BookDragon Books for the Diverse Reader

Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn

06 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, British, Memoir, Nonfiction

"In 1975 ...

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

04 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Although Fridays are predominantly reserved for manga, I thought July Fourth trumped the usual today. Kirby Larson’s Hattie Big Sky, a 2007 Newbery Honor title, examines American patriotism from a perspective I can't remember encountering before in fiction. While the target audience is younger readers, surely adults...

My Pet Rattlesnake by Joe Hayes, illustrated by Antonio Castro L.

03 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

"When I was a kid, I was what you might call a desert rat," begins renowned American Southwest storyteller Joe Hayes’ latest picture book from boutique indie Cinco Puntos Press. Once upon a time, that desert rat-kid stumbles on a rattlesnake trapped under a rock and releases...

Sidewalk Dancing: A Novel in Stories by Letitia Moffitt

02 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Hawaiian, Short Stories

Two genres set my reading heart aflutter: novels in verse (highly ironic as I am an utter poetry dullard) and interlinked short storied novels. Hapa Hawaiian native Letitia Moffit’s Sidewalk Dancing falls in the latter category ...

The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen by Thelma Lynne Godin, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

01 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Fiction

Welcome to the corner of Broadway and West 139th Street in New York City: Today, Kameeka is determined that she will finally claim her rightful title as the Hula-Hoopin' Queen of 139th Street! But today is also the beloved Miz Adeline's birthday – "I love Miz...

Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle

29 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

Nate Foster, who at "four foot eight" looks much younger that his almost-14 years, makes up for his diminutive height with outsized dreams – and the grandest of plans to make them come true. While his parents are away for a romantic weekend (Dad's trying to make...

Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat

26 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Southeast Asian American, Thai American

And you thought you knew Little Red and the Big Wolf? Look again ...

Lost Girl Found by Leah Bassoff and Laura DeLuca

25 Jun, by SIBookDragon in African, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Not quite a teenager, Poni loses her 12-year-old best friend in violent increments: to too-early forced marriage, three failed suicide attempts, and finally to childbirth long before her natural time. Poni – and her fiercely supportive mother – are determined that Poni will somehow stay in school...

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim, illustrated by Grace Zong

24 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction

So this might seem like a Chinese New Year title (because it is – although I just received a copy; the first print run sold out almost immediately, yippee!), but it's even more about sharing, forgiveness, and friendship. Which means don't read it just once a...

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

23 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

I can't believe we're already in the last full week of LGBT Pride Month! I confess that my June literary goal was to read as many David Levithan titles as possible (without guilt even, given what month this is). Alas, I didn't make much progress in any...

Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón

20 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Biography, European, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Jewish, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Some time in the recent past, a video link came through that began with birthday wishes for Anne Frank, as if she had miraculously survived the Holocaust and lived many fulfilling decades. [I can't seem to find the link again, so if anyone recognizes the description...

Bingo’s Run by James A. Levine

19 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

If, like me, you have trouble with accents, dialects, or unfamiliar vernacular, choose audible here. Narrator Peter Macon couldn't be smoother and clearer: I couldn't figure out "meejit" on the page, but in Macon's voice, no problem (turns out I'm just the "eejit" who can't understand 'midget,'...

Work: An Occupational ABC by Kellen Hatanaka

18 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Children/Picture Books, Nonfiction

Get ready for quite the imaginative, clever twist on this predictable genre: even the youngest readers know what comes after A-B-C ...

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel [in Library Journal]

16 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW In high school, Tsukuru Tazaki was part of a "perfect community" of five best friends. Each had a color attached to their family names – red, blue, white, black –except for Tsukuru, rendering him "colorless." After Tsukuru begins college in Tokyo, he's brutally excised...

Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew

13 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Malaysian, Middle Grade Readers, Singaporean, Young Adult Readers

You can go two ways here: 1. Just read this as is, without context or background, and you would enjoy it immensely because it's just so much fun; 2. Invest a little research time before you open the book and reach the final page satisfied and...

Soldier Doll by Jennifer Gold

12 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Canadian, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Canadian lawyer/author Jennifer Gold’s debut novel starts with such promise: a contemporary teenager's discovery of the eponymous "soldier doll" is interwoven with the doll's near-century-long journey from Europe to the U.S. to Vietnam, landing in a garage sale in Toronto to be bargained for a mere...

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt

11 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Jewish, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

"Look at us. A family of four. Seated around the dinner table," 16-year-old Simone observes. "We do this every night. ...

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

10 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Black/African American, Canadian, Fiction

Let's start with the bottom line: read this. [Or listen – narrator Adenrele Ojo is superb.] I guarantee this stupendously epic, unforgettably affecting story of Aminata Diallo will haunt you long after you finish. Born in 1745, Aminata is 11 when she's violently abducted from her...

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger, illustrated by Robert Byrd

09 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Black/African American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

In what should have been a year-long contract of difficult labor as a "pawn" for a 9-year-old girl whose family cannot survive otherwise, becomes a horrific journey to the other side of the world. Named Magulu by her parents, she becomes Margru because of a...

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham

08 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

Claire Danes, interestingly enough, narrates 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning Michael Cunningham’s latest novel. The choice seems a bit odd as most of the narrative is from the point of view of two brothers. Still, Danes is good enough, if a little on the flat side. Perhaps...