Here’s a round up of new and diverse books on sale this June. It is by no means a complete list of every diverse book published this month. Please add your own favorites into the comments below.
Let’s start with non fiction. What I like about Days of Infamy: How a centurey of bigotry led to Japanese American internment by Lawrence Goldstone is that it takes a larger slice of history, giving context and detail to story of discrimination against the Asian American community. In addition to historical photographs, maps, and documents throughout, the book contains an index, bibliography and detailed sources notes. Bravo, Scholastic and Lawrence Goldstone for including the extras to refute doubters and give curious readers more information.Horse Country: Friends Like These by Yamile Saide Méndez is the second in a new series. I highlighted the first in March and I’m happy to see that a sequel is just as charming and has followed so closely. A third in the series, Where There’s Smoke, will be out in the fall. As a bookseller trying to get MG readers hooked on a new series it really helps to have the first books roll out quickly.
The Beautiful Country by Jane Kuo is a debut novel in verse about author’s childhood. Her family immigrates from Taiwan in the 1980s and opens a small restaurant. The story is beautifully told. I found my self really rooting for this family. There was nothing extraordinary about their struggles, but they faced them with grace and courage that will resonate with anyone who has ever tried to make a go of a new business.
Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tolá Okogwu is a celebration of black hair–vibrant, curly, and big! The twelve year old hero is a mythical being from Nigerian folk lore, a Solari. Her powers emanate from her magnificent black hair, and she must used them to be a force for good in her new superhero school The Academy of the Sun. Great fun for fans of the Marvel franchise.
Punky Aloha By Shar Tuiasoa is a vibrantly illustrated chapter book about gathering your courage and going out in the big world. Set in Hawaii, Punky takes her grandmothers sunglasses and the spirit of Aloha on her very first solo errand to a neighborhood shop. If you are charmed by the Netflix show Old Enough, you’ll love Punky Aloha.All Four Quarters of the Moon by Chinese-Australian writer Shirley Marris a novel about love and resilience interwoven with Chinese mythology, a world made entirely of paper, and an ever changing moon. Fans of When You Trap a Tigerwill appreciate its powerful and compassionate voice.
Kids at the older end of the MG span will appreciate the smart, entertaining, and politically astute debut MG novel of Aya De León. It’s called Undercover Latina, and it’s about a Latina who goes undercover as a white girl to infiltrate a white nationalist group and bring them to justice. This one has a bit of a bite to it, but young social justice warriors are going to love Andréa Hernández-Baldoquín and her undercover persona Andrea Burke.Everyone knows that middle school is the great training ground for extortionists. In Destiny Howell’s book High Score the hero Darius James, the new kid at the neighborhood middle school, is trying to figure out how to help his friend Connor who owes the biggest bully on the block. 100,000 arcade tickets. Fortunately DJ, knows all about running scams. This fast paced and engaging story will make a perfect summer vacation read.
Do you have a favorite diverse summer read? Give it a shout in the comments below.
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Rosanne Parry is the author of 8 MG novels including best sellers A Wolf Called Wander, A Whale of the Wild and her newest A Horse Named Sky. She sells books at Annie Blooms Bookstore in Multnomah Village and writes books in her treehouse in Portland, Oregon.