Skip to main content

Five Faves: When Cultures Combine

By
None of us are just "one thing." All of us have several qualities that make us who we are and we have all had several people, and sometimes several cultures, influence who we've become. For some people, these differences are so significant that it can feel like they come from two different worlds. These books are all about celebrating what it's like to come from multiple cultures and claiming the many facets of what makes you "you!"

Two New Years
Written by Richard Ho
Illustrated by Lynn Scurfield
San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2023. Picture Book.

This multicultural family gets to celebrate the New Year multiple times. They celebrate Rosh Hashana in the fall and the Lunar New Year in the spring. The similarities and differences are explored in this picture book by showing Rosh Hashana and Lunar New Year's traditions on separate pages sometimes and at other times showing customs from both holidays nestled together. Reflecting the author's cultural and religious heritage, this book shows that you can celebrate all of who you are.

I Can Be All Three
Written by Salima Alikhan
Illustrated by Noor Sofi
New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2023. Picture Book.

When a young girl is given the assignment of bringing something for multicultural day that celebrates her culture, she is stuck. Dad is from India, Mom is from Germany, and our main character also feels ties to America, where she lives now. It takes a culturally mixed-up dessert to help her sort out her mixed-up feelings and ultimately, she's not the only one who comes to multicultural day with a less than straightforward heritage.

The Truth about Dragons
Written by Julie Leung
Illustrated by Hanna Cha
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2023. Picture Book.

A mother enchants her child with a bedtime story about two forests that the child travels through, guided through each one by one of his grandmothers. In each of these forests lies a dragon, one firey and fierce, the other majestic and in control of the rain. The mother teachers her child that both of these worlds reside within him in celebration of both of his cultures.

Written by Christina Matula and Erica Lyons
Illustrated by Tracy Subisak
New York: Quill Tree Books, 2024. Picture Book.

Ruby is getting ready to help her family celebrate two fall holidays: the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot. This means going to market, decorating, and making food. But Ruby realizes that something's missing: something to bridge the two holidays she loves. Stories from Ruby's family explain the stories and histories behind the two festivals.

Eyes the Weave the World's Wonders
Written by Joanna Ho with Liz Kleinrock
Illustrated by Dung Ho
New York: Harper Collins, 2024. Picture Book.

A young girl reflects on how her family matches for their family portrait: everyone wears the same colors and shoes, but no one's eyes match hers. She compares her eyes to her adoptive parents' blue and hazel ones. While studying keepsakes from her homeland, she speculates on why she was separated from her birth country. She claims both of her homes through her longing for connection with her culture of birth and love for her adoptive family.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

By
Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.
Post a Comment
Read more

Dragon Run

By
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...
1 comment
Read more

Review: Growing Home

By
Growing Home Written by Beth Ferry Illustrated by The Fan Brothers New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Fiction. 261 pages. This book has some entertaining characters! We get to read about Toasty, the goldfish who loves to eat cheese puffs, Ivy, a plant with magical powers, and Arthur, the spider who ends up with a broken leg. Jillian is the main human character in the book. She loves Toasty and Ivy, and would probably love Arthur, too, but she doesn't know about him....yet. Her parents own an antique shop, but they are facing some economic hardship.  This charming story is about magic, teamwork, and friendship. I loved that there were all kinds of shenanigans happening. While we are on a journey where the fish, the plant, the spider, and the girl are working to solve one mystery after another, the author beautifully guides us to the realization that words are powerful, friendships can heal hearts, and books have their own magic power to help in all kinds ...
Post a Comment
Read more