Running head: LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

LIB510 Annotated Bibliography of Childrens Books

Seana C Holland
Azusa Pacific University

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

This annotated bibliography contains twenty childrens books that include diversity and
global awareness. Of these twenty books, there are five picture books, five books for lower
elementary students, five books for upper elementary, and five intermediate books.
Picture Books
Choi, Y. (2003). The name jar. New York, NY: Dragonfly Books.
Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce
your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will
like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that
she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by this
no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from.
But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes
to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning. On the day of
her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared. Encouraged by her new
friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and helps everyone pronounce itYoonHey (Direct quotation from Amazon.com).
Katz, K. (2002). The colors of us. New York, NY: Square Fish.
A positive and affirming look at skin color, from an artists perspective. Seven-year-old
Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But
when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown
comes in many different shades. Through the eyes of a little girl who begins to see her
familiar world in a new way, this book celebrates the differences and similarities that
connect all people (Direct quotation from Amazon.com).

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

Simon, N. (1999). All kinds of children. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company.
While there are many differences among people and cultures, all children have the same
needs and desires. They all require food and clothing, they all like to play and listen to
stories, and they all want to be loved (Direct quotation from Amazon.com).
Thong, R. (2014). Green is a chili pepper: A book of colors. San Francisco, CA:Chronicle
Books.
Mexican American culture is colorful enough to showcase a whole rainbow of shades and
hues. On a walk through their little town, a boy and girl discover colors all around them:
red, spices and skirts; yellow is corn cake and masa; green is a chile pepper, as well as
cornstalks and the bench abuela sits on to tell stories. Each color is given in both English
and Spanish, and cultural events such as the Day of the Dead and Mexican folk dances
make appearances (Direct quotation from mackin.com).
Tyler, M. (2005). The skin you live in. Chicago Childrens Museum.
This picture book takes a cheerful look at human diversity by focusing on skin. The poem
ends by emphasizing the importance of the " 'You' who's within" and pointing out that
skin is something that makes individuals different and similar at the same time. Tyler's
cadenced language makes this a very rhythmic read-aloud. Csicsko's vibrant and
energetic illustrations are a perfect complement to the text and feature stylized children
with elliptical faces and flowing fingers. Differences in the appearances of the youngsters
go beyond skin color and include hairstyles, freckles, and eye shape. While somewhat
lengthythe metaphors seem to go on and onthis volume is an affirming addition to the

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

collection of books dealing with self-esteem and multiculturalism (Direct quotation from
Amazon.com).
Lower Elementary
Estes, E. (2004). The hundred dresses. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Friendship, peer pressure, regret, and courage are all issues that are integral to this
Newbery Honor book by Eleanor Estes (Harcourt, 1944). Wanda Petronski tells
classmates she has a hundred dresses of all varieties in her closet at home. So why does
she always wear the same old worn dress to school? The teasing that follows seems
harmless, but it's not. This book explores the hurt that comes from thoughtless words, and
offers a painful, but heart-warming lesson in forgiveness (Direct quotation from
schoollibraryjournal.com).
Newman, L. (1991). Gloria goes to gay pride. Boston, MA: Alyson Publications.
While marching in the gay pride parade with her two mothers, Gloria sees many familiar
faces and learns that "love is the most important thing of all." Some people along the
parade route hold signs that say, "Gays go away." One of Gloria's mothers explains to her
that some people don't think two women or two men should love each other, but that the
parade is held to help ensure that all people can feel pride in who they are (Direct
quotation from adl.org).
Perez, L. (2002). First day in grapes. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books.
First Day in Grapes tells the story of Chico, a young boy and his family, migrant workers
who move up and down the state of California. Every September they pick grapes and

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

Chico starts a new school. Often Chico gets picked on because hes always the new kid
and because he speaks Spanish sometimes. The story focuses on Chicos first day of third
grade at a new school- things are a little different this time. Chico learns to be proud of
his abilities in math and to stand up for himself when some other students bully him and
make fun of his heritage (Direct quotation from adl.org).
Suess, D. (1961). The sneetches and other stories. New York, NY: Random House.
This collection of four of Dr. Seuss's most winning stories begins with that unforgettable
tale of the unfortunate Sneetches, bamboozled by one Sylvester McMonkey McBean
("the Fix-it-up Chappie"), who teaches them that pointless prejudice can be costly (Direct
quotation from Amazon.com).
Wiles, D. (2001). Freedom summer. New York, NY: Atheneum Books.
In the summer of 1964 two boys, one white and one black, play together and want to
swim in the newly-integrated pool, and are dismayed to find that prejudice still exists
(Direct quotation from adl.org).
Upper Elementary
Levine, K. (2003). Hanas suitcase. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company.
Biography of Hana, a Czech girl, who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters
that describe how the curator of a Japanese Holocaust center worked to learn about the
girl's life after Hana's suitcase was sent to the Center (Direct quotation from adl.org).
Lombard, J. (2006). Drita, my homegirl. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam.

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

Drita, 10, is a Muslim Albanian refugee from Kosovo and a stranger in her fourth-grade
classroom in Brooklyn, New York. Maxie is African American, one of the in-crowd that
wants nothing to do with the newcomer--until her social studies teacher charges her with
interviewing Drita about her story. The two girls speak in alternating first-person
narratives that reveal both their differences and their connections: Drita's mother is
having a breakdown; Maxie cannot confront her grief about her mother's death in a car
accident three years before. Most moving is Drita's surprise about the ethnic mix in her
classroom; in Albania a wall separates Serb students from Muslims. The message
connecting schoolyard bullying with war is heavy, but the girls' growing friendship and
respect for one another is poignant, as is the climax when Maxie presents her report about
what Drita left behind (Direct quotation from Amazon.com).
Marsden, C. (2002). The gold-threaded dress. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
In Thailand she was named Oy, but in the U.S. they call her Olivia. Other things are not
so easy to change. When Oy draws a portrait of herself, her classmate makes fun of her
and calls her Chinese. And the popular girl Liliandra barely speaks to her, until she sees a
photo of Oy's special Thai dancing dress from her grandmother, and wants to wear it. Oy
risks shaming her family to win Liliandra's approval, as she searches for acceptance in a
complex culture and learns to treasure all that she is.
Taylor, M. (1998). The friendship. London: Puffin.
It's hot and humid in 1933 Mississippi, when an elderly black man and a white store
owner test their friendship against a backdrop of racism and peer pressure. An explosive
confrontation takes place when the black man, Tom Bee, greets the clerk, John Wallace,

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

by his first name--an intimacy unheard of at the time. A group of witnesses heckles
Wallace for what they perceive as his permissiveness, and in spite of his private promise
to Bee to allow him to greet him this way, Wallace betrays Bee, shooting him in the leg.
This brief but poignant story won the 1988 Coretta Scott King Award. It provides strong
characterization as well as food for discussion on racism and human relations (Direct
quotation from Amazon.com).
Uchida, Y. (1985). A jar of dreams. New York, NY: Aladdin.
Growing up in California during the depression isn't easy for eleven-year-old Rinko. She
desperately wants to fit in and be like everyone else, but instead she is ridiculed and made
to feel different because she is Japanese. But when Aunt Waka comes to visit, and brings
with her the old-fashioned wisdom of Japan, she teaches Rinko the importance of her
Japanese heritage, and the value of her own strengths and dreams, in this warm and
touching story (Direct quotation from Amazon.com).
Intermediate
Curtis, C. (2000). The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963. New York, NY: Laurel Leaf.
Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of
Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron, who's
thirteen and an "official juvenile delinquent." When Momma and Dad decide it's time for
a visit to Grandma, Dad comes home with the amazing Ultra-Glide, and the Watsons set
out on a trip like no other. They're heading South to Birmingham, Alabama, toward one
of the darkest moments in America's history (Direct quotation from
schoollibraryjournal.com).

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

Fitzgerald, S. (2008). Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass: Igniting the Nazi war against
Jews. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books.
For one horrific night in November 1938, the streets of Germany and Austria were
overrun with people bent on destruction. Members of the Nazi Party and their supporters
destroyed close to 8,000 Jewish-owned business and homes. Hundreds of synagogues
were burned to the ground, and more than 100 Jews were killed. Because of the glass that
littered the streets from all the demolished windows, this event came to be known as
Kristallnacht, "the night of broken glass." (Direct quotation from Amazon.com).
Howe, J. (2003). The misfits. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Publishing.
Four best friends are trying to survive the seventh grade as they are teased about their
weight, height, intelligence, and sexual orientation/gender expression. These four friends
decide to fight back by running for student council and creating a platform aimed at
wiping out name-calling of all kinds (Direct quotation from adl.org).
Lester, J. (2005). The old African. New York, NY: Dial Press Publishing.
Based on an Ybo slave legend and infused with magical realism, this is the story of an
elderly slave, Jaja, who can draw the pain of others into his mind and hones this skill
when captured in Africa, dragged into a slave ship, and carted to Georgia. Jaja uses the
power of his mind to ease the suffering of his fellow slaves and eventually lead them
back to Africa. The graphic text and illustrations depict the horror and brutality of slavery
(Direct quotation from adl.org).

LIB510 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILDRENS BOOKS

Limon, J. (2005). Story of Latino civil rights: Fighting for justice. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest
Publishing.
Today, there are millions of Hispanics in the country, spread across every state of the
nation. They are the fastest growing minority in the United States-but the fact that they
are spread out tends to weaken their influence in any single region. Hispanics must unite
to make their case known. This book explains both the history and the current reality of
the Latino civil rights movement (Direct quotation from adl.org).