Multicultural Books for Fourth and Fifth Graders
at the Elmhurst Public Library

FICTION

The Journey of the Shadow Bairns   by Margaret J. Anderson   (Canada)
When her parents die suddenly leaving only a little money and one-way passages to Canada, a young Scottish girl decides she and her four-year-old brother will pursue family plans to relocate.   177p.

Anni’s India Diary   by Anni Axworthy   (India)
A ten-year-old's diary entries chronicle the magical sights and sounds she and her family encounter as they explore India.

Tae’s Sonata   by Haemi Balgassi   (Korean American)
Tae, a Korean American eighth grader, tries to sort out her feelings when she is assigned a popular cute boy as a partner for a school report and later has a falling out with her best friend.   123p.

Tiger’s Fall   by Molly Bang   (Mexico)
After eleven-year-old Lupe is partially paralyzed in an accident in her Mexican village, other handicapped people help her realize that her life can still have purpose.   110p.

Iggie’s House   by Judy Blume   (African American)
When a black family with three children moves into the white neighborhood, eleven-year-old Winnie learns the difference between being a good neighbor and being a good friend.   117p.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes   by Sook Nyul Choi   (Korea)
A 10-year-old Korean girl survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupation of North Korea during the 1940s, to later escape to freedom in South Korea.   171p.

Circle of Fire   by Evelyn Coleman   (African American)
In 1958, Mendy puts herself in danger when she discovers that the Ku Klux Klan is planning to bomb the Highlander Folk School in order to disrupt a visit from Mendy's hero, Eleanor Roosevelt.   150p.

Matilda   by Roald Dahl   (British)
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.   240p.

Weasel   by Cynthia DeFelice   (Shawnee Indian)
Alone in the frontier wilderness in the winter of 1839 while his father is recovering from an injury, eleven-year-old Nathan runs afoul of the renegade killer known as Weasel and makes a surprising discovery about the concept of revenge.   119p.

Next Door Neighbors   by Sarah Ellis   (Canadian)
Her family's move to a new town in Canada leaves shy twelve-year-old Peggy feeling lonely and uncomfortable, until she befriends the unconventional George and the Chinese servant of her imperious neighbor Mrs. Manning.   154p.

Seedfolks   by Paul Fleischman   (Various)
One by one, a number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city lot into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed.   69p.

Crossing Jordan   by Adrian Fogelin   (African American)
Twelve-year-old Cass meets her new African-American neighbor, Jemmie, and despite their families' prejudices, they build a strong friendship around their mutual talent for running and a pact to read Jane Eyre.   140p.

Ganekwane and the Green Dragon: Four Stories From Africa   by Corlia Fourie   (African)
Hlaulu and the Beast in the Forest -- The Middle Sister and the Tree -- The Girl with the Laughing Voice -- Ganekwane and the Green Dragon.   40p.

Homesick: My Own Story   by Jean Fritz   (Chinese)
The author's fictionalized version, though all the events are true, of her childhood in China in the 1920's.   163p.

Blabber Mouth   by Morris Gleitzman   (Australia)
An Australian schoolgirl who is unable to speak is embarrassed by her father's outlandish dress and behavior.   137p.

Cousins   by Virginia Hamilton   (African American)
Concerned that her grandmother may die, Cammy is unprepared for the accidental death of another relative.   125p.

Crutches by Peter Hartling   (Austrian)
A young boy, searching vainly for his mother in post-war Vienna, is befriended by a man on crutches and together they find hope for the future.   163p.

The House of Wisdom   by Florence Parry Heidi   (Iraq)
Ishaq, the son of the chief translator to the Caliph of ancient Baghdad, travels the world in search of precious books and manuscripts and brings them back to the great library known as the House of Wisdom.   36p.

Don’t Pat the Wombat!   By Elizabeth Honey   (Australia)
Wormz, Nicko, and their friends fear that their experience at a school camp in the Australian bush will be ruined by the presence of the dreaded Mr. Cromwell as a substitute chaperon.   142p.

Ola Shakes It Up   by Joanne Hyppolite   (African American)
Nine-year-old Ola and her family are the first black people to move into Walcott Corners, a stuffy, suburban Massachusetts community that Ola wishes were a little bit more like the lively old Roxbury neighborhood she sorely misses.   166p.

The Store That Mama Built   by Robert Lehrman   (Russian Jewish American)
In 1917 twelve-year-old Birdie and her siblings, the children of Jewish immigrants from Russia, help their recently widowed mother run the family store, picking up where their father left off in his struggle to succeed in America.   162p.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson   by Bette Bao Lord   (Chinese American)
In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn where she starts to feel at home and makes friends when she discovers baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers.   169p.

Number the Stars   by Lois Lowry   (Danish Jewish)
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.   137p.

The Last Wolf of Ireland   by Elona Malterre   (Ireland)
Despite the frightening stories they’ve heard about wolves, a boy and girl, living in the 1780’s, attempt to defy authority and save the last wolf left in the country.   127p.

Running Girl: The Diary of Ebonee Rose   by Sharon Bell Mathis   (African American)
In her diary Ebonee Rose records her passion for running, her desire to be like the great African American women athletes who have come before her, and her preparations for the All-City Meet.   60p.

Run Away Home   by Patricia C. McKissack    (African American/ Apache Indian)
In 1886 in Alabama, an eleven-year-old African American girl and her family befriend and give refuge to a runaway Apache boy.   160p.

The Orphan of Ellis Island   by Elvira Woodruff   (Italian American)
During a school trip to Ellis Island, Dominick Avaro, a ten-year-old foster child, travels back in time to 1908 Italy and accompanies two young emigrants to America.   174p.

Hannah’s Journal   by Marissa Moss   (Russian American)
In the Russian shtetl where she and her family live, Hannah is given a diary for her tenth birthday, and in it she records the dramatic story of her journey to America.

Me, Mop, and the Moondance Kid   by Walter Dean Myers   (African American)
Although adoption has taken them out of the New Jersey institution where they grew up, eleven-year-old T.J. and his younger brother Moondance remain involved with their friend Mop's relentless attempts to become adopted herself and to wreak revenge on their baseball rivals the obnoxious Eagles.   154p.

Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story   by Beverly Naidoo   (South African)
Separated from their mother by the harsh social and economic conditions prevalent among blacks in South Africa, thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother make a journey of over 300 kilometers to find her in Johannesburg.   80p.

Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear   by Lensey Namioka   (Chinese American)
Recently arrived in Seattle from China, musically untalented Yingtao is faced with giving a violin performance to attract new students for his father when he would rather be working on friendships and playing baseball.   134p.

Lydia, Queen of Palestine   by Uri Orlev   (Jewish)
Ten-year-old Lydia describes her childhood escapades in pre-World War II Romania, her struggles to understand her parents' divorce amid the chaos of the war, and her life on a kibbutz in Palestine. Based on the life of the Israeli poet Arianna Haran.   170p.

Adaline Falling Star   by Mary Pope Osborne   (Arapaho Indian)
Feeling abandoned by her deceased Arapaho mother and her explorer father, Adaline Falling Star runs away from the prejudiced cousins with whom she is staying and comes close to death in the wilderness, with only a mongrel dog for company.   170p.

Buster’s World   by Bjarne Reuter   (Danish)
Buster's magic tricks get him in and out of trouble.   154p.

Dinner at Aunt Connie’s House   by Faith Ringgold   (African American)
Dinner at Aunt Connie's is even more special than usual when Melody meets not only her new adopted cousin but twelve inspiring African-American women, who step out of their portraits and join the family for dinner.

Strudel Stories   by Joanne Rocklin   (Jewish American)
Seven generations of a Jewish family hear stories of their family history, all told while making apple strudel. 131 p.

Local News   by Gary Soto   (Mexican American)
A collection of thirteen short stories about the everyday lives of Mexican American young people in California's Central Valley.   148p.

The Pool Party   by Gary Soto   (Mexican American)
While helping his father and grandfather work as gardeners in Fresno, California, ten-year-old Rudy sees some differences between his Mexican-American family and the wealthy families that live nearby.   104p.

Alphabet City Ballet   by Erika Tamar   (Puerto Rican) 
Living in a poor Puerto Rican family complicates life for ten-year-old Marisol when she realizes that pursuing her love for ballet may expose her brother to danger.   168p.

The Well: David’s Story   by Mildred D. Taylor   (African American)
In Mississippi in the early 1900s ten-year-old David Logan's family generously shares their well water with both white and black neighbors in an atmosphere of potential racial violence.   92p.

Journey to Topaz   by Yoshiko Uchida   (Japanese American)
After the Pearl Harbor attack an eleven-year-old Japanese-American girl and her family are forced to go to an aliens camp in Utah.   149p.

Journey Home   by Yoshiko Uchida   (Japanese American)
After their release from an American concentration camp, a Japanese-American girl and her family try to reconstruct their lives amidst strong anti-Japanese feelings which breed fear, distrust, and violence.   131p.

When the Circus Came to Town   by Laurence Yep   (Chinese American)
An Asian cook and a Chinese New Year celebration help a ten-year old girl at a Montana stage coach station to regain her confidence after smallpox scars her face.   113p.

NON-FICTION

Pueblo Storyteller   by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith   (Pueblo Indian)
A young Cochiti Indian girl living with her grandparents in the Cochiti Pueblo near Santa Fe, New Mexico, describes her home and family and the day-to-day life and customs of her people.   26p.   (J 970.3 PUEBLO)

Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition   by Russell M. Peters   (Wampanoag Indian)
Steven Esquibel, a twelve-year-old Wampanoag Indian in Massachusetts, learns from his grandfather how to prepare a clambake in the tradition of his people. 48p.   (J 970.3 WAMPANOAG)

Day of the Dead   by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith   (Mexican American)
Here is a description of the Mexican American celebration of the Day of the Dead showing it’s ancient religious origins and the influence of Aztec beliefs and All Saint’s Day on the holiday.   30p.  (J 394.264 Hoy)

Totem Pole   by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith   (Tsimshian Indian)
A Tsimshian Indian proudly describes how his father carved a totem pole for the Klallam tribe and the subsequent ceremonial celebration.   30 p.   (J 730.89 Hoy)

The Lost Garden   by Laurence Yep   (Chinese American)
The author describes how he grew up as a Chinese American in San Francisco and how he came to use his writing to celebrate his family and his ethnic heritage.   117p.   (J 921 Yep)

Neighborhood Odes   by Gary Soto   (Hispanic American)
Twenty-one poems about growing up in an Hispanic neighborhood, highlighting the delights in such everyday items as sprinklers, the park, the library, and pomegranates.   68p.   (J 811.54 Sot)

The Rough-Face Girl   by Rafe Martin and David Shannon   (Algonquin Indian)
In this Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl and her two beautiful but heartless sisters compete for the affections of the Invisible Being.   30p.   (J 398.2089973 Mar)

Islam by Philip Wilkinson   (Islamic)
Discover the faith, culture, and history that have shaped the modern Islamic world.   64p.   (J 297 Wil)

Muslim Child: Understanding Islam through Stories and Poems   by Rukhsana Khan   (Muslim)
A collection of stories and poems about Muslim children from a variety of backgrounds, focusing on the celebration of holidays and practices of Islam.   104p.   (J 297.083 Kha)

A Boy Becomes a Man at Wounded Knee   by Ted Wood   (Sioux)
Describes the events that led to the massacre of Lakota (Sioux) Indians at Wounded Knee in 1890 and the experiences of a young boy as he rides with his people to commemorate this event one hundred years later.   42p.   (J 970.3 Dakota)

Arctic Hunter   by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith   (Inupiat)
A ten-year-old Eskimo (Inupiat) boy who lives far north of the Arctic Circle describes his family's annual spring trip to their camp, where they spend several weeks hunting and fishing for food to supplement their diet for the rest of the year and enjoying old traditions.   30p.   (J 979.87 Hoy)

Coconut Kind of Day: Island Poems   by Lynn Joseph   (Caribbean)
A collection of poems depicting the sights and sounds of the Caribbean islands.   30p.   (J 811.54 Jos)

Buffalo Hunt   by Russell Freedman   (Native American)
Examines the importance of the buffalo in the lore and day-to-daylife of the Indian tribes of the Great Plains and describes hunting methods and the uses found for each part of the animal that could not be eaten.   52p.   (J 978.00497 Fre)

The Big Book For Peace   edited by Ann Durrell   (Multicultural?)
The wisdom of peace and the absurdity of fighting are demonstrated in seventeen stories and poems by outstanding authors of today such as Jean Fritz, Milton Meltzer, and Nancy Willard, illustrated by famous illustrators such as Paul Zelinsky, the Dillons, and Maurice Sendak.   120p.   (J 810.80358 Big)

Confucius: The Golden Rule   by Russell Freedman   (Chinese)
A beautiful and witty book that introduces readers to the life and philosophy of this great Chinese thinker.   48p.   (J 921 Confucius)

Saladin, Noble Prince of Islam   by Diane Stanley   (Islamic)
This wonderfully illustrated biography tells of the life of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, who lived from 1137 to 1193.   46p.   (J/921/Saladin)

Brother to the Wind   by Mildred Pitts Walter   (African)
With the help of Good Snake, a young African boy gets his dearest wish.   32p.   (J 398.2 Wal)

The Magic Babushka   by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes   (Russian)
A gentle, nearsighted peasant girl rescues the legendary Baba Babochka and is rewarded with a magic babushka that enables her to create beautiful "pysanky," or decorated eggs.   32p.   (J 398.20947 Til)

Elmhurst Public Library