Multicultural Books for 3’s, 4’s 5’s and Kindergarteners
at the Elmhurst Public Library

Picture Books

These books are shelved alphabetically by the author’s last name in the picture book section of the library.

This Is the Way We Eat Our Lunch   by Edith Baer   (Multicultural)
Relates in rhyme what children eat in countries around the world. 36p.

This Is the Way We Go to School   by Edith Baer   (Multicultural)
Describes, in text and illustrations, the many different modes of transportation children all over the world use to get to school. 36p.

Madeline   by Ludwig Bemelmans   (French)
Madeline, smallest and naughtiest of the twelve little charges of Miss Clavel, wakes up one night with an attack of appendicitis. 48p.

Pelle’s New Suit   by Elsa Beskow   (Swedish)
Young Pelle shears his sheep and then enlists the help of his family to make the wool into a new suit. 15p.

Flower Garden   by Eve Bunting   (African American)
Helped by her father, a young girl prepares a flower garden as a birthday surprise for her mother. 29p.

The Piano Man   by Debbi Chocolate   (African American)
A young Afro-American girl recalls the life story of her grandfather who performed in vaudeville and played piano for the silent movies.

Halmoni and the Picnic   by Sook Nyul Choi   (Korean American)
A Korean American girl's third grade class helps her newly arrived grandmother feel more comfortable with her new life in the United States. 31p.

The Coffee Can Kid   by Jan M. Czech   (Korean-American)
Six-year-old Annie asks the father who adopted her to once more tell the story of how she came to America from Korea.

Abuela   by Arthur Dorros   (Hispanic American)
While riding on a bus with her grandmother, a little girl imagines that they are carried up into the sky and fly over the sights of New York City. 34p.

Feast For 10   by Cathryn Falwell   (African American)
Numbers from one to ten are used to tell how members of a family shop and work together to prepare a meal. 28p.

Gabriella’s Song   by Candace Fleming   (Italian)
A young girl finds music all around her as she walks about the city of Venice, Italy, and she shares her song with everyone she meets. 29p.

It takes a Village   by Jane Cowen Fletcher   (Benin)
On market day in a small village in Benin, Yemi tries to watch her little brother Kokou and finds that the entire village is watching out for him too. 32p.

Whoever You Are   by Mem Fox   (Multicultural)
Despite the differences between people around the world, there are similarities that join us together, such as pain, joy, and love.

Nutik, the Wolf Pup   by Jean Craighead George   (Eskimo)
When his older sister Julie brings home two small wolf pups, Amaroq takes care of the one called Nutik and grows to love it, even though Julie tells him it cannot stay. 30p.

Rata Pata Scata Fata   by Phillis Gershator   (Caribbean)
Preferring to dream away the days on his Caribbean island, little Junjun tries saying magic words to get the chores done. 30p.

Africa Dream   by Eloise Greenfield   (African)
A black child's dreams are filled with the images of the people and places of Africa. 32p.

I Make Music   by Eloise Greenfield   (African American)
Make good music on the piano, the xylophone, the drums, with fingers and toe-tapping. 32p.

Ten Little Rabbits   by Virginia Grossman   (Native American)
A counting rhyme with illustrations of rabbits in Native American costume, depicting traditional customs such as rain dances, hunting, and smoke signals. Includes a glossary with additional information on the customs. 25p.

Luka’s Quilt   by Georgia Guback   (Hawaiian)
When Luka's grandmother makes a traditional Hawaiian quilt for her, she and Luka disagree over the colors it should include. 30p.

¡Fiesta!   by Ginger Foglesong Guy   (Hispanic)
Bilingual text describes a children's party and provides practice counting in English and Spanish. 29p.

Jamaica and Brianna    by Juanita Havill   (Multicultural)
Jamaica hates wearing hand-me-down boots when her friend Brianna has pink fuzzy ones.

Jamaica and the Substitute Teacher   by Juanita Havill   (African American)
Jamaica copies from a friend during a spelling test because she wants a perfect paper, but her substitute teacher Mrs. Duval helps her understand that she does not have to be perfect to be special. 32p.

Eat Up, Gemma   by Sarah Hayes   (African American)
Baby Gemma refuses to eat, throwing her breakfast on the floor and squashing her grapes, until her brother gets an inspired idea. 24p.

The Day of Ahmed’s Secret   by Florence Parry Heide   (Egyptian)
A young Egyptian boy describes the city of Cairo as he goes about his daily work and waits for the evening to share a special surprise with his family. 30p.

Do Like Kyla   by Angela Johnson   (African American)
A little girl imitates her big sister Kyla all day, until in the evening Kyla imitates her. 30p.

The Girl Who Wore Snakes by Angela Johnson   (African American)
Ali discovers that there is someone else that thinks snakes are beautiful and loves them as much as she does.

Mama, Do You Love Me?   by Barbara M. Joosse   (Alaskan)
A child living in the Arctic learns that a mother's love is unconditional. 24p.

Caribbean Alphabet   by Frane Lessac   (Caribbean)
Presents an alphabet of images from the Caribbean, such as hibiscus, mangoes, and reggae.

Jafta   by Hugh Lewin   (African)
Jafta describes some of his everyday feelings by comparing his actions to those of various African animals. 24p.

Dim Sum for Everyone   by Grace Lin   (Chinese American)
A child describes the various little dishes of dim sum that she and her family enjoy on a visit to a restaurant in Chinatown. 28p.Kite Flying   by Grace Lin   (Chinese American)
A girl describes how her family makes and flies a kite. 28p.

The Ugly Vegetables   by Grace Lin   (Chinese American)
A little girl thinks her mother's garden is the ugliest in the neighborhood until she discovers that flowers might look and smell pretty but Chinese vegetable soup smells best of all. 28p.

Henry’s First-Moon Birthday   by Lenore Look   (Chinese American)
A young girl helps her grandmother with preparations for the traditional Chinese celebration to welcome her new baby brother. 32p.

Snow Bear   by Jean Craighead George   (Eskimo)
Bessie and a polar bear cub named Snow Bear play on the ice, while her older brother and the mother bear watch to make sure that everyone is safe. 28p.

Pablo’s Tree   by Pat Mora   (Mexican American)
Each year on his birthday, a young Mexican American boy looks forward to seeing how his grandfather has decorated the tree he planted on the day the boy was adopted.

The Rainbow Tulip   by Pat Mora   (Mexican American)
A Mexican-American first-grader experiences the difficulties and pleasures of being different when she wears a tulip costume with all the colors of the rainbow for the school May Day parade. 32p.

Tomas and the Library Lady   by Pat Mora   (Mexican American)
While helping his family in their work as migrant laborers far from their home, Tomas finds an entire world to explore in the books at the local public library.

Bread, Bread, Bread   by Ann Morriss   (Multicultural)
Celebrates the many different kinds of bread and how it may be enjoyed all over the world. 28p.

Loving   by Ann Morris   (Multicultural)
Provides examples of the different ways in which love can be expressed, with an emphasis on the relationship between parent and child. 32p.

On the Go   by Ann Morris   (Multicultural)
Discusses the ways in which people all over the world move from place to place, including walking, riding on animals, and traveling on wheels and water. 28p.

Shades of Black: a Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney   (African American)
Photographs and poetic text celebrate the beauty and diversity of African American children.

The American Wei   by Marion Hess Pomeranc   (Chinese American)
When Wei Fong loses his first tooth while going to his family's naturalization ceremony many soon-to-be Americans join in the search.

A String of Beads   by Margarette S. Reid   (Multicultural)
A young girl describes how she and her grandmother make jewelry from all kinds of beads. Includes information about the history of beads.

On Mother’s Lap   by Ann Herbert Scott   (Eskimo)
A small Eskimo boy discovers that Mother's lap is a very special place with room for everyone. 32p.

Madlenka   by Peter Sis   (Multicultural)
Madlenka, whose New York City neighbors include the French baker, the Indian news vendor, the Italian ice-cream man, the South American grocer, and the Chinese shopkeeper, goes around the block to show her friends her loose tooth and finds that it is like taking a trip around the world. 41p.

Snapshots From the Wedding   by Gary Soto   (Mexican American)
Maya, the flower girl, describes a Mexican American wedding through snapshots of the day's events, beginning with the procession to the altar and ending with her sleeping after the dance.

Elizabeti’s Doll   by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen   (Tanzanian)
When a young Tanzanian girl gets a new baby brother, she finds a rock, which she names Eva, and makes it her baby doll.

Mama Elizabeti   by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen   (Tanzanian)
When her mother has a new baby, Elizabeti is given charge of her younger brother and finds it more difficult to take care him than it was to care for her rock doll.

Cherish Me   by Joyce Carol Thomas   (African American)
"For children discovering their individuality, this beautiful poem celebrates uniqueness, love, and self-awareness". 20p.

What a Wonderful World   by George David Weiss   (Multicultural)
Children put on a puppet show, using the words to the song, "What a Wonderful World."  24p.

Apple Pie 4th of July   by Janet S. Wong   (Chinese American)
A Chinese American child fears that the food her parents are preparing to sell on the Fourth of July will not be eaten.

Nonfiction

Hairs = Pelitos   by Sandra Cisneros   (Hispanic American)
A girl describes how each person in the family has hair that looks and acts different, Papa's like a broom, Kiki's like fur, and Mama's with the sweet smell of bread before it's baked.  (J 468 Cis)

The Perfect Pinata   by Kelli Dominguez   (Hispanic American)
Marisa picks out a butterfly pinata for her birthday party, but by the day of the party, she decides it is too beautiful to break. 29p.  (J 428 Dom)

All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color   by Katie Kissinger   (Multicultural)
Using outstanding full color photographs, this book showcases the beautiful diversity of human skin color.  32 p. (J 612.7927 Kis)

Street Rhymes Around the World   edited by Jane Yolen
An illustrated anthology of jump-rope and other counting street rhymes from seventeen countries.  39p.   (J 808.81 Str)

Rosa Parks   by Cynthia Klingel   (African American)
A brief biography of this important civil rights leader. 24p.  (J 921 Parks)

My First Martin Luther King Jr. Book   by Dee Lillegard  (African American)
This book tells the life of this famous civil rights leader through short poems. 31p.  (J 811.54 Lil)

Chinese New Year   by David F. Marx        (Chinese)
A simple introduction to the traditions and festivities of Chinese New Year. 31p.  (J 394.261 Mar)

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo   (African American)
An introduction to a great civil rights leader. 27p.  (J 921 King)

My Mum is a Wonder   by Michele Messaoudi   (Muslim)
"A young boy's lively account of his mother's wonderful work brings into full view the joy of Muslim family life, with all its warmth, love and focus on pleasing Allah." 18p.  (J 297 Mes)

We All Sing With the Same Voice   by J. Philip Miller   (Multicultural)
This joyful Sesame Street song embraces the notion that no matter where children live, what they look like, or what they do, they're all the same where it counts--at heart. 34p.  (J Kit 306 Mil)

Children Around the World   by Donata Montanari   (Multicultural)
This informational picture book introduces young readers to twelve children from countries around the world. 31p.  (J 390 Mon)

Families   by Ann Morris   (Multicultural)
A simple explanation of families, how they function, how they are different and how they are alike. 29p.  (J 306.85 Mor)

Bein’ With You This Way   by W. Nikola-Lisa   (Multicultural)
A celebration of human differences and similarities told in poetry.  (J E Nik)

Cesar Chavez   by Lola M. Schaefer   (Mexican American)
Simple text and photographs depict the life of the Mexican American labor leader who achieved justice for migrant farm workers by creating a union to protect their rights. 24p.  (J 921 Chavez)

All Kinds of Children   by Norma Simon   (Multicultural)
Presents the things that all children over the world have in common, including their need for food, clothes, people to love them, and the opportunity to play. 30p.  (J 305.23 Sim)

In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall   illustrated by Javaka Steptoe   (African American)
A collection of poems celebrating African-American fathers by Angela Johnson, E. Ethelbert Miller, Carole Boston Weatherford, and others. 30p.  (J 811.008 In)

Ellen Ochoa   by Pam Walker   (Hispanic American)
A brief biography on the first Hispanic American female astronaut.  24p.  (J 921 Ochoa)

Martin Luther King Jr.   by Pam Walker   (African American)
An introduction to the life of the famous civil rights leader.  24p.  (J 921 King)