For awhile The Diary of a Wimpy Kid was everywhere. I found three Wimpy books in my house alone. The Wimpy Kid is well supported online and there is a movie on dvd as well. The book I'd like to share is The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney.
This book has prompts and questions in the style of the regular Wimpy books and there is space in the back for the child to write his/her own diary. I wish all kids had access to this type of diary because the prompts and style are motivating. I guess you can use some of the prompts to get kids writing in their own books.
My second book is Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. The story is of a little girl who lives in a very, VERY large family. She does not wish to get married, as the tradition goes. She would like to go to school. The illustrations are lovely - with deep, rich reds. There is also some explanation as to Chinese culture, however it is rather superficial. I am not the judge as to whether the story reflects traditional Chinese culture however it is claimed to be the author's grandmother's true story.
The last piece I have to add to this resource post is a pair of websites. The first is a website run by the California Department of Education. They have a math and science trade book literature search. You can search by title, author, keyword and more.
The second site is from RIF - Reading is Fundamental. Now that's a phrase straight from my childhood. There are book reviews, animated stories, multicultural texts, games, activities, featured authors, an opportunity to help write a monthly story and web picks from other kids. The web picks are particularly useful for teachers and parents to guide children toward book-centric sites.
