“Multicultural books often require a different distribution system, and bookstores not located in communities of color may be reluctant to stock them. Therefore, initial sales are often smaller, for it takes longer for multicultural books to reach their intended audiences. Publishers of multicultural literature need to be more willing to take chances and be patient in not seeing a quick return on their investment.”
— Philip Lee,
Publisher, Lee
and Low.
Please note that this page tends to highlight proportionally more children's and young adult literature from the United States than other nations simply because the site authors are most well acquainted with that category. However, we welcome and encourage site visitors to let us know about great resources for books from around the world.
Multicultural Reading from CYALR: an annotated bibliography of some of our favorite titles; great for curriculum building, collection diversification, and reading group planning. Will print in black and white, without side elements, for easy printing and distribution.
(Write to Cynthia for permission to distribute for educational purposes; require that authorship and copyright remain clear).
Started as a summer reading list upon request in 2002, currently updated for continuing use with latest titles.
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award: "a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States."
Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature, a refereed journal published quarterly by IBBY.
Celebrate with Books: "created to showcase and discuss books that cross cultures for children and teens."
"Children's Books By and About People of Color Published in the U.S. 2002-" from CCBC.
Creating Optimal Learning Environments for All Children: Culturally Responsive Curriculum and Materials from the Early Childhood Education E-Newsletter. March 2002.
ETHNIC BOOK AWARDS by Sherry York (Linworth Publishing, 2005). "A unique resource for Americas, Asian Pacific American, Carter G. Woodson, Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpre, Syndney Taylor, and Tomas Rivera Awards!"
Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from the fall 2001 issue of Early Childhood Research and Practice (ERIC). Emphasis on Mexican American themes. The authors "raise potentially controversial issues in their discussion of multicultural picture books." They also invite related discussion on the site.
Global Reading: Selected Literature for Children and Teens Set in Other Countries: compiled by Megan Schliesman from CCBC (2007).
Humor in Multicultural Fiction: A Bibliography: prepared by the EMIERT Children’s Services Committee June 27, 2005 Chicago ALA Annual Conference.
The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY): “a non-profit organization which represents an international network of people from all over the world who are committed to bringing books and children together.”
Lee & Low New Voices Award: competition is open to picture book manuscripts no longer than 1,500 words by "writers of color" who are previously unpublished in the picture book.
Making Multicultural Connections Through Trade Books from Montgomery County Public Schools. Featured books were deemed to have a specific educational connection to the districts program in reading/language arts, math, social studies, or science. Entries include lesson plans, bibliographical information, and brief plot summaries.
Multicultural Children's Authors: a listing of links from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
Multicultural Humor, Seriously from Cynsations, inspired by a keynote address given at Reading The World (University of San Francisco) in spring 2004.
MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS by Ginny Moore Kruse and Kathleen T. Horning from the Cooperative Children's Book Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (two volumes). Excellent listings of multicultural books, and the introductions are must-reads for anyone serious about children's literature.
Multicultural Pavillion by Paul Gorski features teacher resources, original essays and articles, educational equity information, Listserv, poetry, songs, film reviews, and more.
Multicultural Resources for Children from the Internet School Library. Extensive site includes link to Multicultural Book Reviews. Also features bibliographies on the following: African American, Africa, Appalachian, Asian-American and Asia/Pacific Islands, Christian, European American, Hispanic Americans, Islamic, Jewish, and Native American.
Multicultural Review: "dedicated to a better understanding of ethnic, racial, and religious diversity." Features articles and book reviews. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Specific Multicultural Children's Literature Awards: includes a brief summary of each. Cyn Note: this is a PDF file.
Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Books for Racism and Sexism from the Council on Interracial Children's Books.
What's the Big Deal With Multicultural Publishing Anyway by children's book author Uma Krishnaswami.
“Why I Write Multicultural Books” by Cynthia Chin-Lee from PaperTigers.
NOTE: if you are looking for books in languages other than English, you may want also to try the Magic Tree Bookstore Inc. at 141 N Oak Park Ave, Oak Park, IL, USA (708) 848-0770.
This site also features substantive teacher / librarian / researcher resources related to multicultural literature, represented communities, Native American literature, and books related to war and peace.
Culture for Kids:
Excellent multicultural children's literature
resource; click for free
catalog and e-newsletter.