Tag Archives: Culture

My Name is Celia

Posted on December 3, 2018 by | Comments Off on My Name is Celia

Title: My Name is Celia

Author: Monica Brown

Illustrator: Rafael López

Publisher and Year: Northland Publishing, 2004

Number of pages: 26

Tags/Themes: Culture, Diversity, Award Book, Non-fiction, Picture Book, K-1, Olivia Ruff

Genre: Non-fiction

Descriptive Annotation: This book is about the life of Celia Cruz, a salsa musician from Cuba. She left Cuba and pursued music in America. Her music reminds her of home, and the entire story is in both English and Spanish. The illustrations are bright and cheery with Spanish influence.

Classroom Application: This story would be great for an ELL or ESL class for young kids because it has both English and Spanish in it. The story covers the real life story of Celia Cruz, and this could be a positive book for students who are immigrants. This also could be good for students in a Spanish class in high school since it has both languages.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: This story is about an immigrant from Cuba, and this would be useful for students who are immigrants themselves as well as students who are not immigrants. The book shows the power of music through nostalgia, so it could foster some conversations about immigrants as well as music. Children could discuss an aspect of their lives that they would see as their “sugar,” something that represents their culture or their family. Quotes: “In the evenings, I would help my mother put the younger children to sleep by singing them soothing, sweet lullabies” (6) and “From that point on, when I walked out on stage I would simply say, ‘SUGAR!’ And they would know exactly what I meant-home and love and lots of kisses” (18).

 

 

 

 

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Henry’s Freedom Box

Posted on December 3, 2018 by | Comments Off on Henry’s Freedom Box

Title: Henry’s Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Publisher and Year: Scholastic Press, 2007

Number of pages: 38

Tags/Themes: Culture, Diversity, Award Book, Non-fiction, Picture Book, 2-3 , Olivia Ruff

Genre: Historical Non-fiction

Descriptive Annotation: This book is about Henry, a child born into slavery, who escaped slavery as an adult by being shipped in a crate to Pennsylvania. There is an author’s note in the back with a description of the Underground Railroad. The illustrations are exquisite; the images capture the attention of the reader and draw on the sad aspects (slavery) of the plot.

Classroom Application: This book would be a great addition to a civil rights unit. It sheds light on the Underground Railroad and the different ways people were mistreated. It is a true story, so the students would be learning from a real life example. I would use this as an example for the ways in which slaves escaped slavery.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: The story covers a unique example of an escaped slave through the Underground Railroad. The illustrations are heart-wrenching and shows how desperate people were to escape slavery. The fact that Henry was torn away from his family also gives the story a very sad tone. Quotes: “If you made a mistake, the boss would beat you” (9) and “Henry Brown wasn’t sure how old he was. Henry was a slave. And slaves weren’t allowed to know their birthdays” (1).

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My Chinatown: One Year in Poems

Posted on November 30, 2018 by | Comments Off on My Chinatown: One Year in Poems

Title: My Chinatown: One Year in Poems

Author(s): Kam Mak

Illustrator/Photographer: Kam Mak

Publisher and Year: Harper Collins Publishers 2002

Number of pages: 30

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Culture, Diversity, Family, Fiction, Friendship, Holidays, Picture Book, Poetry, K-1, 2-3

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation: My Chinatown is a book of poems that follows a boy through a year in a Chinatown in America. He laments about the differences between his new home and his old home in China. He talks about many different aspects of Chinese culture, and the differences and similarities between the versions in America and the versions in China. At the beginning, he is resentful of America, but begins to enjoy it as the book progresses. It is written in free verse style poetry and the illustrations appear to be done in acrylics. There are no special features and students should have a good grasp on figurative language before they read this book.

Classroom Application: This text connects to a social science unit on China. It talks about many things that are important in the Chinese culture. The author talks about Chinese food, games, holidays, and other activities. Students could use this book to compare Chinese culture with their own or to compare life in Chinatown to life in China. This book could also be used in a Writing Workshop as an example of free verse poetry and expressive language.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: This book talks about a lot of aspects of Chinese culture, both in China and in Chinatown, USA. Students can gain an appreciation for Chinese culture through reading this book. A discussion could be had about immigration and leaving your home behind for a new country, particularly one that has an area that is sort-of like your home country, but not exactly the same. In the book, it says, “But I don’t want to go to school, where the English words taste like metal in my mouth.” It also says, “When we left Hong Kong, we had to pack quick. So many things got left behind-a country, a language, a grandmother, and my animal chess game.”

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Alma and How She Got Her Name

Posted on November 30, 2018 by | Comments Off on Alma and How She Got Her Name

Title: Alma and How She Got Her Name

Author(s): Juana Martinez-Neal

Illustrator/Photographer: Juana Martinez-Neal

Publisher and Year: Candlewick Press 2018

Number of pages: 29

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Culture, Family, Fiction, Picture Book, K-5

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation: Alma and How She Got Her Name is the story of Alma, a little girl with a long name. Alma complains to her dad and he tells her why he gave her all the names that he did. He tells her of Pura, her great-aunt who believed in the spirts of their ancestors, and of Jose, her grandfather who was an artist. Alma realizes that she is like each and every one of her namesakes and she begins to like her name. At the end of the book is an author’s note and students would need to know the terms for various familial relationships to understand this book. The illustrations are done in graphite and colored pencils.

Classroom Application: This text meets Social Emotional Learning Standard 2.B, “Recognize individual and group similarities and differences.” Alma recognizes the similarities between her and her ancestors. Once she realizes the similarities, she appreciates the similarities and wants to be more like her ancestors. This story could also be used in the classroom if there were instances of students that were being bullied for their names (i.e. a Latinx student comes to a predominantly white school and the white students are not kind to the Latinx student). This book could teach students appreciation for different names.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: This book is about a child with Spanish sounding names. Many of the illustrations include the Spanish words for the items in the picture. It teaches appreciation for the Spanish-speaking culture, as when Alma’s dad is explaining who Jose is, he says, “Your grandfather taught me to see and love our people.” It can lead students to wonder what the story of their name is.

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The Journey

Posted on November 30, 2018 by | Comments Off on The Journey

Title: The Journey

Author(s): Sarah Stewart

Illustrator/Photographer: David Small

Publisher and Year: Farrar Straus Giroux 2001

Number of pages: 32

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Adventure, Culture, Family, Fiction, Picture Book, K-1, 2-3

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:  The Journey is the story of a little Amish girl’s trip to Chicago. It is written in diary format and she tells about her adventures eating hot dogs, going into department stores, and riding on a boat. There are large illustrations on every set of pages. On every other set of pages, there is a diary entry from Hannah, describing her day in Chicago, and the illustrations reflect what they did. On the sets of pages without the diary entries, the illustrations depict life at home, specifically the instances that she compares Chicago to in her entries. For example, when they were walking in the park and a horse got spooked, Hannah writes, “I grabbed the bridle and said, “Whoa, boy, Whoa”-like Aunt Clara used to do for me.” When the page is flipped, the illustration shows Aunt Clara calming down Hannah’s horse. There are no special features in this book and students would need some background knowledge of the Amish culture.

Classroom Application: This text could be used in a social science unit on different religions or cultures. It could be an introduction to the Amish community. This book could also be used in a writing lesson, as a different way to structure a text. It is written in an epistolary format, and prominently features illustrations. The students could take this style and use it in their own writing.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: This book is about an Amish girl, and many students have little to no experience with anyone from the Amish community. It could be used as an introduction to the culture, with students researching or creating research questions based on the information they learned in the text. In the story, the little girl goes to Chicago, which is something that many students in Illinois know of. They could compare and contrast their trips to Chicago (or their dream trip if they’ve never been) to Hannah’s.

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Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

Posted on November 30, 2018 by | Comments Off on Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

Title: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

Author(s): John Steptoe

Illustrator/Photographer: John Steptoe

Publisher and Year: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books 1987

Number of pages: 28

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Award Book, Family, Culture, Picture Book, Fiction, 2-3, 4-5

Genre: Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:  Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters is the story of Nyasha, the nice sister, and Manyara, the mean sister. One day, the King sends out a proclamation that he is looking for a wife and all eligible women need to report to the palace. Manyara sneaks out of her home at night to be the first woman to meet the King and on her journey, she is rude to many people. Nyasha follows the next morning with her father, Mufaro, and is kind to everyone. When she arrives at the palace, the King reveals that he was all of the people that she was kind to on the journey and takes her as his wife. Students would benefit from knowing how to pronounce the various African words in the text. The illustrations in the book are incredibly detailed and take up the entire set of pages. They appear to be done in colored pencil. This book is a Caldecott Honor Book.

Classroom Application: This book could be used in a social sciences lesson on African cultures. In the front cover, the author mentions that the story is based off a folktale first published in 1895 by G. M. Theal in his collection of African folktales. The illustrations are based off of ancient ruins found near Zimbabwe. This book could also be used to teach Social Emotional Learning Standard 2, “Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships.” The students could compare and contrast the two sisters and discuss their interactions, including ways to improve Manyara’s interactions with others.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: As mentioned above, this text is based off of an African folktale and the illustrations are based off of ancient ruins found near Zimbabwe. This text could be used in a unit on African cultures to enrich the students’ knowledge. It mentions some crops that are grown in Africa, “Nyasha kept a small plot of land, on which she grew millet, sunflowers, yams, and vegetables.” The illustrations are very detailed and show what the clothing looked like, how they traveled, what kinds of plants there are, and what animals live in the area.

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Drawn Together

Posted on November 29, 2018 by | Comments Off on Drawn Together

Title: Drawn Together

Author(s): Minh Lê

Illustrator/Photographer: Dan Santat

Publisher and Year: Disney-Hyperion 2018

Number of pages: 32

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Culture, Diversity, Family, Fantasy, Fine Arts, Graphic Novel, K-5

Genre: Fantasy

Descriptive Annotation: Drawn Together is the story of a little boy and his grandfather realizing that they don’t need to use words to connect to each other. In the beginning of the story the grandfather and the grandson struggle to understand each other, as the grandfather speaks Vietnamese and the grandson speaks English. One day, the boy is drawing at the table and the grandfather pulls out a sketchbook filled with amazing drawings. The grandson and grandfather begin creating stories together, using only their drawings, no words. There are not many words in the story, so a student reading this book needs a background knowledge of how to read graphic novels, or at least the critical thinking skills to figure out how to read graphic novels, to understand the story. According to the copyright information, the illustrations were done in a variety of materials and then rendered on a computer.

Classroom Application: This story has connections to fine arts and the Social and Emotional Learning Standards. This story shows that art can cross many barriers in communication. One page says, “Right when I gave up on talking, my grandfather surprised me by revealing a world beyond words.” A few pages later it says, “All the things we could never say come pouring out” in response to the newly-discovered shared love of drawing. It can also be used to show the art styles of the Vietnamese culture, and begin an inquiry into different styles of art in different cultures. Social and Emotional Learning Standard 2 talks about building positive relationships and this story is an example of building positive relationships without being able to talk to one another.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: Both characters in the story are Vietnamese Americans. The grandfather is more Vietnamese, and the boy is more American. It can generate discussion on many aspects of different cultures (i.e. language, food, art) and ancestry. There are many panels in the beginning of the story that show both American and Vietnamese items for comparison. Many of the grandfather’s drawings are done in what appears to be traditional Vietnamese style.

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Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors

Posted on November 29, 2018 by | Comments Off on Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors

Title: Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors

Author(s): Hena Khan

Illustrator/Photographer: Mehrdokht Amini

Publisher and Year: Scholastic Inc. 2012

Number of pages: 21

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Culture, Family, Fiction, Holidays, Picture Book, Poetry, K-1, 2-3, Social Science

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Descriptive Annotation: Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns follows a young girl as she explains the what the colors in her world are. Each page talks about a color and what object in the young girl’s religion are that color. A background knowledge of Muslim terms would be helpful, but there is a glossary in the back that defines many of the words. Each page is two sentences long and the sentences have end rhyme.

Classroom Application: This text can be used in the social sciences when talking about different religions. It could also be used to explain part of the culture of a student that is Muslim. This book could be used to introduce a unit on different religions and/or holidays, because it does talk a little about both Ramadan and Eid.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: As stated in the classroom application section, this text can be used to teach students about the Muslim religion. It is a brief introduction, so it could prompt students to look deeper into this religion or prompt them to ask questions and potentially research other religions. It can also be used in a unit on holidays as it says, “Brown is a date, plump and sweet. During Ramadan, it’s my favorite treat.” It also talks about Eid, “Purple is an Eid gift just for me. I open it up and love what I see.”

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Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics

Posted on November 29, 2018 by | Comments Off on Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics

Title: Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics

Author(s): Margarita Engle

Illustrator/Photographer: Rafael Lopez

Publisher and Year: Henry Holt and Company 2017

Number of pages: 38

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Culture, Diversity, Poetry, Picture Book, K-5, Non-fiction, Social Science

Genre: Biography

Descriptive Annotation:  Bravo! is a biographical story that highlights many influential Hispanics (this is the term the author uses; however, the story does include individuals from countries other than Spain. A better term would be Spanish-speakers). The individuals in the text range from poets to doctors, musicians to astronauts, pilots to cowboys. At the end of the story is a list of many more influential Spanish-speaking people and a more descriptive paragraph about each of the individuals featured. Most of the words in the story are easy words, any students reading this would benefit from a general knowledge of history, although it is not strictly necessary. This story is written in free-verse poetry and the illustrations are done in pen, ink, watercolor, construction paper, and acrylic on wood.

Classroom Application: This text can be used to talk about social science and Spanish-speaking individuals’ contributions to many different fields. Many of the stories mention wars, slavery, injustice, and immigration. The stories of specific individuals can be used to supplement lessons and/or units on events such as the American Revolution, Civil Wars, music, medical advancements, and even minorities in baseball. This book could be introduced by asking students what they know about Spanish-speaking individuals’ contributions to history and then building off of their answers.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: This book can be used to highlight important people in the different Spanish-speaking cultures. A variety of cultures are represented in the book, so this text can be used when talking about many different cultures. On the page highlighting Julia De Burgos, it says, “I struggled to become a teacher and a poet, so I could use words to fight for equal rights for women, and work toward meeting the needs of poor children, and speak of independence for Puerto Rico.” Another page highlights Arnold Rojas, a cowboy, and says, “My Mexican ancestors included Yaqui and Maya indios, people who fought to stay free and live in their own traditional ways.” These quotes show just two of the many cultures represented in the text.

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Freedom Over Me

Posted on November 29, 2018 by | Comments Off on Freedom Over Me

Title: Freedom Over Me

Author(s): Ashley Bryan

Illustrator/Photographer: Ashley Bryan

Publisher and Year: Antheneum Books for Young Readers 2016

Number of pages: 44

Tags/Themes: Allison Henry, Culture, Diversity, Emotion, Family, Historical Fiction, Picture Book, Poetry, 2-3, 4-5, Social Science

Genre: Historical Fiction

Descriptive Annotation:  Freedom Over Me is the story of eleven slaves. It provided a narrative of each of the slaves’ duties on the plantation and then describes their inner thoughts while they are working. In the back of the book there is an Author’s Note that explains the history behind this story. The author collected many documents relating to slavery, including an appraisement form for an estate. This form listed eleven slaves with their name and price. The author wanted to craft these names and prices into people to show that slaves were humans, too. This book is written in free verse poetry and the illustrations are done in pen, ink, watercolor, and copies of historical documents.

Classroom Application: This book could be used in a unit on slavery. It provides a different perspective that shows a little bit of the slaves’ side of the story. This text could be used to show students how slaves were treated like animals when they were sold. The author includes the appraisal form in the book and it shows the slaves’ names next to cattle and other farm animals.

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Analysis: The pages that include the slaves’ thoughts provide a brief description of what their lives were like in Africa before they were taken. It includes mentions of African art, history, and music and how those things are passed down through generations. Mulvina, the oldest slave, says, “Years of driven labor have not driven the ancestral thoughts out of me. My memory of teaching-surrounded by children, singing songs of our people, the stories of our history-lives always within me.” Betty, a middle ages woman says, “We remember our African cultures, our traditions, our craftsmanship. Within us lives this knowledge, this undefeated pride.” This book could be used in the classroom by having the students compare this story to a story about slavery from the perspective of the owner. There would be a discussion on power and how perspectives shape our idea of the world around us.

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