Children's Picture Book Recommendations and other Book Links

Because my research and teaching practices involve children's picture books, I have begun compiling a list of books that I feel exemplify "quality" multicultural picture books. I include Anglo-European-American books in my definition of "multicultural" (which is a problematic term in its own right given the diversity of cultures in each individual due to mixed ethnicities and shifting understandings of culture which include but are not limited to dis/ability, gender, sexuality etc.). By doing this I hope to help dispel the notion that Anglo-European-Americans are culture-less and to challenge the "othering" of non-whites into their own section (in the case of children's books in bookstores this is usually somewhere in the back section and rarely featured). Also, there is the problem of essentializing - such as where all Native American people are seen as one homogenous group, or when one African American person's experience is used to represent the experiences of all African Americans. Needless to say its a complex issue. Nevertheless, as Maya Gonzalez says "Children should never long to see their own face." I believe through children's picture books all aspects of culture (including environment) can be explored sensitively and creatively.

The initial list, an annotated bibliography, is excerpted from "Your place or mine: Reading art, place, and culture in multicultural picture books" (Reisberg, Brander, & Gruenewald, 2006). Teacher Education Quarterly, (2006), 33(1), 117-133. The bibliography describes 20 place-based multicultural picture books situated in California. Following the bibliography is a basic recommended list, which I will be adding toand annotating with time. Please feel free to email me any suggestions for other quality books and if possible I will include them. Finally, I would like to include links to other children's book artists' sites, information for would-be children's book artists and authors, and other links which might be helpful for others involved in the beauty, soul, and transformative potential of children's picture books.

Summaries of twenty place-specific, multicultural picture books from California.

Los Angeles

Alarcon, Francisco. (1999). Angels ride bikes/Los Angeles Andan en bicicleta.
Illus. by Maya Christine Gonazalez. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Angel’s ride bikes and other fall poems tells of Francisco Alarcón’s childhood in Los Angeles. In one poem young Francisco is unable to go outside and play because of the smog. He prays for a sign and has a vision of everyone riding bicycles everywhere, and the air turning clean and pure again.

Soto, Gary (1995). Chato’s Kitchen Illus. by Susan Guevara. New York, NY:
Scholastic Books.
Soto’s fanciful story teams Chato and his friend Novio Boy as two barrio cats,
ready and eager to have their new neighbors, the mice for dinner.

Cohn, Diana Yes we can!/ ¡Sî se puede! (2002). Illus by Francisco Delgado. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.
This inspiring book tells the story of the 8,000 janitors who went on strike in 2000 as seen through the eyes of Carlito whose mom is unable to make ends meet on her limited salary as a Los Angeles janitor.

Jaskol, Julie & Lewis, Brian City of Angels – in and around Los Angeles (1999). Illus.
by Elisa Kleven. New York, NY: Dutton Books.
Sticking mostly to a de-politicized surface the book is nonetheless very charming and inclusive of multiple ethnicities and their communities. It provides a selected timeline of Los Angeles’s history.

Perez, A. I. (2000) My diary from here to there /Mi diari de aqui hasta allå. Illus. by
Maya Christine Gonazalez. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Taking us from Juarez in Mexico to El Monte, East of Los Angeles, Perez writes of her sadness at leaving her country and best friend as she and her parents travel North in search of employment and opportunity. It is a story of family love and finding one’s place and strength, no matter where you live.

Perez, A. I. (2000) My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito Illus. by Maya Christine
Gonazalez. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Perez writes about having to share her room with five brothers until finally, with the help of her mom (and the rest of her family), she comes to have a room of her own. The book shows how a poor Mexican/Californian family can experience great richness and beauty from the love and creativity of her family.

Gunning, M. (2004) A shelter in our car. Illus by Elaine Pedlar. San Francisco, CA:
Children’s Book Press.
Gunning’s book tells a different tale of place as placelessness. Jamaican mother and daughter Zettie find themselves living in a car in Los Angeles after Papa’s death. The story gives a glimpse of what homelessness is like for many women and children while affirming the dignity of the characters lives.

San Francisco and Berkeley

Argueta, Jorge. (2001). A movie in my pillow /Una película en mi almohada. Illus. by Elizabeth Gomez. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Arguetta and his father fled to San Francisco to avoid the El Salvadorean death squads. He writes of what he misses in his homeland and what he finds in the new land. The book shows the strength of his family in overcoming adversity and separation, while holding love for both places.

Corpi, Lucha. (1997). Where fireflies dance/Ahi, donde bailan las lucérnagas.
Illus. by Mira Reisberg. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Corpi’s story begins with her childhood adventures in Jaltipan, Mexico and proceeds via a bus called El Mundo (the world) to find her destiny in Berkeley, California. She uses humor and pathos to tell of her family’s history along with the history of her town.

Wolff, Ashley (1995) Stella and Roy. New York: NY Puffin Unicorn Books
Stella and Roy is a contemporary retelling of the hare and the tortoise tale set in San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Park. We meet Officer Rowan, a beautiful black policewoman and her horse Mr. B. as well as seeing some of the many other park visitors and animal inhabitants. While it skips over the issue of the many homeless people who inhabit the park it is still a very a delightful book for young children. 

Lee, Millie. (1997) Nim and the war effort. Illus. by Yangsook Choi. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Nim is a young Chinese-American girl determined to win the newspaper collection contest for the war effort. The story interweaves the racism that Asians have historically endured particularly during World War II, with interesting factual information on Chinese customs, showing that many non-Whites are also patriots.

Robles, Anthony. (2003) Lakas and the Manilatown fish/Si Lakas at ang Isdang
Manilatown . Illus. by Carl Angel. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
This whimsical and fantastical story manages to convey the importance and respect Filipino’s hold for their elders as well as the often painful history of the Filipino-American community in San Francisco. It is the first bilingual English and Tagalog book ever made in the US.

Argueta, J. (2003) Xochitl and the flowers/Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores. Illustrations by Carl Angel. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Based on a true story Xochitl (Soh-cheel) and her mother sell flowers on the street. In the process they become friends with the many members of their community before finally managing to make enough money to start a nursery in their backyard. When problems arise with their landlord their community rallies to help them.

Central California

Herrera, Juan Felipe. (1995). Calling the doves/El canto de los palomas. Illus. by Elly Simmons. New York: Children's Book Press.
Herrera’s childhood as a Mexican migrant farm-worker child moving from place to place with his family form the basis for this playful, loving, and poetic book.

Krull, Kathleen. (2003). Harvesting hope. The story of Cesar Chavez. Illus. by Yuyi Morales. New York, NY: Harcourt, Inc.
Located in the Central Valley of California we learn of Cesar Chavez’s childhood and the racism and ignorance he encountered in schools, as well as the cruelty and poor conditions he and other farm workers endured. It shows how Chavez evolved as a leader, climaxing in the historic long march to Sacramento that ultimately forced officials to allow the farm workers to unionize and have better conditions.

Williams, Sherley Anne. (1992) Working cotton. Illus. by Carole Byard. San Diego:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Many people are unfamiliar that cotton picking was common in parts of California. Told through the eyes of Shelan, an African American child too young to pick her own cotton, but still able to help the others, Shelan can’t wait till she is old enough to pick cotton and help her family with the backbreaking labor they endure every day.

Northern California

Santiago, Chiori. (2002) Home to Medicine Mountain. Illus. by Judith Lowery. San
Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
The book tells Native-American artist Lowery’s true story about her father and uncle being taken far from their homes, forbidden to speak their language or to speak of their customs and how they managed to escape the school for a summer by hitching a ride on the rails home to their family. It is an intense story about institutionalized racism.

Wolff, Ashley (1999)  Stella and Roy go camping. New York, NY: Dutton Books
Stella and Roy return in this sequel to Stella and Roy but this time they are older and out camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Wolff manages to convey a tremendous amount of information about the natural wonders of the animals and environment in this imaginative retelling of "The boy who cried wolf."

Partridge, B. (2001). Oranges on Golden Mountain. Illus. by Aki Sogabe. New York, 
NY: Dutton Children’s Books.
Partridge skillfully tells the story of how Jo Lee came to work with his uncle, fishing at Golden Mountain during the California Gold Rush. The story weaves in aspects of Chinese culture and spiritual beliefs and is completed with an excellent author’s note at the end documenting the historical roots of the story and the hardships and racism that Chinese people had to overcome in California.

Spirit of California
Rohmer, H. (1999). Honoring our ancestors: Stories and pictures by fourteen artists.
San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Honoring our Ancestors features fourteen artists whose ancestors are African American, Asian American, Latin American, Native American, Jewish American and Arab American. The book was created in San Francisco with twelve of the fourteen artists residing in California. If there is such a thing as a spirit of place this book has some of the spirit of California in its wide-open approach to story, its saturated use of color and the plurality of cultures represented.

List of some wonderful picture books

When I have a chance I will correctly format and annotate these books
* also suitable for MS and HS           
• Some of my personal favorites

•  Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall Poems by Francisco X. Alarcon. Illustrated by Maya     
    Gonzalez. (Anything by this author or artist will be good)
•   A handful of seeds by Monica Hughes
     Abuela by Arthur Dorros. Illustrated by Elisa Kleven.
•   A Movie in my Pillow by Jorge Argueta
•   Baby Rattlesnake by Lynn Moroney
    Diego by Jeanette Winters
•  Family Pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza
•   Frida by Jonathan Winters
•  From the Bellybutton of the Moon by Francisco X. Alarcon
•   Harvesting Hope by Kathleen Krull
•   Home by Jeannie Baker (or anything by this author/artist)
•* Home to Medicine Mountain by Chiori Santiago
•* Honoring our ancestors by Harriet Rohmer
•   Invisible Hunters by Harriet Rohmer
•*  I see the rhythm by Tomie Igus
•   Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales
•   Just like Home by Elizabeth Miller
•* Just like me by Harriet Rohmer
•   Lakas and the Manilatown Fish by Anthony Robles
•*  Maus by Art Spiegelman (not suitable for elementary)
•   My Diary from Here to There by Irma Amada Perez
    Oliver Buttons is a sissy by Tomi dePaola
•* Persepolis by Maryan Satrapi (best for older grades)
•   Prietita and the Ghost Woman by Gloria Anzaldua
•   So you want to be president by Judith St. George
•   Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley (really fun Western orphan story)
•   Sitti’s Secret by Naomi Shihab Nye
•  Tar Baby by Faith Ringgold
•* This Land is my Land byGeorge Littlechild
•  The Woman who Outshone the Sun by Alejandro Cruz Martinez
•  Uncle Nacho’s Hat by Harriet Rohmer
•  Voices in the park by Anthony Browne
•  What’s the most beautiful thing you know about horses? Richard vanCamp
•  Where Fireflies Dance by Lucha Corpi
•* You are here by Katharine Harmon (not a children’s picture book but great artist examples for mapping 
     with students). For younger students use with Me on the map by Joan Sweeney
•  Xochtil and the flowers by Jorge Argueta

Some Inspirational Websites of Children's Picture Book Artists

Ashley Wolff
http://www.ashleywolff.com
Carl Angel
http://www.carlqangel.com 
Claire Cottts
http://www.clairebcotts.com
Elisa Kleven
http://www.elisakelven.com
Elizabeth Gomez
http://www.hexabus.com/art/Elizabeth/CurrentNews.html
George Littlechild
http://www.georgelittlechild.com 
Joe Sam
http://www.joesam.com
Judith Lowry
http://www.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/art/Artists/Artist08.htm
Kadir Nelson
http://www.kadirnelson.com/
Maira Kalman
http://www.mairakalman.com/children%27sbooksa.html
Maya Gonzalez
http://www.mayagonzalez.com
Simona Mulazzani
http://www.morgangaynin.com/mulazzani/
Stacey Schuett
http://www.staceyschuett.com
Tonya Engel
http://www.tonyaengel.com/illustrations2007_08.html
Yuyi Morales
http://www.yuyimorales.com

Exhibition of Children's Book Artists
http://www.katonahmuseum.org/exhibition_detail.php?exhibit_id=123&status=

Long List of Children's Book Artists and Author Links
http://www.cbcbooks.org/contacts/

If you Are Interested in Writing and/or Illustrating Children's Picture Books...

Unfortunately with the "Pacman" like acquisition of many smaller publishing houses by a handful of large/huge publishing corporations it is harder than ever to get published. However, it is still possible provided that what you have is exceptional, you're lucky, and you preferably have an agent. While there are smaller independent publishers such as Children's Book Press, Cinco Puntos Press, Lee and Low, Albert Whitman and Company, and Tricycle, where you don't need an agent, they are frequently overwhelmed and looking for an excuse to toss your manuscript and/or art samples into the "slush" or reject pile. This means that you need to research first if they are a good fit for what you are offering and not waste your time, money, and effort, or theirs, needlessly, targeting only publishers whose work is sympatico with yours by visiting their website and finding their submissions guidelines. The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (www.scbwi.org) can be invaluable for a beginning author or illustrator. If you feel passionate that you want to try, I strongly recommend that you join this organization and if possible join a critique group (which SCBWI can often help you do). The other thing that is important to know is that the author usually has no say in who the artist is. This is usually part of the publisher's job where they may strategically place an unknown author with a better known artist to help the book gain more visibility, Or they may decide to use artists whom they have worked with before and know that they believe would be a good fit. Do contact scbwi if you are interested. The Children's Book Council also provides resources for aspiring author/artists (see below).

Other Resources Related to Children's Literature

An Evaluation Tool for Selecting Multicultural Children's Books for Urban Educators
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/higgins.htm

Children's Book Council
http://www.cbcbooks.org/