What does Multicultural Children's Books mean to you?Multicultural Children's Books I'll start with a confession. I'm one of those old-fashioned white Americans. Dime a dozen. Other people know better about the subject matter on this page. I'm going to direct you to some of them. There's a lot of good stuff out there. My hope is that the visitors to this page won't only be people looking to expose their children to books about their own culture. I'm hoping parents will expose their children to books about other cultures as well. Are you looking for African-American children's books or Spanish children's books? I have separate pages devoted to those cultures. I think children are best off knowing about the world around them. They should read about other cultures and other countries. Multicultural children's books are the way to go. The Jane Addams Children's Book Awards The Jane Addams award is given annually to multicultural children's books that "effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence." By their nature, the Jane Addams Awards honor books from all different cultures. The awards are given for both picture books and chapter books. Lee & Low Multicultural Children's Books Lee & Low is the first publisher I've recommended on this site. They've devoted themselves to the publication of multicultural children's books, and many of their books are award winners. Their website is huge and helpful, a joy to surf. Whatever culture it is you're looking for children's books on, Lee & Low Multicultural Children's Books is an excellent place to start. International Children's Digital Library Wow. This is a growing site of free online multicultural children's books. There is no American bias here. The library features books from all different countries and in all different languages as well. The site is easy to navigate, and you can search for books by region or by language. The books are read online, so you will have to hand over the computer to your child. (I know that's hard for some of you!) In fact, that's what I like best about the ICDL - Internet Children's Digital Library. You just hand over the controls to your child. Go do something else, and then be pleasantly surprised when your child develops an interest in, say, Belize. Or starts speaking Danish! Cynthia Leitich Smith Here's someone whose middle name should be Multicultural Children's Books! But, alas, she already has a middle name. Cynthia Leitich Smith is a Native American children's book writer with a site that promotes not only her own children's books but tons from other Native American children's book writers. In fact, Cynthia covers not only Native American children's books but other multicultural children's books categories as well. Here's a great page to start on. From it you can explore her specialty sections - not only Native American children's books, but Asian-American, multiracial and multicultural children's books as well. Speaking of Native American children's books... AILA, the American Indian Library Association, will in late 2006 announce their first Native American Youth Services Literature Award. Once the time comes, you can find the winners at the AILA site. And speaking of Asian-American children's books... The Asian/Pacific American Libraries Association (APALA) in 2004 presented their first literary awards. Their Asian-American children's books awards were for text and illustration. They were for books published between 2001 and 2003. Award-winners for text in Asian-American Children's Books
Award-winners for illustration in Asian-American Children's Books
Multicultural Children's Books - Jane Addams Award - Picture Books 2006 - Delivering Justice: W. W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights, written by Jim Haskins and illustrated by Benny Andrews 2005 - Sélavi, That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope, written and illustrated by Youme Landowne 2004 - Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, written by Kathleen Krull 2003 - Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam, written by Walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Ann Grifalconi 2002 - Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., written by Doreen Rappaport with artwork by Bryan Collier 2001 - The Composition, written by Antonio Skármeta and illustrated by Alfonso Ruano 2000 - Molly Bannaky, written by Alice McGill. Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet. Multicultural Children's Books - Jane Addams Award - Chapter Books 2006 - Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, the Law that Changed the Future of Girls in America, by Karen Blumenthal 2005 - With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote, by Ann Bausum, 2004 - Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope, written by Beverley Naidoo 2003 - Parvana's Journey, written by Deborah Ellis. 2002 - The Other Side of Truth, written by Beverley Naidoo. 2001 - Esperanza Rising, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan. 2000 - Through My Eyes, written by Ruby Bridges Best Children's Books - Find, Read or Write home page.
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