BookDragon Books for the Diverse Reader

The Outside Circle by Patti LaBoucane-Benson, illustrated by Kelly Mellings

17 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Canadian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Young Adult Readers

"The way our communities were set up was like a circle," an Elder explains to a group of imprisoned men. "In the middle of that circle were children. Around those children were the Elders, who would teach them. Around the Elders were the women. Keeping the...

Mango, Abuela, and Me by Med Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez

16 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Latina/o/x

Sometime in the winter, Mia's "far-away grandmother" arrives to live with her family. "'Abuela belongs with us now,’" her mother explains. On the first evening together, Mia realizes Abuela "can't unlock the English words," but at least they can communicate over two treasures Abuela pulls out...

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Huber’s Adrian and the Tree of Secrets

15 Jul, by SIBookDragon in European, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, WeNeedDiverseBooks, WNDB.SummerReadingSeries2015, Young Adult Readers

The Red Bicycle: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle by Jude Isabella, illustrated by Simone Shin

15 Jul, by SIBookDragon in African, Canadian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean American

For two years, young Leo has worked hard to pay for his bicycle, which he affectionately names Big Red. As rewarding as the boy-and-his-bike relationship has been, Leo is still growing ...

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper

14 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Out when and where they shouldn't be on a chilly October night, Stella and her brother Jojo witness "[n]ine robed figures dressed all in white," gathered around a single wooden cross ablaze. In 1932, Bumblebee, North Carolina is small enough that most of the townspeople know one another,...

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Kellen Hatanaka’s Work: An Occupational ABC

13 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Children/Picture Books, Nonfiction, WeNeedDiverseBooks, WNDB.SummerReadingSeries2015

Confessions by Kanae Minato, translated by Stephen Snyder

13 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

OH. MY. MY. MY. Dare I say ...

Fake ID by Lamar Giles

12 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Young Adult Readers

Being the new kid (again) in high school is hard enough, but for Nick Pearson, he also has to get used to a new name and a whole new identity that comes with his latest 'fake ID.' Every time Nick (nope, not his real name) and...

The Divine by Boaz Lavie, illustrated by Asaf Hanuka and Tomer Hanuka

10 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

Really, it's not just because of the dragon that I'm telling you to read this. Although, yes, the dragon is indeed an intriguing draw, especially since it doesn't appear until the very last pages, deus ex machina-style, albeit not without bringing violent retribution with it,...

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Cece Bell’s El Deafo

09 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, WeNeedDiverseBooks, WNDB.SummerReadingSeries2015

Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata

09 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Central Asian, Fiction, Japanese American, Kazakhstani, Middle Grade Readers

Still only 12, Jaden's life is about to undergo another major change: "his adoptive so-called parents were adopting another child, a baby boy from Kazakhstan. He figured he knew why they were adopting again: They weren't satisfied with him." Parents' hearts are going to be cringe-ing and...

Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lại

08 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Vietnamese, Vietnamese American

"They're his roots, not mine," Mia insists as she seethes on a flight bound to Vietnam with her father. "I'm a Laguna Beach girl who can paddleboard one-legged and live on fish tacos and mango smoothies. My parents should be thanking the Buddha for a...

How much do you know about literature by and about immigrants? [in Christian Science Monitor]

07 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Lists, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost

How much do you know about literature by and about immigrants? Try our quiz! How much do you know about literature by and about immigrants, old and new? Test your melting pot, tossed salad, multi-culti, all-American literary knowledge here … from A to Z! Published: Christian Science...

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Ellen Wittlinger’s Hard Love

07 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Latina/o/x, Middle Grade Readers, Puerto Rican, WeNeedDiverseBooks, WNDB.SummerReadingSeries2015, Young Adult Readers

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee + Author Interview [in Bookslut]

06 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Author Interview/Profile, Black/African American, Chinese American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Young Adult Readers

When Samantha Young swoops out of her father's dry goods store still angry from the news that they will soon be leaving Missouri for California – the exact opposite direction from New York – she couldn't possibly have realized that her life would literally be...

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Naomi Shihab Nye’s The Turtle of Oman

03 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Arab, Arab American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Palestinian American, WeNeedDiverseBooks, WNDB.SummerReadingSeries2015, Young Adult Readers

Master Keaton (vol. 2) by Naoki Urasawa, story by Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki, translated and adapted by John Werry

03 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, British, British Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hapa/Mixed-race, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Okay, I admit it: Master Keaton is my favorite new series. Luckily, Naoki Urasawa’s manga tend to go lonnnggggg (24 volumes of 20th-into-21st Century Boys, 18 volumes of Monster, and the shortest, eight-volumes of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka) so hopefully the good Master will keep me mightily satisfied for a...

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

02 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Chinese American, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

On the night high school senior Kristin Lattimer is crowned homecoming queen, she decides the time is just right to become intimate with her boyfriend. As ready as she thought she was, however, nothing prepares her for the pain – both physical and mental – that follows....

Discover WeNeedDiverseBooks with Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

02 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Nonfiction, WeNeedDiverseBooks, WNDB.SummerReadingSeries2015

The Peace Tree from Hiroshima: The Little Bonsai with a Big Story by Sandra Moore, illustrated by Kazumi Wilds

01 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Japanese, Japanese American, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Four centuries ago, in a forest on the Japanese island of Miyajima, a tree "pushed up through the dirt." Still a small sapling, the tree was "carefully dug" by a visitor named Itaro who wanted to take home a "'souvenir of this island, of the trees that...