Book Resources

I am in the process of designing four units of study with a group of public school teachers who work in the Bronx. One question I am asked (and was asked) is: How do you find so many great books? I decided to put together a response that they and you can access of resources and book companies I often use. 


Websites for Reviews of Children's Books

• Latinxs in Kid Lit
• The Brown Bookshelf
• Mirror Windows Doors
• Global/International Literature and Diverse Perspectives  by Jane Gangi
• We Need Diverse Books
• CBC Diversity
• Color of Us: All About Multicultural Children's Books
• What Do We Do All Day?
• Kitaab World
• The Conscious Kid Library

Favorite Independent Book Publishers of Children's Literature

1. Annick Press:  Annick Press publishing children’s book for ages 6 months to young adult. They are “committed to publishing Canadian authors. You can find submission guidelines on their site. I have bought The Streets are Free and When I Was Eight. Both titles I would recommend. 
2. Arte Público Press and Piñata Books - Two picture books from Piñata Books I recently bought, Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water and Adelita and the Veggie Cousins / Adelita y las primas verduritas. I have bought lots of books from Piñata over the years.
3. Barefoot Books: This publishing house was begun by two moms.  They are very conscious of sustainability.  I just bought The Barefoot Book of Children and La Frontera: Mi viaje con papá / My Journey with Papa ( a must read!).
4. Bharat Babies A new publisher for me. They publish books about India (culture/religion). 
5. Boyds Mills Press Every time I go to their site I find a book I want. Just saw, Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop. 
6. Chronicle Books The masthead to their site reads, "see things differently."  I think that summarizes well the books they produce.  They do help me to see the world differently. Brendan Wenzel's Hello Hello is stunning. 
7. Cinco Puntos Press Last purchase was All Around Us.  I’m still puzzling over it—a good thing. I have purchased from them for a good amount of time. 
8. Enchanted Lion Books I like everything about this book publisher. I love their books. Their site is under construction. This is A Poem that Heals Fish was great. I think they publish some of the finest children’s books. Visually amazing books.
9. Fifth House They are a bilingual publishing house often producing books in English/Cree. Dragonfly Kites is my latest purchase.
10. Fitzhenry & Whiteside: I have been buying their books for at least a decade. Cathryn Sill's About Birds remains a favorite.
11. Groundwood Books/House of Anansi. This is one of my very favorite publishers of children's books. The quality of illustration, story, and diversity is stellar. I recently bought A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY, THE TRIUMPHANT TALE OF THE HOUSE SPARROW, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GARDEN, THEY SAY BLUE, and THE FUNERAL. I'd recommend all of these highly. Their books make me think.
12. Just World Books I came across them when I purchased Gaza Writes Back, which I would recommend. Highly political press. 
13. Kids Can Press - I enjoy the books they publish and use a lot of titles in the curriculum I design.  Last purchase was WILD BUILDINGS AND BRIDGES.
14. Lee & Low Books: My go-to publishers. I have been buying their books for years. The quality, range and diversity are exceptional.
15. Magination Press (APA): Appreciate the healthy picture books they produce without getting too preachy. Latest purchase, When You Look Out the Window: How Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Built a Community.
16. Orca Book Publishers If I remember right it was my search for Julie Flett books that first led me to Orca Book Publishers. They have quirky titles that fill in collection well. City Kids is a favorite. 
17. Pajama Press - They published recently one of my favorite books, My Beautiful Birds. They are new to me.
18. Shen Books Now an imprint for Lee & Low. Their Cinderella stories are outstanding. 
19. Tara Books Their books are not ordinary. I like to browse these books as they are artful. For example, the fold out book - A VILLAGE IS A BUSY PLACE! is a great example  of form and content mixing. 
20. Tilbury House I am never disappointed with purchases of their published books. They are always stunning, artful, compelling works. Rogério Coelho's Boat of Dreams is one example. Wow. 
21. Tradewind Books I love Julie Flett's books (authored and illustrated) and purchase all her books. Last purchase, A Day with Yayah. This has become one of my favorite publishing houses. They have an eye for choosing authentic and compelling books.
22. Tundra Books: Last thing I bought there was From the Heart of Africa. 
23. Wings Press  These are books I read as an adult reader.  Last purchase, Borderlines: Drawing Border Lives / Fronteras: Dibujando las vidas fronterizas. Inspiring. 

Here are a 30 blog posts where I recommend books.

1. 250+ Children's Books Featuring Black Boys and Men
2. Raising Activists: 100+ Books to Read in K-12
3. Children's Books Focusing on Special/Exceptional Needs, Strengths and Graces
4. Children's Books about the Middle East
5. K-3 Global Multicultural Poetry for Shared, Choral, Paired, & Echo Reading
6. Global Multicultural K-8 Books Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Legacy
7. New Global Picture Books
8. 97 Page Book of Primary Grade Comprehension Lessons With an Emphasis on Multicultural Books
9. Forget the Stop Watch and Tune into Literature: Recommended Global Multicultural Texts for Developing Fluency (and a Love for Reading)
10. Global Multicultural Books for Comprehension Instruction in Kindergarten
11. Poetry Books for Grades 3-5
12. Global Books for the First Grade
13. Sensational Second Grade Books
14. Global Multicultural Picture Books: Teaching Reading Comprehension in Grade 3
15. Global Books for Grade 4
16. Fabulous Global Books for Fifth Grade
17. Books for Grade 7
18. Books to Teach Writer's Craft with in Middle School
19. Global, Multicultural Poetry Texts (Print and NonPrint) for Grades 7 - 12
20. Reading Memoir in Grades 8-12
21. Recommended Nonfiction for Middle School Learners
22. Exploring LGBT Books for Children & Teens
23. Cultural Characters: Or Why My Color Doesn't Wash Off -  Book & Instruction Suggestions
24. 30 Children's Books about Standing Up and Making Change
25. Latino/a Books for Elementary Children, Part I
26. Latino/a Books for Elementary Children, Part II
27. Latino/a Books for Elementary Children, Part III
28. Books about Labor and Unions for 4th -12th Graders
29. Selecting Read Aloud Books in K-5
30. Updated 2014 Global Back to School Books

Diverse Early Literacy Books for Social Studies by Jane M. Gangi K-4 Books about Women Scientists & Mathematicians: 2015 - 2016 Early Literacy Series #2: Shared Reading Resources for Preschool and Kindergarten Seeing Red! My 10 for 10 Picture Books Spring into Spring with 30 Pre-K - 3 Books 10 Nonfiction Picture Books I Cant Live Without #nf10for10 Celebrate Black History with 30 Children's Books Without Words: 20 Wordless Picture Books Published Recently

Links to Book Lists "Best..."

New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books, 2017
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books 2016
The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2015
The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2014
The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2013
The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2012
The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011
The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010

Outstanding Science Trade Books 2018
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2017
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2016
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2015
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2014
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2013
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2012
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2011
Outstanding Science Trade Books 2010

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People (access 2000-2018)

2018 Book Recommendations: Children’s Books (NCTE)

Orbis Pictus Award for 2018
Orbis Picture Awards 2000-2017

Book & Media Awards (ALSC: Newbery, Caldecott, Belpre, etc.)

Diverse Early Literacy Books for Social Studies by Jane M. Gangi

Note: This is a bibliography of early literacy books focused on social studies topics and the description of a way to share texts (Check It Out! Circle) that my friend and colleague Jane M. Gangi created and presented at a education conference a few weeks ago.  Jane's are of expertise is in children's literature. She is the author of numerous articles and three professional books including:

Genocide in Contemporary Children's and Young Adult Literature: Cambodia to Darfur (Children's Literature and Culture)   (Routledge, 2014)
(You can read more about this text here.)


Deepening Literacy Learning: Art and Literature Engagements in K-8 Classrooms (Teaching-Learning Indigenous, Intercultural Worldviews) 



Encountering Children's Literature: An Arts Approach. 

Diverse Books for Young Children: Connecting Social Studies and Literacy

Presenter:

Jane M. Gangi: jane.gangi@msmc.edu

Division of Education

Member, Collaborative for Equity in Literacy Learning (CELL)

Hudson Hall, 109D

Mount Saint Mary College

330 Powell Ave

Newburgh, NY 12550

Phone: 845-569-3529

AGENDA

Mirror and Window Books and the Proficient Reader Research

Check It Out Circle: Children’s Literature and the Social Studies. Sibberson and Szymusiak, (2003):

A Check It Out! Circle is another way to support book choice.  We use this activity when we want to highlight a certain author or genre.  If we notice that very few students have read a biography, for example, we will organize a…Circle to introduce them to some biographies that we hope they will choose to read independently. 

Before we begin a …Circle, we collect the same number of books in the genre we are highlighting….as there are students in the class.  Then we have the children sit in a large circle on the floor.  We walk around the circle, give each child a book, and ask them to silently preview the book.  After just a minute, we ring a bell and have the children pass the book to the child on their right.  We continue doing this until every child has had a chance to briefly look at each book.  We limit the amount of time because it gives students just enough time to find something interesting, but not enough time for them to read the books.  As a result, they are often eager to get their hands on the books that particularly interested them.

Following the activity, we usually ask two questions: “Which books did you see that you want to go back to during independent reading time?” and “How did you go about previewing the book in such a short time?” (p. 95)

C3 FRAMEWORK FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES. Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/c3/C3-Framework-for-Social-Studies.pdf

Civics: Civic and Political Institutions; Participation and Deliberation; Processes, Rules and Laws

 ¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A by Diana Cohn; Francisco Delgado, illustrator

from The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families 

Economics: Decision Making; Exchange and Markets; National and Global Economy

1. Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
2. The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault
3. If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People (2^nd ed.) by David J. Smith, illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong
4. The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore
5. One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
6. Quinito’s Neighborhood/El vecíndario de Quinito by Ina Cumpiano, illustrated by José Ramírez
7. Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

from How Far Do You Love Me? 

Geography: Spatial Views; Place, Regions and Culture; Population; Global Interconnections

1. Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson
2. Amazing Faces, poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet
3. Animal Poems of the Iguazú/Animalario del Iguazú by Francisco Alarcón, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez
4. Bein’ with You This Way by W. Nikola-Lisa, illustrated by Michael Bryant
5. Celebrate! Connections Among Cultures by Jan Reynolds
6. Efraín of the Sonoran Desert by Amalia Astorga, as told to Gary Paul Nabhan, illustrated by Janet K. Miller
7. A Full Moon Is Rising, poems by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Julia Cairns
8. The Gum Chewing Rattler by Joe Hayes, illustrated by Antonio Castro L.
9. How Far Do You Love Me? by Lulu Delacre
10. Listen to the Desert/Oye al desierto by Pat Mora, illustrated by Francisco X. Mora

from Shi-shi-etko 

11. Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim LaFave

12. Talking Walls by Margy Burns Knight, illustrated by Anne Sibley O’Brien

13. Tan to Tamarind, poems by Malathi Michelle Iyengar, illustrated by Jamel Aikb
By Jan Reynolds:

1. Amazon Basin  
2. Down Under
3. Far North
4. Frozen Land
5. Himalaya
6. Mongolia
7. Sahara

 

from Yum!¡MmMm! Qué rico¡ America’s Sproutings 

History: Change, Continuity, and Context; Perspectives; Sources and Evidence; Causation and Argumentation

1. Drumbeat in Our Feet by Patricia A. Keeler and Júlio T. Leitão
2. My Papa Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art/Mi papa Diego y yo/Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte  by Guadalupe Rivera Marín and Diego Rivera
3. Yum!¡MmMm! Qué rico¡ America’s Sproutings by Pat Mora, illustrated by Rafael López

 

Bebop Books Leveled Books: https://www.leeandlow.com/imprints/2

Resources for Children’s and Young Adult Literature: http://cell.msmc.edu/literature/

There are multiple resources for young children at this site.

Publishers of Multicultural Books:

Lee & Low Books: https://www.leeandlow.com/

Cinco Puntos: http://www.cincopuntos.com/

Groundwood Books: http://groundwoodbooks.com/

Reference

Sibberson, F & Szymusiak, K.  (2003).  Still learning to read: Teaching students in grades 3-6.  Portland, ME: Stenhouse.