There are so many talented and diverse children’s authors and illustrators to recommend! To highlight them, I have continued with my series of celebrating their birthdays on a seasonal basis. I started with summer, and I can’t believe it, but now it’s time to celebrate Autumn birthdays! I hope you enjoy the great titles below. A great resource to find even more diverse notable titles for kids is We Need Diverse Books’ website, Where Can You Find Diverse Books? Right Here! Happy Autumn birthdays!

Writer Aisha Saeed, Birthday: September 2nd
Bilal Cooks Daal, illustrated by Anoosha Syed
(Grades K-2)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“Novelist Saeed makes her picture-book debut with this delicious tale about a boy and his beloved daal. When Bilal's father begins to make the South Asian legume stew, Bilal and his friends Morgan and Elias are eager to help, but Abu tells them, ‘This dish takes patience….This dish takes time.’ The children choose to make chana daal (with split chickpeas) and line up the spices: turmeric, chili, cumin. But when Morgan and Elias wonder aloud why the daal ‘looks’ and ‘smells’ funny, Bilal becomes concerned that his friends won't like his favorite food at all. The daal simmers all day–as Bilal, Morgan, and Elias play hopscotch, swim, and hike and other friends join them–and once the sun begins to set, Bilal's father calls them all home. They break naan around the table and share the steamy, soupy, garlicky, salty, sweet, creamy daal. ‘Bilal, you were right–daal tastes great!’ they say. The tale centers on a situation familiar to many children of immigrants–the othering of the foods of their homes–and validates young readers' cultural experiences. Saeed's inclusion of a South Asian father engaged in domestic work is radical and welcome, and Syed's inviting, bold, cartoon-like illustrations depict brown-skinned Bilal surrounded by children of a variety of skin tones (Morgan presents white and Elias presents black). A quietly radical, eminently delightful book.” –Kirkus Reviews

Writer and Illustrator Anna Kim, Birthday: September 10th
Danbi Leads the School Parade
(Grades K-2)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“All together now: Food, dance, and music combine for magic that transcends language barriers. The charming cover of this read-aloud captures the Korean protagonist in a commanding pose, balanced on tiptoes, ready to perform. Still, Danbi feels anxious: ‘On the first day of my new school in America, my heart beat: Boom. Boom.’ Her palpable turmoil builds as she tries unfamiliar activities, yet, by lunchtime, her nervous heartbeat evolves into drum rolls cueing Danbi's creative impulses. Her classmates' singular reaction to her traditional Korean lunch–’Wow!’–signals the transformative powers of Danbi's favorite foods, exquisitely presented in tiered containers: ‘Yams in honey, crystal dumplings…rainbow drops, and half-moon rice cakes dipped in sweet sesame!’ Classmates' attempts to use chopsticks become comical antics; soon, Danbi is leading everyone through recess in spontaneous, triumphant pageantry. Enchanting illustrations dazzle–particularly through the diverse characters' hair and facial expressions that detail individuals' unique traits while celebrating the entire cohort. According to the author's note, the story is inspired by the creator's own ‘bicultural identity,’ and the endpapers encapsulate an immigrant child's journey: the poignant departure and the prosaic pleasures of new friends will resonate with readers of all ages. Imaginative, irreverent, improvisational fun in kindergarten: Danbi shares a burst of ‘sweet rain,’ complete with a rainbow.” –Kirkus Reviews

Writer and Illustrator Tomie dePaola, Birthday: September 15th
Strega Nona: Her Story
(Grades K-2)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“DePaola executes a clever concept with his trademark charm and humor, offering a prequel to the series that began in 1976 with the Caldecott Honor book Strega Nona. Here the author/artist tells how his charismatic character came to become a strega (witch) with a ‘magic touch.’ The ‘biography’ begins on a dark and stormy night in the hills of Calabria, where Grandma Concetta authoritatively oversees Nona's birth. Convinced that Nona will be a strega like her, the big-hearted woman teaches her granddaughter how to use herbs and spells to remedy villagers' aches and troubles. Nona, along with her overconfident friend Amelia (who sets herself up as Nona's rival in some of the other books), attends the Academy for Stregas, but soon concludes that its newfangled approach to magic is not for her, and returns home to practice her craft the old-fashioned way. Eventually she discovers Grandma Concetta's all-important secret ingredient: love. With their expressive faces and pertly exaggerated profiles (Strega Nona's signature hooked nose punctuates her face even as a newborn), the classic characters happily cavort in sunnily colored, droll illustrations. And dePaola does a splendid job of working this sparkling tale into the Strega Nona canon: on the final page, for example, the aging strega opens her door to the first respondent to her ad for a helper, whom fans will immediately recognize as the gangly and beloved Big Anthony.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Writer Gail Carson Levine, Birthday: September 17th
Dave At Night
(Grades 4-6)
OverDrive / Hoopla / Library Catalog

“A cross between Oliver Twist and a fairy tale, this charming story set on the edge of Harlem in 1926 features feisty troublemaker Dave. His father has died; neither his stepmother nor his poor, immigrant relatives feel they can support him. Thus, he is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys, known by its ‘inmates’ as the ‘Hell Hole for Brats,’ and is stripped of all of his possessions, most importantly an exquisite Noah's Ark that was carved by his father. Most of the adults Dave encounters are petty and brutal. He forms an alliance with the other ‘elevens’ but vows to escape as soon as he recovers his carving. He sneaks out at night, and the sound of a ‘laughing trumpet’ lures him to a nearby building where a dollar bill, a veritable fortune, wafts down from a window. He meets Solomon Gruber, a fortune teller, who makes Dave an unofficial grandson and whisks him off the streets into a party where he meets Irma Lee, a young black heiress whose mother runs salons for artists, authors, and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance. This chance encounter proves to be the boy's ultimate salvation. As in all fairy tales, characters are clearly good or evil, and Dave's story ends almost happily ever after. The magic comes from Levine's language and characterization. This novel will provide inspiration for all children while offering a unique view of a culturally diverse New York City. Readers will celebrate life with Dave and will recognize that fortitude and chutzpah are keys to his success, with a generous helping of good luck and good friends thrown in for good measure.” –School Library Journal

Writer Andrea Davis Pinkney, Birthday: September 25th
Loretta Little Looks Back
(Grades 4-6)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“Three members of the Little family, as preteens and teens, tell their personal and family stories. First, Loretta Little speaks, from 1927 to 1930, about her life picking cotton as a sharecropper, watching her father endure degradation under conditions that are less than completely free. Next, ‘Retta's little brother, Roly, speaks from 1942 to 1950. The family now has their own small plot of land, but terrorists poison their animals to keep them in check. After this heartbreak, Roly finds love, marries, and has a child, Aggie B., the final narrator, who brings readers from 1962 to 1968. Aggie is the youngest volunteer in her town's voter-registration effort, helping Aunt ‘Retta to study for the unfair test and then to save up pennies to pay the poll tax. She is beaten savagely by racists and attends the Democratic National Convention twice, giving readers a front-row seat to history. Author Pinkney's writing is alive with imagery; the unusual monologue format works ideally read aloud in pieces and offers rich opportunities for readers' theater. Each character presents an engaging contrast to the others, and the slow progress from Jim Crow days to the 1960s illuminates a little-examined piece of U.S. history while making it deeply personal. Illustrator Pinkney's grayscale paintings open and close chapters with rounded frames and expressive features, memorably connecting and highlighting the story's themes of family and land. Readers will hear the history come alive.” –Kirkus Reviews

Writer Alex Gino, Birthday: October 1st
George: Melissa’s Story
(Grades 4-6)
OverDrive / Hoopla / Library Catalog

“George, a fourth-grader who knows she is a girl, despite appearances, begins to tell her secret. The word ‘transgender’ is used midway through, but far more work is done by the simple choice to tell George's story using third-person narration and the pronouns ‘she’ and ‘her.’ Readers then cringe as much as George herself when bullies mock her or-perhaps worse-when well-meaning friends and family reassure her with sentiments like ‘I know you'll turn into a fine young man.’ Each year the fourth-graders at George's school perform a dramatized version of Charlotte's Web, the essentials of which are lovingly recapped (and tear-inducing ending revealed) for readers unfamiliar with the tale. George becomes convinced that if she plays Charlotte, her mom will finally see her as a girl. George's struggles are presented with a light, age-appropriate, and hopeful touch. The responses she gets when she begins to confide in those closest to her are at times unexpected but perfectly true-to-character-most notably her crude older brother's supportive observation that, ‘No offense, but you don't make a very good boy.’ A coda to the Charlotte's Web story, in which George presents herself as a girl for the first time, is deeply moving in its simplicity and joy. Warm, funny, and inspiring.” –Kirkus Reviews

Illustrator David Diaz, Birthday: October 2nd
Maya’s Blanket/La manta de Maya, written by Monica Brown
(Grades K-3)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“In a tender bilingual story inspired by a Yiddish folksong, Maya’s beloved butterfly-laden blanket, made by her abuelita, passes through numerous incarnations. When the blanket frays, Maya and her grandmother fashion it into a dress and, later, a skirt. From there, it becomes a shawl, scarf, bookmark, and a story to pass down. In English and Spanish, Brown describes these transitions using a ‘House That Jack Built’ structure: ‘So with her own two hands and Abuelita’s help, Maya made her vestido that was her manta into a falda that she loved very much.’ The angular poses and vivid colors of Diaz’s illustrations evoke the feeling of stained-glass windows in this uplifting story of passing time, enduring love, and creative reuse.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Writer Libby Scott, Birthday: October 6th
Can You See Me? with co-writer Rebecca Westcott
(Grades 4-6)
OverDrive / Hoopla / Library Catalog

“A girl with autism confronts the terrors of sixth grade. Eleven-year-old Tally is fierce, brave, funny, and kind; but she also wants desperately to fit in, so she keeps her autism secret from her new classmates at Kingswood Academy. But the harder she tries to act ‘normal,’ the more the bullies call her ‘weirdo’ until even her friends start to pull away. Tally's story–based on Scott (herself 11 and autistic) and co-written with the neurotypical Westcott–shines with authenticity. Even the lengthy ‘Autism Facts’ in Tally's interspersed diary entries avoid didacticism via their un-self-conscious honesty. The deceptively simple prose sticks tightly to Tally's point of view, conveying her courage and quirky charm while rendering with painful acuity her struggles with anxiety and sensory overload. It also portrays compassionately the sometimes-stressful effects of her particular needs and odd-seeming behaviors on her loving, supportive family. There are no villains here: Her teachers are (mostly) receptive and sympathetic, and even the bullies come off as more clueless than cruel. Nor is there any magic resolution: Tally's situation may improve but only at the cost of her privacy; and her social relationships remain tentative. Instead, her triumph comes in her resolve to present as her own unique, different ‘normal.’ Recommended for readers with autism who will feel genuinely seen and for those desiring to see others more clearly.” –Kirkus Reviews

Writer Minh Lê, Birthday: October 13th
Drawn Together, illustrated by Dan Santat
(Grades K-2)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“This story from Lê (Let Me Finish!), about a Thai-speaking grandfather and his assimilated American grandson, testifies to the mighty power of art. The opening sequence shows the boy getting dropped off by his mother and glumly ringing his grandfather’s doorbell. A gulf of age and language separates the two. Though the grandfather is dressed in Western clothes, he puts his hands together in a traditional Thai greeting. In the panel artwork that follows, the grandfather’s speech appears in Thai script, the boy’s in English. In despair, the boy pulls out his sketchbook and draws a boy wizard with a peaked hat. Grandfather, it turns out, can draw, too. His wizard, clothed in magnificent Thai ceremonial garb, is a showstopper. A phantasmagoric duel begins: “All the things we could never say come pouring out.” Santat’s work dazzles with layers of color, exquisitely worked traditional designs, and ambitious scale. With the grandfather drawing in his idiom and the boy in his, the two defeat the dragon of difference that separates them and discover that they do not need to be able to speak in order to communicate.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Writer Joseph Bruchac, Birthday: October 16th
Skeleton Man
(Grades 4-6)
OverDrive / Hoopla / Library Catalog

“Bruchac weaves an incredibly scary story of a girl whose warm, contented family is suddenly torn apart. Molly's knowledge of and immersion in her Mohawk heritage is something she takes for granted, as are the wisdom and strength that come from understanding the traditional tales and listening to one's dreams. She sets the stage as she tells one of her father's favorite stories about a man who is hungry and eats himself and then everyone around except for one clever young girl. Molly then discloses that her own parents have suddenly disappeared. An eerie, stick-thin old man arrives claiming to be her only kin using the pictures from her father's wallet. Adults on the scene vary from being clueless to well intentioned but ineffectual. Brought to skeleton man's house and locked in a room every evening, Molly keeps trying to find a way out, eventually finding that heeding her dreams, combined with some great detective work, does the trick. Better than many mystery writers, who make the clues obvious, Bruchac makes every word add to the tension right up to the final few pages. Details of video cameras and computers help to sustain belief in a highly improbable plot. The suspense draws readers in and keeps them engaged. In the classic horror tradition, Bruchac offers a timely tale that will make hearts beat and brows sweat, and it has the bonus of a resourceful heroine to put the world right again.” –School Library Journal

Writer and Illustrator Christopher Myers, Birthday: October 17th
H.O.R.S.E.
(Grades K-3)
OverDrive / Hoopla / Library Catalog

“This wonderfully inventive, mordant duel of words offers both an advanced discussion of a particular sport (basketball) and flights of big-talking fancy. The setting is urban; Myers (Looking Like Me) creates collages that combine painting, lots of blank space, and photo images of city buildings. A pair of gangly and competitive boys co-star. ‘Hey,’ says one, ‘want to play a game of horse?’ setting the stage for a war of words in which the boys propose ever more improbable shots, taking the one-upmanship, swagger, and style inherent to the game to delirious extremes. ‘I will stand on one tiny tiptoe, balance myself on the topmost corner of the 437-story building, and shoot a perfect layup, with my left… foot,’ says one boy. ‘Now you tell me,’ protests the other in mock dismay. ‘What?’ ‘That we could leave the court.’ Although the book lands softly after the last crazy idea (‘from there, the ball will ricochet through the vacuum of space’), the energetic dialogue and gravity-defying artwork more than compensate. An excellent read aloud for kids who scorn fluffy-bunny books and want to play like the big kids.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Writer Lesléa Newman, Birthday: November 5th
Heather Has Two Mommies, illustrated by Laura Cornell
(Grades K-2)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“This is a new edition of the now classic picture book, first published in 1989. The story opens with descriptions of Heather playing with toys in the tall grass behind her house. The child has two of many things including arms, legs, feet, and elbows. ‘Heather has two pets: a ginger-colored cat named Gingersnap and a big black dog named Midnight. Heather also has two mommies: Mama Jane and Mama Kate.’ As Heather enters school for the first time she observes that many of the students in her classroom have unique families. To illustrate, Ms. Molly asks the children to draw pictures of their families. Each drawing displays the differences found within each household, yet as Heather's teacher comments, ‘The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other.’ The author's text is simple yet powerful in its ability to move readers of all ages. Cornell's fluid watercolor and gouache illustrations breathe life into this delightful story. Each page is artfully and distinctly rendered to be a visual depiction of the beauty and joy of diversity. VERDICT Readers will be warmed by this glimpse into Heather's family, whether revisiting the text or experiencing it for the first time.” –School Library Journal

Writer and Illustrator Yuyi Morales, Birthday: November 7th
Little Night/Nochecita
(Grades K-2)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“In full-bleed spreads saturated with twilight colors, Morales (Los Gatos Black on Halloween) follows Mother Sky as she prepares her tiny daughter, Little Night, for the evening. Mother Sky, whose black braids hang down her back and whose ample peasant dress flows with sunset pink and vermilion, empties stars into a tub for Little Night's bath, readies a dress crocheted from clouds and tries to find her daughter, who, like all children, would rather hide from Mama than mind her. “Mother Sky hovers by the shade of trees. She searches in the stripes of bees. When she peeks inside the bats' cave, whom does she see? After a snack of starry milk and more hide-and-seek, it's time to comb Little Night's hair, which her mother fastens with barrettes named for the planets (‘Venus on the east, Mercury on the west, and Jupiter above’). By now, Mother Sky's dress has darkened, and the planets gleam in Little Night's black hair. But, despite what young readers may have suspected, the young heroine does not go to bed. ‘Now, my Little Night, take your moon ball and play!’ Little Night skips past Mother Sky, the glowing lights of city buildings beneath her feet, the moon leaping from her hands. Creating what amounts to a new myth may seem an ambitious project, but Morales succeeds by combining intimacy and grandeur. Children will love the idea of a girl who plays while most sleep.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Writer Padma Venkatratraman, Birthday: November 13th
The Bridge Home
(Grades 4-6)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“Venkatraman's middle-grade debut tackles sisterhood, chosen families, and loss. Eleven-year-old Viji and her sister, Rukku, flee their abusive father after he breaks Amma's arm and kicks Rukku. They find themselves, overwhelmed, in the big city of Chennai, where they are temporarily employed by kind Teashop Aunty, who offers them bananas and vadais, and fall in love with a puppy, Kutti, who becomes their constant companion. The sisters meet Muthu and Arul, two boys who live under an abandoned bridge, and join them; Viji tells Rukku elaborate stories to reassure herself and her sister that they will be OK. Soon, Viji finds herself telling the young boys her stories as well; in return, the boys show the girls how to earn money on the streets: by scavenging for resalable trash in a very large garbage dump Muthu calls ‘the Himalayas of rubbish.’ When tragedy strikes, it is this new family who helps Viji come to terms. Craftwise, the book is thoughtful: Venkatraman employs the second person throughout as Viji writes to Rukku, and readers will ultimately understand that Viji is processing her grief by writing their story. Viji's narration is vivid and sensory; moonlight ‘slip[s] past the rusty iron bars on our window’; ‘the taste of half an orange…last[s] and last[s].’ The novel also touches on social justice issues such as caste, child labor, and poverty elegantly, without sacrificing narrative. A blisteringly beautiful book.” –Kirkus Reviews

Writer Tim Tingle, Birthday November 24th
Stone River Crossing
(Grades 4-6)
OverDrive / Hoopla / Library Catalog

“Tingle, an Oklahoma Choctaw, expands on his 2006 picture book Crossing Bok Chitto in this immersive tale of the friendship between people on opposite sides of the Bok Chitto River in 1808. Based on oral histories of Native Americans helping enslaved people gain their freedom, the novel focuses on Lil Mo, a boy enslaved on a Mississippi plantation, whose accidental meeting with Martha Tom, a Choctaw girl, brings about his family’s escape. After Martha Tom shows Lil Mo and his family the stone bridge that lies just beneath the river’s surface and they flee the plantation’s guards, they begin a new life in Choctaw Town, protected by Choctaw law. Lil Mo eagerly adapts, making friends such as Funi Man, a squirrel hunter with magical powers, and honing his skills at moving and hiding in the woods, but he faces dangers, too, from the plantation owners’ henchmen as well as from an otherworldly witch owl. The story builds slowly but gradually grows gripping as Lil Mo’s Choctaw friends try to destroy the powerful forces that have taken him over. Richly descriptive and leavened with humor, Tingle’s complex novel offers valuable insights into rarely told history.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Writer and Illustrator Ed Young, Birthday: November 28th
Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story From China
(Grades K-3)
OverDrive / Library Catalog

“This version of the Red Riding Hood story from Young (The Emperor and the Kite; Cats Are Cats; Yeh-Shen) features three daughters left at home when their mother goes to visit their grandmother. Lon Po Po, the Granny Wolf, pretends to be the girls' grandmother, until clever Shang, the eldest daughter, suspects the greedy wolf's real identity. Tempting him with ginkgo nuts, the girls pull him in a basket to the top of the tree in which they are hiding, then let go of the rope–killing him. One of Young's most arresting illustrations accompanies his dedication: ‘To all the wolves of the world for lending their good name as a tangible symbol for our darkness.’ Like ancient Oriental paintings, the illustrations are frequently grouped in panels. When the girls meet the wolf, e.g., the left panel focuses on their wary faces peering out from the darkness, the middle enlarges the evil wolf's eye and teeth, and the third is a vivid swirl of the blue clothes in which the wolf is disguised. The juxtaposition of abstract and realistic representations, the complicated play of color and shadow, and the depth of the artist's vision all help transform this simple fairy tale into an extraordinary and powerful book.” –Publisher’s Weekly