Yoko Writes Her Name

Written by: Rosemary Wells

First line: Yoko could write her name perfectly.

Why you should read this book: Yoko, the adorable Japanese-American kitten, faces discrimination from classmates who don't understand the power of her mastery of Japanese writing and insist she'll never graduate kindergarten if she keeps scribbling. Ostracized by some uncaring classmates, she is returned to the fold when Angelo the rat becomes interested in her "secret language" and the rest of the class embraces the Japanese alphabet while mastering the English one. Finally, even the troublemakers recognize the importance of being bilingual and Yoko lovingly teaches them to write their names in Japanese, which has become a requirement for graduating kindergarten in Mrs. Jenkins's class.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a hate-monger advocating English-only education.