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...

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....

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...

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...

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....

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

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.

This heartfelt coming-of-age novel in verse tells the powerful story of a seventh grade Syrian-American boy and his struggles, big and small, as he navigates middle-school....

Internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas makes her middle grade debut with the launch of an inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore....

Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream....

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....

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

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

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....

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, 10-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. Her parents hide immigrants. The mean motel owner can't find out....

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....

Under the cover of night, 12-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back....

At first, beautiful, hardworking Tiana is not impressed when she meets spoiled Prince Naveen. But when the two of them are transformed into frogs, they quickly realize that they will have to learn to like each other, warts and all, if they hope to get out of the Louisiana bayou alive....

Discover the moving, true story of the Native American named Squanto, who is captured from his beloved Pawtuxet tribe, taken to Spain, and sold into slavery....

This essential book introduces young listeners to the Reign of Terror against the Osage people - one of history's most ruthless and shocking crimes....

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

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space....

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed....

Until now, you've only heard one side of the story: the "discovery" of America told by Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists. Here's the true story of America from the Indigenous perspective....

Jordan’s friend Drew takes center stage in another laugh-out-loud funny, powerful, and important story about being one of the few kids of color in a prestigious private school....

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.

Twelve-year-old Theo Tatterly’s ability to see ghosts is a useful skill in a house full of dead relatives, but it makes him a loner at school and everywhere else, where ghosts eternally pester him for help. For Theo, life is easier on the periphery. When his first failed exorcism portends an end to the Tatterly line, Theo must bring together his entire family—living and dead—to save the home they’ve lived in for generations . . . and maybe the world.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Anya is meeting her Dadima—or grandmother—for the first time! To make it to India, she must go on a long journey to make it Dadima’s village. Along the way, she gets to learn about India and her family’s culture.

Who were Pocahontas and the Powhatan Indians? They were the Native Americans living in Virginia who met the English settlers when they arrived in 1607. Learn about their culture and how they celebrated their harvest every year!

In this listen-along audio companion, Jayden's real voiceovers help kiddos learn Chinese phrases and simple Chinese cultural lessons. When Jayden and Evan go to the zoo, there are many more Daddy Says lessons and simple Chinese cultural tips that explain all the action of their adventures.

A young girl named Annushka is helping her Mommika Grandma make plum dumplings when she finds an incomplete set of Hungarian nesting dolls. The set of three dolls were a gift to Annushka’s mother from her great-grandmother. Where could the other two dolls be?

Fourteen-year-old Clara Luna's name means "clear moon" in Spanish. But lately, her life has felt anything but clear. A letter has arrived from her grandparents in Mexico inviting her to stay with them for the summer. But Clara has never met her father's parents. All she knows is that he snuck over the border from Mexico as a teenager. When she arrives, she's stunned by how different her grandparents' life is from her own in the United States. They live in simple shacks in the mountains of southern Mexico, where most people speak not only Spanish, but an indigenous language, Mixteco.

Rishi's grandma arrives from India today, and he longs to cook curry alongside his Dad using the delicious flavors from his family's spice box. But this spice box is more than just fragrant spices in shades of gold and ruby. This spice box holds memories that are passed down from one generation to the next, as each found their place in this wide world.

All the Greatness in You is a sweet and affirming story told from the perspective of a loving mother as she recounts all the things she admires about her young son and his burgeoning independence—from his boundless curiosity and his can-do attitude to his resilience when times get tough. When faced with a daunting challenge—like a solo in his church’s choir—she encourages him to find his inner strength and courage.