Sometimes we feel reluctant to recommend books to our kids that might be too sad or frightening because they depict racial violence or cruelty. Here are some books for older grade school and junior high that have a lighter touch, but still show what it is like to grow up in a different environment.
New Kid by Jerry Craft
Jordan is going to a new school for the first time. He is from the Bronx, but his new school is a private school uptown. Jordan experiences subtle acts of prejudice, but eventually makes friends with two other boys who each have their own reasons for feeling like outsiders.
GN CRAFT
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
Jude lives in Syria with her parents and older brother. When the war gets a little too close to home, Jude and her mother travel to America to stay with Jude's uncle until it is safe to return. Jude has always loved American movie stars, but living in America is full of challenges Jude didn't expect. As she struggles with ESL and prejudice because of her decision to wear a hijab, she wonders if her dream of being in the spotlight could ever come true.
I FIC WARGA
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia
Clayton loves it when he can sneak away with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and jam with the Blues Men in Washington Park. Then one day, he grandfather is gone. Clayton's mother and grandfather never got along, and when Clayton's mother takes his last memento of his grandfather, Clayton decides to run away and join the Blues Men on the road. Thus begins his adventure in the rich musical culture of New York's underground.
J FIC Williams-Garcia
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
Arturo and his large extended family live in a small town in Florida. When their family run restaurant is threatened by a developer who wants to put up high rise apartments, Arturo, his family, and his new found friend, Carmen, find strength from the words of Arturo's grandparents, and the Cuban Poet, Jose Marti, to face the threat to their family business.
I FIC Cartaya
