Reading Themes -> Multicultural

Also check out Dear America and My Name is America.

Ada, Alma Flor. My Name is Maria Isabel - J Fic Ada
Third grader Maria Isabel, born in Puerto Rico and now living in the United States wants badly to fit in at school; and the teacher’ writing assignment “My Greatest Wish” gives her that opportunity.

Buss, Fran Leeper. Journey of the Sparrows - YA Fic Buss
Maria and her brother and sister Salvadoran refugees, are smuggled into the United States in crates and try to eke out a living in Chicago with the help of a sympathetic family.

Carmi, Daniella. Samir and Yonatan - J Fic Carmi
Samir, a Palestinian boy, is sent for surgery to an Israeli hospital where he has two otherworldly experiences, making friends with an Israeli boy, Yonatan, and imagining a trip to Mars with him, where Samir finds peace about his brother’s death in the war.

George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves - Newbury - J Fic George
While running away from home and an unwanted marriage a thirteen year old Eskimo girl becomes lost on the North slope of Alaska and is befriended by a wolf pack.

Gilmore, Rachna. A Group of One - J Fic Gilmore
Learning from her grandmother that her family was active
in the Quit India movement of 1942, a rebellion against nearly two centuries of British occupation, gives fifteen-year-old Tara new pride in her heritage, but she still objects when her teacher implies she is not a "regular Canadian."

Hamilton, Virginia. Cousins - J Fic Hamilton
Concerned that her grandmother may die, Cammy is unprepared for the accidental death of another relative.

Hamilton, Virginia. Plain City - J Fic Hamilton
Twelve year old Buhlaire, a “mixed” child who feels out of place in her community, struggles to unearth her past and her family history as she gradually discovers more and more about her long-missing father.

Hamilton, Virginia. Zeely - J Fic Hamilton
Geeder’s summer at her uncle’s farm is made special because of her friendship with a very tall composed woman who raises hogs and who closely resembles the magazine photograph of a Watusi queen.

Hurwitz, Johanna. Class President - J Fic Hurwitz
Julio hides his own leadership ambitions to help another candidate win the nomination for class president.

Johnston, Tony. Any Small Goodness - J Fic Johnston
Arturo and his family and friends share all kinds of
experiences living in the barrio of East Los Angeles--reclaiming their names, playing basketball, championing the school librarian, and even starting their own gang.

Kidd, Diana. Onion Tears - J Fic Kidd
A little Vietnamese girl tries to come to terms with her grief over the loss of her family and her new life with the Australian family with whom she lives.

Kurtz, Jane. The Storyteller’s Beads - J Fic Kurtz
During the political strife and famine of the 1980’s two Ethiopian girls, one Christian and the other Jewish and blind, struggle to overcome many difficulties, including their prejudices about each other, as they make the dangerous journey out of Ethiopia.

Levine, Gail Carson. Dave at Night - J Fic Levine
When orphaned Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for boys where he is treated cruelly, he sneaks out at night and is welcomed into the music- and culture- filled world of the Harlem Renaissance.

Little, Kimberly Griffiths. Enchanted Runner - J Fic Little
Twelve-year-old Kendall, half Anglo and half Acoma, discovers his heritage and his destiny as a runner when he visits his great-grandfather’s pueblo and finds a culture he used to hear about from his deceased mother.

Lord, Bette. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson - J Fic Lord
In 1947 a Chinese girl comes to Brooklyn where she becomes Americanized at school, in her apartment building and by her love for baseball.

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux. Mayfield Crossing - J Fic Nelson
When the school in Mayfield Crossing is closed, the students are sent to larger schools, where the black children encounter racial prejudice for the first time. Only baseball seems a possibility for drawing people together.

O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins - Newbury - J Fic O’Dell
Records the courage and self-reliance of an Indian girl who lived alone for eighteen years on an isolated island off the California coast when her tribe emigrated and she was left behind.

Speare, Elizabeth. The Sign of the Beaver - J Fic Speare
Left alone to guard the family’s wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills.

Taylor, Mildred. The Friendship - J Fic Taylor
The story of Tom Bee, a black man and what happens when he refuses to call a white man mister.

Taylor, Mildred. The Gold Cadillac - J Fic Taylor
Two black girls living in the North, take their family’s new cadillac on a visit to the South and encounter racial prejudice for the first time.

Temple, Frances. Grab Hands and Run - J Fic Temple
After his father disappears, twelve year old Felipe, his mother, and his younger sister set out on a difficult and dangerous journey, trying to make their way from their home in El Salvador to Canada.

Tolliver, Ruby. Sarita Be Brave - J Fic Tolliver
When political unrest in Honduras forces twelve-year-old Sara to flee with her family and make the dangerous journey north to Texas, she faces the challenges of starting a new school and a new life.

Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey Home - J Fic Uchida
A young Japanese girl and her family have just been released from a west coast relocation center after World War II and find a hostile world greeting them.

Whelan, Gloria. Homeless Bird - J Fic Whelan
When thirteen-year –old Koly enters into an ill-fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India’s tradition or find the courage to oppose it.

Yep, Laurence. Angelfish - J Fic Yep
Robin, a young ballet dancer who is half Chinese and half white, works in a fish store for Mr. Tsow, a brusque Chinese who accuses her of being a half-person and who harbors a bitter secret.

Yep, Laurence. Dragon’s Gate - J Fic Yep
When he accidentally kills a Manchu, a fifteen year old Chinese boy is sent to America to join his father, an uncle, and other Chinese working to build a tunnel for the transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1867.

Yep, Laurence. Ribbons - J Fic Yep
A promising young ballet student cannot afford to continue lessons when her Chinese grandmother emigrates from Hong Kong, creating jealousy and conflict among the entire family.

Yep, Laurence. Thief of Hearts - J Fic Yep
When Stacy is paired with a Chinese girl at school who is accused of theft, she must come to terms with her own Chinese and American heritage.