Oral Report on Young Adult Multicultural Book
Each student will give an oral report on a multicultural book suitable for young adults. A multicultural book is one that
represents a distinct cultural group, such as Native Americans, Latinos, African-Americans, or Asian-Americans, to name a few.
You must choose one of the books listed at the bottom of the page. Your presentation should be 10-12 minutes long. Share the
book with the class (without spoiling the end, in case we decide to read it!). Tell us why the book is multicultural. Use literary
terms and vocabulary you have learned in the course to explain why it is a quality work of literature. You might want to discuss
the characters, setting, theme, or point of view. Tell us which YA developmental task the book most closely explores. Also,
please choose three of the five types of literary criticism we have learned about and discuss how they apply to your book.
Remember, you are not summarizing the book for the class. Don’t just tell us what happens. You need to be analyzing the
book as a future teacher. In your discussion, please be sure to include why you think the book would be important to use in the
classroom, as well as a film, song, poem, and short story that you could pair with the book to help students better understand its
themes, characters, or ideas. Obviously, you will want to discuss why the multicultural aspect of the book is important for
students to read and explore.
As part of this assignment, you must include technology. You may use a Power Point, a Prezi, a movie clip, a website, or any
other appropriate use of technology. Remember, you don’t want to read your information. It is a guide and an aid for your
presentation, so use it as a jumping-off point for your own thoughts and analysis.
No two people can present on the same book, so please send me an e-mail to let me know which book you want to present to the
class. When you do this, also let me know which date you would like to give your presentation.
Multicultural Books:
1. Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl’s Story: Pegi Deitz Shea
2. Little Cricket: Jackie Brown
3. Aleutian Sparrow: Karen Hesse
4. Chu Ju’s House: Gloria Whelan
5. Tree Girl: Ben Mikaelsen
6. The Dream Bearer: Walter Dean Myers
7. Boy Meets Boy: David Levithan
8. The Bermudez Triangle: Maureen Johnson
9. The Land: Mildred Taylor
10. A Step from Heaven: An Na
11. Naming Maya: Uma Krishnaswami
12. Beacon Hill Boys: Ken Mochizuki
13. Finding My Hat: John Son
14. Caramelo: Sandra Cisneros
15. Buried Onions: Gary Soto
16. Behind the Mountains: Edwidge Danticat
17. Flight to Freedom: Ana Veciana-Suarez
18. Witch Child: Celia Rees
19. The Contender: Robert Lipsyte
20. Purple Hibiscus: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
21. Secrets in the Fire: Henning Mankell
22. Zulu Dog: Anton Ferreira
23. The Breadwinner: Deborah Ellis
24. The Color of My Words: Lynn Joseph
25. Monster: Walter Dean Myers
26. The Birchbark House: Louise Erdrich
27. The Book Thief: Marcus Zusak
28. A Single Shard: Linda Sue Park
29. I, Juan de Pareja: Elizabeth Borton De Trevino
30. The Slave Dancer: Paula Fox
31. Sold: Patricia McCormick
32. When the Emperor was Divine: Julie Otsuka
33. White Lilacs: Carolyn Meyer
34. The Devil’s Arithmetic: Jane Yolen
35. The Chosen: Chaim Potok
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