out
& back again. New York: Harper.
My friend Suhana by Shaila Abduhllah and Aanyah Abdullah
A story of true friendship and a tale of a little girl who forms a special
bond with her friend, Suhana- a child with cerebral palsy. The little girl
finds out that she can reach her friend through art and learns to
communicate and connect with art.
Abdullah, S., & Abdullah, A. (2014). My friend Suhana. Loving Heal
Press (Print).
Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat
(Arab American National Museum Book Award)
This book is a memoir of the 6 days war and the aftermath in the
perspective of a little girl. Her world is shattered by war and she is
piecing memories of childhood, the feeling of fear and confusion as
bombs explode and being separated by her family. In the midst of all
the chaos, she unexpectedly discovers the Arabic alphabet which
begins her connection to words, language and her true home.

Barakat, I. (2007). Tasting the sky: A Palestinian childhood. New York:

Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Same Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostechi- Shaw
(Ezra Jack Keats Award for New Illustrator)
A story of pen pals, Elliot who lives in America and Kailash who lives in
India. They exchange letters and pictures and learn about each others
similarities and differences through the eyes of one another. Emphasis
on living in different worlds but can be best friends.
Kostecki-Shaw, J. S. (2011). Same, same, but different. New York: Henry
Holt.

The name jar by Yangsook Choi

Unhei just moved from Korea and is anxious to attend school. She is
anxious that American students will not like her. The class is introduced
to Unhei and no one can pronounce her name, so the class helps her to
choose a new name, but does she need a new name? This book
emphasizes being proud of your own culture and heritage and not
conforming to fit in or be liked.
Choi, Y. (2001). The name jar. New York: Knopf.
Star in the Forest by Laura Resau
Eleven- year old Zitlally and her family is in the United States illegally.
One day her father is picked up for speeding and deported back to
Mexico. She finds a dog and calls it Star and believes it is her fathers
spirit animal. This book incorporates spiritual elements, and looks at
the fears and struggles of undocumented families.
Resau, L., & Blythe, G. (2010). Star in the forest. New York: Delacorte
Press.
Boys without Names by Kashmira Sheth
Gopal lives in rural India with his family. After having little money left
and his family being left in debts, they flee to Mumbai in search for a
better life. Gopal is separated from his family and is kidnapped and
sold into child slavery. Readers are transported to a different place and
will get an insider view of Gopals life and look into contemporary child
slavery throughout the world.

Sheth, K. (2010). Boys without names. New York: Balzer + Bray.

Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers

This fun and jumpy, joyous book celebrated every thing that a child
can be. This is a short simple book that is friendly for all ages with a
message of self -esteem and confidence in who you are and who you
want to be.
Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (2009). Looking like me. New York: Egmont
USA.

Last stop on Market Street by Matt de La Pena

(Newbery Medal)
CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. CJ wonders Why do we
not own a car? Why dont I have an Ipod? Why do we always get off on
the dirty part of town? His grandma helps CJ see beauty in their world
and routine. This book emphasizes the different Socioeconomic statues
present in the classroom and in our lives but to see the beauty in the
world we live in.
De, L . P. M., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. New
York. Putnams Sons.
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Chloe and her friends reject the new girl Maya because Maya is not like
Chloe and her friends. Maya wears hand me downs and plays with old
toys. Eventually Maya plays alone and stops coming to school
altogether. This book captures how kindness can change the world and
someones life. A strong message that will resonate with readers and
encourage them to be kind regardless of differences.
Woodson, J., & Lewis, E. B. (2012). Each kindness. New York: Nancy
Paulsen Books.

(Reference Books)
Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives by James A.
Banks and Cherry A. McGee Banks

This textbook is designed to help current and future educators acquire

the concepts, and explanations needed to become more effective
educators and practitioners in culturally, racially, and linguistically
diverse classrooms and schools.
Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. G. (1993). Multicultural education: Issues
and perspectives. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Multicultural and Diversity Education by Peter Michael
Applebaum
This reference book examines the political and educational arguments
for and against multicultural education while providing a range of
curriculum approaches. It also describes the dilemmas of assessment,
and explores political and legal issues.
Appelbaum, P. M. (2002). Multicultural and diversity education: A
reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.

Language, Culture and Teaching Critical Perspectives by Sonia

Nieto
With the number of CLD students growing in our classroom it is
important to learn about language and culture being tied to learning
and teaching. And how it helps with our critical perspective on
promoting multicultural education for our students.
Nieto, S. (2002). Language, culture, and teaching: Critical perspectives
for a new century. Mahwah, N.J: L. Erlbaum.
Understanding Human Differences: Multicultural Education for
a Diverse America by Kent L. Koppelman
The framework of the book focuses on three areas: culture, the
individual, and institutions all of which are helpful to read about when
promoting multiculural education and practicing that in your
classroom. This book will help readers explors such areas as racism,
classism, sexism, heterosexism, and ableism.
Koppelman, K. L., & Goodhart, R. L. (2005). Understanding human
differences: Multicultural education for a diverse America. Boston:
Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural

Education by Sonia Nelto and Patty Bolde
This book focuses on the benefits of multicultural education for
students with any background. This book would be a great tool for
teachers to use and extra help if they are looking for multicultural
education in a sociopolitical context.
Nieto, S. (1992). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of
multicultural education. New York: Longman.

(Online Resources)
Supporting ELL/Culturally Linguistically Diverse Students
Not all teachers have ELL as their specific focus of study. Therefore,
some teachers might find teaching CLD students as a big and difficult
task. This website provides a guide on what teachers should know
about CLD students as well as strategies to build on their social and
academic language in the classroom.
Multiculturalism in the Classroom
Today's classroom is more diverse than ever. With such a diverse
classroom, it is important for teachers to have resources such as a list
of multicultural literacy, celebrating cultures in your classroom and
learning about how to engage family members and fun activities to do
with students!
Benefits of Multicultural Education: In Class activities
This site provides activities to do with students on raising awareness
inside the classroom as well as lesson plan adaptation activities and
links to other websites that provide more resources for building a
multicultural aware classroom.
What is Multiculturalism?
This website highlights what multicultural education is, the pros and
cons and what multicultural education would look like in a classroom. It
also provides resources for teachers to dive more into learning about
multicultural education and implementing it in classrooms.
Diversity Lesson Plans & Activities
This website is helpful for teachers as they try to incorporate a
multicultural education in their curriculum. This provides examples of

lesson plans previously used by other educators and examples of what

they might want to incorporate and implement in their teaching.

(Analysis Books)
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
This books catches the readers attention with the title itself. The story
addresses the black panthers- a political group that is even hard to
write about let alone write about in a children's book. But Rita Williams
Garcia does a magnificent job in portraying strong character
development, depicting the time that the story takes place; 1968 and
its more than a historical tale, it captures family, friendships and self
sacrifice.
Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad.
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
This is a non-example. The book's intention is good and means well but
there are a few things that are not okay. Park is a somewhat popular
Korean boy and Eleanor comes from a poor family who does not have
the means to provide a toothbrush or new clothes. There are
stereotypes present in this book, first off with Park. Park does tae-kwon
do and Park is one of the smartest studets in the class- which can be all
stereotypes for asians. Although his family is not affluent, he takes a
lot of things for granted. This is depicting Park as a token asian who
happens to be a model minority.
Rowell, R., & St. Martin's Griffin (Firm),. (2013). Eleanor & Park.
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
This is a non-example. When reading books about disability or even
when authors write about disability in their books, it is important to
address and discuss the disability that a character might have. This
book focuses on Melody's disability in a negative light- she is portrayed
as helpless and unable to do anything without the help of her parents.
At one point in the book, Melody's class apologizes for being
inconsiderate towards her but that portrays that there was no support
to begin with from the people around her.
Draper, S. M. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for
Young Readers.
Number The Stars by Lois Lowry

This book captures the story of a Jewish families escape during World
War II. The character becomes a part of helping and rescuing the
Danish Jews and the author portrays the main character as a strong
and resilient girl. The author portrays the authenticity of the
experiences living in that time period.
Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.