Coretta Scott King/Pura Belpre Awards & Multicultural Perspectives

The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Pura Belpré Award 2011

Recommended Age: 9-14

The Dreamer tells a story of a young boy named Neftalí who has an amazing imagination and curiosity for “things” in life. He wonders about and is curious about the things around him in his world such as birds, twigs and swan. His father is verbally abusive to him and cruel, but Neftalí overcomes and discovers a way to get his thoughts and words across to other people. I loved the text choice of the book; the pages are shorter than the average book and the words are double spaced making it easier for younger readers to read. There are Spanish words mixed in throughout the book, which I think is really neat that students can learn some words in another language. There are also pictures every few pages that enhance what is going on in the story at that point. The illustrations are exaggerated thoughts and feelings of Neftalí and are pretty cool/different.

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales

Pura Belpré Award 2006

Reading Level: 4^th-7^th grade

The Tequila Worm is a story written about a young girl Sofia, who alike Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, is also torn between honoring her native town and culture, with dreams of venturing out and discovering the world around her. Sofia is Mexican and her family means everything to her, but she decides to pursue an academic scholarship to an Episcopal college-prep school 300 miles away from her hometown and all that she knows. The story not only tells about her culture; her family traditions and customs, but blends her dream of attending this prestigious school. There are also some Spanish words mixed in, but not as much as in The Dreamer. I really enjoyed this book and learned things I didn’t know about the Mexican culture! I also didn’t mind all of the Catholic references, whereas I usually get offended the way Catholics are sometimes portrayed in stories. There is also the issue of death in this story but it ties into the story and Sofia’s beliefs greatly. I would definitely recommend this book to all ethnicities to read.

Little Night by Yuyi Morales

2008 Américas Award Honorable Mentions
Reading Level: Ages 2 & up

Little Night was the 2008 honorable mention of the Américas Award. This award recognizes an American work that can be published in either English or Spanish, and that authentically portrays Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos living in the United States. Little Night tells a bedtime story with Mother Sky calling for Little Night to get ready for bed. Little Night hides and tells her mother to find her. The story is really cute and would make a great bedtime story. The illustrations are of darker-skinned characters which is nice to see, and the concept of Little Night balancing the moon and having a bath filled of stars is adorable.

The Great Migration: Journey to the North by Eloise Greenfield

Age Level: 3 and up, Grade Level: Preschool and up

2012 Coretta Scott King Honor

Eloise Greenfield tells the story of the migration that thousands took part of; families from the South pursuing their dreams to live up North so that they can be free, so that they could be safe, and have respectable jobs. Eloise was four months old when her family took the trip by train. The book tells the perspective of varying ages such as a child saying goodbye, a woman, and a young woman. The illustrations are very, very cool; in one page the people that are being left behind are camouflaged in with the fields, the next shows the train tracks heading North with the Southern states mapped out.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia

Reading Level: Grades 4-7

Newbery Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner (2011)

Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, are sent to California for the summer to meet their mother that abandoned them when they were babies. They don’t know really anything about their mother really and think that this trip will bring them some answers, or at least allow them to get to know their absentee mother, Cecile. When they arrive they do not get the warm, affectionate mother they were hoping for- instead Cecile is cold and seems to not really want to have anything to do with them. Cecile makes the girls attend a summer camp supported by a group of Revolutionists who are trying to spread change. Delphine has to help navigate her sisters throughout this trip. This book is nicely written from the perspective of eleven year old Delphine and is a great way to spark discussions on the Civil Rights Movement.

Journey to Jo'burg : a South African Story by Beverley Naidoo

Reading Level: Ages 9 & up

Journey to Jo'burg : a South African Story is a story of thirteen year old Naledi and her younger brother Tiro. Their younger sister is sick and their mother works far away in the city of Johannesburg, so Naledi decides to sneak off with Tiro to go see their mother for help. Along their way they learn more about the racial segregation dividing their country. Although there are some really horrible things happening, they discover some people who are genuinely nice. This is a good story for all to read to show this horrific time period from children’s’ perspectives.

Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson

Interest Level Grades 1 - 6  

Reading Level Grades 3 - 4

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations, Notable Children's Books,
2011 Best Book for Young Children, Children's Africana Book Award, 2011 Notable Books for a Global Society list, Green Earth Book Award Honor, 2011-2012 Great Lakes Great Books Awards ballot, Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute
Seeds of Change has won many, many awards. It tells the story, in simpler vocabularly, of Wangari Maathai who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Wangari started the Green Belt Movement which involved planting and growing trees in her native country Kenya, as well as spread her message throughout the world. It tells an environmentalist message as well as encourages equal rights for woman. The illustrations are really beautiful!  They’re colorful and unique and add to the story greatly. I can definitely see how the illustrations won the John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations. 

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Age Level: 5 & up

This is about two young girls, Clover and Anna. Clover lives on the African-American “side” of town, and Anna on the white side. They are told by their parents to not cross over the fence that separates the two sides. The little girls decide by themselves that they do not care for this fence and would like to be friendly. They know that mother has said not to climb over “but she never said nothing about sitting on it”. I think this book is adorable and shows the strength and admiration of Clover and Anna’s characters. It is a great message to students; that even though adults have rules, more important than those rules are for common respect and courtesy to others.  The illustrations look water-colored and really are beautiful.