I Hate English! By: Ellen Levine
Mei Mei moves to America and has a hard time adjusting to the American culture, one
thing being able to speak the language. Mei Mei did not want to understand or
learn the language. Mei Mei went to a learning center where she spoke Chinese
with her friends and felt very comfortable. One day, Ms. Nancy took Mei Mei out
and only talked to her in English. Mei Mei got very angry but then realized she
could learn and speak English. She thanked Ms. Nancy for helping her learn.
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match By: Monica Brown
Marisol never matches and draws her name in cursive and in print. Marisol is
told that she could not match if she tried. Marisol then decides one day that
she will try and match. But that day is very difficult and gloomy for her. Then
Ms. Apple tells Marisol she is perfect just the way she is.
The Name Jar By: Yangsook Choi
As a young girl makes her journey to America, her first
interaction with other children isn't a positive one. All of the students have trouble saying her name and start making fun of her name. Her first day of school she tells the class that she hasn't picked a name yet so the class starts a name jar. The jar is filled with names that the other children in the class have suggested. She reads many of the names but hasn't picked one that suits her best!
In Our Mother’s House By: Patricia Polacco
In Our Mothers’ House is about two moms named
Marma and Meema. The house they live in has lots of love and
functions like any other normal household. The only difference between them and
everyone else is that they don’t have a male figure in the household. Some people
find this to be different, but these two mothers teach their children that
different does not mean that they are wrong.
Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China By: Ed Young
A mother had three children Shang, Tao, and Paotze and tells to keep the door locked as she goes to visit
their grandmother. The wolf knocks at their door and says to the
children that their mother and her must have missed each other on the route and
grandma Po Po was there to see the children. The children let the wolf in and
start to feel the features such as the long tail and claws etc. The children go
up to the gingko tree to get the tasty nuts. The children tell Po Po that she needs to come up
herself for they cannot get her the nuts. They devised a plan to put Po Po in
the basket with rope and pull her up. They ended up dropping the wolf twice. The
children then ran back inside and locked the door until their mother returned
the next day bearing gifts from their real Po Po.
Too Many Tamales By: Gary Soto
It’s a beautiful Christmas Eve and Maria and her family are making tamales.
Kneading the masa Maria can’t help but admire her mother’s ring.
As her mother goes to answer the telephone Maria tries the ring on.
Forgetting about the ring, Maria continues to make tamales with her mother
and father until she realizes hours later that she forgot about the ring!
Maria and her four cousins begin eating all the tamales trying to find her
mother’s ring. Finally, Maria goes to tell her mother the truth, not
realizing that her mother had her ring on her finger.
The family makes up another batch of tamales together teaching Maria a lesson
while kneading the masa.
Peek! A Thai Hide and Seek
This book is about a little girl that plays hide and go seek with her father and he cant seem to find his little baby.
The little girl is hidden throughout the entire book and gets children involved looking for her presence on the page. Finally in the end, the little girl is found by her father.