Books recommended by the Hawaii State Library:

“Watercress”

By Andrea Wang, pictures by Jason Chin

Embarrassed about gathering watercress from a roadside ditch, a girl learns to appreciate her Chinese heritage after learning why the plant is so important to her parents. Ages 4-8

“Kent State”

By Deborah Wiles

May 4, 1970. Kent State University. As protesters roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired, and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why. Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points: protester, Guardsman, townie, student. The novel won a 2021 Odyssey Award for best audio book for young adults. Ages 12 and up