Look for books with rounded characters that do not play roles stereotypical of a particular culture. Characters that achieve success through effort and responsible behavior present appropriate role models to children.
Ensure the book's content is historically accurate. Read the story and make sure the author has correctly presented dates, descriptions and other facts. The more specific a book is the better. For example, listing a character's hometown and country reads more authentically than simply saying she is from "Africa" or "Asia."
Check the author's biography; some literary scholars believe a culture is best represented by someone who belongs to it.
Choose books with characters that don't speak in clichéd dialogue, such as a Native American referring to a grandparent as "old one."
Look for books that represent cultures as they are today to help contemporize them for children.
Pick books that narrate in an objective tone of voice rather than in a patronizing or victimizing tone when referring to minority groups.
Select books that include real words and sayings from another language. Teaching children how to pronounce them correctly helps the story seem more authentic.
Flip through the illustrations in the book. Look for images that portray persons of an ethnic group in a variety of ways that demonstrate their individuality apart from their race or background.