Multicultural Children’s Book Day and The Children’s Book Council are thrilled to team up to present the 2022 #ReadYourWorld Book Jam. Please welcome Priya Huq who will kick off our series with her list of diverse graphic novels about family!
Piece by Piece: The Story of Nisrin’s Hijab by Priya Huq
Nisrin is a 13-year-old Bangladeshi-American girl living in Milwaukie, Oregon, in 2002. As she nears the end of eighth grade, she gives a presentation for World Culture Day about Bangladesh while wearing a traditional cultural dress. On her way home, she is the victim of a hate crime when a man violently attacks her for wearing a headscarf.
Deeply traumatized by the experience, Nisrin spends the summer depressed and isolated. Other than weekly therapy, Nisrin doesn’t leave the house until fall arrives and it’s time for her to start freshman year at a new school. The night before class starts, Nisrin makes a decision. She tells her family she’s going to start wearing hijab, much to their dismay. Her mother and grandparent’s shocked and angry reactions confuse her—but they only strengthen her resolve.
This choice puts Nisrin on a path to not only discover more about Islam, but also her family’s complicated relationship with the religion, and the reasons they left Bangladesh in the first place. On top of everything else, she’s struggling to fit in at school—her hijab makes her a target for students and faculty alike. But with the help from old friends and new, Nisrin is starting to figure out what really makes her happy. Piece by Piece is an original graphic novel about growing up and choosing your own path, even if it leads you to a different place than you expected. [middle grade, ages 10 and up]
We are giving away six copies of Piece by Piece: The Story of Nisrin’s Hijab with signed bookplates! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.
Diverse Graphic Novels About Family
Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens
Artie is my book’s cousin, made by one of my favorite people and artists on this Earth, so I am biased— that said, you have got to read this adorable and thrilling story about a werewolf and her family! [middle grade, ages 8 and up]
Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani
Jukebox is a light-hearted, colorful love song to music and resilience, and a Bangladeshi American child connecting with her father. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]
The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
Shing Yin Khor is another one of my favorite people and artists, and they knocked it out of the park with this National Book Award finalist about close and found family. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis is about the author and the literal events she survived as a child during and post the Iranian Revolution, and it is also about the protection of a family and the trauma of loss. [young adult graphic novel, ages 12 and up]
Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright
Twins is about two twin girls and how they navigate becoming individuals while still staying family! [middle grade graphic novel, ages 8 and up]
Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma
Yotsuba&! is about the misadventures of its titular character, an extremely typical 5 year old, but it is also about her extended found family and the sweet mundanity of family life. [graphic novel, ages 4 and up]
6 Book Piece by Piece: The Story of Nisrin’s Hijab GIVEAWAY!
We are giving away six copies of Piece by Piece: The Story of Nisrin’s Hijab with signed bookplates! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and A.F.O. addresses.
Priya Huq is a Bangladeshi-American cartoonist from Austin, Texas, who enjoys working in
water-based media. Her stories deal with complex emotions in both real and fantastic locations.
In her free time she likes to drink tea and look at trees. Huq is the author of Piece by Piece: The Story of Nisrin’s Hijab and has contributed to The Nib and other online publications. She lives in New York City with her spouse and two cats.
To learn more about Priya, please visit her website and Twitter @priya_huq.
Join us Friday, January 28th at 9 pm EST for our #ReadYourWorld Twitter party. We will be giving away book bundles of 9 books each every five minutes!
This is such a great list! We are really enjoying Traci Sorell’s books right now.
I can’t possibly choose a favorite diverse text. I would love to add this diverse graphic novel to my classroom library. My students love graphic novels.
I would read all of them
My favorite diverse children’s book Amari and the night Brothers.
My nephew got me interested in graphic novels. These look good.
Many of my favorite diverse books were honored by or awarded the South Asia Book Award. https://southasiabookaward.wisc.edu/
no fav
We are excited to learn more.
My students gobble up any graphic novel I bring into the classroom. They absolutely loved Twins. I am not familiar with a few of these titles. I need to check them out. Thank you so much for sharing!
So many to choose from…I loved When You Trap a Tiger.
Twins is a great story. I loved Front Desk, Lety Out Loud, Ghost, and The Lucky Ones…just a few I have read since the beginning of the year.