Book recommendations needed
 

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It's Been a While But....
 

Mildred Taylor, specifically Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Donald Duk by Frank Chin (may be more appropriate for 12/13)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Pretty accessible, but I can't remember whether there was any profanity or not. Knowing Alexie, there probably was.)
M. C. Higgins the Great by Virginia Hamilton.


Give me a couple of months and I will have another title for you. :)

I second the "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" and the other books in that series, but it may be a little disturbing. I can still vividly remember some scenes from those books and it's been YEARS since I read one.
I also liked "The Watson's Go To Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis. Still one of my faves :)

Scott O'Dell - Island of the Blue Dolphins (plus several others)
Pam M Ryan - Esperanza Rising
These have women of color as main characters but they are not Af American, if that matters.

I believe this was the first book which ever made me cry.

I loved it , too! It's an oldie, but a goodie.

There are several books by Rosa Guy that are good for children of this age.

Also, I do believe that Connie Briscoe has a few books for children of this age, or children that are advanced readers.

Is it bad that I am such a book geek that I am googling for titles?? I love books!

although some of the vignettes might be a little inappropriate, the books by Sandra Cisneros like "House on Mango Street" are really good.

I fully second Island of the Blue Dolphins. It's amazing.

My favorite book when I was a little kid was The Empty Schoolhouse by Natalie Savage Carlson, a novel about the desegregation of schools in Louisiana. It's way out of print, but there are lots of secondhand copies available online if they don't mind used.

Depending on her age group and reading level, the American Girl books about Addy might be appropriate. Also, I remember these from my youth but don't know if they still write them or if you can still get them, but there used to be a sort of "American Diaries" series that were decent (It would be like, "The Oregan Trail Diary of Fictitious Girl). I don't specifically remember any non-white ones (I only remember reading the Oregon Trail, Civil War and Mayflower ones, but I know there were TONS), but I'm sure there were some.

Does Huck Finn count? I read that in elementary school, and there are definitely some lessons to be learned from it (and from people's reactions to certain terms in the book).

You guys are making me realize that most of the books that I read as a kid did not feature African American characters.

I did read Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals.

Good call! Besides Addy http://store.americangirl.com/agshop.../LeftMenu/TRUEI also believe there is now an American Indian doll/character that would have books. I just went to the website and see that they have a Nez Pierce Indian named Kaya http://store.americangirl.com/agshop.../LeftMenu/TRUEand a girl from New Mexico, Josefina. http://store.americangirl.com/agshop.../LeftMenu/TRUE

Hope this helps!

The dear america books! Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell!!!
I read practically every one. Then they had the royal diaries that talked all about the young royals. Those were so good. I was so mad when my mom gave those away. When i first started reading them there was like 3 and now theyve got a wicked lot.

I really want to read them now.

http://www.scholastic.com/dearameric...checklists.htm

I remember reading this book - A Girl Called Boy - when I was in maybe 5th grade or so?

This is a young adult book - Liar - but it's really good.

Will have to think about some more ...

Some of the best children/young adult books about historical figures or times are written by Anne Rinaldi. I picked one up at Mt. Vernon for my godson, and found out a great deal about Juneteenth that I hadn't known. Ann Rinaldi's Great Episodes series are historical, but also reader-friendly.

Come Juneteenth (Great Episodes)
by Ann Rinaldi

By "people of colour", does your friend specifically mean African American/African descent, or any non-white people?

I need to dig into my childhood bookshelves and memories...I know I've got some stuff featuring Asian and Hispanic characters.

One of my favorite books when I was around that age is called "The Clay Marble" by Minfong Ho. It's about a young Cambodian girl and her family and how they live during a war there. I loved it because it shows the maturing process that everyone (hopefully lol) goes through. It's really inspirational but it's not heavy, and it has its funny parts :)

Are non-fiction books out of bounds?

I remember being fascinated by biographies at that age, and generally they're pretty accessible and straight forward.

This is a wonderful book and I hope that your friend will consider it (it's definitely age appropriate).

"Journey to the River Sea" by Eva Ibbotson

While the protagonist is white, she is sent to live in Brazil and starts to become intrigued the native people and their ways. Ethnocentricity is one of the themes, along with friendship, tolerance, new beginnings etc. One of my nieces said it was the best book that she ever read. I've read it twice myself and loved it. No sex, no violence and definitely suitable for a girl to read.

"Sent in 1910 to live with distant relatives who own a rubber plantation along the Amazon River, English orphan Maia is excited. She believes she is in for brightly colored macaws, enormous butterflies, and "curtains of sweetly scented orchids trailing from the trees." Her British classmates warn her of man-eating alligators and wild, murderous Indians. Unfortunately, no one cautions Maia about her nasty, xenophobic cousins, who douse the house in bug spray and forbid her from venturing beyond their coiffed compound. Maia, however, is resourceful enough to find herself smack in the middle of more excitement than she ever imagined, from a mysterious "Indian" with an inheritance, to an itinerant actor dreading his impending adolescence, to a remarkable journey down the Amazon in search of the legendary giant sloth."

PS Jen - Assuming that your friend lives in Vancouver, tell your friends to check out Kidsbooks in Edgemont Village or on West Broadway. The staff there are so knowledgeable and will be able to make great recommendations.

I LOVED Ann Rinaldi. One book to think of that I read when I was younger was The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. One of the main characters is white, but there are also Native Americans and a couple from South America. There is a slight mention of sexual abuse, but it is minor. I just realized there was a sequel and am just finishing it.

Maybe someone else should chime in on if this is acceptable for a 10 year old. I read just about everything my hands were on whether it was appropriate or not.