The Diverse Families bookshelf was created and funded through numerous grants. Due to lack of additional grants and the loss of key personnel, the project has come to an end. We have tremendously enjoyed creating this database and hope that it can help bring readers and books together.
Browse Diverse Families by Subject:
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Mother Number Zero
Marjolijn Hof, Johanna W. Prins, and Johanna Henrica Prins
When Fay meets a fascinating girl named Maud who asks him what it is like to be adopted, he finds himself wondering about his Bosnian birth-mother and why she gave him up, so with the help of his parents he sets out to answer his questions.
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Mountain Dog
Margarita Engle
When Tony's mother is sent to jail, he is sent to stay with a great uncle he has never met in Sierra Nevada. It is a daunting move―Tony's new world bears no semblance to his previous one. But slowly, against a remote and remarkable backdrop, the scars from Tony's troubled past begin to heal.With his Tió and a search-and-rescue dog named Gabe by his side, he learns how to track wild animals, is welcomed to the Cowboy Church, and makes new friends at the Mountain School. Most importantly though, it is through Gabe that Tony discovers unconditional love for the first time.
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Mountains to Climb
Richard M. Wainwright
Roberto spends two years in the U.S. with his one-eyed llama and overcomes prejudice against him and two physically disabled students.
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Muktar and the Camels
Janet Graber
Muktar lives in an orphanage on the border of Kenya and Somalia. He daydreams about his old life with his family and especially tending to camels. One day, visitors arrive bearing books, and Muktar's friend Ismail is excited; so is Muktar, but for a different reason—the visitors are riding on camels. Muktar quickly discovers that one of the animals is injured and realizes this is his chance to prove himself. If there is anything Muktar knows, it is camels. Through the eyes of an endearing protagonist whose love and respect for animals shines, this beautifully told story introduces young readers to another part of the world and way of life.
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Multiethnic Teens and Cultural Identity
Barbara Cruz
Discusses the many issues facing teens of multiethnic descent, including discrimination and the search for ethnic identity in an unsympathetic culture.
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Multiracial Families
Julianna Fields
Describes the benefits and challenges multiracial families face in today's society, including cultural and religious differences, societal views on intermarriage, and multiracial adoption.
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Multiracial Families (Families Today)
Hilary W. Poole
Explores the benefits and challenges multiracial families face in today's society.
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Mummy and Mumma Get Married
Roz Hopkins and Natalie Winter
Phoebe wonders why her mummies aren't married. With her trusty sidekick, Biscuit the cat, she plans a big surprise wedding. Soon, the whole town is in on it and they are all coming along! But what about You-Know-Who? This gorgeous children's picture book tells a timeless tale about a little girl planning a big surprise - a wedding - for her parents, but with a contemporary twist as her parents are both women. With a child's innocence, the little girl, Phoebe, doesn't understand the obstacles and can't see prejudice. She soon has everyone on her side.
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Murphy's Three Homes: A Story for Children in Foster Care
Jan Levinson Gilman
A dog describes the emotional ups and downs of being in multiple foster homes and living in unfamiliar surroundings. Includes note to parents.
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Mustafa
Marie-Loise Gay
After leaving his war-torn country with his family, Mustafa visits a park near his new home and finds beautiful flowers, lady bugs, fall leaves, and finally, a friend.
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My Adopted Child, There's No One like You
Kevin Leman and Kevin Leman II
When Panda has to make a family tree for school, his mother explains how he came to be adopted, and how very special that makes him.
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My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life
Rachel Cohn
On her sixteenth birthday, Elle Zoellner leaves the foster care system to live with the father she never knew in Tokyo, Japan.
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My Beautiful Birds
Suzanne Del Rizzo
A moving story about one boy's refugee experience in the Syrian Civil War and the birds who help him on the road to emotional healing. Behind Sami, the Syrian skyline is full of smoke. The boy follows his family and all his neighbours in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of is his pet pigeons - will they escape too? When they reach a refugee camp and are safe at last, everyone settles into the tent city. But though the children start to play and go to school again, Sami can't join in. When he is given paper and paint, all he can do is smear his painting with black. He can't forget his birds and what his family has left behind. One day a canary, a dove, and a rose finch fly into the camp. They flutter around Sami and settle on his outstretched arms. For Sami it is one step in a long healing process at last.
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My Best Buddy
YeShil Kim
Two students attend the same school and become friends. One is eighty-five years old, but he is committed to going to school and learning how to read, write, and study so that he can fulfill his dream of being a veterinarian. Kamau is a second grader, and learns from his older friend that if you put your mind to it, you can make your dreams come true.
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My Best Friend, Maybe
Caela Carter
Colette's life is near-perfect, if boring, so when her ex-best friend, Sadie, asks her to come on vacation to the Greek Islands for a family wedding, Colette agrees but is surprised to learn Sadie's true reason for the invitation.
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My Body Belongs to Me
Jill Starishevsky
Presented in story format and narrated by a young child in rhyming couplets, this short book encourages children who have been sexually abused to talk to someone they trust.
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My Brother Bernadette
Jacqueline Wilson
Sara tries to take care of her younger brother when he is teased and called Bernadette at summer camp, but he finds an activity that he enjoys and that gives him the chance to shed his new nickname for good.
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My Brother, Matthew
Mary Thompson
Though David knows frustration and resentment at times, he feels he understands his disabled little brother even better than his parents; and together the two boys experience a great deal of joy.
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My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 2
Gengoroh Tagame
As Mike continues his journey of discovery concerning Ryoji's past, Yaichi gradually comes to understand that being gay is just another way of being human. And that, in many ways, remains a radical concept in Japan even today. In the meantime, the bond between Mike and young Kana grows ever stronger, and yet he is going to have to return to Canada soon--a fact that fills them both with impending heartbreak.
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My Brother's Husband, Volume 1
Gengoroh Tagame
Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi's estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji's past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it's been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.
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My Buddy
Audrey Osofsky
This easy-to-read, first-person narrative of an unusual friendship demonstrates the desires of the handicapped to be independent and to be treated like everyone else. Graceful watercolor illustrations that emphasize the closeness between boy and dog are a perfect accompaniment to this entertaining and informative book.
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My Chinatown: One Year in Poems
Kam Mak
My Chinatown explores a boy's first year in the United States—after emigrating from China—as he grows to love his new home in Chinatown through food, games, and the people surrounding him.
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My Dad and My Papa
David Escobedo
An adopted daughter muses on her origins and her relationship with her gay dads.
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My Daddy is in Jail
Janet Bender
My Daddy is in Jail is a long overdue resource for helping children cope with the incarceration of a loved one. It includes a read-aloud story discussion guide caregiver suggestions and optional small group counseling activities. With this book helping professionals and other caring adults will find themselves better equipped to provide information and support to these vulnerable children and their families.
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My Daddy's in Jail
Anthony Curcio
There are nearly three million adults in the U.S. alone that are in prison or jail. Many of these being parents that leave behind unanswered questions with their children: What is jail? Why did this happen? Is it my fault? Is my daddy (or mommy) bad? Do they love me? My Daddy's in Jail is a story of two bears who have a father in prison. The book is narrated by a very odd cockroach.