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Diverse Characters in Stories Just Because We are Diverse & GIVEAWAY!

Please welcome picture book author and illustrator Aram Kim today with a list of picture books that just so happen to have diversity characters but that’s not the point of the story. That’s diversity at its finest!

We are giving away a copy of her picture book, Cat on a Bus. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.

Many books featuring minority characters are often about specific figures or historical events. Even though these books are very engaging, meaningful and enjoyable, books featuring diverse characters for no specific reasons have a very special place in my heart. Characters in these books are diverse just because people are diverse in real life. The books listed below are among my favorites and feature diverse characters as protagonists.

Diverse Characters in Stories Just Because We are Diverse

1. Ling & Ting ​Series ​by ​Grace Lin
Ling and Ting are twins. They go about their lives doing something fun, something silly and something meaningful. Just as we all do. [easy reader series, ages 4 and up]

2. The Twins’ Blanket ​by ​Hyewon Yum
These twin sisters have shared everything in their lives. But now, each sister gets ​her own beautiful blanket. However, they end up realizing that what really makes them happy is that they still have each other!  [picture book, ages 3 and up]

3. Strictly No Elephant by Lisa Mantchev, illustrated by Taeun Yoo
A boy with an elephant was excluded from the Pet Club Day meeting. He met a girl with a skunk, and together they created their own club that welcomes everyone and is so much more fun.  [picture book, ages 4 and up]

4. A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen and Mike Lowery
A young boy starts writing his own story with the encouragement of his big sister. It turns out that you can write a story even when you don’t know many words!  [picture book, ages 4 and up]

5. Beauty and the Beast by H. Chuku Lee, illustrated by Pat Cummings
This familiar story of Beauty and the Beast is retold in such ​a ​beautiful and refreshing way when its world is set up in West-Africa. It opens your eyes to see the world differently.  [picture book, ages 4 and up]

6. The Airport Book by ​Lisa Brown
Following a family’s trip from home to the airport, in the airport, during the flight, and ​at the destination airport, the book shows a vast variety of people and their stories in such an engaging and delightful way.  [picture book, ages 4 and up]

7. Rain! by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Christian Robinson
A young boy is excited about his outing on a rainy day, while a grumpy man on the other side of town is not happy at all about the rain. When they both cross paths in a café, the good-spirited boy changes the grumpy man’s way of seeing the world. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

8. Cat on the Bus by ​Aram Kim
A street cat has ​a ​rough time throughout a cold winter day. Thanks to a kind bus driver, she gets on a bus where she meets a warm-hearted gentleman​. He takes the cat home to his young granddaughter who welcomes both. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

Win Cat on the Bus GIVEAWAY

Please fill out Rafflectopter below to enter. We can only ship to U.S. addresses due to the high cost of shipping.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Aram Kim is a New York-based children’s book author/illustrator. She is currently living in Queens, NY, at the heart of the diversity, where she is happily surrounded by diverse culture. She has been working for various publications and participating in numerous exhibitions and collaboration projects.
Her first picture book Cat on the Bus was out in ​fall 2016. Her second picture book No Kimchi For Me!, about Korean food and siblinghood, is to be out in fall 2017. To learn more, check out her website and follow her on Twitter (@studioaram) and Instagram (@aramkimart).

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

To find more diverse and multicultural books for children, please check out our Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents. We also have Pinterest board full of ideas:

 

 

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