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Best Multicultural Picture Books

7 Wonderful Multicultural Picture Books and Kid Lit Blog Hop

Posted on March 4, 2015May 14, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

This is a really great multicultural/diversity/inclusion book list for kids: 2015 Notable Books for a Global Society Award. I haven’t read them all so I’ll use book jacket blurbs with age range to make this list more helpful for parents and teachers looking for books for kids.

I am splitting this list into three parts. Today I will cover Notable Books for a Global Society — picture books. For the next Kid Lit Blog Hop, I’ll post the middle-grade books and finally, young adult on the following one.

 

7 Wonderful Multicultural Picture Books

Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus, illustrated by Evan Turk

Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson tells his personal perspective of sharing his grandfather with the world and those special moments he very occasionally had alone with him. It’s not easy living up to what people expect as a grandson of Gandhi. Arun’s story personalizes how his grandfather gently guided not just him, but a nation in turmoil, with his non-violent message, but also how truly difficult it is to achieve, even for Mahatma! [picture book, ages 4 and up]

This Day in June by Gayle E. Pittman, illustrated by Kristyna Litten

In a wildly whimsical, validating, and exuberant reflection of the LGBT community, This Day In June welcomes readers to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison

I’d never heard of Melba Doretta and I’m always happy to discover a strong female role model for my girls. Melba was the first female American jazz trombonist, musical arranger, and composer to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, along with more famous icons like Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, and Count Basie. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki, illustrated by Qin Leng

Hana is just a beginner at violin but she signed up for the talent show anyway. Her older brothers laugh in derision. But Hana feels a connection to music because her grandfather in Japan — Ojichan — was a professional violinist and taught her that the sounds the violin makes can mimic nature. Hana is nervous the night of her performance; will her brothers turn out to be right? I’d gift this picture book to any child learning to play an instrument, particularly the violin! [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & her family’s fight for desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

I grew up one town over from Westminister, California, and yet I never heard of Mendez v. Westminster, the desegregation case in California that preceded Brown v. Board. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California. This is an important story that is largely unknown despite the fact that California has a long history of racist laws. [picture book, ages 6 and up]

Twenty-two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank by Paula Yoo, illustrated by Jamel Akib

If it weren’t for Muhammad Yunus (whom I had never heard of previous to this book), there would be no One Hen or Heifer International. The road to creating a banking microloan program was not easy, but Muhammad Yunus’ story shows how one person can make a difference in the world. I know it inspired my son with his powerful story! [picture book, ages 6 and up]

I have a blog post with Paula Yoo’s favorite diversity biography picture books here.

Migrant by José Manuel Mateo, illustrated by Javier Martínez Pedro

A Mexican boy tells of his journey to the U.S. with his family. They must face many dangers to cross the border, only to experience the uncertainty felt by all illegal immigrants. The narrative is accompanied by one long, beautifully vivid illustration reminis­cent of pre-Hispanic codices, packaged as an accordion-style foldout frieze. [picture book, ages 8 and up]

 

p.s. Related posts:

17 Wonderful Multicultural Picture Books About Food

10 Amazing Multicultural Picture Books About Helping Others

Top 10 Multicultural Picture Books on Bullying

10 Multicultural Picture Books to Sing from Jbrary

Top 10: Multicultural Dance Picture Books

Picture Books Featuring Chinese Words

I’m Thrilled to be on Nerdacity Podcast for Multicultural Children’s Book Day

To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.

Best Multicultural Picture Books and Kid Lit Blog Hop

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Welcome to the 55th Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children’s books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists. So, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors!

This week, we are excited to be including a Goodreads Linky Party to be held in conjunction with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. These linky parties are designed to give you the opportunity to connect with and grow your network of fellow kid lit bloggers, authors, and parents through your various social media platforms.

We are pleased to be welcome a new co-host this week. Joining us once again is Tiffiny from the blog Spark and Pook. Welcome and bienvenue to Tiffiny.

 

Hostesses:

Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

Stacking Books

BeachBoundBooks

Pragmatic Mom

Music, Teaching and Parenting

Reading Authors

The Logonauts

A Book Long Enough

Co-Hostesses:

Spark and Pook

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

 

Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*

1. LINKY PARTY: Add the link to your Goodreads profile page in the Goodreads Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts’ Goodreads pages. Be sure to friend or follow some folks with similar interests and like any reviews that catches your eye.

2. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.

* Don’t link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*

* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *

* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*

* Feel free to link more than one post.*

3. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!

4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you’re linking up. If you’d prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!

5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop/Linky Party? If you’ve joined us before, you are welcome to join us again! Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.

Happy Hopping!

 

GOODREADS LINKY PARTY

(Please do not link a blog post here – see below for the Kid Lit Blog Hop)

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KID LIT BLOG HOP

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My books:

We Sing From the Heart picture book cover reveal of The Slants Simon Tam

 Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Cover Reveal: Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime!Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World

  • Junior Library Guild Gold selection
  • Massachusetts Book Award Long List
  • Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
  • Starred review from School Library Journal
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  • Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids

 Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me

cover for Sumo JoeChanging the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes by Mia WenjenAmazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship: An Insider’s Guide

How To Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison FoleyAsian Pacific American Heroes

12 thoughts on “7 Wonderful Multicultural Picture Books and Kid Lit Blog Hop”

  1. Patricia Tilton says:
    March 4, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    Great selection. Loved Ghandi and Hana Hashimoto. Haven’t read Migrant or Melba. Thanks for the suggestions.

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      March 9, 2015 at 1:38 pm

      Hi Patricia,
      The Melba book is such a happy one!

      Reply
  2. Erin Buhr says:
    March 4, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    Popping over from the link up. LOVE this list of books!

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      March 9, 2015 at 1:39 pm

      Thanks so much Erin!

      Reply
  3. Catherine Johnson says:
    March 5, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    Thanks for a great selection, Mia!

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      March 9, 2015 at 1:41 pm

      Thanks so much Catherine!

      Reply
  4. Renee C. says:
    March 7, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    Great list of books you’ve put together Mia! A few people have recommended “Little Melba and Her Big Trombone” – that one looks so good. Thanks for sharing in the Kid Lit Blog Hop!

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      March 9, 2015 at 1:48 pm

      Hi Renee,
      Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is such an upbeat fun picture book biography! I love it and I’m glad that she’s finally getting some attention.

      Reply
  5. Tiffiny says:
    March 7, 2015 at 11:25 pm

    All of these books look great. Your reviews make me want to read them all.

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      March 9, 2015 at 1:49 pm

      Thanks so much Tiffiny! I hope you are able to locate a few of these at your library! If not, just request and perhaps they will add them to their buy list!

      Reply
  6. Marjorie (MWD) says:
    March 12, 2015 at 8:00 pm

    I did see your wonderful list a few days ago but it’s taken a while to sit down and really Blog Hop! This is a glorious feast of books!

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      March 22, 2015 at 9:51 am

      Thanks so much Marjorie!

      Reply

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