#SurvivalStories2021 [Decolonize Your Bookshelf] Reading Progress

We are celebrating Survival Stories this 2021: #SurvivalStories2021.

This includes featuring stories of marginalized and indigenous communities whose existence were/are nearly wiped out by colonizers, tyrants, oppressors. The reading challenge is meant to decolonize our bookshelves, and we hope that you will join us this year. Essentially, we hope to feature books that fit any of the following criteria:

  1. Postcolonial literature and/or [pre/post] revolutionary stories
  2. Stories by indigenous / first-nation peoples / people of colour
  3. Narratives of survival and healing, exile and migration
  4. Books written or illustrated by people who have been colonized, oppressed, marginalized

Similar to what I have done for our #WomenReadWomen2019, I am devoting an entire page to document my progress throughout the year.

Please do take note that this list does not consist of all the books I read this year. To see that, please visit my Goodreads page. This table is meant to keep track of the books I featured here in GatheringBooks that fit our overarching theme of survival stories – decolonizing our bookshelves – this 2021.

I will constantly be updating this table throughout the year, as and when new books fall into my hands and featured here for our #SurvivalStories2021 reading theme.

Author / Illustrator # Book Title # Country # Language
(Bilingual/ Translated from)
1 Tami Charles (POC) 1 All Because You Matter 1 USA 1 English – with some Tagalog words
Bryan Collier (POC)
2 Christian Robinson (POC) 2 You Matter English (neither translated nor bilingual)
3 Leo: A Ghost Story
3 Mac Barnett
4 Miranda Paul (Editor) 4 Thanku: Poems Of Gratitude
Marlena Myles (Native American)
5 Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (POC) 5 Your Name Is A Song
6 Gene Barretta 6 The Secret Garden Of George Washington Carver
Frank Morrison (POC)
7 Grace Byers 7 I Am Enough
Keturah A. Bobo 8 I Believe I Can
8 Jen Corace 9 Small World
9 Caren Stelson 10 A Bowl Full Of Peace
10 Carole Boston Weatherford 11 Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You
James E. Ransome (POC)
11 12 Overground Railroad
Lesa Cline-Ransome (POC)
12 13 Counting The Stars: The Story Of Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician
Raul Colon
13 Angela Johnson (POC) 14 A Girl Like Me
Nina Crews (POC)
14 Natalie Diaz (Mojave, enrolled Member of Gila River Indian Tribe) 15 Postcolonial Love Poem
15 Alice Walker (POC) 16 Possessing The Secret Of Joy
16 Jason Chin (POC) 17 Your Place In The Universe
17 18 Watercress
Andrea Wang (POC)
18 Rosana Sullivan (Malaysian ethnicity, POC) 19 Mommy Sayang
19 Cozbi A. Cabrera (POC) 20 Me and Mama
20 Alicia D. Williams (POC) 21 Jump At The Sun: The True Life Tale Of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston
Jacqueline Alcantara (POC)
21 Thrity Umrigar (POC, of Indian ethnicity) 22 Sugar In Milk
22 Meg Medina (POC, Latina) 23 Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away English (with a few Spanish words)
23 Julie Leung (Asian American, born in the US) 24 Paper Son: The Inspiring Story Of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist English (neither translated nor bilingual)
Chris Sasaki (Asian American)
24 Nadia Hashimi (Afghani-American, born in the US) 25 A House Without Windows
25 Terese Marie Mailhot (Native American) 26 Heart Berries
26 Megan Madison (POC) 27 Our Skin
Jessica Ralli
Isabel Pepper Roxas (Filipina based in New York)
27 Phoebe Wahl 28 The Blue House
28 Eloise Greenfield (POC) 29 The Great Migration: Journey To The North
Jan Spivey Gilchrist (POC)
29 Simran Jeet Singh (POC) 30 Fauja Singh Keeps Going
30 Joanna Ho (daughter of immigrants from Taiwan and China) 31 Eyes That Kiss In The Corners
31 Jennifer Bradbury 32 Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand
32 Zetta Elliott 33 A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart
Noa Denmon
33 Leda Schubert 34 Nathan’s Song
34 Karen Lynn Williams 35 A Thousand White Butterflies
35 Katie Yamasaki (Japanese American) 36 Fish for Jimmy
36 Mahogany L. Browne (POC) 37 Woke: A Young Poet’s Call To Justice
Elizabeth Acevedo (POC)
Olivia Gatwood (POC)
Theodore Taylor III
37 Kenard Park (Korean American) 38 Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
39 Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter
40 Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring
38 Jarrett Pumphrey (POC) 41 The Old Truck
Jerome Pumphrey (POC) 42 The Old Boat
39 Suzanne Slade 43 A Computer Called Katherine
Veronica Miller Jamison (POC)
40 Margot Lee Shetterly (POC) 44 Hidden Figures: The True Story Of Four Black Women And The Space Race
Laura Freeman (POC)
Stasia Burrington Mae Among The Stars
Molly Beth Griffin Ten Beautiful Things
41 Nandini Ahuja (POC) 45 It’s Big Sister Time
46 It’s Big Brother Time
42 Megan Reid (POC) 47 Maryam’s Magic
43 Melina Mangal (POC) 48 The Vast Wonder Of The World
44 Katie Yamasaki (POC) 49 Everything Naomi Loved
Ian Lendler
45 Kwame Alexander (POC) 50 The Undefeated
Kadir Nelson (POC)
46 Georgia Heard 51 My Thoughts Are Clouds
47 Ijeoma Oluo 52 So You Want To Talk About Race
48 Javaka Steptoe 53 Radiant Child: The Story Of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
49 Andrea Beaty 54 One Girl
Dow Phumiruk (Thai American) 2 Thailand
50 55 Counting on Katherine
51 Kao Kalia Yang (Hmong American, born in Thailand) 56 A Map Into The World
57 The Most Beautiful Thing
52 Dalai Lama 58 The Seed of Compassion 3 Tibet Autonomous Region
Bao Luu 4 Vietnam
Khoa Le Sugar In Milk
The Most Beautiful Thing
Dung Ho Eyes That Kiss In The Corners
53 Muon Thi Van (now based in US) 59 Wishes
54 LeUyen Pham (now based in US) 60 Outside, Inside
55 Rita Joe (Whycocomagh First Nation) 61 I Lost My Talk 5 Canada
Pauline Young (Mi’kmaq First Nation)
56 62 I’m Finding My Talk
Rebecca Thomas (Mi’kmaq First Nation
Ishta Mercurio (raised by Irish-German-Italian-American father and a Polish-American-Filipino mother) Small World
57 Anna Bron 63 Salma The Syrian Chef
Helaine Becker (Canadian and US citizen) Counting on Katherine
Genevieve Simms Ojichan’s Gift English with a few Japanese words
58 The Fan Brothers (POC – of Chinese heritage) 64 The Barnabus Project English (neither translated nor bilingual)
59 Yamile Saied Mendez (born and raised in Argentina; now based in US) 65 Where Are You From? 6 Argentina
Jaime Kim (born and raised in South Korea; now based in US) 7 South Korea
Seo Kim (Korean-American) A Map Into The World
60 Hyewon Yum (Korean-American based in Brooklyn) 66 The Twins’ Blanket
67 The Twins’ Little Sister
68 This Is Our House
Akira Kusaka A Bowl Full Of Peace 8 Japan
61 Yoko Ogawa (translated by Stephen Snyder) 69 The Memory Police 2 Japanese (translated)
70 The Housekeeper And The Professor
62 Chieri Uegaki (Japanese Canadian) 71 Ojichan’s Gift English with a few Japanese words
63 Shokoofeh Azar (Iranian based in Australia) 72 The Enlightenment Of The Greengage Tree 9 Iran 3 Persian (translated)
64 Judith Ridge (editor) with contributions by POC and indigenous peoples such as Ambelin Kwaymullina and Shaun Tan 73 The Book That Made Me: A Collection of 32 Personal Stories 10 Australia English (neither translated nor bilingual)
65 Zeno Sworder (POC) 74 This Small Blue Dot
66 Armin Greder (originally from Switzerland) 75 The Mediterranean
76 Diamonds
67 Marguerite Abouet (now based in France) translated by Helge Dascher 77 Aya De Yopougon 11 Abidjan – Côte d’Ivoire  4 French (translated)
Clément Oubrerie 12 France
Sebastien Pelon Hope English (neither translated nor bilingual)
68 Bolu Babalola (British of Nigerian descent) 78 Love in Colour 13 United Kingdom
69 Jean Rhys (daughter of White Creole mother and Welsh father) 79 Wide Sargasso Sea
70 Julie Abery (born in UK, now based in Switzerland) 80 The Old Man And The Penguin
Baljinder Kaur (POC) Fauja Singh Keeps Going
Sam Boughton Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand
71 Corrinne Averiss 81 Joy
82 Hope
83 Love
Kirsti Beautyman
Sonia Sanchez Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away 14 Spain English (with a few Spanish words)
Maria Elena Valdez (illustrator) Niños: Poems For The Lost Children Of Chile 5 Spanish (translated)
Ana Penyas Mexique: A Refugee Story From The Spanish Civil War
72 Maribel Lechuga 84 Ten Beautiful Things English (neither translated nor bilingual)
Victo Ngai (illustrator) Wishes 15 Hong Kong (now based in US)
73 Teresa Robeson 85 Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock The Secrets Of The atom Hong Kong (born, now based in US) English (neither translated nor bilingual)
Rebecca Huang 16 Taiwan (born, now based in US)
74 Cho Nam-Joo (translated by Jamie Chang) 86 Kim JiYoung, Born 1982 17 South Korea 6 Korean (translated)
75 Heena Baek (translated by Sophie Bowman) 87 Magic Candies
76 Anna Kim (based in US) 88 Danbi Leads The Parade South Korea (born, now based in US) English (neither translated nor bilingual)
77 Stephen Acabado (Essayist) – Filipino now based in Los Angeles, USA 89 Bahay Kubo: A Filipino Children’s Song 18 Philippines (now based in US) 7 Tagalog / Filipino (with translations)
Kristian Cordero (concept/ essay) Philippines
Aldrin Camacho (Illustrator)
Mavreen Anne Romero (Book Designer)
Isabel Roxas (Filipino American based in New York) My Thoughts Are Clouds Philippines (now based in US) English (neither translated nor bilingual)
78 Michelle Sterling (Filipino American, based in US) 90 When Lola Visits English (with a few words in Filipino)
Aaron Asis Philippines
79 Mitali Perkins (now based in US) 91 Home is In Between 19 India (born, now based in US) English (neither translated nor bilingual)
Lavanya Naidu (now based in Australia) India (born, now based in Australia
80 Maria Jose Ferrada (translated by Lawrence Schimel) 92 Niños: Poems For The Lost Children Of Chile 20 Chile Spanish (translated)
Maria Jose Ferrada (translated by Elisa Amado) 93 Mexique: A Refugee Story From The Spanish CivilWarr
Pierre Pratt The Old Man And The Penguin 21 Portugal English (neither translated nor bilingual)
81 Maria Eugenie Manrique (born in Venezuela now lives in Spain) – translated by Amy Brill 94 The Caiman 22 Venezuela Spanish (translated)
Ramon Paris (born in Venezuela now lives in Spain)
82 Sandro Bassi 95 Alien Nation
83 Peter van den Ende 96 The Wanderer 23 Belgium 8 Dutch (translated)
84 Olga Tokarczuk (translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones) 97 The Lost Soul 24 Poland 9 Polish (translated)
Joanna Concejo
85 Paweł Pawlak (translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones) 98 Oscar Seeks A Friend
86 Aya Kahlil (now based in Ohio, USA) 99 The Arabic Quilt 25 Egypt English with a few Arabic words
Anait Semirdzhyan (born in Kazakhstan, raised in Armenia, now based in Seattle USA) 26 Kazakhstan
Danny Ramadan (Syrian Canadian) Salma The Syrian Chef 27 Syria
87 Alfredo Soderguit (translated by Elisa Amado) 100 The Capybaras (Los Carpinchos) 28 Uruguay Spanish (translated)
88 Peter Sis (now based in US) 101 Nicky & Vera 29 Czech Republic English (neither translated nor bilingual)
Maya Ish-Shalom (now based in US) Nathan’s Song 30 Israel
Jessica Betancourt-Perez (now based in US) A Thousand White Butterflies 31 Colombia English (with a few Spanish words)
Gina Maldonado
Catalina Echeverri (Colombian based in the UK) It’s Big Sister Time English (neither translated nor bilingual)
It’s Big Brother Time
Luisa Uribe Your Name Is A Song
The Vast Wonder Of The World
89 Roda Ahmed (Somali-Norwegian) 102 Mae Among The Stars 32 Norway
90 Raul the Third (Mexican American now based in Boston) 103 Vamos! Let’s Go To The Market! 33 Mexico Bilingual: English and Spanish
Elaine Bay (colorist) 104 Vamos! Let’s Go Eat!
91 Alfonso Nuñez (translated by Dave Morrison) 105 No! I Won’t Go To School Spanish (translated)
Bruna Assis Brasil 34 Brazil
Isabelle Follath Joy 35 Switzerland English (neither translated nor bilingual)
Aaliya Jaleel (based in the US – Sri Lankan American) Maryam’s Magic 36 Sri Lanka English (neither translated nor bilingual)
92 Fredrik Backman (translated by Neil Smith) 106 Anxious People 37 Sweden 10 Swedish (translated)
93 Taghreed Najjar (translated by Michel Moushabeck) 107 The Ghoul 38 Jordan 11 Arabic (translated)
Hassan Manasra (born in Jordan, but now based in Qatar) 39 Qatar
94 Maaza Mengiste (born in Addis Ababa) 108 The Shadow King 40 Ethiopia English (neither translated nor bilingual)
95 Abi Dare (born in Lagos, based in Essex) 109 The Girl With The Louding Voice 41 Nigeria
96 Akwaeke Emezi (born in Umuahia and raised in Aba, Nigeria) 110 Pet
111 The Death Of Vivek Oji