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Kadooboo! Golden brown, puffy, sweet, and crunchy, it’s fresh from the pan ― a delicious treat! As soon as it’s ready, Kabir runs home with some to share. He’s got to be quick, before the rain! But wait … can he remember the treat’s name? (His Amma is sure to ask!) As Kabir makes his way, the sights and sounds of the street and interactions with friends start to jumble his memory. This modern retelling of a South Indian folktale blends playful wordplay with delightfully quick pacing in a story about friends, family, and food ― the perfect recipe for a satisfying story time.

Learn about the unique Christmas customs and legends from around the world. Find out why celebrate Christmas on December 25th, who invented the first glass ornament, why people build nativity scenes, why we decorate Christmas trees, and more! Included is information about traditional holiday food, drink, and other traditions: Glögg, Kutia, Lutefisk, Jansson’s Temptation, Julskinka, Bûche de Noël, Hallaca, Kourabiedes, Christmas Pudding, Panettone, Christmas carols, talking animals, and The Nutcracker!

Look around … art is everywhere! Art can be everything from the family photograph to the chair in your living room. This exploration encourages readers to discover art from around the world and in their own backyard. “Circles of art” begin with self, expanding out to the cosmos. Thoughtfully presented and attractively formatted, this book can be enjoyed many times over.

A young Aztec girl tells her little brother how their parents create beautiful painted manuscripts, or codices. She explains to him how paper is made from local plants and how the long paper is folded into a book. Her parents and others paint the codices to tell the story of their people’s way of life, documenting their history, science, tributes, and sacred rituals. Duncan Tonatiuh’s lyrical prose and beloved illustration style, inspired by the pre-Columbian codices, tell the story of how — contrary to the historical narrative that European colonizers bestowed “civilization” and knowledge to the Americas — the Aztec and their neighbors in the Valley of Mexico painted books and records long before Columbus arrived, and continued doing so among their Nahua-speaking descendants for generations after the Spanish Conquest.

Long ago, the gods of Mesoamerica set out to create humans. They tried many times during each sun, or age. When all their attempts failed and the gods grew tired, only one did not give up: Quetzalcóatl — the Feathered Serpent. To continue, he first had to retrieve the sacred bones of creation guarded by Mictlantecuhtli, lord of the underworld. Gathering his staff, shield, cloak, and shell ornament for good luck, Feathered Serpent embarked on the dangerous quest to create humankind

Today two majestic volcanoes — Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl — stand overlooking Mexico City. They have been admired and revered for countless generations and have formed the basis of many origin and creation myths. Izta was the most beautiful princess in the land, and suitors traveled from far and wide to woo her. Even though she was the daughter of the emperor, Izta had no desire to marry a man of wealth and power. Instead, she fell in love with Popoca, a brave warrior who fought in her father’s army — and a man who did not offer her riches but a promise to stay by her side forever. The integration of Nahuatl words (defined with a pronunciation guide in the glossary) into the narrative provides a rich opportunity to introduce and explore another facet of ancient Aztec culture. Take your child on an adventure back in time to a land of color and beauty.

Are you Métis like me? A group of children of Métis descent share and explore all the ways they celebrate and experience their heritage — enjoying traditional foods like bannock bread and Saskatoon berries; crafting with beads; sharing stories, dance, music and songs. Each child shares a different way they enjoy honoring their backgrounds and weaving parts of the rich tapestry that makes up Métis culture. One child, though, has grown up disconnected from their history, and can’t join in with the others in the same way. But they soon see it’s never too late to learn, celebrate or become a part of a community in which Métis and non-Métis alike can discover the richness of an often-overlooked culture.

Travel across the U.S. and meet some kids where they live. This carefully crafted and well-researched introduction introduces individuals who live in different places but share a great deal in common. A companion volume to the author’s This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World (opens in a new window).

The lasting friendship between Indigenous people and people in Ireland started in the mid-19th century, continued through the pandemic, and endures to this day. This little-known piece of history is told through straightforward language and images that evoke the periods, places, and peoples. Backmatter includes timeline, resources, as well as author and illustrator notes. 

Dan and Aki live different lives — one here on land, the other lives there at sea. While they may seem unalike, when they come together, they discover more than similarities. They find friendship and community, shown on a double gatefold complemented by warm-toned, slightly abstract illustrations.

Young children are invited to a powwow in this 1-to-10 counting board book — beginning with one car traveling to the powwow to 10 tribal citizens enjoying the celebration. The indigenous author and illustrator team that wrote Powwow Day (for slightly older readers) now introduce younger readers to the powwow tradition.  

The title says it all!  Brief but accessible information about a range of topics is ideal to dip into or spend hours poring over.  

All children have wishes that reflect their hopes and dreams. Wishes from kids from Guatemala to Japan and places in between are presented in handsome illustrations and brief text. This book is sure to start conversations as readers see reflections of themselves in others from around the world.

An indigenous boy must travel up a mountain to collect obsidian for flint knapping, a trek from which his brothers did not return. There he meets a golden eagle, actually a god named Savik. This is a beautifully told and handsomely illustrated story of the origin of the Iñupiaq messenger feast celebrated by native Alaskans.

A girl and her mother find and adopt a lone polar bear cub. Together they thrive until the bear is no longer a cub, who leaves the humans to find his own community. One day, the bear returns with his mother. This adaptation of an Inuit tale is simply and touchingly illustrated. 

A mother introduces her child to his rich bicultural heritage through dragons. Distinctive illustrations and lyrical language contrast the fierce dragons hidden in deep, dark forests of the West, and the water-dwelling, free-flying dragons of the East. The mother reminds the boy that, “Both journeys are yours to take. Both worlds are yours to discover.”

Will JoJo ever be able to dance the national dance of the Philippines as easily as his grandmother? As he watches and practices, he begins to learn how to let the rhythm move through him and he dances the tininkling! Warm illustrations complement the lively text, evoking the sense of movement and joy.

Dance along with the residents of an apartment building: reggaeton, salsa, tango, and more! Jaunty language and bright, naive-style illustrations make music of their own, but also can be heard or watched via video when linked to the accompanying website. 

In Manu National Park in Peru, an amazing fourteen different species of monkeys live together. That’s more than in any other rainforest in the world! How can they coexist so well? Find out in this lyrical, rhyming picture book that explores each monkey’s habits, diet, and home, illustrating how this delicate ecosystem and its creatures live together in harmony. From howler monkeys to spider monkeys to night monkeys, young readers will love getting to know these incredible primates and seeing the amazing ways they share their forest.

From fried dumplings to fortune cookies, here are the tales behind your favorite American Chinese foods. Do you know the stories behind delectable dishes—like the fun connection between scallion pancakes and pizza? Or how dumplings cured a village’s frostbitten ears? Or how wonton soup tells about the creation of the world? Separated into courses like a Chinese menu, these tales — based in real history and folklore — are filled with squabbling dragons, magical fruits, and hungry monks. This book will bring you to far-off times and marvelous  places, all while making your mouth water. 

A children’s story that teaches about respect for nature, animals and culture. After a Tlingit mother gives her son a dried piece of salmon with mold on the end, he flings it away in disgust, committing a taboo. This offends the Salmon People, who sweep him into the water and into their world, where the name him Shanyaak’utlaax or Salmon Boy. It comes from an ancient Tlingit story that was edited by Johnny Marks, Hans Chester, David Katzeek, and Nora and Richard Dauenhauer. Illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade.This book is part of the award-winning Baby Raven Reads, a Sealaska Heritage program for Alaska Native families with children up to age 5 that promotes language development and school readiness. Winner of the 2018 American Indian Youth Literature Best Picture Book Award.

Readers will be transported to the rugged Himalayas with this story of a deaf Sherpa boy in Nepal, who braves a storm in search of his family’s yaks. He finds the animals herded around a young calf whose leg is wedged between rocks. Unable to rescue the animal alone, Kami whistles for help. When no one comes, he slips and slides down the icy mountain to get his father and brother. He relates the problem through mime. Together the family rescues the calf, and the plucky hero proudly leads the way home.

“I can’t wait for my hair to grow” is the powerful opening to this book, which lays groundwork for this compelling story highlighting not only the significance of hair to Indigenous peoples, but also memory, generational trauma, and the power of healing. Using three generations of hair as the medium, Lindstom’s sparse, poetic language (“Our ancestors say: Our hair is our memories. Our source of strength”) and Littlebird’s bright palette capture both serenity and hope. (School Library Journal)

A book of poems about dancing that mimic the rhythms of social dances from cha-cha to two-step — celebrating all forms of social dance from samba and salsa to tango and hip-hop. The rhythm of each poem mimics the beat of the dances’ steps. The poems create a window to all the ways dance enters our lives and exists throughout many cultures.