Sona is excited about attending her first Indian wedding, particularly since her sister is the bride. She discovers tradition expects her to steal the groom’s shoes, so she solicits the help of her know-it-all cousin Vishal to pull off the heist. (Grades K-3)
Award Year
My Friend is Hindu
Most of us don’t have a friend like Arjun to explain to us about sanatana dharma, varnas, samskaras, and atman, but Cameron’s Hindu pal shows him that we only fear what we don’t know. In this concise, approachable story, Khadija Ejaz opens up a world of cultural awareness that’s both curiosity driven and easy to absorb. Photos, familiar concepts and themes, and charming characters root the educational bits in modern reality, so children can better connect with and understand the religion and lifestyle explored. (Grades 4 and up)
Crane Boy
Every year Kinga waits for the black-necked cranes to return to his village in Bhutan. When he discovers they are endangered, he and his classmates create a dance and festival to honor the cranes and remind people of the need to safeguard them. (Grades K-4)
When the Rain Comes
A Sri Lankan girl is excited because today she will learn to plant rice seedlings that are essential to her family and community. When the wind blows, the sky darkens and the rain pours down, it is up to her to save the seedlings, the ox and the cart that delivered them. (Grades PreK-3)
When Dimple Met Rishi
Dimple is surprised when her parents allow her to attend a special summer coding camp before she heads off to Stanford. Then she finds out the real reason they agreed – her parents want her to meet Rishi, another attendee and son of friends, with the hopes that they will fall in love and marry one day. How both Dimple and Rishi learn to follow their hearts makes for a delightful romantic comedy. (Grades 9-12)
Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh
Softball, World War II and prejudice come together in an historical fiction title that takes place in Yuba City, CA, in 1945. Fifth-grader Maria, whose father is from India and mother is from Mexico, fights to save her baseball field while helping to fight injustice against her intercultural family. (Grades 4-8)
Amina’s Voice
When shy Amina enters sixth grade, she faces many challenges: her best friend is thinking of changing her name to be more “American”, her strict uncle is visiting from Pakistan, and her teacher and friends are urging her to sing a solo in the school concert. When her hometown mosque is vandalized, Amina sees the community come together and finally finds her voice as she accepts who she is. (Grades 3-5)
Room in Your Heart
An old woman who lives in a tiny house in the mountains is hailed by many travelers who ask “Is there room for me?” Her secret for fitting so many visitors into her small home is the heart-warming message of this Bhutanese folktale. (Grades K-3)
Machher Jhol
Gopu finds courage as he travels through the bustling crowds, the market, and traffic of Calcutta, to gather ingredients for his grandma to cook his father’s favorite dish—fish curry (machher jhol). The illustrations invite the reader to travel along with Gopu, and hope that the special dish is just the medicine Gopu’s father needs to feel well again. (Grades K-5)
I Need to Pee
Where do you go when you just have to go? Sahi, a little girl who loves to drink all types of things, finds out as she travels from Mumbai to visit her aunt’s house in Assam. (Grades 3-5)