Multicultural Literature is literature that is about underrepresented groups. This type of literature builds knowledge about these groups of people and helps readers understand and appreciate who these people are.
Kira Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
Katie Takeshima is a young Japanese girl being raised in the United States. Her family moves from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia in order for her parents to pursue their dream of earning more money and providing a better life for their family. Katie’s sister Lynn is an eternal optimist and sees everything as kira-kira, which means glittering in Japanese. Lynn helps Katie understand why people stare and treat them differently in their new community. Lynn becomes ill, and her condition continually worsens. The family struggles to hold themselves together. Katie develops and shares her inner strength with her family. She helps them work through hard times and to once again view the world as kira-kira.
Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 4.9
Lexile: 740
Stephanie Karker
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Junior is a boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He has had a brain disorder since birth, so physically he has never been as strong and healthy as the other kids. Residents of the reservation live in poverty. There is a lot of violence, aggression, and alcohol related issues in the everyday lives of Junior, his family, and friends. Junior’s best friend is Rowdy, who is one of the toughest kids on the Rez. Junior is about to start high school when a teacher convinces him that he is smart and should try to get out of the Rez to look for a better life. He decides to attend Reardan, which is a rich, all white school. Junior learns how privileged white kids live, and progresses from being a lonely outcast to the star of the basketball team. The Reardan kids grow to like him, accept him, and show him kindness. In the meantime on the Rez, Rowdy shuns him, and he is outcast by the community. In a short period of time he loses his sister, his Grandmother, and his Dad’s best friend to alcohol related incidents. Throughout this experience Junior has learned a great deal about himself. He has discovered his inner strength and has created an identity for himself in both worlds.
Interest Level: Young Adult
Lexile: 600
Stephanie Karker
Remember: The journey to school integration
by Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison takes picutres from the Civil Rights Movement and Jim Crow period in the south and tells the story of school integration. She does not highlight who the people in the picutre are or what they are doing, rather she speculates what a person in the picture might be thinking. In this she creates a relatable story of our segregated past for young students to make them think what it would be like to be in these kids' shoes. She does a great job of relaying information while getting students interested in the photos and the message she is trying to get across. Although the intro may be above the suggested grade level, I feel this is a great book that a teach could use with a class or group of students to teach them about the Civil Rights Movement.
Suggested grade level: 3-6
Reading level: 5.4
Lexile: 660
Jessica Schmitz
Zora and Me
by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon
The story is a fictional tale but the authors have drawn from Zora Neale Hurston's stories, novels, and life to create this tale with Hurston herself as a character. Carrie, Zora's friend in the novel, narrates the tale of her and her friend Zora who loves to tell stories. Sometimes people think she makes things up because her stories are so good. Her active imagination does get a bit carried away when several accidents and a murder occur in her hometown of Eatonville, FL. The mystery of what happend to the man who was murdered centers around a complicated issue of Blacks during the time period, that of passing. The story is intriguing and keeps you reading to find out what is really going on.
Suggested grade level: 5-8
Reading level: 6.3
Lexile: 860
Jessica Schmitz
F is for Freedom
by Roni Schotter
Awaken one day in the middle of the night, Amanda finds out that her parents are conductors on the Underground Railroad. Amanda meets a family of runaway slaves, which includes Hannah, a young girl her own age. An unexpected friendship blooms between Amanda and Hannah, where Amanda learns that slaves do not the luxury of learning how to read and have nice things. Until her family is put in danger of being caught. Suddenly, their friendship and lives are put in danger when the Sheriff and his sidekicks come in search of the slaves. Determined to help her new friends, headstrong Amanda is determined to help them get away! This is a great story of friendship, and the power of literacy.
Suggested grade level: 3-6
Reading level: 6.1
Lexile: 740
Reviewed by Arlette Leyva
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
After her father is murdered, Esperanza and her mother flee to the United States, leaving their wealth and their life of privilege in Aguascalientes, Mexico. They must now adapt to life as Mexican farm workers during the Great Depression. When her mother becomes ill, Esperanza is obligated to continue working in order to bring the grandmother to the United States. Esperanza learns an important life lessons and finds happiness without wealth.
Suggested grade level: 5-8
Reading level: 6.2
Lexile: 750
Reviewed by Arlette Leyva