There is nothing as exciting as watching children catch the reading bug. Usually this happens a a child progresses from easy readers to chapter books. Very often the books they fall in love with have relatable characters that the young reader can relate to. The best way to keep the enthusiasm growing is with series books. Unfortunately, chapter books series have not included characters of different races, abilities, and cultural groups. Fortunately, this is changing.
Today, as we celebrate the fourth year of Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I am excited to share six different series chapter books featuring diverse characters. It is so important for children to see kids like themselves within the pages of a book. As a side note, my daughter was very excited to see these books and comments on how much she wished there had been books like these when she was young.
Katie Woo and Friends
by Fran Manushkin with illustrations by Tammie Lyon
Capstone – Picture Window Books 2013
Katie Woo Series
96 page chapter book
Kindergarten – grade 2
Katie Woo is a spunky, fashion- conscious girl who loves to play with her friends, Pedro and JoJo.
Katie Woo and Friends is actually a compilation of four books in the series, each forming a stand-alone chapter. The friends experience typical activities that are relatable to the intended audience, including camping, a trip to the beach, and loose teeth. One chapter, “Goodbye to Goldie,” is especially moving as Pedro and JoJo comfort Katie who is dealing with the death of her aged dog. The book’s text is spot on for young readers. The colorful illustrations break up the text into manageable chunks for early readers while portraying this multicultural group of friends and their families in positive ways. Included in the book is a scrapbook craft and a recipes that children will love. And, best of all, there are 40 more books in this series!
Pedro First Grade Hero
by Fran Manushkin with illustrations by Tammie Lyon
Capstone – Picture Windows Books 2016
Pedro Series
96 page chapter book
Kindergarten – grade 2
Pedro, Katie Woo’s Latino friend, now has his own series. Pedro can be a jokester but everything he does is all in fun. Like Katie Woo and Friends, Pedro First Grade Hero is a collection of four stand-alone chapters focusing on his love of bugs, soccer, and mystery solving. The final story follows Pedro as he runs for president of the first grade. The chapters are just the right length and just challenging enough for young readers. The last four pages are filled with jokes – always a favorite of the kindergarten to second grade crowd.
Sophia Martinez My Vida Loca
by Jacqueline Jules with illustrations by Kim Smith
Capstone – Picture Windows Books 2016
Sofia Martinez Series
96 page chapter book
Kindergarten – grade 2
Sofia Martinez is a lively and exuberant character! She is shown in each of three stand-alone chapters humorously interacting with her Latino family. In the first chapter, Sofia receives a karaoke machine from Abuela. Unfortunately, her parents, sisters, cousins and the neighborhood dogs aren’t the best audience but all turns out well as Aubela loves her singing. Sofia seems to make a mess of things when cooking or washing a car but she always figures out a way to make things right. I love the way Sofia and her family are portrayed in the text and illustrations. Spanish is sprinkled throughout the book in hot pink letters and is easily understood by non-Spanish speakers within the context. A Spanish glossary is included at the end of the book.
Dear Molly, Dear Olive Molly Meets Trouble (Whose RealName is Jenna)
By Megan Atwood with illustrations by Lucy Fleming
Capstone Young Readers 2017
Dear Molly, Dear Olive Series
96 page chapter book
Grades 1-3
Written in alternate letters and e-mails between pen pals Molly and Olive, this chapter book explores the problems the girls are having in their respective schools. They give each other advice on issues that most girls deal with including troublesome relationships, competitiveness, and rumors. The black and white drawings show a group of multicultural characters. The letter format is fun and will appeal to girls who like books about friendship.
Ellie Ultra An Extra-Ordinary Girl
by Gina Bellisario with illustrations by Jessika von Innerebner
Stone Arch Books 2016
Ellie Ultra Series
128 page chapter book
Grades 2 – 3
Ellie is a spunky African American superhero. Having been home schooled by her superhero parents, she is excited to finally be able to attend school. Unfortunately, it is not easy for a superhero to be a normal third grade girl. As she tries to fit in, she makes mistakes and is distressed to find out that no one believes her stories. She doesn’t give up, however, because she is extra-ordinary and her actions save the day. This is a fun series for kids who love action, humor, and super heroes.
The Case of the Missing Museum Archives
By Steve Breenoff with illustrations by Lisa K. Weber
Stone Arch Books 2015
Museum Mysteries
128 page chapter book
Grades 2-4 interest level grades 3-6
This is book two in the Museum Mystery series featuring a cast of multicultural kids. Each of the children has a parent who works in one of the Smithsonian Museums. In The Case of the Missing Museum Archives, Amal and her friends try to solve the mystery of a set of missing plans from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. If they don’t, Amal’s father will lose his job. Cultural elements are woven into the story naturally and it is good to see characters from such diverse backgrounds coming together for a shared passion. The illustrations are rich and add to build the tension in these mysteries. The books include information and links to the museums.
A Big thanks to Capstone for publishing these fabulous chapter books which feature exciting stories with a great cast of multicultural characters. (All the images are from Capstone.)
For games, information, and all sorts of downloads for the featured books please visit Capstone Kids.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness on the ongoing need to include kid’s books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.
Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team are on a mission to change all of that.
Current Sponsors: MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books
Author Sponsor include: Karen Leggett Abouraya, Veronica Appleton, Susan Bernardo, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Maria Dismondy, D.G. Driver, Geoff Griffin, Savannah Hendricks, Stephen Hodges, Carmen Bernier-Grand,Vahid Imani, Gwen Jackson, Hena, Kahn, David Kelly, Mariana Llanos, Natasha Moulton-Levy, Teddy O’Malley, Stacy McAnulty, Cerece Murphy, Miranda Paul, Annette Pimentel, Greg Ransom, Sandra Richards, Elsa Takaoka, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato, Sarah Stevenson, Monica Mathis-Stowe SmartChoiceNation, Andrea Y. Wang
MCBD Links to remember:
MCBD site: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/
Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Free Kindness Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teachers-classroom-kindness-kit/
Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: http://bit.ly/1sZ5s8i
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also work tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.
Great panel of books! I’d have loved the mystery one when I was growing up!