As a library paraprofessional and an avid reader, I’m a fan of the We Need Diverse Books campaign. It can be difficult to get books into the hands of readers if you’re not quite sure how to ‘sell’ the books. I thought I would try out a feature where I pair a book with a companion Diverse* book. If a reader likes one book, they’re sure to enjoy the other one.
May B by Caroline Starr Rose and Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Why?
- They both are historical novels-in-verse.
- Both feature young girls growing up in hard times.
- The books are spare on words but still paint a wonderful description of May and Hà’s lives.
If you have any great pairings, let me know! I’d love to feature them and credit you!
*Diversity may come from the author and/or characters.
The Cheap Reader 
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Neat blog series! I don’t read novels in verse too often (there just aren’t a lot of them that I come across in my daily life), but I tend to enjoy them. The last one I read was “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and it was fantastic.
I don’t read many either but I always enjoy them when I read them. I need to read Brown Girl Dreaming. I’ve heard such great things about it.
You’ll love it! It’s really really really good. And I love that it’s appropriate for younger readers; when I finished I passed it on to my cousin who is in middle school who devours books. 🙂
Oh that’s always good!
Love this! I taught both of these books with my middle school students. That are both awesome books!!
I never thought I was a fan of novels in verse but these were great!
I’m glad things like this are happening because I don’t remember reading that many diverse books in class when I was younger.
I don’t remember reading many diverse books either. Hopefully if we get kids reading diversely when they’re younger, they’ll stick with it as the grow up!