Padma Lakshmi
Tomatoes for Neela
A tender, authentic look at how a child bridges two cultures through food and family tradition, with illustrations that make the emotional beats land.
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Nana, Nenek & Nina
by Liza Ferneyhough
Picture book · ages 4–8 · 450L · 2022
A genuinely multicultural family story that avoids both exoticizing and flattening—Nina's two grandmothers feel like people, not cultural props, and the art quietly celebrates the everyday texture of a blended household.
Have You Seen Tom Thumb?
by Mabel Leigh Hunt
Picture book · ages 4–8 · 400L · 1942
A gentler, less frenetic retelling of the classic — warm illustrations and a genuinely kind-hearted Tom make this a natural for reading aloud with 5–6-year-olds, though the age-old anxiety about being lost carries light peril.
The Village of Round and Square Houses
by Ann Grifalconi
Picture book · ages 4–8 · 480L · 1989
A rare picture book that honors a specific African culture without exoticizing it; the architecture becomes a vehicle for thinking about identity and home in ways that stay with kids.