In celebration of our nation's melting pot of cultures and storytelling, we compiled a list of authors that have brought joy and delight to students everywhere. Their books highlight their own dynamic cultures and families, sharing different perspectives on everyday life. We recommend the following audiobooks, and think that students will enjoy reading them.
Children’s book author and educator Andrea Cheng, authored books with an intercultural and intergenerational focus. Cheng was born in El Paso, Texas in 1957, the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. Cheng grew up with her two siblings and extended family living together under one roof. Inspired by her family, a young Andrea enjoyed writing her own stories throughout her years in elementary and middle school. Andrea married Jim Cheng, who was also the son of immigrants.
Meg Medina is a Cuban-American writer of young adult fiction, who grew up in Queens, New York, where she met her husband Javier Menéndez. Medina's parents both emigrated from Cuba prior to her birth, her family's stories serve as the inspiration for her writing.
Matt de la Peña born in San Diego, California received his BA from University of the Pacific which he attended on a basketball scholarship. He then received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University. To date, de la Peña has written 15 books, the latest being Last Stop on Market Street which won the 2016 Newbery Medal. He currently resides in Brooklyn where he teaches creative writing courses at New York University.
Popular Book Title: Jumbies
Tracey Baptiste was born in Trinidad; she grew up on local folklore and fairy tales, and decided to be a writer at the age of three. Her debut, a young adult novel titled Angel’s Grace, was named one of the 100 best books for reading and sharing by New York City librarians. Tracey is a former teacher, textbook editor, ballerina, and amateur librarian. She is now a wife and mom and lives in New Jersey, where she writes and edits books for kids.
Frank Cottrell Boyce was born in Liverpool and studied English at Oxford University. In 2004, he wrote a book for children based on his own screenplay - Millions - and this book won the 2004 Carnegie Medal. It was published as a play in 2010. His second children's novel, Framed, was shortlisted for both the 2005 Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award.
Popular title: Trapped
Shaun Tan is an Australian artist, writer and filmmaker. He won an Academy Award for The Lost Thing, a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. In 2006, his wordless graphic novel The Arrival won the Book of the Year prize as part of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. The same book won the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year award in 2007.and the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Premier's Prize in 2006.
Got a book list suggestion? Send your ideas to: allkidscanread@learningally.org and help us get you the books you want and need to read.
About Learning Ally
Learning Ally is a leading nonprofit ed-tech organization delivering a comprehensive learning solution for struggling readers in elementary, middle and high schools. Our proven solution includes the most extensive library of human-read audiobooks that students want and need to read both at home and at school. This reading experience helps accelerate learning, enables a new level of access to knowledge and powerfully increases confidence and self-belief.
Learning Ally empowers over 240,000 students with improved comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and critical thinking skills. For over 70 years, we have helped transform the lives of struggling readers by bridging the gap between their reading capability and their academic potential as they confidently become lifelong learners who thrive in school and beyond.