Gigi can’t wait for her mother’s father, her grandfather, to arrive from Japan to live with them. But Ojiisan isn’t at all what the biracial girl expected. How grandfather and granddaughter learn about the other is affirming and heartwarming in this easier to read tale.
Gigi and Ojiji
Arnold was always a seafaring elephant. Luckily, he found a small island when his boat sank. With his built-in trumpet, he called for help. Help arrives and together, animals combine efforts to make a distinctive island and create unusual friendships in this unique nautical tall tale.
Elephant Island
Ralph, a dog, led a quiet life until a nearby egg hatched. The duckling saw Ralph and knew he was his dad. Life was no longer quiet but filled with cuddles and chaos just as the duck’s life was with its puppy horde. Comical illustrations depict the pleasures of a huge, blended family.
Duck, Duck, Dad?
The sun is up and so is the baby along with the dog, the teddy and finally, mama and papa. When the moon is up, everyone is sleepy except for the baby; that is until the baby falls asleep. Families with young children will appreciate the humor and the simple, playful illustrations.
I’m Up!
Count along with the families as they make dumplings from their own culture and share them as a community. The rhyming tale can be shared on several levels with children of various ages, from the youngest to cooks who want to try their hand at the recipes included.
Dumpling Day
Punky Aloha is a Polynesian girl who carries her culture in her heart and in everything she does. Punky loves to do a lot of things — except meeting new friends. She doesn’t feel brave enough. So when her grandmother asks her to go out and grab butter for her famous banana bread, Punky hesitates. But with the help of her grandmother’s magical sunglasses, and with a lot of aloha in her heart, Punky sets off on a big adventure for the very first time.
Punky Aloha
When five-year-old Luli joins her new English as a Second Language class, the playroom is quiet. Luli can’t speak English, neither can anyone else. That’s when she has a brilliant idea to host a tea party and bring them all together. Luli removes her teapot, thermos, and teacups from her bag and calls out “Chá!” in her native Chinese. One by one, her classmates pipe up in recognition: in Russian, Hindi, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili. Tea is a tasty language they all know well, and it gives them a chance to share and enjoy each other’s company.
Luli and the Language of Tea
When a young boy and his mother travel overseas to her childhood home in Korea, the town is not as he imagined. The boy feels like an outsider — until they visit the river where his mother used to play, and he sees that the spirit and happiness of those days remain. Told through a child’s-eye view, the story honors the immigrant experience and the timeless bond between parent and child, past and present.
Mommy’s Hometown
Sunny is the grandmaster’s daughter. She sweeps the floors, waters the plants, and practices with her nunchucks — sometimes she even makes mistakes! And she teaches other young students how to kihap (a spirited yell). When their kihaps grow loud and bold enough to shake the mountains, Sunny leads her friends in defending the dojang against two mythical tigers and a sapphire-colored dragon … or perhaps that’s just in their imaginations.
The Grandmaster’s Daughter
A young immigrant from South Korea finds community and friendship in an apartment house filled with other newly arrived kids. When Jae looks out the window of his new home, he wishes he could still see his old village, his old house, and his old friends. Jae just arrived from South Korea and doesn’t even speak the new language. Yet, he soon meets a girl with a colorful bird perched on her shoulder. Rosa knows just how Jae feels and the two become fast friends. Not only does Rosa show Jae his new neighborhood but she shows him how his imagination can bring back memories of his old home.
Rosa’s Song
A tender ode to fathers and to the many families working behind shop counters. Juna enjoys helping her father (her Appa) in their dry-cleaning shop on Saturdays. It’s their special time together. One day Juna sees a customer yelling at Appa about a lost jacket. Juna has never seen her father look so worried and becomes determined to help. She sets off on a magical journey in search of the jacket, and along the way meets remarkable animals that show her the different ways that fathers care for their young.
Juna and Appa
Join Michael, Emily, and their parents as they explore Yosemite (and other National Parks in the series). The kids quickly learn that there are animals all around — even if they can’t see them — who leave behind scat and tracks. Before long, the kids are able to identify animal tracks and determine what a creature has eaten recently.
Who Pooped in the Park? Yosemite National Park
Manu and her best friend, Josefina, live at a magical school for girls, where Manu is always getting into trouble. Drawing from her own Dominican experience, the author weaves together religion, and lore and creates a world where magical powers bestowed by saints and evil eye necklaces work hand in hand. This fast-paced, funny adventure is about friendship, defying expectations, and finding your place.
Manu: A Graphic Novel
Part historical fiction, part fable, and 100 percent adventure. While she works in a Sierra Nevada logging camp in 1885, 13-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroine — Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch. On the surface, this story is the birth of a folktale, but the author explores much deeper topics: grief, family, loyalty, racism, and self-discovery.
The Legend of Auntie Po
The relationship between mischievous three-year-old Nori and her grandmother shines through these pages in rich detail, full of humor, feeling, and a sense of family history and tradition. Beautifully drawn locations in Japan and Hawaii immerse the reader in their world, populated by grinning bats, leaping rabbits, a taste of Mochi — and the wonder and curiosity of childhood. The story weaves in East Asian folklore and Japanese culture, through the legends her grandmother shares.
Nori
Residents of the city of Petroville are suffering through the hottest and driest summer on record. Desperate for a way to cool off, Luz and her friends head out to Spring Pond to go swimming. But when they arrive, they’re shocked to discover the pond has virtually disappeared! The first book in a series about the environment, the story encourage kids to find out how they can make a difference in their communities.
Luz Makes a Splash
All cultures have tales of the trickster — a crafty creature or being who uses cunning to get food, steal precious possessions, or simply cause mischief. In Native American traditions, the trickster takes many forms, from coyote or rabbit to raccoon or raven. In this anthology, 24 Native storytellers were paired with 24 comic artists, telling cultural tales from across America bring tricksters to life.
Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection
Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? Who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? For Pri, her mother’s homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she find a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film. A tale about the hardship and self-discovery that is born from juggling two cultures and two worlds.
Pashmina
There was a country at war, and that is where this story begins.” Thus starts a tale that is both universal and specific, in which Azzi, a sweet and unique little girl serves as an everychild representing all refugees. The narrative follows her family’s escape, arduous journey, and difficulties settling into their new land and ends with hope for a peaceful and loving new life.
Azzi in Between
This popular French comic follows the adventures of a mischievous West African girl. Poor Akissi! The neighborhood cats are pursuing her to steal her fish, her little monkey Boubou almost ends up in a frying pan, and she’s nothing but a pest to her older brother Fofana, but Akissi is a true adventurer, full of silliness and fun, and nothing will scare her for long!
Akissi
Black seventh grader Jordan Banks learns to navigate the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School while keeping his neighborhood friends and working to staying true to himself.
New Kid
A joyful and thoughtful celebration of family, identity and inclusivity. Things aren’t going great for Archie Albright. His dad’s acting weird, his mum too, and all he wants is for everything to go back to normal, to three months before when his parents were happy and still lived together. When Archie sees a colorful, crumpled flyer fall out of Dad’s pocket, he thinks he may have found the answer. Only problem? The answer might just lie at the end of the rainbow, an adventure away.
Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow
Annie loves her plaid shirt and wears it everywhere. But one day her mom tells Annie that she must wear a dress to her uncle’s wedding. Annie protests, but her mom insists and buys her a fancy new dress anyway. Annie is miserable — she feels weird in dresses. Why can’t her mom understand? Then Annie has an idea. But will her mom agree? The story deals with gender identification in a positive and creative way, teaching tolerance and a celebration of differences.
Annie’s Plaid Shirt
Marmee, Meema, and the kids are just like any other family on the block. In their beautiful house, they cook dinner together, they laugh together, and they dance together. But some of the other families don’t accept them. They say they are different. How can a family have two moms and no dad? But Marmee and Meema’s house is full of love. And they teach their children that different doesn’t mean wrong. And no matter how many moms or dads they have, they are everything a family is meant to be.