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As noted on the previous page, the grading may be interpreted as follows: An F = unacceptable, C = passable, B = good quality/subject but lacking some important elements, A = oustanding content/quality/subject.
Go to the section you wish to look at by choosing through the following,
or feel free scroll down:
African American Literature
Asian American/Pacific Islander Literature
Latino and Latina Literature
Native American and Eskimo Literature
Jewish
Middle Eastern or East Indian
Titles in English from Other Countries
Textbooks
Multiple Ethnicities
e-mail
Mama Day Gloria Naylor, Vintage Books, 1988, African-American, one
female and one male, fiction.
Wonderfully rich, engrossing, and emotional
tale about a man, a woman, and the woman's great-aunt, Mama
Day. It's a story about love, history, family, death, and the
continuance of life. Wonderful.
Suitable for high school.
Grade: A+
Invisible Man Ralph Ellison, Vintage Books, 1947,
African-American, male, fiction
The classic novel of the experience of African-Americans who are
caught between what white society expects and what
black society sees of them. Beautifully written,
strong, moving, emotional. For older students who can
understand its subtleties. Longish book.
Suitable for high-school upper classmen. Grade: A
Middle Passage Charles Johnson, Penguin Books, 1990
African-American, male, fiction
Winner of the National Book Award, Johnson's novel
is about a freed slave who stows away on a slave ship.
A quick read, a twist on the white "sea-faring" books
a la Melville, but lacks the sharpness of Wright or
Ellison.
Suitable for high school, and maybe
some junior-high classes. Grade: B
The cay Theodore Taylor, Avon, 1969, African-American, two
males, fiction.
Stranded on a tiny Caribbean island when their ship is torpedoed
by a German submarine, an adolescent white boy, blinded by a blow on the
head, and an old black man must find a way to survive. ..
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Soul looks back in wonder Tom Feelings, Dial Books, 1993,
African American, many, poetry.
A beautifully-illustrated collection of powerful poems by and
about African Americans.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
A lesson before dying Ernest J. Gaines, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc,
1993, African-American, male, fiction.
Jefferson, a black youth, gets caught in the wrong place during a
violent crime and is sentenced to death for something he did not do.
With the support of his family and community, he regains his self-esteem
and learns to face death with dignity.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Letters from a slave girl: The story of Harriet Jacobs Mary E.
Lyons, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992, African-American, female,
fiction.
In this fictionalized story
based on true events, Harriet Jacobs writes letters describing her
slavery in North Carolina and her preparations for escape in 1842.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Nightjohn Gary Paulsen, Delacorte Press, 1993, African
American, female, fiction.
Sarny faces the dangerous consequences when she accepts a
newly-arrived slave's offer to teach her to read.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Uncle Tom's Children Wright, Richard, Harper and Row, 1940,
African American, multi-racial, male, fiction.
A collection of four novellas and an autobiographical essay from Black
Boy, Uncle Tom's Children is realistic, brutal, yet beautiful fiction
that examines the violence that racism produces. In what could almost be
seen as a progression of methods of resitance, the first novela, "Big Boy
Leaves Home" deals with an adolescent character who must run from the
south pursued by racists. The methods progress from the individual to the
collective, and in one of the last ones, a preacher must decide whether
to organize a protest against hunger or give in to the mayor's requests
that he ignore the wishes of his community and stop the protest from
occurring..
Suitable for High School. Grade: A (PB)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Mildred Taylor, ?, ?, African-American,
female, fiction.
Cassie and her family live on land that they own, in the midst of white-owned plantations. She and her brothers confront differences in education, justice, attitudes, etc., and emerge triumphant. There are sequels..
Suitable for Middle School/Junior High.
Grade: A+ (JB)
The Wedding Dorothy West, Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1995, African-American, female,
fiction.
Written by the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance, Dorothy
West tells a poignant story about the Cole and Shelby families. This
story spans from the early days of feedom to the 1950's in Martha's
Vinyard as the family prepares for a wedding that forces them to deal
with both past and modern issues of race and class.
.
Suitable for 11th, 12th grade and college.
Grade: A (MP)
Desert Exile, Yoshiko Uchida, University of Washington Press,
1982, Japanese-American, female, autobiography
Internment Literature. Follows the war internment of a Japanese-American
family. True story, quick read.
Suitable for middle school/junior high and high school.
Grade: B+
Itsuka, Joy Kogawa, Anchor Books, 1992,
Asian-American(actually Canadian), female, fiction
Internment Literature. Follows the life of a Japanese-Canadian woman and
the group she belongs to who are fighting for compensation from the
Canadian government for internment of Canadian citzens of Japanese decent
during WWII.
Suitable for high school.
Grade: B
Honor and Duty, Gus Lee, Ivy Books, 1994,
Chinese-American, male, fiction
The follow-up to Lee's first book China Boy, follows Kai Ting
through his ordeals at West Point as the only Chinese-American in the
school. Only caution, the book is long.
Suitable for high-school.
Grade:B+
Children of the river Linda Crew, Dell Publishing, 1989,
Asian-American (Cambodian), female, fiction.
She fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer
Rouge army. Now seventeen-year-old Sundara must find a way to remain
faithful to her own people as she learns to become an American..
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
The clay marble Minfong Ho,Farrar, Straus & Giroux., 1991,
Asian-American (Cambodian), many, fiction.
As a family flees the advance of Khmer Rouge soldiers in
Cambodia, they become separated in the chaos..
Suitable for
junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Echoes of the white giraffeSook Nyul Choi, Houghton Mifflin,
1993, Asian American (Korean), female, fiction.
As Sookan adjusts to life in the refugee village in Pusan, she
clings to her hope that the civil war will end and her family will be
reunited in Seoul. Sequel to Year of Impossible Goodbyes.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Goodbye Vietnam Gloria Whelan, Random House, 1992, Asian
American (Vietnamese), many, fiction.
The seemingly-impossible dream of escaping Vietnam for Hong Kong
and freedom challenges a refugee family's courage and perseverance.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Shadow of the dragon Sherry Garland, Harcourt, 1993, Asian
American (Vietnamese), male, fiction.
Danny Vo tries to bring peace between a Vietnamese gang and his
girlfriend's brother, a skinhead.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Shizuko's daughter Kyoko Mori, Henry Holt and
Company, 1993, Asian American (Japanese), female, fiction.
Yuki's life turns upside down when her mother dies and she must
live with a father she doesn't know. She learns to rely on her own inner
strength and find her place in a new family.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, Warner Books, 1972,
Chicano, male, fiction
Warm, rich, magical story of a boy and his old friend who is a
curandera-one who cures with herbs and magic. Funny and incredibly
touching. Author has many excellent titles.
Suitable for high school.
Grade: A+
The forty-third war Louise Moeri, Houghton Mifflin Company,
1989, Latino/Latina, male, fiction.
When twelve-year-old Uno Ramirez is forced to serve in a
revolutionary army, he must find the courage to survive.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Journey of the sparrows Fran Leeper Buss with Daisy Cubias,
Dell Publishing, 1991,Latino/Latina, many, fiction.
After struggling to come to America, a family of Salvadoran refugees
begins to find a new home..
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Taking sides Gary Soto, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991,
Latino/Latina, male, fiction.
Lincoln Mendoza feels his loyalties torn when he leaves the
Hispanic inner city to move to a white suburban neighborhood.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Voices from the fields: Children of migrant farmers tell their
stories. S. Beth Atkin, Joy Street Books, 1993, Latino/Latina, many,
mixed.
Photographs, poems, and interviews with children reveal the
hardships and hopes of Latino migrant farm workers and their families.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Local news Gary Soto, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1993,
Latino/Latina, many, fiction.
A collection of short stories about Mexican American youth in
California's Central Valley.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Crazy weekend Gary Soto, Scholastic, Inc, 1994, Latino/Latina,
2 male, fiction.
Hector and Mando inadvertently find themselves pursued by two
thieves who think the boys witnessed their crime.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Pacific crossing Gary Soto, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992,
Latino/Latina, male, fiction.
Fourteen-year-old Mexican American Lincoln Mendoza spends a
summer with a host family in Japan, encountering new experiences and
making new friends.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Yo Soy Juaquin Rudolfo Gonzalez, ?, ?, chicano, male, poetry, photo essay.
This poem traces the roots of Chicano heritage and politics from Los
Indios through Los Vatos in 1970's Southwest. Juaquin is the
personification of all Chicano people. This piece was on of the poem the
Chicano movement generated then rallied around. It's place in political
history is as if not more important than its literary value, though it is
strong writing. The drawback is that the poem is centered around a male
experience. Its greatest strength is that the piece was written in both
English and Spanish, so the text contains both versions. .
Suitable for K-3. Grade: B (ST)
The Hispanic 100 (Citadel) Himilce Novas, ?, 1995, Latino,
nonfiction.
Great resource book about the Latino men and women who have most
influenced American thought and Culture. .
Suitable for ? Grade: ? (HM)
Cool Salsa ?, ?, ?, Mexican-America,
N/A, poetry.
This is a bilingual book of poetry. The poems are in both English and Spanish. I really liked "Why Do Men Only Wear One Earring?"..
Suitable for Middle School/Junior High and High School.
Grade: A (JB)
JalapeŇo Bagels Natasha Wing, Atheneum, 1996, Mexican/Jewish,
male, fiction, illustrations by Robert Casilla.
A warm family story set in a bakery owned by Pablo's Mexican mother and Jewish father. When Pablo needs to bring something to school from his culture for International Day heturns to his parents' bakery and choses something that represents both cultures - just like him! Includes glossary and recipes..
Suitable for K-3.
Grade: A
The Grass Dancer, Susan Power, Berkley Books, 1994,
Native-American, Different protagonists, fiction.
Non-linear style (the plot line moves backward through time). Disturbing
yet insightful. Deals with the struggles of Native-Americans in trying
to keep their traditions in the face of internal and external pressures.
But the novel goes beyond this, and deals with universal emotions, fears,
and triumphs. More advanced because of literary style.
Suitable for upper-classmen in high school.
Grade: B+
Scrub Dog of Alaska Walt Morey, Blue Heron Publishing, Inc., 1989,
Native American, Male, Fiction.
Half-Indian David Martin saves Scrub, part-wolf pup, from cruel
sled-dog trainer Smiley Jackson. Dave cares for Scrub as he grows into a
magnificent lead dog and Smiley returns to claim him. While Scrub races
in the Alaskan sled-dog circuit, Dave faces prejudice in Anchorage while
he tries to reunite with Scrub. Suitable for 4-6 and Middle
School/Junior High. Grade: A (DS)
Dancing teepees: Poems of American Indian youth Virginia
Driving Hawk Sneve, Holiday House, 1989, Native American, many, poetry.
The writings of young American Indian poets..
Suitable for
junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
I heard the owl call my name Margaret Craven, Clarke, Irwin.,
1967, Native American, male, fiction.
An Anglican priest with a short time to live learns acceptance of
death
from the native people he has come to help on the northwest coast of
British Columbia.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Again calls the owl.Margaret Craven, Hall, 1980, Native
American, many, fiction.
This sequel to I Heard the Owl Call My Name continues a native
community's journey to accept the death of a friend..
Suitable
for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Beardance Will Hobbs, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993,
Native American, male, fiction.
While accompanying his guardian on a trip into the San Juan
Mountains, Cloyd tries to help two orphaned grizzly cubs survive and
complete his own spirit mission. The sequel to Bearstone..
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Bearstone Will Hobbs, Atheneum Publishers, 1989, Native
American, male, fiction.
As a last chance to turn his life around, Cloyd, a Ute Indian
boy, goes to live with an elderly rancher whose caring ways help him
grow toward manhood..
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
The owl's song Janet Campbell Hale, Bantam Books, 1991, Native
American, male, fiction.
Billy White Hawk leaves his Idaho reservation to find a better
life in California, but discovers that hatred and hostility have
followed
him.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Revolutions of the heartMarsha Qualey, Houghton Mifflin and
Company, 1993, Native American, 1 female 1 male, fiction.
Cory must cope with family tragedy and small-town prejudice when
she falls in love with a Native American boy.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Rising voices: Writings of young Native AmericansSelected by
Arlene B. Hirschfelder and Beverly R. Singer, Charles Scribner's Sons,
1992, Native American, many, mixed.
A collection of poems and essays in which young Native Americans
speak of their identity, their families and communities, rituals, and
the harsh realities of their lives.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Walker of time Helen Hughes Vick, Harbinger, 1993, Native
American, male, fiction.
A sudden journey back through time jolts a Hopi boy as he finds
himself facing the challenges of an ancient people.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
A woman of her tribe Margaret Robinson, Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1990, Native American (Canadian), female, fiction.
Fifteen-year-old Annette makes a physical, cultural, and
psychological journey from her rural Nootka community on Vancouver
Island
to the city of Victoria to discover her cultural heritage.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
ROOTS OF PEACE, SEEDS OF HOPE: A Journey for Peacemakers Maggie Steincrohn Davis, Heartsong Books, 1994, Native American, N/A,
non-fiction, Illustrations by Maggie Steincrohn Davis.
This unique, highly-praised, exquisitely simple book expresses
the essence of Native-non-Native relations in this country and is a call
for peacemakers. The book is written in the spirit of Albert Schweitzer's
principle of 'Reverence for Life' and should be known and understood by
all persons, of whatever race.
.
Suitable for grades 3-12.
Grade: A+
Daniel's story Carol Matas, Scholastic, Inc, 1993, Jewish;
Holocaust, male, fiction.
Daniel and his family must find the courage to survive the horror
of the Holocaust "for all those who couldn't." Published in conjunction
with the exhibit, "Daniel's Story: Remember the Children" at the United
States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Related themes: Families,
Justice and Prejudice, Perseverance and Courage..
Suitable for
junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
The devil's arithmeticJane Yolen, Viking Kestrel, 1988, Jewish;
Holocaust, female, fiction.
A young woman struggles to understand her family's experience
during the Holocaust. Going through a magical doorway, she suddenly
realizes first-hand what they went through..
Suitable for
junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Jalapeno Bagels Natasha Wing, Atheneum, 1996, Mexican/Jewish,
male, fiction, illustrations by Robert Casilla.
A warm family story set in a bakery owned by Pablo's Mexican mother and Jewish father. When Pablo needs to bring something to school from his culture for International Day heturns to his parents' bakery and choses something that represents both cultures - just like him! Includes glossary and recipes..
Suitable for K-3.
Grade: A
Shabanu: Daughter of the wind Suzanne Fisher Staples, Alfred A.
Knopf, 1989, Pakastani, female, fiction.
When she is eleven, Shabanu's father gives her in marriage to an
older man to bring prestige to the Pakistani family. She must decide
whether to accept the decision or risk the consequences of going against
her family and culture.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Waiting for the rain Sheila Gordon, Bantam, 1987, South
African, 2 male, fiction.
Two young men -- one black, one white -- struggle to remain
friends through
racial tensions in South Africa.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Year of impossible goodbyes Sook Nyul Choi, Houghton Mifflin,
1991, Korean, female, fiction.
Sookan and her family survive the Japanese occupation of Korea,
only to face overwhelming hardship at the hands of the Communist
government which follows. This is the story of their escape to the South
and everything that they must leave behind.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Haveli Suzanne Fisher Staples, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1993,
Pakistani, female, fiction.
Shabanu submitted to the customs of her people in Pakistan and
married the rich older man to whom she was pledged against her will. But
now Shabanu becomes the victim of his family's blood feud and the malice
of his other wives. Sequel to Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.(KSN)
Grade: A
Zlata's diary Zlata Filipovic, Viking Press, 1994,
Yugoslovian, female, non-fiction.
Through her diary, Zlata Filipovic recounts the mounting horror
as her country, formerly Yugoslavia, dissolves into ethnic conflict.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Kiss the dust Elizabeth Laird, Penguin Books USA, Inc., 1991,
Middle Eastern (Iraqi), female, fiction.
To escape Iraqi forces, thirteen-year-old Tara must flee with her
family
over the border into Iran. There they face an uncertain future because
of her father's involvement with the Kurdish resistance movement.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Little brother Allan Baillie, Penguin Books USA, Inc., 1985,
Asian (Cambodian), male, fiction.
Vithy must survive the Cambodian jungle and the Khmer Rouge
soldiers to rescue his older brother.
.
Suitable for junior-high to high school.
Grade: A (KSN)
Candyman Simone Poirier-Bures, Oberon Press (Canada), 1994,
French Acadian (Nova Scotia), Female, fiction.
A bittersweet coming-of-age story about the relationship between a
girl and her father, the "Candyman," a wholesaler of penny candy. Set in
Halifax NS in the 50's. Strong sense of place and time. Important theme
is the mother's attempts to resist the gradual erosion of the family's
cultural roots..
Suitable for High School. Grade: A
Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide to Enhancing Student
LiteracyKing, Laurie and Dennis Stovall, Blue Heron Publishing, Inc.,
1992, Many, nonfiction, illustrations.
Case studies and how-to information on using publishing as curriculum,
citing student work from a variety of classroom settings at all grade
levels. Included are numerous examples of publications by or about
ethnicity.
Suitable for 4-6 and Middle School/Junior High. Grade:
A+ (DS)
Writing Across Cultures Edna Kovacs, Blue Heron Publishing, Inc.,
1993, Many, fiction-poetry and lyrical prose, illustrations.
At the elementary and middle school levels, a teacher's resource
book. At the high school and university levels, a text.This playful book
uses more than two dozen cultural forms to teach the range of poetic
possibilities. Student examples are mixed with the work of famous or
established writers. Suitable for 4-6, Middle School/Junior High, and
High School. Grade A. (DS)
United States in LiteratureMiller, de Dwyer, Hayden, Hogan and
Wood, Scott, Foresman and Co., 1982, textbook, illustrations.
This is a thoughtfully selected high school literature and
languagearts text book. There is substantial historical material
representing a multitude of ethnic and racial perspectives. They
accomplishthis while still paying respect to the traditional western canon.
.
Suitable for high school. Grade: A (BP)
Tar Beach Faith Ringhold, Random House, 1991,African American
Native American mix, female, fiction, Illustrations.
Review #1: This is a great book that uses illustrations from Faith
Ringhold's story quilts. The protagonist flies in her imagination over
the structures her father works on. She flies over the Brooklyn Bridge,
over the Union Building in New York, and over the ice cream factory. The
story deals with issues of economic status, mixed heritage, and focuses
on the power of the imagination. The text is rich and the illustrations
incredible!(ST) Review #2: Excellent picture book derived from a quilt
series. The pictures are magnificent and the storyline is full of joy,
hope, and beauty. A tale full of freedom and power. (TP, JB, AM).
Suitable for K-3. Grade: B+
Race' and Nation - the British Experience Husband, R, Paragon
Press, 1990, African-American, text.
This truely unplugs the history of the term 'race' and then it's
continued use in todays european society's. A teacher's resource of
substance and a real tool to unplug the taxonomic impossibility that
is 'race.'.
Suitable for high school. Grade: A (JD)
To submit your own books and reviews,
please go to our 
The format for submission of reviews can be found on
the Multicultural Book Review Homepage.
To return to the Multicultural Book Review Homepage or go to Mulitcultural
Web Links:
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[LINKS].
Please e-mail Joe at jmele@isomedia.com
Contributors of Multicultural Book Reviews:
KSN = Katherine Schlick Noe
BP = Bruce Patt
DS = Dennis Stoval
ST = Sarah Talbot
TP = Trudy Patton
JB = Jo Baune
AM = Amy Matsuoka
HM = Himilce Novas
JD = Jim Duffield
PB=Paul Barra
JB = J. Babb
MP = Margie Pedregon
