Book picks similar to
The Bicycle Man by Allen Say


picture-books
picture-book
historical-fiction
multicultural

Madeline's Rescue


Ludwig Bemelmans - 1953
    One day on a walk through Paris (a "twelve little girls in two straight lines" kind of walk), Madeline slips and falls off a bridge right into the Seine. Everyone feared she would be dead, "But for a dog / That kept its head," saving her from a "watery grave." What choice do Madeline and the girls have but to take the heroic pooch home, feed her biscuits, milk, and beef, and name her Genevieve? Sadly, when Lord Cucuface gets wind of the new dog, he decrees that no dogs will be allowed in the "old house in Paris that was covered with vines," and kicks Genevieve out on the street. Madeline vows vengeance, and the girls scour Paris looking for the pup: "They went looking high / and low / And every place a dog might go. / In every place they called her name / But no one answered to the same." As we've come to expect from Bemelmans, all's well that ends well chez Clavel, and young readers will be tickled by this heartwarming, quirky dog story with a surprise finale. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation


Duncan Tonatiuh - 2014
    Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

Ruth and the Green Book


Calvin Alexander Ramsey - 2010
    Along the way they encounter prejudice, but they also discover The Green Book, a real guide to accommodations which was published for decades to aid African-American travelers as they faced prejudice on the roads across the country.

Let the Children March


Monica Clark-Robinson - 2018
    Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world.

Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando


Andrea Wang - 2019
    Magic Ramen tells the true story behind the creation of one of the world's most popular foods.Every day, Momofuku Ando would retire to his lab—a little shed in his backyard. For years, he'd dreamed about making a new kind of ramen noodle soup that was quick, convenient, and tasty for the hungry people he'd seen in line for a bowl on the black market following World War II. Peace follows from a full stomach, he believed.Day after day, Ando experimented. Night after night, he failed. But Ando kept experimenting.With persistence, creativity, and a little inspiration, Ando succeeded. This is the true story behind one of the world's most popular foods.

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist


Cynthia Levinson - 2017
    As she listened to the preacher’s words, smooth as glass, she sat up tall. And when she heard the plan—picket those white stores! March to protest those unfair laws! Fill the jails!—she stepped right up and said, I’ll do it! She was going to j-a-a-il!Audrey Faye Hendricks was confident and bold and brave as can be, and hers is the remarkable and inspiring story of one child’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.

Linnea in Monet's Garden


Christina Björk - 1985
    Now she understands what it means for a painter to be called an Impressionist. This innovative art book for children contains full-color photos of many of Monet's famous paintings.

The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia


Esther Hautzig - 1968
    The Rudomin family has been arrested by the Russians. They are "capitalists' enemies of the people." Forced from their home and friends in Vilna, Poland, they are herded into crowded cattle cars. Their destination: the endless steppe of Siberia.For five years, Esther and her family live in exile, weeding potato fields and working in the mines, struggling for enough food and clothing to stay alive. Only the strength of family sustains them and gives them hope for the future.

Imogene's Antlers


David Small - 1985
    Imogene, the cook, and the kitchen maid, however, make the best of things, finding unusual uses for Imogene's new horns. Meanwhile, the problem appears to be solved when Imogene awakes the next morning antler-free. But the family (and the reader) are in for a surprise when Imogene comes down to breakfast.

The Story About Ping


Marjorie Flack - 1933
    He liked his life on the riverboat just and liked his large family and his kind master. He didn't like to be the last in line to board the boat at night, for that unlucky duck got a loud spank. So what did Ping do when it seemed that he would be the last on line? What else but set out on his own to explore the fascinating world of life on the Yangtze River.The Story about Ping is one of the best-loved and enduring children's books, both for its spirited and irrepressible hero and for its beautiful evocation of a distant land and way of life. Every child can sympathize with a dawdling duck who wants to avoid a spanking, and share his excitement and wonder as he sails down the river.

The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South


Robert D. San Souci - 1989
    A Southern folktale in which kind Blanche, following the instructions of an old witch, gains riches, while her greedy sister makes fun of the old woman and is duly rewarded.

Under the Blood-Red Sun


Graham Salisbury - 1994
    His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty.World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats.But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.

Mirror


Jeannie Baker - 2010
    Meanwhile, in a small village in Morocco, a boy and his family go through their own morning routines and set out to a bustling market. In this ingenious, wordless picture book, readers are invited to compare, page by page, the activities and surroundings of children in two different cultures. Their lives may at first seem quite unalike, but a closer look reveals that there are many things, some unexpected, that connect them as well. Designed to be read side by side — one from the left and the other from the right —these intriguing stories are told entirely through richly detailed collage illustrations.

A Chair for My Mother


Vera B. Williams - 1982
    After their home is destroyed by a fire, Rosa, her mother and grandmother save their coins to buy a really comfortable chair for all to enjoy.

Freedom Soup


Tami Charles - 2019
    This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup -- Freedom Soup -- just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle's family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle's family is from. In this celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next, Jacqueline Alcantara's lush illustrations bring to life both Belle's story and the story of the Haitian Revolution. Tami Charles's lyrical text, as accessible as it is sensory, makes for a tale that readers will enjoy to the last drop.