Diverse Reads in Children's and YA Literature

      Summary This text is an illustrated biographic of the life of the iconic Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla-Perez (1971-1995). The text chronicles her journey from performing as a child and teenager singing in her family's band to a barrier-breaking artist in Tejano music who accomplished many accolades and successes. These accolades and successes include being one of the most successful and celebrated Latin-American music artists of all time. Justification for this text I selected this text because it is a Tejas Award winning-book. Plus, I think that inclusion of this text will encourage curiosity in students about Tejano music and culture. It could also serve as their introduction to Selena who tragically passed away nearly 30 years ago. This text could teach them the major impact that she had on Hispanic-American culture and music in her very brief life. The book does mention her tragic and violent death at the hands of her former fan club president and fr...

Summary This is the story of Lily, whose family moves in with their ill grandmother, who Lily calls Halmoni. Lily, who is heavily influenced by her Halmoni's stories of tigers, sees one of those tigers come to life. This claims that Halmoni stole the stories from the tigers and they want them back. So, the tiger strikes a deal with Lily to return the stories that Halmoni stole from them. In exchange for this return, Halmoni's health can be restored. Although Lily is tempted to accept this offer, she quickly learns that there are many challenges that comes with dealing with the tigers. Justification My justification for including this text is the fact that it is a Newbery Medal honor book. Also, students in Grades 3-6 would greatly appreciate the balance of realism and fantasy that the book provides. The realism is illustrated in issues like family illness, death, and cultural stereotypes. The fantasy is illustrated through the presence of the tigers and their interactions with ...

  Summary    This story is told by an Ojibwe girl who refers to her grandmother's teachings about the sanctity of water. In the story, a metaphorical black snake seeks to destroy the land and describes the snake has already arrived as an oil pipeline. As a response, she calls for the people of her tribe to stand together  and protect the land, its animals and the water.   Justification for this text   I chose this text because it is a Caldecott Medal Award winner (2021) and a Jane Addams' Children's Book Award Winner. Also, students may benefit from using this text to not only learn about Native American heritage and culture, environmentalism, and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Attractive Design The illustrator, Michaela Goade uses watercolor illustrations to depict people with varying skin tones, ages, genders, and attire. These illustrations support the narrative that even though the text could be used to reflect indigenous culture, any attack agai...