"Mango, Abuela, and Me" by Meg Medina
Accelerated Reading Level: 3.4
Mia's grandma (abuela) lives far away and doesn't speak English, but now has moved to America and is sharing Mia's bedroom. Unfortunately, Mia doesn't know Spanish and soon discovers how hard it is to communicate with her abuela. This book is full of excellent word choice examples and similies such as when Mia is explaining that as much as they want to talk with each other they just can't:
"With our mouths as empty as our bread baskets, we walk
home and watch TV."
Mia's mami (mom) reminds Mia of how she and her classmates help her new best friend, Kim, learn English when she first moved here. So when she comes home from school, Mia pretends to be her teacher as they are making a snack. She points to objects and says their names, and then abuelita repeats them and tells Mia what it is in Spanish. "Soon they are playing Oye y Di --- Hear and Say all around the house. Mia also uses post-it notes to label things and buys a parrot for abuela so she has someone to practice English with when Mia is at school. Eventually, abuela learns English and Mia learns Spanish.
I adored this multi-generational family. Working in a district with a high ESL population and many multi-generational families living together, this is a true gem to share with students. If there was a newcomer in the classroom, students could help their new peer learn English. But even if you are not blessed with a diverse student population, this should be part of your literature as it is not often you find great stories that feature Hispanic populations.
"The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage"
by Selina Aiko
Accelerated Reading Level: 4.3
Guided Reading Level: P
This true story, will be an eye-opener for many students today. It begins in Virginia in 1958 when Richard Loving fell in love with Mildred Jetter, know as "String Bean." At that time it was illegal in all the states to marry outside your race. In fact, you could go to jail for doing that. But that law was not in place in Washington, D.C. So they crossed the state line and got married and then went back to live in Virginia. Unfortunately, during the middle of the night, the police broke into their house and arrest Richard and put him in jail. Several days later, he was released on the condition that they move. Reluctantly, they left good jobs, family and friends and moved to Washington D.C. where Richard got a job laying bricks. While they loved each other and their growing family, they missed home and believed strongly that you should be able to love whoever you want, no matter what race they were. In 1966, they courageously hired lawyers to help them fight these unfair laws. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and eventually won! This is a wonderful story that shows the power of love and encourage students to fight against unjust laws.
"I am Jazz" by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
Accelerated Reading Level: 3.3
This is the true story of Jazz Jennings. From two years old, Jazz felt she was a girl in a boys body. Using very simple words, Jazz explains her story as a transgender child. When Jazz was playing in her house, she was allowed to wear her sister's dresses but when they went out into public she needed to wear boy clothes which make her very sad. Finally, one day her parents took her to a doctor and she explained transgender to them. After that, Jazz's parents let her grow out her hair and dress however she wanted. This caused issues at school, especially when they wanted her to use the boys' bathroom and play on the boys' teams in phy ed. Eventually, that changed. This sweet story is one of love and acceptance of differences.
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