Paige Collins

Multicultural Text Set: The books that I have chosen reflect Latina culture and the Spanish
language.
Los tres cerditos (by Caballo Alado, illustrated by Maria Rius)
1. Description of book
This book is the classic tale of the three little
pigs, in Spanish. In this tale, three little pigs
who are brothers attempt to build a shelter to
protect themselves from a ravenously hungry
wolf. Eventually all the pigs take shelter in
one of the pigs brick house.
This book would be appropriate for either the
Pre-k level or Kindergarten.
Teamwork, unity, brotherhood
2. Evaluation of the book
This book is a classic American story that is
often taught at this grade level, only this book
is in Spanish and not in English. By having
this traditional story in Spanish, kids who may not be from this country may feel more
included in terms of what might be considered "traditional story telling. Having the
chance to read a book that some of your classmates have most likely read in school, in
your native language, may make you more included in the classroom, because you have
read the same material as the rest of the class.
3. Recommended use
This book would be good to use in a classroom where you have a good number of native
Spanish speakers and native English speakers. It could also be used in a dual emersion
program. The students could learn about the three little pigs in the English classroom, and
then learn the story again when they switch to the Spanish classroom.
Mi Gato/ My Cat (by Norman D. Graubart)
1. Description of book
In this book there is one side filled with
Spanish and English texts regarding
facts about cats, and the other side has a
large picture of a cat. Each page
presents only one fact in large text. The
fact is shown in Spanish first and then in
English.
This book would be appropriate for
grades Pre-k through 1st grade.
Cats, informative, bilingual
2. Evaluation of the book

Paige Collins

This book has text in both English and Spanish, thereby serving as a guide to help native
English or Spanish speakers, learn the other language. The increased incorporation of
Spanish into the classroom reflects the need for kids to have more books such as Mi
Gato. This book promotes the bilingual classroom and provides more resources for
teachers to use when dealing with kids who are having a hard time learning English.
3. Recommended use
This book would best work in a bilingual classroom, to help kids get a better grasp of
English/Spanish. This book would work as a book check out for students who want
parents who dont speak English to read to them at home. The Spanish portion of the
book will help a parent who may only speak Spanish, and the English portion is
something that the child can work with separately from their parent.
The Desert is my Mother/ El Desierto es mi Madre (by Pat Mora, illustrated by Daniel
Lechon)
1. Description of book
This book is a poem drawn out onto various pages.
The poem is in both English and Spanish and
discusses all the wonderful things that can be found in
the desert. The girl in the book looks like a Hispanic
child and the setting looks to be non-American. The
poem tells its readers of all the things that can be
found in a desert, and what desert life is like.
This book would be appropriate for grades pre-k
through 1st.
Latina, unique, environment
2. Evaluation of the book
This book provides a lot of information on what it would be like to be in the desert. If
there is a science lesson going on and the teacher wants the kids to know what the desert
is like, this would be a good pick. The book shows how the environment effects our daily
lives, such as how thunderstorms can scare us but also how the food we get from the
earth can help us survive. The Hispanic authors and main character in the pictures can
also expose kids in the classroom to a more diverse world, where the protagonist might
not or may look just like them.
3. Recommended use
As stated before, I would use this book in a science lesson, where the kids learn about the
desert environment. Kids would also be receiving a more diverse look at the desert
environment, through the scope of a young Hispanic girl. This may be different from the
American cowboys that they may be exposed to. Having diverse authors and main
character, the young children will learn to be more excepting of everyone.

Paige Collins
Mira Dentro de Las Cabanas/Look Inside a Log Cabin (by Mari Schuh)
1. Description of book
This book describes the first log cabins made
in America, as well as what is in a log cabin
and how pioneers used to make them. The
book has big descriptions in both English and
Spanish, as well as large pictures of various log
cabins.
This book can be read to pre-k, but because of
content, might not be appropriate. I would
suggest the proper grade level be 1st grade,
possibly kindergarten.
America, pioneers, building
2. Evaluation of the book
This book allows kids to read about the early history of America, in terms of how the
pioneers built their homes. Having the book readily available in Spanish as well as
English makes the topic of early American History more open to all cultures, and not
something that need only be appreciated and read by American school children. The
book is also not too nationalistic, but rather presents basic, non-biased facts about early
American History. With that in mind, it certainly presents kids with other things to
consider in the early American time period other than Independence from Britain.
3. Recommended use
I would use this book in a lesson plan where we are talking about the first pioneers in
America. The kids could discover how the people lived and also how they made their
homes. This book could be used in a read aloud, and then the kids can use Lincoln logs
to practice their log cabin making skills.
Colores Picantes/ Spicy Hot Colors (by Sherry Shahan, illustrated
by Paula Barragn)
1. Description of book
In this book, on each page is a color that is described with some
object relevant to Hispanic culture such as Piata, sombrero,
sarape and Buuelos. The colors are written in English and in
Spanish. The book also has a vocabulary section that gives a
definition to all the Hispanic culture references.
This book would be great for a preschool or kindergarten
classroom.
Colors, culture, Latina
2. Evaluation of the book
I think this book is a good instrument to use in the classroom where other kids might not
be so aware of what other cultures are like. Learning colors is something that is relevant
to kids in the early years, so why not add some culture to the learning? The Hispanic kids

Paige Collins
in the classroom will also benefit hearing about their culture. Seeing their classmates
engage in something they might only discuss at home may make them feel more
comfortable with their diverse background.
3. Recommended use
I think that this book could be used in a lesson where the teacher is going over the
different colors. The book could be read before the students go to the learning centers.
At the learning centers, the kids can have a station where they place objects relevant to
Hispanic culture in a certain area that has that objects color. The kids can then read the
color to their classmates, in both English and Spanish.
Comida Sana de la A a la Z/ Healthy Foods from A to Z (by Stephanie Maze and Madelca
Dominguez, illustrated by Alexandra Littlehales)
1. Description of the book
This book has every letter of the alphabet. With
every letter, there is a healthy food that is pictured
and labeled. Foods are written in Spanish on one
side of the page, with English translations
underneath, and foods are also written in English
on the other side of the page, with Spanish
translations underneath.
This book is appropriate for preschool and
kindergarten
Healthy, Bilingual, Stimulating
2. Evaluation of the book
I think this book would be great to use in the classroom because it not only helps kids
identify healthy foods to eat, but also helps them learn the alphabet. This book would
also be useful in a bilingual classroom to help Spanish speaking kids make connections
from their native language to English. Bridges like these can really help kids to progress
their English learning skills. Not only that, but it also exposes the kids so a more
culturally accepting classroom.
3. Recommended use
I would use this book as a health lesson for kids. I would have kids talk about what they
think might qualify as a healthy food option with their classmates. After they talk, we
can read the book together and see if any of the foods that we read matched what the kids
talked about to each other.
Calavera Abecedario/ A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book (by Jeanette Winter)
1. Description of the book
The beginning of the book describes how a family in Mexico City prepares to celebrate
the day of the dead. The book goes through various cultural practices that are associated
with the Day of the Dead. The book also goes through each letter of the alphabet and
gives a Mexican cultural icon or action for that letter. For example, letter C is Candelera
(candlestick).

Paige Collins

2.

This book is appropriate for preschool to first grade.

Mexico, Celebration, Cultural
Evaluation of the book
This book is great for opening your students eyes to
other cultures. This book can be used to demonstrate
how other cultures that are different from their own,
all have their own unique practices. If there is any
children in the classroom who celebrate the day of the
dead in their house, then maybe reading the book as a
class will help them feel more comfortable about
sharing their own cultural background.
3. Recommended use
I would read this book in my class on the day of dead.
In class we can have our own celebration, but I would use that time to have a discussion
with the kids about people who may do things differently than themselves. Through the
reading of the book, hopefully the kids will get a more in depth understanding then they
might have if they only had an in class celebration.
El Da de los Muertos/ The Day of the Dead (by Bob Barner and illustrated by Teresa Mlawer).
1. Description of the book
This book gives a more in depth look at the day
of the dead celebration. It talks about what the
celebration is for, the activities that go on, the
food people make and when the holiday takes
place.
This book is appropriate for preschool to first
grade
Latin America, Holiday, Culture
2. Evaluation of the book
As mentioned before, I think this book is a
good way for kids to explore cultures other
than the American one. The book takes the children through a typical celebration of the
day of the dead, in an unbiased lens. The children may not have heard of this holiday
before, so you would want to make sure that you present the topic in a positive manner,
so that kids can regard other cultures in the same way that you show them.
3. Recommended use
I would use this book around Halloween time, so that kids understand that people dont
celebrate Halloween everywhere, and that people celebrate different holidays and in
different ways around the world.
Viva Frida (by Yuyi Morales)

Paige Collins
1. Description of the book
This book is mainly visual, with few words. On each
page, the main character Frida is doing a different
activity. Accompanied with the picture is a verb that
describes what she is doing. For example, on one
page where she is looking in a tree at a money and the
text says I see and Veo (Spanish for I see). Each
verb is in Spanish and English.
Appropriate for preschool
Visual, Cultural, Colorful
2. Evaluation of the book
This book would be good to introduce to the students because of the diverse protagonist.
Students need diversity in the books that they read so that they understand that not one
group of people is important enough to write stories about. Having Frida as the character
students focus on will help the students learn to become comfortable with people from
other places.
3. Recommended use
I would use this book in a lesson where students are working on expressing emotions. In
the story, Frida is doing plenty of things that the students can discuss. The kids can talk
about how dancing might make them feel or if a certain expression that Frida is making is
happy or sad.
Art y Max (by David Wiesner)
1. Description of the book
In this book, there are two iguanas
who
are painters. One iguana named Max messes
up the
painting and gets colors all over Art. Max and his
friends
try to help Art, only to accidentally
wash
all the colors away and make him
invisible. In the end, Art gets better
and turns out to be an even more
colorful iguana than he was before.
Appropriate for preschool to 1st grade
Spanish/Colorful/Fun
2. Evaluation of the book
I think this book really demonstrates the power of
pictures.
The whole book is in Spanish, and I do not speak Spanish at all. However, just by
looking at the pictures I could tell what the story is about. I think the book is a good
example of how visualizations can really help a student out, especially if English is not
their first language.
3. Recommended use

Paige Collins

Since this book has a lot of colors in it, I would use this book in a lesson where we are
discussing the different colors. As I read the story, I can ask the students of they see a
certain color, or I can pick on a student to tell me what color they see.

Note- Because all of my books are appropriate for the preschool level, and deal with basic
understandings of letters and colors, I have placed the appropriate SOL standards for all
the books in this section. The following standards apply to the books that I have chosen for
my multicultural text set:
1. Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 1 Oral Language: The child will develop listening
and speaking skills by communicating experiences and ideas orally.
2. Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 2 Vocabulary: The child will develop an
understanding of word meanings through the use of appropriate and expanding
vocabulary
3. Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 3 Phonological Awareness: The child will manipulate
the various units of speech sounds in words.
4. Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 4 Letter Knowledge and Early Word Recognition:
The child will demonstrate basic knowledge of the alphabetic principle and understand
that the letters in written words represent the sounds in spoken words.
5. Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 5 Print and Book Awareness: The child will
demonstrate knowledge of print concepts and understand the connection between the
spoken and written word.