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Front Desk by
Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed. Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language? It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?
Hurricane Child by
Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl--and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.
Red Butterfly by
A young orphaned girl in modern-day China discovers the meaning of family in this inspiring story told in verse, in the tradition of Inside Out and Back Again and Sold. Kara never met her birth mother. Abandoned as an infant, she was taken in by an American woman living in China. Now eleven, Kara spends most of her time in their apartment, wondering why she and Mama cannot leave the city of Tianjin and go live with Daddy in Montana. Mama tells Kara to be content with what she has...but what if Kara secretly wants more? Told in lyrical, moving verse, Red Butterfly is the story of a girl learning to trust her own voice, discovering that love and family are limitless, and finding the wings she needs to reach new heights.
Before We Were Free by
Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship. Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind. From renowned author Julia Alvarez comes an unforgettable story about adolescence, perseverance, and one girl’s struggle to be free.
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You Bring the Distant Near by
A 2017 National Book Award Longlist Title with six starred reviews ASchool Library Journal'sBest Books of 2017 A New York City Public Library's Notable 50 Best Books for Teens 2018 South Asia Book Award Winner 2018 White Ravens Award Winner A Louisiana Readers' Choice Award Nominee This elegant young adult novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian-American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations,You Bring the Distant Nearexplores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse. From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity. Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.
The Star Side of Bird Hill by
This lyrical novel of community, betrayal and love centres on an unforgettable matriarchal family in Barbados. Two sisters, ages ten and sixteen, are exiled from their US home in Brooklyn and sent to Bird Hill in Barbados after their mother realises she can no longer care for them. The young Phaedra and her older sister, Dionne, live for the summer of 1989 with their grandmother Hyacinth, a midwife and practitioner of the local spiritual practice of obeah.
Krik? Krak! by
Krik? Krak!, originally released in 1996 following the publication of Edwidge Danticat's extraordinary Breath, Eyes, Memory (abacus, 1996) confirms her as a remarkably gifted writer. Examining the lives of ordinary Haitians, particularly those struggling to survive under the brutal Duvalier regime, Danticat illuminates the distance between people's desires and the stifling reality of their lives. These short stories inform and enrich one another, as the female characters reveal a common ancestry and ties to the fictional Ville Rose.
Every year the The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) creates an interactive map based on their 2019 Outstanding International Books List! You can navigate the map below, and if you click on one of the flags, more information on the book will appear. You can also find the complete list at this link.
This Spreadsheet was created by The Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA when they did a "Readers without Borders" reading challenge. The collection is focused on books that written in other countries (rather than by immigrants to the US). You can filter the results based on country, continent or age range. Please note that there are adult titles on the list!
These are all national awards, or lists that recognize authors who identify with different cultural identities. Some of them live in America, but some of them live internationally & have been translated into English.
"CLASP founded the Américas Award in 1993 to encourage and commend authors, illustrators and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States" (From the "About the Award" page
Global Literature Reading List: Selected Literature for Children and Teens Set In Other Worlds
"This bibliography was designed with U.S. readers in mind, so “other countries” refers to countries other than the United States. Books on the list are arranged by geographic region of the world." (From the list's home page)