Multicultural Stories

When Esperanza and Mama are forced to flee to the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico, to a Mexican farm labor camp in California, they must adjust to a life without fancy dresses and servants they were accustomed to on Rancho de las Rosas. Now they must confront the challenges of hard...

In the Pacific, there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea birds abound. Karana is the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Hers is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but...

Mildred D. Taylor's Newbery Award-winning masterpiece with an introduction written and read by Jacqueline Woodson, just in time for its 40th Anniversary! Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and...

In this new adventure in the New York Times bestselling series, the Vanderbeekers depart Harlem to celebrate their dad's birthday. But their surprise road trip turns rocky when the younger kids try to keep their family from ever facing change....

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....

Within Cole Matthews lies anger, rage, and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years. This time he caught Peter Driscal in the parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Now, Peter may have permanent brain damage–and Cole is in the biggest trouble of his life. Cole...

The gripping fourth book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Supernatural Investigations series that began with Amari and the Night Brothers! Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Nevermoor. In the wake of the extreme losses to the...

During one of the most important times in the civil rights movement, one unforgettable family goes on a road trip in this Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree, from author Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. A PARADE...

It’s summer on 141st Street, and Isa, Jessie, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney can’t wait for camping trips, bike rides, and all the fun summer has to offer. Most of all, they’re looking forward to Papa’s surprise 40th birthday party, which they’ve been planning for months. But when Papa...

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—from Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. It’s 1936, in Flint Michigan. Times may...

In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion. Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle...

A New York Times bestseller and National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Another Brooklyn, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares...

New York Times bestseller! Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this exhilarating debut middle grade fantasy, the first in a series filled with #blackgirlmagic. Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor. Amari Peters has never stopped...

Winner of the Asian / Pacific American Award for Children's Literature! * "Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant...

The uplifting, amazing true story—a New York Times bestseller! This edition of Margot Lee Shetterly’s acclaimed book is perfect for young readers. It's the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space...

A heartbreaking and powerful story about a black boy killed by a police officer, drawing connections through history, from award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes. Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better. Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who...

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

Sequel to the New York Times bestseller Amari and the Night Brothers! Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this magical second book in the New York Times and Indie bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy—perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson...

A young Indian boy from Nipigon country in the Canadian wilderness carves a twelve-inch canoe with a kneeling Indian figure and frees it to undertake a journey to the Atlantic Ocean in his place....

Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-year-old brother Carlos. If Social...

A CORETTA SCOTT KING HONOR BOOK AND THE WINNER OF THE BOSTON GLOBE HORN BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION! "Extraordinary friendships . . . extraordinary storytelling." --Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-Winning author of One Crazy Summer Meet Caleb and Bobby Gene, two...

For fans of Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins comes Theodore Taylor’s classic bestseller and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner, The Cay. Phillip is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. War has always been a game to him, and he’s eager to glimpse it...

The powerful true story of life in a Japanese American internment camp. During World War II the community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the...

Debut author Amina Luqman-Dawson pens a lyrical, accessible historical middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom. Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada...

A boy discovers his Native American heritage in this Depression-era tale of identity and friendship by the author of Code Talker....

Learn about how beloved designer Vera Wang first got her start in the world of fashion! Explore her amazing career creating beautiful wedding gowns and dressing Hollywood stars for the red carpet in this book for young readers. Today, Vera Wang is one of the most famous fashion designers in the...

Mama says her little boy is a songbird with a voice bigger than his whole body. But at school, his classmates make fun of the way he walks and the way he talks—which makes him feel like a songbird too shy to sing. With the encouragement of his choir teacher, he embraces his talent, realizing...

How did a girl growing up near the rainforests of Puerto Rico become a Hollywood star and the first Puerto Rican woman to win an Academy Award? Find out in this addition to the Who HQ library! Before she was Rita Moreno, Rosita Dolores Alverío emigrated to New York City from Puerto Rico with...

A young monster and his human child reunite for a new horror—Ramón’s birthday party!—in this spooky-funny chapter book from Newbery Medal–winning author Donna Barba Higuera It’s a monster’s ancient duty to inflict unimaginable horrors on misbehaving kids. But El Cucuy doesn’t want...

Learn all about the life of Gen Z actress Jenna Ortega and discover how she went from starring roles on Disney Channel to Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and more in this biography for young readers! Jenna Ortega’s role as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s series Wednesday made her an...

Roots are our ancestor’s Magick. Summer for Juniper has finally arrived, which means rootwork with Grandma can finally begin! It’s time to collect healing herbs into protective mojo bags; to fill mason jars with all the love, history, dirt, and magick one can fit. It’s time to talk to the...

From the New York Times Bestselling author of Raising Fences and the award-winning illustrator of Mama Africa!, comes a moving and lyrical picture book about a girl navigating her parents' divorce, featuring a Black family, two homes, and whole lot of love. Auset's parents tell her the divorce...

Zander and his friends are in trouble—again. The freedom of expression they’ve enjoyed by publishing their own school newspaper has spread all the way to England, where kids from a school "across the pond" are now contributors to their own school’s most talked-about publication. When photos start to go alongside the articles written by kids, things get suspicious. Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, Bobbi—and a bunch of students from Harlem’s DaVinci Academy and London’s Phoenix School—come to learn that words and pictures in a newspaper don’t always tell the whole story.

Questions fill Min’s mind. How can they lock us up when we haven’t done anything wrong? MINORU “MIN” TONAI, a young American citizen, and his family must leave everything behind as they are rounded up and unjustly imprisoned following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. From 1942 to 1945, Min...

Luna is confident in all she does. Through Luna's Whys, she shows us it's ok to make mistakes as long as you stay positive and don't give up. It's okay to love yourself even when things don't go right, and we can all learn from her spirit of self-love. This book makes a wonderful gift for the children in your life as kids see themselves in Luna's character. Through this story, it is my goal for them to follow her lead.

Allie’s life with Mama isn’t bad, but she knows it could be better if Mama would find someone to marry. Allie’s worst enemy, her NOT-friend Gwen, has a daddy, and Allie wants someone like that—someone to fix things when they break, someone who likes to sing, and has a kind-smile. So Allie makes a plan—her super secret Man-For-Mama plan. She has a list of candidates with a clear top choice: Mr. Johnson, who owns the antique store. Best of all, Mr. Johnson went to school with Mama, and he wants to get reacquainted!

Award-winning creators Anne Wynter and Micha Archer share a mother-daughter tale about delighting in small pleasures throughout the city. Perfect for fans of Oge Mora and Sophie Blackall. Anne Wynter perfectly captures the hurry and hustle of a busy day. But when plans change and a girl and her...

Nico Vera embarca em uma aventura no Japão para descobrir quem foram os lendários samurais. Em vez de só aprender sobre espadas e armaduras, ele se vê no meio de um grande mistério: um guerreiro fantasma está assombrando a vila! Com a ajuda do professor Takeshi, Nico vai descobrir que os verdadeiros samurais seguiam o Bushidô — um caminho cheio de coragem, respeito e disciplina.

Mother Bear watches over her cubs, guiding us to walk with strength and protect those who need protecting. Otter, the playful swimmer, reminds us that games and laughter are good for our hearts. And as Tadpole transforms into Frog, he demonstrates we’ll make changes in our lives, too. From our...

“The audiobook is peaceful; Melinda Sewak's rhythmic narration is accompanied by soft acoustic guitar music that evokes love and warmth...These sounds don't overwhelm the narration; instead they help to make this audiobook an immersive experience for all...” — Booklist (Starred Review)...