In The Magic Brush the main character, Jasmine, and her little brother, Tai-Tai have their grandfather, Agong, move in with them. Jasmine is often lonely when her brother naps except for one day when Agong introduces her to Chinese painting. Together they go on a on many magical adventures. Their adventures include exploring Chinese culture and takes place daily throughout the summer. One day Agong becomes sick and dies, leaving Jasmine crushed. As the book draws to a close Jasmine notices that Tai-Tai no longer sleeps through his nap and she teaches him, just as Agong had taught her, to use his imagination with painting and in their magical adventures they meet up with Agong once again. Evaluation of the Book: Overall, this book provided a delightful insight into a Chinese-American household. As is typical is most cultures, the grandfather comes to live with the family and then passes down the ancient tradition of Chinese art to the children. Through their paintings the reader is exposed to other aspects of the Chinese culture, such as food, animals and dress. Each page also includes the Chinese symbol for certain keywords on that page. This book provides enough information to be informative, but not so much information that it overwhelms the young reader. Recommended Use for the Book: This book is appropriate for kindergarten students and address the K.7 SOL because the story talks about multiple aspects of the Chinese culture such as food, dress and family relations. Three keywords that represent characteristics or themes in this book are: tradition, family and culture. All of these themes are addressed not only through the words of the story, but also through the pictures. This book could be implemented during the discussion of handwriting and how the alphabet and word formation vary depending on where you are from. Children could use paints to come up with their own symbol for a word and we could discuss why they chose that symbol. In the story the kid’s talk about eating moon cakes, which is part of the Chinese culture. The teacher could find the moon cake recipe and make them with the kids. This would address math, in measuring out the ingredients and reading in following the recipe.
Mice and Beans by Pam Munoz Ryan
The book Mice and Beans is about a Hispanic grandmother who is trying to plan the perfect birthday party for her granddaughter. She spends a lot of time and effort planning the menu, getting the house ready and buying the present, all the while setting mouse traps because, there is absolutely no room in her house for a mouse. As the story continues day by day the mice help Rosa Maria get her house ready for the birthday party but, when she realizes she has mice in her house she almost sets another mouse trap. She has a flashback from the week and recalls that she may have had some help getting her house ready, could it have been from the mice? Rosa Maria decides that there is room in her house for a mouse after all. This book is appropriate for kindergarten through first grade. Three keywords that represent themes in this book are family, food and fun. The whole book is centered around the grandmother getting her house ready for the family and planning a big meal to celebrate her granddaughter’s birthday. Evaluation of the Book: Overall I felt like this book may over-generalize the Hispanic culture. It talked about a big family coming to a small house, eating rice and beans and having a pinata for the children to hit. All of these things are things that are stereotypically thought of when we think of a Hispanic household. The use of mice in the book could be taken to insult that the lady’s house was dirty and thus could be negatory toward the Hispanic culture. However, since this is a children’s book it would be hard for the author to really go into great detail about the Hispanic culture. I believe she was trying to use foods and festivities that a lot of kids can relate to when writing a light hearted story, and those things are a part of Hispanic culture. Recommended Use for the Book: This book incorporated lots of Hispanic words that could be used in a classroom lesson on language. If there are other languages or dialects of Spanish represented in the classroom that would be a good opportunity to let those kids share with the class some of their language. This book could be used to help implement the English 1.9g SOL by the children working in groups to break the story down into the beginning, middle and end, then re-convening as a class to talk. It also addresses the English K.2 SOL as it does help increase the vocabulary of students, especially if you talk about the Spanish words and then give other English Language Learners a chance to share their words with the class.
Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
The author of this book details his grandfather’s journey from Japan to the United States with him finally settling in California. The grandfather eventually returns to Japan and marries, then returns to California to raise his family. When the daughter is almost grown the family goes back to Japan and settles in the city where the daughter marries and has a son. World War I starts and destroys the grandfather’s village. He wishes to return to California, but passes away before he can. In the end the grandson moves to California and finally gets to see the splendor of California that his grandfather so often referenced. This book is appropriate for first graders and possibly second graders. Three words or characteristics that represent themes in this book are: immigration, tradition and family. The grandfather travels back and forth between his home country and the United States, always longing for the other country and struggling with where he belongs. In the end he seems to always pick where he feels his family has the best opportunity. Evaluation of the Book: The author did a good job at discreetly portraying the trials and tribulations of immigrants. He doesn’t explicitly state them but it is implied by how the grandfather always longs to go back and forth. The author talks about the grandfather changing his clothes to look European when he travels on the boat across the ocean and in the illustrations he does look very European once he arrives to the United States. I was surprised in the book when the author says how the Grandfather met lots of new people of all skin colors. The picture has several men shown and even the African American man is well represented in the book in a suit and tie. No women are pictured except for the wife and the daughter. Recommended Use for the Book: This book could be used to help portray to students the internal struggles that some immigrants face. The reader gets the feeling that the grandfather never really feels at home in either his home country or in California; as soon as he is in one place he wishes he was in the other. It could also be used to discuss World War I since it addresses the grandfather’s village being destroyed and there is a noticeable difference in the clothing of the people pictured during war time versus before the war. It could evoke a discussion of the effects of war. The Standards of Learning that could be associated with this book are History 1.5 pertaining to geography and the compass, as well as History 2.6 also pertaining to geography and 2.10 pertaining to scarcity and choices. As a classroom project the students could map out the grandfather’s journey from Japan to California discussing the map directions and how to use a compass. The teacher could also briefly discuss the mode of transportation then (boat) versus the mode of transportation now (plane). The History SOL 2.10 could be applied when talking about the war and how different the clothing and village looks. The people were bombed and things became scarce.
The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
The Colors of Us is about a young girl who argues with her mom that everyone has the same brown skin color. Her mom takes her for a walk through the neighborhood and points out each person's unique shade of brown. In the end the girl realizes they are all different and unique. This book is appropriate for Pre-K through Kindergarten students. Three words or characteristics that represent themes in the book are: community, race and individuality. The girl is able to take a walk through her community and see people that she interacts with on a daily basis in a different light but actually seeing their race as being different, instead of all brown. Each person is an individual and is special because of their differences which makes up their diverse community. Evaluation of the Book: Overall I really enjoyed this book. It did gloss over the differences between races a little, in that everyone looked happy and life was great in the book. All the illustrations showed folks with the same shaped face and eyes and friendly smiling face. Also all the really dark skinned people pictured had black hair, as if a really dark skinned person couldn’t have light colored hair. Both boys and girls were pretty equally mentioned in the book. I found it slightly strange that the different skin shades were often referenced in relation to food. For example, cocoa brown, butterscotch and chili powder. Recommended Use for the Book: This book is a good teaching tool to show how everyone is a shade of brown, but they are their own special shade and that is a part of what makes them who they are. It address the English Kindergarten Standards of learning for K.2 that says students should start learning to use words to describe color and English K.6 that says students should start to learn that printed materials have meaning. It also addresses the Pre-K history block 1.a that deals with how people are alike and different as well as the Pre-K personal and social development block 1.c that states students should respect the differences of others. In the classroom this book could be read before the students do a project creating themselves. I immediately thought of my practicum classroom after reading this book because the teacher is having the students make themselves. They were only working on their faces when I was there, but she was having them match their skin color to the different brown pieces of construction paper. After reading this book I immediately thought how great this book would have been to read before an activity like that. The teacher could even bring in some of the food discussed to really show all the different shades of brown. Speak English For Us, Marisol! By Karen English Marisol is a young Hispanic-American girl who is in a hurry to get home from school to see if her cat has had kittens yet. However, as she hurries home she is constantly called upon by other Hispanic people in her community to help them translate conversations, fill out applications and go to the store with her mom. This book is appropriate for first or second grade students. Three words or characteristics that represent themes in this book are: community, bilingual and youth responsibility. Marisol is such a vital part of her community because she is bilingual and can help both her Spanish speaking neighbors and her English speaking neighbors negotiate with one another. As a kid she has a lot of responsibility with this task, but I feel like a lot of bilingual kids are faced with that problem. Evaluation of the Book: Overall I thought this book did a good job at portraying the community well. It over-simplified the community a little, in that it made it seem like all Hispanic Americans live next to each other. But the Hispanic Americans that were portrayed varied from a chicken shop owner, to a neighbor going to college and even her mom taking English classes. I liked the way it did not make it seem like all Hispanics have lower income jobs. The people all had different facial expressions based on the situation that was being described. Recommended Use for the Book: This book could have a lot of value in a diverse classroom. I feel like a lot of kids could identify with Marisol, because they are often the go-between for their parents, etc and an English speaker. This book addresses the first grade English SOL in the 1.9 section under C, making predictions D, relating experiences to the main idea and G using the beginning, middle and end to retell the story. Because Marisol gets called upon by someone different on each page it would be easy for the kids to make predictions on what is going to happen next and many could probably think of a time that they experienced having to help an adult, like Marisol. Even if students haven't had to help an adult with language I think most students could recall a time when their parents or guardians have asked them for help to do something. This story is a well laid out story, so I think kids could decipher the beginning, middle and end. Some of the second grade SOLs this book addresses is similar to the first, like English 2.8 asks the students to make predictions, compare experiences and compare character setting and important events. English SOL 2.6 could also be used, which asks kids to use context clues to read. The pictures in this book are very good, so I think a teacher could simply ask the children as she, or they, are reading the book to use context clues to read and make predictions about what they feel is coming next. They could then discuss their predictions on what is going to happen next. Will Marisol ever make it home to see if her cat has had kittens? Another activity they could do is draw a picture and write about a time they were asked by an adult to help. What were they asked to do and how did that make them feel?
Listen to the Wind by: Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth
The children of Korphe, a small mountainous town, in Pakistan live a very subsistence lifestyle. They gather food, make their own clothes, toys, etc and have school outside using sticks and dirt to write with. One day an American nurse climbing the nearby mountains gets lost and is taken in and nursed back to health by the people of Korphe. As repayment he brings supplies to help the townspeople build the children a school. After the school is built, they have a steady teacher and even a library. The children are very grateful for Greg’s contributions. This book is recommended for grades pre-k through kindergarten. Three words or characteristics that represent themes in this book are compassion, gratitude and hard work. Compassion is clearly seen in this book by the way the people of Korphe so willing took Greg in and helped him get well and he return wants to pay them back. All the townspeople are very grateful for Grey’s contribution of the school, just as he is grateful for them taking care of him. In a culture that has many tasks to get through the day, they add to that workload and help Greg build a school for their children. All of their boards are carried by hand and nailed by hand, as well as their cement mixed by hand. Evaluation of the book: This book is based off of true events. I overall really liked the story. Often times the main character is portrayed as the “American savior” who brings about a big change in an underdeveloped area and is then a hero. This book didn’t have quite the savior tone that some books do, but more made it seem like the main character owed the town a favor. The pictures in the book were made to look like Pakistani artwork and were very interesting. Recommended use for the book: For pre-k this book addresses the foundation block history and social science block 1 which discusses similarities and differences and foundation block history social science block 5 that asks kids to role play the jobs of workers. After reading this book the kids could then break into groups to be the workers to help build the school. Some kids could help design the bridge that was first needed to get supplies to the town and some could work on actually building the school. The teacher could provide the kids with popsicle sticks, string, etc that they could use to simulate different construction jobs on a smaller scale. It also addresses the kindergarten history K.10 SOL that talks about being a responsible citizen by taking turns, participating in your community and having responsibility. All the townspeople portrayed this by coming together to build the school for the children. It also address the English K.6 SOL that says students should understand that printed stories have meaning and the K.10 SOL that is all about nonfiction text. To help enforce that nonfiction is a true story, the kids could each think of a story in their life when they were a good citizen and make a short book about it. This would touch on both the English k.10 and the history k.10 SOL.
Whoever You Are by: Mem Fox
This book has very simple words with big meaning. It starts by describing all the way people are different throughout the world: food, language, skin color, schools, etc and then it switches to all the interior things that make us the same. This book is appropriate for kindergarten or first grade. Three characteristics or themes that are present throughout the book are love, caring and understanding. All different kinds of people are represented in this book. This would be a good book to use when talking about the pillars of character in school because it could really be tied to almost all of them. Evaluation of the book: This book places special attention on making sure an array of ethnicities, and genders are portrayed. The world is pictured multiple times to create a sense of unity. Recommended use for the book: This book can be applied to the history k.10 SOL and history 1.10 which both addresses being a good citizen. It also addresses the English 1.7 SOL that would like students to use semantic clues to read, because this book repeats a lot of the same words, I think it would be good for kids who are learning to read. This book spends a lot of time trying to get kids thinking about who they are. The kids could use the six pillars of character to help describe who they are and then share with the class.
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
Pink and Say are the nicknames of two main characters in this book. Set in the Civil War period, both kids are sent off to fight in the war. Their paths cross when Say is severely wounded and found by Pink laying in a field. Pink drags him to his mom’s house to be cared for. Pink’s mom welcomes both boys into her home with loving arms, and a watchful eye, for if she is caught she will be killed. The two boys form an unlikely friendship, since Pink is African American. Eventually the two boys leave to return to their units but are captured and sent to Andersonville. Say is released some months later and Pink was never seen again. This book is appropriate for second or third grade, given that it is slightly violent and sad. Three characteristics or themes of this book are friendship, adversity and love. Evaluation of the book: This book takes a complex issue and does a good job at sorting it out for the reader. The characters are well developed and both are true to their rolls. Even the speech of the African American characters are written with an African American accent. The house appears very simple, as it would have in that time period. The mother is killed by marauders and Pink is killed at Andersonville, both true to what would have more than likely happened to them. I found it surprising that Pink could read, but Say could not. Pink was taught by his owner to read and Say never had the opportunity to learn. Recommended use for this book: This book addresses the History SOL 3.13 that wants students to understand different ethnic origins. The book could be used to talk about the Civil War. The students could do a short report about different topics from the war like segregation, etc and be required to use other outside resources like encyclopedias and other online resources. This activity would cover the English SOL 3.11 and 3.7
Some Kids Use Wheelchairs b y Lola M. Schaefer
This is a very basic book about children in wheelchairs and it discusses things they do like go to therapy, swim, use ramps, etc. This book is appropriate for first grade readers. Three words or characteristics that apply to this book is: informative, factual and helpful. Evaluation of the book: This book is written for a young audience, but it does seem to over simplify life in a wheelchair. I think the purpose is to show kids who are not handicapped, how children who are in a wheelchair can do some of the same things they like to do. I think that it’s important to try to make those connections but at the same time, over simplifying the situation does a disservice to both groups. All the kids pictured in the wheelchair are smiling and having fun. It paints a very rosy picture of life in a wheelchair, instead of showing that it is not always easy and in fact can be quite frustrating. Recommended use for this book: This book addresses the second grade health SOL 2.1 which talks about students learning to accept themselves and others who have different strengths, weaknesses and disabilities. I would show and read this book to my students. We would then talk about people we may know who use a wheelchair and how this book shows the good things, but also talk about the struggles that people have with using a wheelchair. I know there are lots of groups who do disability awareness during the month of October and I would try to do this then and ask for someone to come in and talk with my students about their disability and how it affects them. I would then have my students do a writing activity on how being in a wheelchair would change their daily life and share.
angari’s Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter
W In Wangari’s Trees of Peace J eanette Winter tells the story of Wangari Maathai’s life on a children’s level. Wangari was born and raised in Kenya, where she spent a lot of time outdoors enjoying the lush green flora. Wangari was given a scholarship to attend college in the United States, but when she returned home to Kenya she noticed that the trees were being cut down. The green flora that she loved as a child was rapidly disappearing, so Wangari started planting trees. Her movement soon caught on as she educated other woman about trees and pretty soon women all across Kenya were planting trees. Wangari faced many trials by the government and men scoffing at women thinking they could make a difference, but she continued with her work and soon the green trees of Kenya were back. This book is appropriate for kindergarten through second grade. Three themes or characteristics that sum up this book are standing up for your values, helping nature and helping the community. Evaluation of the book: After looking over the Higgins article this book does a good job at sticking to the facts of the story. The characters lives and personalities are not over generalized or oversimplified . The pictures are earthy and display the Kenyan culture pretty well. Being a newer book by an author who often writes about different cultures I feel like she was careful and critical of how she wrote the book to accurately display the trials and tribulations of Wangari’s life. Recommended use for the book: This book addresses a lot of science SOLs including 2.5 which talks about living things as part of a system and 2.7 which talks about weathering and erosion. The second grade SOL that I would base my lesson off of for this book is the science 2.8 standard which talks about explaining about how plants to produce oxygen, food and products we use. For our project I would have the kid’s each plant a flower. Each week they will take measurements off the flower and record them in a log book. Taking these measurements will help enforce the Math 2.11 SOL. The students can graph and chart the flowers growth until it is ready to take home. As a class it would be cool if we could plant a tree in a local park, etc so the kids could feel involved in creating a better a world.