Book picks similar to
Shanyaak'utlaax̱ / Salmon Boy by Johnny Marks


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My Footprints


Bao Phi - 2019
    Thuy walks home one winter afternoon, angry and lonely after a bully's taunts. Then a bird catches her attention and sets Thuy on an imaginary exploration. What if she could fly away like a bird? What if she could sprint like a deer, or roar like a bear? Mimicking the footprints of each creature in the snow, she makes her way home to the arms of her moms. Together, the three of them imagine beautiful and powerful creatures who always have courage - just like Thuy.

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone


Katheryn Russell-Brown - 2014
    As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio. At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century: Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few. Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.

Southwest Sunrise


Nikki Grimes - 2020
    . .When Jayden touches down in New Mexico, he's uncertain how this place could ever be home. But if he takes a walk outside, he just might find something glorious.Flowers in bright shades . . .Birds and lizards and turtles, all with a story to tell . . .Red rock pillars towering in the distance . . .Turquoise sky as far as the eye can see . . .Perhaps this place could be home after all.Gorgeously poetic and visually stunning, this story from acclaimed creators Nikki Grimes and Wendell Minor celebrates the beauty of the Southwest as a young boy sees it for the very first time.

Paletero Man


Lucky Diaz - 2021
    But when he arrives, our narrator’s pockets are empty! What happened to his dinero? It will take the help of the entire community to get the tasty treat now.Celebrating the strength of community and the tastes of summer, fans of Thank You, Omu and Carmela Full of Wishes will be hungry for what Paletero Man has in store.The book includes Spanish words and phrases throughout and an author’s note from Lucky Diaz about why he was inspired to write this picture book.

Grandma's Gift


Eric Velásquez - 2010
    After they prepare their traditional Puerto Rican celebration, Eric and Grandma visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a school project, where he sees a painting by Diego Velasquez and realizes for the first time that he could be an artist when he grows up. Grandma witnesses his fascination, and presents Eric with the perfect Christmas gift-a sketchbook and colored pencils-to use in his first steps toward becoming an artist. A heartwarming story of self-discovery, Grandma's Gift is a celebration of the special bond between a grandparent and grandchild.

Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy


Tara Dairman - 2020
    One boy. Their lives couldn't be more different.While she turns her shoulder to sandstorms and blistering winds, he cuffs his pants when heavy rains begin to fall.As the weather becomes more severe, their families and animals must flee to safety--and their destination shows that they might be more alike than they seem.The journeys of these two children experiencing weather extremes in India highlight the power of nature and the resilience of the the human spirit.

Coquí in the City


Nomar Perez - 2021
    mainland from Puerto Rico and realizes that New York City might have more in common with San Juan than he initially thought.Miguel's pet frog, Coquí, is always with him: as he greets his neighbors in San Juan, buys quesitos from the pandería, and listens to his abuelo's story about meeting baseball legend Roberto Clemente. Then Miguel learns that he and his parents are moving to the U.S. mainland, which means leaving his beloved grandparents, home in Puerto Rico, and even Coquí behind. Life in New York City is overwhelming, with unfamiliar buildings, foods, and people. But when he and Mama go exploring, they find a few familiar sights that remind them of home, and Miguel realizes there might be a way to keep a little bit of Puerto Rico with him--including the love he has for Coquí--wherever he goes.

The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story


Thao Lam - 2020
    At her home in Vietnam, a girl rescues ants from the sugar water set out to trap them. Later, when the girl’s family flees war-torn Vietnam, ants lead them through the moonlit jungle to the boat that will take them to safety. Before boarding, the girl folds a paper boat from a bun wrapper and drops it into the water, and the ants climb on. Their perilous journey, besieged by punishing weather, predatory birds, and dehydration, before reaching a new beginning, mirrors the family’s own. Impressionistic collages and a moving, Own Voices narrative make this a one-of-a-kind tale of courage, resilience, and hope.

Sugar in Milk


Thrity Umrigar - 2020
    A young immigrant girl joins her aunt and uncle in a new country that is unfamiliar to her. She struggles with loneliness, with a fierce longing for the culture and familiarity of home, until one day, her aunt takes her on a walk. As the duo strolls through their city park, the girl's aunt begins to tell her an old myth, and a story within the story begins.A long time ago, a group of refugees arrived on a foreign shore. The local king met them, determined to refuse their request for refuge. But there was a language barrier, so the king filled a glass with milk and pointed to it as a way of saying that the land was full and couldn't accommodate the strangers. Then, the leader of the refugees dissolved sugar in the glass of milk. His message was clear: Like sugar in milk, our presence in your country will sweeten your lives. The king embraced the refugee, welcoming him and his people.

The Bell Rang


James E. Ransome - 2019
    Daddy gathers wood. Mama cooks. Ben and the other slaves go out to work. Each day is the same. Full of grueling work and sweltering heat. Every day, except one, when the bell rings and Ben is nowhere to be found. Because Ben ran. Yet, despite their fear and sadness, his family remains hopeful that maybe, just maybe, he made it North. That he is free.

Our Favorite Day of the Year


A.E. Ali - 2020
    He’s not used to being away from home and he doesn’t know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moisés, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn’t sure they’ll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can’t imagine any better friends. In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering a new friendship with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself brings people together. And the calendar of holidays at the end of the book will delight children as they identify special events they can celebrate with friends throughout the year.

Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia


Jeanette Winter - 2010
    What to do? Then he comes up with the perfect solution—a traveling library! He buys two donkeys—Alfa and Beto—and travels with them throughout the land, bringing books and reading to the children in faraway villages. Beautiful!Complete with an author's note about the real man on whom this story is based.

Malala's Magic Pencil


Malala Yousafzai - 2017
    She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true. This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala's story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times.

The Patchwork Bike


Maxine Beneba Clarke - 2016
    That's when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot (maybe mum is still using it, maybe not) and a used flour sack. You can even make a numberplate from bark, if you want. The end result is a spectacular bike, perfect for going bumpity-bump over sandhills, past your fed-up mum and right through your mud-for-walls home.A delightful story from multi-award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke, beautifully illustrated by street artist Van T Rudd.

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood


F. Isabel Campoy - 2016
    Pick up a paintbrush and join the celebration!