1_•GH MUSIC
Ada lives in the slums of Cateura, Paraguay. One day, her grandmother sees an ad for instrument lessons. Since there aren’t enough instruments for the children, the adults recycle materials in order to make instruments for everyone. Ada learns to play the violin. Eventually the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay travels all over playing their recycled instruments. Can allow for discussions of socioeconomic status and give readers creative ideas of what can be done with recycling. There are also links to additional visual materials (videos and interviews).
1_•O BIRTHDAYS
Told from the point of view of Nia, the owner, and Alfie, the pet. Nia gets Alfie, a turtle, as a gift. Alfie decides that he wants to get Nia a birthay present and then he disappears! The story recounts Alfie’s journey to reunite with Nia and give her a birthday present. A great example of incidental diversity and multiple points of view.
1_•J SELF I-LIKE-ME
In this award-winning picture book, Alma’s daddy explains to her how she got her 5 names: Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela.
1_•X KHAN
Rubina gets invited to a birthday party and her little sister begs to go with her. Later on, Rubina’s little sister is going to a party and the youngest sister begs to go with her. Rubina helps her sister out, despite her eating Rubina’s lollipop. A nice instance of incidental diversity featuring a Muslim family.
1_•J FEELINGS WORRIES
Jabari has just finished his swim lessons and passed his swimming test. He tells his dad he’s ready to jump off the diving board. But Jabari is just a little bit more nervous at the thought of jumping from the diving board than he realized. His dad tells him it’s OK to be scared and that sometimes he stops being afraid and then it feels like a surprise. Then, Jabari jumps off the diving board. A great story that explores trying something new despite being just a little bit scared and nervous.
1_•J GIRL POWER
Lucia wants to be a super hero, but boys on the playground make fun of her and tell her girls can’t be superheroes. After talking to her grandma, she learns about luchadores, masked wrestlers of lucha libre. She dons a lucha libre mask and plays in the playground, saves a dog named Coco, and meets other girls who are wearing luchadora masks.
1_•J FAMILIES GRANDPARENT
Mia’s abuela arrives to live with her family. She used to live in a place with mango trees and a wild parrot. Abuela doesn’t know much English and Mia doesn’t know much Spanish, so communication is hard between them. Mia helps Abuela learn English vocabulary and they buy a parrot that they name Mango. Can pair well with DRAWN TOGETHER by Minh Le. This book is a great way to show cross-cultural relationships within families.
1_•J SELF I-LIKE-ME
Mira has densely curly hair, and longs to have long, straight, silky hair like her mother. A wayward rain storm reveals the truth about Mira’s mom’s hair.
1_•J SELF I-LIKE-ME
A boy named Rigoberto moves from Venezuela to the United States and feels like he can’t relate to people in his class. Neither does a girl named Angelina. The children realize that the things that make them unique are what tie them to others.