Multicultural Stories

Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a young girl could want: fancy dresses; a beautiful home filled with servants in the bountiful region of Aguascalientes...

Hit the road with Bud in this Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy on a journey to find his father....

Island of the Blue Dolphins is the remarkable story of a strange and beautiful Indian girl who lives a serene and courageous life as the solitary survivor on a rocky island off the California coast...

She was named Omakakiins, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop. Omakakiins and her family live on an island in Lake Superior. Though there are growing numbers of white people encroaching on their land, life continues much as it always has....

Elaine Harlowe has manipulated her way into becoming prime minister, using her mind control ability to force the Bureau to take up her vicious grudge against magiciankind.

Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice....

In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales....

In this lyrical book, world-renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author, and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Nikki Giovanni and fine artist Erin Robinson craft an ode to the magic of a library as a place not only for knowledge but also for imagination, exploration, and escape....

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree about an unforgettable family on a road-trip during one of the most important times in the civil rights movement....

Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good....

When Amos Fortune was only 15 years old, he was captured by slave traders and brought to Massachusetts, where he was sold at auction....

It all started with a birthday present that Omri didn't want: a small plastic Indian that was no use to him at all. But an old wooden cupboard and a special key brought his unusual toy to life...

Discover the often-overlooked stories of Asian American trailblazers who shaped our country and our world!

The bestselling Vanderbeeker family finds love and hope in hard times as they face the challenge of a serious illness with the support of their Harlem community....

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery, Alabama city bus and refused to give up her seat to a white man, an act that ignited a movement that changed modern history....

An ode to the girl with scrapes on her knees and flowers in her hair, and every girl in between, this exquisite treasury will appeal to fans of Dear Girl and I Am Enough and have kids listening through it to find a poem that's just for them....

Two boys - one white, one Indian American - gain strength from each other from afar as they struggle to navigate middle school, family, and friendships....

A rival accuses Michael of being older than the league limit....

A Mexican "Grapes of Wrath," based on a family story, from the award-winning author Pam Muñoz Ryan....

When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she's not his grandmother - but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they'll be safe....

When ten-year-old Lina Gao steps off the plane in Los Angeles, it’s her first time in America and the first time seeing her parents and her little sister in five years! She’s been waiting for this moment every day while she lived with her grandmother in Beijing....

When superstar athlete Jim Thorpe and football legend Pop Warner met in 1904 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history....

Today, LeBron James is an international superstar who has won four NBA Championships, earned two Olympic gold medals, written books, and starred in blockbuster movies....

Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students....

A lost dog helps a lonely girl find a way home to her family . . . only for them to find family in each other along the way.

She was named Omakakiins, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop. Omakakiins and her family live on an island in Lake Superior. Though there are growing numbers of white people encroaching on their land, life continues much as it always has. But the satisfying rhythms of their life are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him an invisible enemy that will change things forever—but that will eventually lead Omakakiins to discover her calling.

“The People Could Fly,” the title story in Virginia Hamilton’s prize-winning American Black folktale collection, is a fantasy tale of the slaves who possessed the ancient magic words that enabled them to literally fly away to freedom. And it is a moving tale of those who did not have the opportunity to “fly” away, who remained slaves with only their imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.

Twelve-year-old Ann Maria Weems works from sunup to sundown, wraps rags around her feet in the winter, and must do whatever her master or mistress orders—but she has something that many plantation slaves don't have. She has her wonderful family around her. To Ann, her teasing brothers, her older sister, and her protective and loving parents are everything. And then one day, they are gone. Separated from her family by her master and shipped off as a housemaid, Ann learns something about independence and about love before the opportunity for escape arrives.

There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don’t let them out of the bag and don’t feed them anything sweet! When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she’s not his grandmother—but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they’ll be safe. Hear about Jax’s first three adventures in this collection!

Ein witziges Abenteuer rund um eine bunte Truppe von Underdogs, die die Welt retten – von Bestseller-Autor und Schauspieler Chris Colfer, für alle ab 8 Jahren! So lange er denken kann, sammelt der elfjährige Roswell Johnson Belege für außerirdisches Leben. Und so lange er denken kann, nimmt keiner ihn ernst. Doch eines Nachts erhält er den ultimativen Beweis: Er wird versehentlich von Außerirdischen entführt! Sein Traum wird wahr – und im selben Moment sein größter Albtraum. Der Erde droht eine feindliche Invasion, schon in drei Tagen! Das Ende der Menschheit scheint besiegelt.

Despite a lifetime of breaking the rules, twelve-year-old Issa Igwe never expected to land in witch prison. At least that’s what she calls The Siren School outside of its hallowed halls. It’s actually the country’s most prestigious boarding school for magically gifted girls, and Issa’s parents insist that she attend . . . even though the school’s creepy history is the stuff of legend.

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in New York in 1797 or 1798. She never knew for sure which year she was born or even whether it was summer or winter. By the time she was a young woman, Sojourner knew she could no longer live as a slave, and with the help of Quakers, she escaped to freedom. She then began her long struggle to reunite her family and to free other slaves.

It’s Lolis’s first day of school, and while she should have been playing games and making new friends, Lolis instead feels overwhelmed. To pass the first grade, Lolis needs to learn English. But, as a second language learner, Lolis feels alone and hopeless. It’s up to Lolis to learn a second language, pass the first grade, and conquer the impossible all on her own. But maybe the impossible isn’t as untouchable as she thinks.

Watching the evening news with her parents, Lolis is shocked to see the destruction caused by a hurricane in Puerto Rico. Seeing houses, trees, and cars destroyed and seeing children crying as their parents try to comfort them, Lolis feels helpless. But all it takes is one bag of grain and a determined spirit to inspire Lolis. Now she must take action and ask herself, What can I do to help?

This powerful and hopeful book—inspired by the historic election of Vice President Kamala Harris—celebrates brown and Black girls. Based on a viral poem by Blaxican poet and activist Leslé Honoré, this moving journey through the past, present, and future of brown and Black girls is a celebration of community, creativity, and joy—and offers a reminder of the history that inspires hope, and the hope that inspires activism.

Stone Walker wishes he was like everyone else—but due to his disability, he can’t go hunting with the rest of the tribe. Despite his differences, Stone Walker wants to prove his worth to the tribe by hunting with small traps. One day, his younger brother joins him and a wolverine attacks them. Will Stone Walker be able to save them?

Bineshii is an Ojibwe girl from Wisconsin. She loves to celebrate her culture, but she often has a tough time finding friends who understand her customs. When her best friend, Amanda, finds out Bineshii learned how to trap rabbits, she’s very upset and doesn’t want to be friends anymore. With some help from the rabbit spirit, will Bineshii be able to win her friend back?

Montgomery, Alabama 1955. Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin is tired. Tired of white people thinking they’re better than her. Tired of going to separate schools and separate bathrooms. Most of all, she’s tired of having to give up her seat on the bus whenever a white person tells her to. She wants freedom NOW! But what can one teenager do? On a bus ride home from school one day, young Claudette takes a stand for justice and refuses to get up from her seat—nine months before Rosa Parks will become famous for doing the same.

Two thousand years ago, a ship sailed east, alone on an endless sea. The people onboard were fleeing the same war that the Maccabees fought in the ancient land of Israel. They took with them their faith and their traditions, knowing they would sail for more than a year. When a great storm crushed their boat on the shores of India, only a few survived. Some say the prophet Elijah plucked them from the sea. But they were welcomed by the people of the new land. They survived and adapted, with new spices for their food and new clothing and culture to borrow, but never strayed from their faith.

Sissy’s younger brother, Chooch, isn’t a baby anymore. They just celebrated his second birthday after all. But no matter what Chooch does—even if he’s messing something up, which is basically all the time!—their parents just say he’s “helping." Sissy feels that Chooch can get away with anything! When Elisi paints a mural, Chooch helps. When Edutsi makes grape dumplings, Chooch helps. When oginalii gigs for crawdads, Chooch helps. When Sissy tries to make a clay pot, Chooch helps.