Let’s get EPIC! (diversity & multicultural stories from across the globe)
As a company devoted to promoting literacy and enriching children’s lives with access to books, Epic! is proud to support Multicultural Children’s Book Day in its mission of raising awareness and celebrating diversity.
With more than 20,000 e-books, audiobooks, and read-to-me books in our vast digital library, you get instant access to beloved popular and award-winning books for kids 12 & under. Read on any device — anywhere and anytime!
Celebrate Multicultural Children’s Day with our editorial picks for top 10 diversity & multicultural stories from across the globe! (And they’re all available to read on Epic!)
Suki’s Kimono
Chieri Uegaki
Ages 5-7
The joyful story of a young girl who dances to her own drumbeat, an in doing so teaches others about the richness of diversity.
https://www.getepic.com/book/6985970/sukis-kimono
Lalo Wants a Real Name
Julia Mercedes-Castilla
Ages 6-8
Lalo is tired of being Lalo Ramos, so he tries another, more “normal” name on for size–until he worries he may be losing his identity.
https://www.getepic.com/book/20333524/lalo-wants-a-real-name
Secret of the Dance
Andrea Spalding and Alfred Scow
Ages 6-8
https://www.getepic.com/book/5827197/secret-of-the-dance
Based on an event from Scow’s childhood, this is the story of what happens when a Native American family witness a Potlach ceremony, which has been outlawed by the government.
The Ghost Catcher
Martha Hamilton
Ages 5-7
A kind and generous Indian barber, pressed by his father and then his wife to earn more money, persuades a ghost to bring him riches.
https://www.getepic.com/book/12141010/the-ghost-catcher
Henry’s Freedom Box
Ellen Levine
Ages 5-7
Henry dreams of a world where his life belongs to him. But when his family is sold, he risks everything for what he knows is right.
https://www.getepic.com/book/15992847/henrys-freedom-box
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
Ji Li Jiang
Ages 11-13
This book is an engrossing memoir of a Chinese girl, her family, and how their lives changed during Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
https://www.getepic.com/book/11078894/red-scarf-girl-a-memoir-of-the-cultural-revolution
Too Many Tamales
Gary Soto
Ages 5-7
Christmas Eve started out so perfectly for Maria. Snow had fallen, the streets glittered, she had helped make the tamales…
https://www.getepic.com/audiobook/15866193/too-many-tamales
All the Colors of the Earth
Sheila Hamanaka
Ages 5-7
Soaring, uplifting text celebrates the glorious diversity of children laughing, loving, and glowing with life.
https://www.getepic.com/app/read/14094
Anansi the Spider
Gerald McDermott
Ages 5-7
Anansi, one of the great folk heroes of the world, is saved from a terrible fate by his six sons in this traditional tale from West Africa.
https://www.getepic.com/book/15669546/anansi-the-spider
Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
Duncan Tonatiuh
Ages 5-7
Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California.
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