Showing titles in Multicultural Stories

A companion book for young listeners based on 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, the groundbreaking best seller by Charles C. Mann.

Ysolda is on the run, travelling with a rebellious princess to the wilds of the Drakken Peak - on the back of a huge sea wolf. With her faithful sea hawk Nara by her side, her quest to find the fabled magic of the Geomancer is just beginning ...

It's the Christmas holidays and Yasmin is miserable. Her family don't celebrate Christmas so she doesn't understand all the hype, plus Ezra has gone to Jamaica for 2 weeks and Levi is away on a mission. Then a snowstorm hits London, meaning Yasmin's enemy Tia can't fly to her luxury holiday in France. Yasmin is horrified when she gets sent a solo mission—to give Tia the best Christmas ever! Soon Tia is bossing Yasmin around and without her friends to help, Yasmin starts to wonder if making her arch nemesis happy might be mission: impossible.

Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also Cassie's story - Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.

Leonard is shocked when he arrives with his mother in the port of Southampton. His father is a stranger to him, it's cold and even the Jamaican food doesn't taste the same as it did back home in Maroon Town. But his parents have brought him here to try to make a better life, so Leonard does his best not to complain, to make new friends, to do well at school - even when people hurt him with their words and with their fists. How can a boy so far from home learn to enjoy his new life when so many things count against him?

Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson comes from a big Indian American family: Dad's a renowned food writer, Mom's a successful businesswoman, and her three older siblings all have their own respective accomplishments. It's easy to feel invisible in such an impressive family, but Mimi's dream of proving she's not the least talented member of her family seems possible when she discovers a contest at the new bakery in town. Plus, it'll start her on the path to becoming a celebrity chef like her culinary idol, Puffy Fay.

Twelve-year-old Jerome doesn't get into trouble. He goes to school. He does his homework. He takes care of his little sister. Then Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, watching his family trying to cope with his death, Jerome begins to notice other ghost boys. Each boy has a story and they all have something in common. Bit by bit, Jerome begins to understand what really happened - not just to him, but to all of the ghost boys.

It's 1944, and in a small Southern town, 11-year-old Ella spends her summers running wild with her cousins and friends. But life isn't always so sunny. The deep racial tension that simmers beneath their town's peaceful facade never quite goes away, and Ella misses her mama - a beautiful jazz singer who lives in Boston.

Last night Wesley and his friends Josephine and Margot threw their neighbour Rachel a surprise birthday party. This morning, Rachel is dead. And Wesley is the one who finds her body. Rachel's friends throw a traditional Caribbean Nine Night celebration to help guide her soul to the next world. But Wesley, Margot and Josephine don't have time to mourn Rachel. They are determined to find out who did this - and find out what secrets Rachel was keeping.

On Thursdays, Nelson, Ashley and Mum head out to the bank. But not just any old bank - the food bank. With its shining tins and packets of food stacked from floor to ceiling, Nelson thinks it's the best kind of bank there is. But there's a thief in town, and the shelves of the food bank are getting emptier each day, leaving people hungrier than ever. For the sake of his family and everyone else's, Nelson needs to make them stop. But can he and his friends really be the ones to catch the bank robber?

Every year, in the magical town of Ravenskill, Witchlings who participate in the Black Moon Ceremony are placed into covens and come into their powers as full-fledged witches. And 12-year-old Seven Salazar can't wait to be placed in the most powerful coven with her best friend! But on the night of the ceremony, in front of the entire town, Seven isn't placed in one of the five covens. She's a Spare!

The inspiring autobiography of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who helped launch Apollo 11. Katherine Johnson’s story was made famous in the best-selling book and Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures. Now, in Reaching for the Moon, she tells her own story for the first time, in a lively autobiography that will inspire young listeners everywhere.

Step into a "once upon a time" where anything is possible.... Radiya Hafiza's enchanting and funny debut weaves together three stories, spinning the classic fairytale to show that anyone can be a hero. For as long as she can remember, Rumaysa has been locked away in her tower, forced to spin straw into gold for the evil witch, unable to leave. Until one day, after dropping a hijab out of her small tower-window, Rumaysa realises how she might be able to escape....

Since Grandpa died, Dally’s days are dull and restricted. She’s eleven and a half years old, and her exacting single mother is already preparing her to take over the family business. Starved for adventure and release, Dally rescues a mysterious envelope from her mother’s clutches, an envelope Grandpa had earmarked for her. The map she finds inside leads straight to an ancient vault, a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time. As Dally “checks out” adventure after adventure she begins to dive deep into her family’s hidden history.

When the coronavirus hits Hong Kong, 10-year-old Knox’s mom makes the last-minute decision to move him and his siblings to California, where they think they will be safe from the virus. But life in America isn’t easy. at Knox’s new school, the other kids think that because he is from Asia, he must have brought over the virus. At home, Mom’s freaking out because she just got fired, and Dad doesn’t know when he’ll see them all again, because all flights out of Hong Kong have been cancelled.

Matthew Henson was simply an ordinary man. That was, until Commander Robert E. Peary entered his life, and offered him a chance at true adventure. Henson would become navigator, craftsman, translator, and right-hand man on a treacherous journey to the North Pole. Defying the odds and the many prejudices that faced him to become a true pioneer. This is his incredible and often untold story.

Asha Joshi has the perfect excuse not to finish her homework. She's just been recruited to join the top-secret Children's Spy Agency. Her first mission: SAVE THE WORLD. Can she do it? Asha's a coder so she should be able to hack into the biggest tech company in the world, fight deadly sharks and figure out why the Internet has stopped working. All before bedtime. Easy, right?

Abandoned on the Mumbai railways, Ajay has grown up with nothing but a burning wish to be a journalist. Finding an abandoned printing press, he and his friends Saif, Vinod, Yasmin and Jai create their own newspaper: The Mumbai Sun. As they hunt down stories for their paper, the children uncover corruption, fight for justice and battle to save their slum from bulldozers. But against some of the most powerful forces in the city, can Ajay and his friends really succeed in bringing the truth to light? Not to mention win the most important cricket match ever.

Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden—but what they don't know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves.

Eighth-grader Drew Ellis is no stranger to the saying “You have to work twice as hard to be just as good”. His grandmother has reminded him his entire life. But what if he works 10 times as hard and still isn’t afforded the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted? To make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids.

Margarita isn’t particularly passionate about music, but she loves Stephanie and would do anything to help her - and that includes being thrust into the media spotlight after an article in the New York Times calls out country music for its lack of diversity. Since Margarita’s father is Mexican American, the McCoys' record label wants to use her to show that they aren’t as whitewashed as the article says.

Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a young girl in Aguascalientes, Mexico could want. But a sudden tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. There they confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. Pam Munoz Ryan eloquently portrays the Mexican workers' plight in this abundant and passionate novel.

Maysa and Musa are on the case when a priceless emerald ring goes missing during an event at their mosque. But first, Maysa has to cover up one of her lies - which lands her mum in a lot of trouble! Can Maysa save both the ring and her mum's reputation?

Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp.

Sam’s older brother, Moon, has been missing for three long years. Moon is a skilled thief, but Sam fears Moon's luck has finally run out. It's rumoured he's held in the Octopus, a notorious prison on the Isle of Lost Voices, from which no one has ever escaped alive. Leaving his tribe of land-pirates behind, Sam sets sail with the shady Professor Bogusz and his faithful parrot, Suka. With help from a young forest guide called Lola, they trek deep into the island's interior, a place where spirits dwell and the Octopus casts a deadly shadow.

Frightened that their baby sister, Dineo, will die, 13-year-old Naledi and her younger brother, Tiro, run away from their grandmother to Johannesburg to find their mother, who works there as a maid. Their journey illustrates at every turn the grim realities of apartheid - the pass laws, bantustans, racism, the breakdown of family life. The opulence of the white 'Madam’s' house contrasts starkly with the reality that Naledi and Tiro face - that their baby sister is suffering from starvation, not an incurable disease.

Treat your kids to these quick 10-minute action-packed legends from around the world! Studies have shown that developing an “atomic habit”—just a few minutes a day of whatever skill or habit you want to take on—can be more than enough to engrain it into our lives.

Maureen and Francine Carter are twins and best friends. They participate in the same clubs, enjoy the same foods, and are partners on all their school projects. But just before the girls start sixth grade, Francine becomes Fran - a girl who wants to join the chorus, run for class president, and dress in fashionable outfits that set her apart from Maureen. A girl who seems happy to share only two classes with her sister! Maureen and Francine are growing apart, and there's nothing Maureen can do to stop it. Are sisters really forever? Or will middle school change things for good?

Little Moon There Are No Stars Tonight was four years old when armed federal agents showed up at her home and took her from her family. Under the authority of the government, she was sent away to a boarding school specifically created to strip her of her Ponca culture and teach her the ways of white society. Little Moon was one of thousands of Indigenous children forced to attend these schools across America and give up everything they'd ever known: family, friends, toys, clothing, food, customs, even their language.

Top-secret Children's Spy Agency newest recruit, Asha Joshi is back with a brand new mission. Asha is suspicious when evil teenage trillionaire Shelly Belly proposes to cut down all the trees in Asha's favourite park to make room for CyberOaks: the new tech trees. Asha's a top coder and super spy so she should be able to face robot security parrots, navigate a suspicious internship and travel to Shelly's super-confidential base in Scotland to crack the case. Will Asha and her robo-hamster sidekick Tumble be able to protect the park and save the day?

It's 2020, and children are stuck indoors as the novel coronavirus finds its way into India. A nationwide lockdown is announced, and amidst the growing crisis, Ajja and Ajji welcome their grandchildren and Kamlu Ajji into their house in Shiggaon. From stitching masks, sharing household chores, preparing food for workers to losing themselves in timeless tales, the lockdown turns into a memorable time for the children as they enter the enchanting world of goddesses, kings, princesses, serpents, magical beanstalks, thieves, kingdoms, and palaces, among others.