Multicultural Fantasy and Science Fiction for Young Readers
Discover a diverse collection of multicultural fantasy and science fiction books for young readers. Explore magical worlds, futuristic adventures, and unique cultural perspectives in these captivating stories.
Book
The True Meaning of Smekday
by Adam Rex
It all starts with a school essay. When twelve-year-old Gratuity (“Tip”) Tucci is assigned to write five pages on “The True Meaning of Smekday” for the National Time Capsule contest, she’s not sure where to begin. When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended on the Earth and the aliens – called Boov – abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it “Smekland” (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod? In any case, Gratuity’s story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo.; a futile journey south to find Gratuity’s mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion. /DIVDIV Fully illustrated with “photos,” drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences, this is a hilarious, perceptive, genre-bending novel by a remarkable new talent.
Book
The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle
by Deva Fagan
All Prunella wants is to be a proper bog-witch. Unfortunately, her curses tend to do more good than harm. When her mixed-up magic allows a sneaky thief to escape her grandmother's garden, Prunella is cast out until she can prove herself. It's hard enough being exiled to the unmagical Uplands, but traveling with the smug young thief Barnaby is even worse. He's determined to gain fame and fortune by recovering the missing Mirable Chalice. And to get what she wants, Prunella must help him, like it or not.
Book
The Black Canary
by Jane Louise Curry
As the child of two musicians, twelve-year-old James has no interest in music until he discovers a portal to seventeenth-century London in his uncle's basement, and finds himself in a situation where his beautiful voice and the fact that he is biracial might serve him well.
Book
Magic Or Madness
by Justine Larbalestier
From the Sydney, Australia home of a grandmother she believes is a witch, fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino is magically transported to New York City, where she discovers that friends and foes can be hard to distinguish.
Book
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
by Virginia Hamilton
Why had he come to her, with his dark secrets from a long-ago past? What was the purpose of their strange, haunting journeys back into her own childhood? Was it to help Dab, her retarded older brother, wracked with mysterious pain who sometimes took more care and love than Tree had to give? Was it for her mother, Vy, who loved them the best she knew how, but wasn't home enough to ease the terrible longing? Whatever secrets his whispered message held, Tree knew she must follow. She must follow Brother Rush through the magic mirror, and find out the truth. About all of them.
Book
The House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
This modern classic takes on an iron-fisted drug lord, clones bred for their organs, and what it means to be human. Winner of the National Book Award as well as Newbery and Printz Honors. Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium—a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt’s first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster—except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patrón’s power-hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacrán Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn’t even suspect.
Book
The Clone Codes
by Pat McKissack
Acclaimed authors Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick L. McKissack have collaborated with their son, John, to deliver a novel that is as suspenseful as it is searing. "The Clone Codes" is the first installment of a sci-fi trilogy that blends a futuristic society with events in world history.
Book
The Doom Machine
by Mark Teague
With surprises around every corner, Teague takes readers on a funny, outrageous adventure when the small, sleepy town of Vern Hollow is invaded by a flying saucer filled with ridiculously inept aliens. Illustrations.
Book
A Wish After Midnight
by Zetta Elliott
"This novel was originally published, in slightly different form, by Booksurge in 2009"--Title page verso.
Book
The Tiger's Apprentice
by Laurence Yep
Tom Lee's life changes forever the day he meets a talking tiger named Mr. Hu, and discovers he is the latest in a long line of magical Guardians. From two–time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep comes the first book in an action–packed fantasy series that has recently been optioned for film by Miramax! Ages 10+
Book
Dragon Magic
by Andre Norton
A Hidden Treasure Sig, Artie, Kim, and Ras live in the same neighborhood and go to the same school, but they have nothing in common...until each of them sneaks into the old abandoned house on the corner and discovers the strange puzzle box covered with pictures of four dragons. Drawn by powerful magic, the boys find themselves bound together by a mystery that will transform them all--and transport them into worlds that are populated by heroes and dragons of lore....
Book
Lavender-Green Magic
by Andre Norton
A mysterious maze Eleven-year-old Holly Wade and her twin siblings, Judy and Crockett, are sent to live with their grandparents in the small town of Dimsdale, Massachusetts when their father is declared missing in action in Vietnam. Dimsdale is nothing like Boston; there are only two other African-American children in the entire school. Even worse, Grandpa and Grandma Wade live in an old junkyard! While exploring one day, Holly, Judy, and Crockett wander into an overgrown hedge maze--and find themselves transported back in time to Dimsdale's past. Can they right an ancient wrong and free the town of Dimsdale from a witch's curse?
Book
The Marvelous Effect
by Troy CLE
Turning into a Celestial-Like Entity, Louis Proof's ordinary life takes an unexpected turn as he needs to use all his new-found talents to fight off the invading Celestial Entities that are soon to reach Earth and destroy the only world he has ever known.
Book
Lionboy
by Zizou Corder
When his parents are kidnapped, what's ten-year-old Charlie Ashanti to do? Rescue them, that's what! He doesn't know who has taken his parents, or why. But he does know that one special talent will aid him on his journey--his amazing ability to speak Cat. Charlie calls on his clever feline friends--from stray city cats to magnificent caged lions--for help. With them by his side, Charlie uses wit and courage to try to find his parents before it's too late. With its whirlwind action and suspense, Lionboy is a nonstop page-turner. This mother-daughter writing team will fascinate readers of all ages with their Cat-speaking hero! "A zinger of a story, told with a J.K. Rowling-like blend of humor, drama and headlong plotting." --The Washington Post
Book
Sorceress
by Celia Rees
The spellbinding sequel to "Witch Child" reveals what happened to Mary Newbury through a young, modern descendant with an uncanny connection to the past.
Book
Red Rider's Hood
by Neal Shusterman
In this second entry in Neal Shusterman's Dark Fusion series, he twists the familiar fairy tale "Red Riding Hood" into a brooding story about a city plagued by gangs. Red, a boy famous for cruising around in a bloodcolored Mustang, takes on the Wolves after they rob his grandmother. He decides to beat them by joining them, to learn their weaknesses. After a while, however, he finds himself drawn to the pack. At the next full moon, will Red take up their murderous ways, or will he take them down? Ingenious twists and turns come fast and furious in this urban thriller.
Book
Ghost Fever
by Joe Hayes
A bilingual ghost story just spooky enough to thrill middle grade readers! Un cuento de fantasmas bilingüe, ¡para todos lectores jóvenes buscando un poco de espanto! Joe Hayes tells the story of a haunted house in a poor little town in Arizona. Nobody will rent that house because they know a ghost lives there. So the landlord tries to rents it out for free. Still nobody will rent it. That is, until Elena's father takes advantage of the deal. He doesn't believe in ghosts. Lucky for Elena that her grandmother knows all about the ways of ghosts. Elena, with the help of her grandmother, resolves the mystery of "ghost fever"--and learns a lesson about life. Joe Hayes cuenta la historia de una casa embrujada en un pequeño pueblo pobre de Arizona. Nadie alquila esta casa porque saben que allà vive un fantasma. Asà que el propietario trata de alquilarla gratis. De todas maneras, nadie la quiere alquilar. Hasta que el padre de Elena se aprovecha de la oferta. No cree en fantasmas. Por suerte para Elena, su abuela sabe todo sobre los caminos de los fantasmas. Elena, con la ayuda de su abuela, resuelve el misterio de la "fiebre de los fantasmas" y aprende una lección sobre la vida.
Book
The Conch Bearer
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The acclaimed short-story author and poet transports readers from the teeming streets of India to the rolling Himalayas, in this lyrical, exotic, and rich middle-grade fantasy.
Book
Daughter of Light
by Pam Walker
On her fourteenth birthday, Cassidy Chen receives five ancient and mysterious Chinese coins, which introduce her to the supernatural world known to her Chinese and Irish ancestors and which lead her to accept her destiny as a warrior princess.
Book
Cobwebs
by Karen Romano Young
Sixteen-year-old Nancy enjoys the colorful ethnic mix of her heritage in several different Brooklyn households, not suspecting how very strange that heritage is.
Book
Strawgirl
by Jackie Kay
'How do you know my name?' Maybe asked Strawgirl. She was thrilled out of her tiny mind. The pleasure she felt was so intense, the roof of her head could have flown open and three beautiful birds soared out. Molly 'Maybe' MacPherson has always felt that she doesn't quite fit in. Her dad is from Nigeria, which makes Maybe different to everyone else in her Scottish farming community. If only she could forget about her embarassing roots. If only she could stop getting bullied. Then Maybe's father is killed in a car accident. Struggling with grief and loneliness, she must fight to keep the farm she loves. But a strange magic is at work, and when Maybe most needs a friend, her wish comes true in a way she could never imagined... 'An out of the ordinary tale of enchantment' Daily Telegraph
Book
Wingman
Â
To escape the problems of being poor and Chinese, Donald begins to cut school to climb the George Washington Bridge where he meets Wingman, a sort of Chinese Superman.
