July Round Up: New Racially Diverse Picture Books for Storytime

 

[You can find a full list of all titles at the bottom of this post]

I Won a What? by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Robert Neubecker

I Won a What? by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Robert Neubecker

Desperate for a pet, a young child tries to win a goldfish at the fair. But instead of a goldfish the prize is Nuncio--a whale! This is a slightly surreal take on the "inconvenient pet becomes useful and beloved" storyline, but one that could certainly work in preschool storytime or early elementary classrooms.

 Themes/Topics: Friendship, Pets, Circus, Whales, Love

Here's a sample of the text. This is the most text that appears on any page:
"We fill our enormous swimming pool with salt water until it's just right for Nuncio. I've always wanted something I could take care of.  Something that loves me back. Maybe that was a lot to ask of a goldfish. But a whale! A whale seems capable of almost anything!"

Puddle by Hyewon Yum

Puddle by Hyewon Yum

A rainy day creates a disgruntled child determined not to be appeased by any activity mom suggests. When her suggestion to spend time drawing is rejected, she cheerfully announces that she'll just draw by herself. Of course, the child becomes intrigued and they draw themselves into a rainy day scene, creating a narrative as they draw. Mom gets upset when the child "splashes" in the puddle they drew by scribbling, and mom looks quite concerned when they go outside and a giant puddle appears ahead. Happily, though unsurprisingly, she throws caution to the wind and they jump and splash together.
Part of the book is told through dialogue, with the mother's words in red and the child's in black, so larger groups might get lost unless you're comfortable reading with voices, but it should definitely be part of your collection anyway. Yum's skilled and delightful illustrations are wonderful as always.

Themes/Topics: Rain, Drawing, Imagination, Mothers, Dogs, Weather

Red Yellow Blue (And a Dash of White Too!)  by C. G. Esperanza

Red Yellow Blue (And a Dash of White Too!)  by C. G. Esperanza

This one is a welcome addition to the color theory shelf. In a riot of color, wordplay, and imagination, a young child wrangles a paintbrush mixing colors and bringing different animals to life until things get a little out of control with a "Grayish--Brownish Mud monster," but ultimately the mud monster just wants to get in on the action too, and paints portraits of all the other animals.

Text sample--full of opportunities for wordplay and movement, here's the first spread:
"Splish Splash Sploosh! I painted an elephant BLUE 
with a splash of RED and YELLOW and a dash of WHITE, too.

Swoosh Swash Swish! She mixed BLUE and YELLOW 
BLUE and YELLOW made GREEN!
Like a GREEN frog fellow.  

Themes/Topics: Color, Art, Imagination

Salad Pie written by Wendy BooydeGraaff illustrated by Bryan Langdo

Salad Pie written by Wendy BooydeGraaff illustrated by Bryan Langdo

An empty playground is the perfect setting for Maggie to make "Salad Pie" (a cleaner version of mud pie), but then Herbert shows up and--even worse--he wants to help. Maggie bossily rejects his attempts to help until she accidentally slips down the slide, dropping the salad into the air. Herbert saves the day by catching both her and the pie, and their friendship is solidified as they make plans to make "Sandwich Stew" tomorrow.

This one includes lots of places to add a little singing refrain, and isn't too wordy, making it a good storytime selection:
"Into the oven," said Maggie, and she closed the imaginary oven door with panache. Gently, ever so gently, Maggie danced her jig. Softly, ever so softly, she sang, "Salad Pie, oh Salad Pie! Soon you'll be ready, Salad Pie!

Themes/Topics: Friendship, Imagination, Playgrounds, Food

How to Find Gold by Viviane Schwarz

How to Find Gold by Viviane Schwarz

Anna and her best friend, Crocodile, decide to find gold even though it will be dangerous and difficult.

Several very wordy pages are followed by several wordless pages, which means this one is a better fit for very dialogic storytime groups who have practice reading and interpreting the pictures in a story.

One spread reads:
"Gold is always hidden. We need a map with an X where the gold is," said Crocodile. 
"That's easy, said Anna. "Draw a map of the whole world, to be sure." 
"It doesn't have an X," Said Crocodile when the map was finished. 
Anna drew one on. 
"The gold is in France!" said Anna. "How do we get to France?" 
"Hm," said Crocodile. "I don't know that bit."

Themes/Topics: Treasure, Ships/Sailing, Crocodiles, Pirates (not specifically, but it definitely works), Imagination, Bravery, Friendship, Travel

Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock

Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock

A day in the lives of two girls who love ballet are compared and contrasted. Emma, a young white girl, and Julia, an older black teen, both wake up early, both eat breakfast and both get dressed for a ballet lesson. But while Emma is excited to go the the city and watch a ballet later that night, Julia is in the performance. Most children reading this book will be able to relate to Emma as a beginning dancer, and will share her admiration and be inspired by Julia, who is an advanced dancer participating in live performances on stage.

Here's a sample of the text--the parallel stories and repetition make it a good fit for storytime:
"Some of Emma's friends take tap lessons. Some of Julia's friends take tap too. Some of Emma's friends take jazz lessons. Some of Julia's friends take jazz too. Some of Emma's friends dream of dancing on Broadway. Some of Julia's friends are dancing on Broadway. But Emma and Julia love ballet."

Themes/Topics: Dance, Ballet, Careers/Jobs people do, Practice

I Won a What? by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Robert Neubecker
Puddle by Hyewon Yum
Red Yellow Blue (And a Dash of White Too!)  by C. G. Esperanza
Salad Pie written by Wendy BooydeGraaff illustrated by Bryan Langdo
How to Find Gold by Viviane Schwarz
Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock