Part 1
The Colors of Us
Category: Race & Ethnicity
Title: The Colors of Us
Author & Illustrator: Karen Katz
Publisher: New York: Holt Reinehart & Winston.
Year: 1999
ISBN Number: 9780805071634
Number of pages: 32
Reading level: 1st - 2nd
Genre: Fiction
Summary:
7 year old Lena wants to draw a picture of herself and initially uses the color brown to draw herself. Lena says "brown is brown", but her mother tells her that there are many different shades of brown and each shade is different. Lena and her mother go for a walk to see all the different shades of brown. They pass by many neighbors and for each person they identify the colors of their skin and compare it to a tasty food. Lena's eyes are opened to the fact that there are many different shades of brown - light, brown, dark, olive, etc. When they return from their walk, Lena draws a portrait of the people she saw that day, using different shades of brown for each one.
Critical Review:
Strengths: (Author's Perspective and Expertise) Karen Katz, the author & illustrator of The Colors of Us, was inspired to write this book after she and her husband adopted their daughter, Lena, from Guatemala. Karen also enjoys art - specifically, painting and using colors, which is shown in this story. A strength of this book is that it is very personal to the author and you can see and hear that throughout the story. (Illustrations) Karen Katz is both the author and the illustrator for this children's book, which in my opinion, makes the illustrations more authentic, especially because Lena is a real person. I feel as though the illustrations represent the words spot on and the connections between the two in undeniable. Without the illustrations, the reader would not be able to see the different shades of brown that are being talked about throughout the story, which is the central idea of the storyline.
Weaknesses: (Stereotyping) This book does a good job of getting children to recognize different races and the differences in skin tone, which is not racist. However, the way that this book differentiates between race and illustrates each race is borderline. For example, the names Carlos and Rosita, or Jo-Jin, are obviously representing hispanics and asians with what are viewed to be very stereotypical names. Another is that Mr. Pellegrino has a black mustache and is making pizzas in the illustration, which again is very stereotypical of the Italian race and culture. Although these cultural identities could be used as a topic of discussion among students, at first glance, it still is teaching our students these stereotypes. (Multidimensionality and Interconnections) This book does an excellent job of describing the differences between races and skin tones. However, I feel as though it fails to bring them together at the end. It points out the differences, but does not include any similarities. In the eyes of a young child reading this book, there is nothing that connects the different skin tones. Its almost as if the story could've kept going and talked about something along the lines of how although we have different skin tones, we all apart of the same world and how we should accept all skin types.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The biggest overall theme of this book is that there are different shades of skin tones and each shade is unique. You can see this theme through the book's illustrations of each shade and you can easily see that each shade is different. There is not one shade that is the same throughout the entire book. It points out that each one is unique by giving each shade a type of food to be compared to. For example, "Jo-Jin is the color of honey." Like I said, this book has some stereotypes, but it also brings up ideas of cultural identities through mainly the illustrations. Like, for example, when Mr. Pellegrino is making pizzas, it brings up the idea of Italian cuisine and that pizza is an Italian food.
Activities: There are many activities I could have my students do in response to this story. Since the story includes aspects of art and painting, I could do an activity where they create different shades of brown (and other colors as well) using different colors of paint. Another activity could be to have them take pictures of items around the classroom or outside that are different shades of brown and then following that they could write sentences comparing the items to a type of food. For example, "My desk is the color of peanut butter."
Resources:
Karen Katz Official Website: This link takes you to the Official website of Karen Katz. On her website, you can find a list of all her books, activites to go along with her books, and how to get your own book published. After looking through her website, it can be very informative and beneficial!
www.karenkatz.com/
Additional Activity: This link takes you to an activity for the book that was found directly off of Karen Katz's website. It has the students draw collages of the themselves and much more!
www.karenkatz.com/colors%20of%20us.pdf
YouTube Read Aloud: Below is to a YouTube video of the book being read aloud by a teacher. It is very easy to follow along and includes both the illustrations and the text. If you did not have access to a hard copy of the book, this would be an acceptable alternative.
Title: The Colors of Us
Author & Illustrator: Karen Katz
Publisher: New York: Holt Reinehart & Winston.
Year: 1999
ISBN Number: 9780805071634
Number of pages: 32
Reading level: 1st - 2nd
Genre: Fiction
Summary:
7 year old Lena wants to draw a picture of herself and initially uses the color brown to draw herself. Lena says "brown is brown", but her mother tells her that there are many different shades of brown and each shade is different. Lena and her mother go for a walk to see all the different shades of brown. They pass by many neighbors and for each person they identify the colors of their skin and compare it to a tasty food. Lena's eyes are opened to the fact that there are many different shades of brown - light, brown, dark, olive, etc. When they return from their walk, Lena draws a portrait of the people she saw that day, using different shades of brown for each one.
Critical Review:
Strengths: (Author's Perspective and Expertise) Karen Katz, the author & illustrator of The Colors of Us, was inspired to write this book after she and her husband adopted their daughter, Lena, from Guatemala. Karen also enjoys art - specifically, painting and using colors, which is shown in this story. A strength of this book is that it is very personal to the author and you can see and hear that throughout the story. (Illustrations) Karen Katz is both the author and the illustrator for this children's book, which in my opinion, makes the illustrations more authentic, especially because Lena is a real person. I feel as though the illustrations represent the words spot on and the connections between the two in undeniable. Without the illustrations, the reader would not be able to see the different shades of brown that are being talked about throughout the story, which is the central idea of the storyline.
Weaknesses: (Stereotyping) This book does a good job of getting children to recognize different races and the differences in skin tone, which is not racist. However, the way that this book differentiates between race and illustrates each race is borderline. For example, the names Carlos and Rosita, or Jo-Jin, are obviously representing hispanics and asians with what are viewed to be very stereotypical names. Another is that Mr. Pellegrino has a black mustache and is making pizzas in the illustration, which again is very stereotypical of the Italian race and culture. Although these cultural identities could be used as a topic of discussion among students, at first glance, it still is teaching our students these stereotypes. (Multidimensionality and Interconnections) This book does an excellent job of describing the differences between races and skin tones. However, I feel as though it fails to bring them together at the end. It points out the differences, but does not include any similarities. In the eyes of a young child reading this book, there is nothing that connects the different skin tones. Its almost as if the story could've kept going and talked about something along the lines of how although we have different skin tones, we all apart of the same world and how we should accept all skin types.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The biggest overall theme of this book is that there are different shades of skin tones and each shade is unique. You can see this theme through the book's illustrations of each shade and you can easily see that each shade is different. There is not one shade that is the same throughout the entire book. It points out that each one is unique by giving each shade a type of food to be compared to. For example, "Jo-Jin is the color of honey." Like I said, this book has some stereotypes, but it also brings up ideas of cultural identities through mainly the illustrations. Like, for example, when Mr. Pellegrino is making pizzas, it brings up the idea of Italian cuisine and that pizza is an Italian food.
Activities: There are many activities I could have my students do in response to this story. Since the story includes aspects of art and painting, I could do an activity where they create different shades of brown (and other colors as well) using different colors of paint. Another activity could be to have them take pictures of items around the classroom or outside that are different shades of brown and then following that they could write sentences comparing the items to a type of food. For example, "My desk is the color of peanut butter."
Resources:
Karen Katz Official Website: This link takes you to the Official website of Karen Katz. On her website, you can find a list of all her books, activites to go along with her books, and how to get your own book published. After looking through her website, it can be very informative and beneficial!
www.karenkatz.com/
Additional Activity: This link takes you to an activity for the book that was found directly off of Karen Katz's website. It has the students draw collages of the themselves and much more!
www.karenkatz.com/colors%20of%20us.pdf
YouTube Read Aloud: Below is to a YouTube video of the book being read aloud by a teacher. It is very easy to follow along and includes both the illustrations and the text. If you did not have access to a hard copy of the book, this would be an acceptable alternative.
Same, Same But Different
Category: Race & Ethnicity
Title: Same, Same, But Different
Author & Illustrator: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Year: 2011
ISBN Number: 9780805089462
Number of pages: 40
Reading level: K - 2nd
Genre: Fiction
Summary:
This story is about a boy from America named Elliot who has a pen-pal named Kailosh, who is from India. They exchange letters and drawings back and forth and they learn that they both love to climb trees, they both have pets, and they both love school. They come to find that despite the differences in their world, they seem to have more similarities than differences between their two worlds, and leaves the reader feeling as though they are apart of the same world.
Critical Review:
Strengths: (Cultural details) This book contains a lot of details regarding the culture of both America and India, which can spark discussion between students and can lead to further lessons from parts of this story. For example, Kailosh talks about how he lives with 23 of his family members, which is typical in the Indian culture, while Elliot lives with just his mom, dad, and baby sister, which is representative of a typical American household. These details are naturally integrated into the storyline, as the information is told first hand from the characters. Another cultural detail that is included is an illustration that shows the differences between their alphabets - English and Hindi alphabets. Again, this can be followed up with a lesson over different alphabets. (Multidimensionality and interconnections) This book does an excellent job of bringing the two characters together and very obviously pointing out their similarities, but also points out their differences in a way that does not belittle either culture. To a young child, this book would demonstrate to them that it is okay to be friends with someone who is a different than you are and it encourages them to find similarities. (Author perspective and expertise) The author, Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, has done a lot of traveling in her life, which has come in handy for writing children's books. This book was inspired by her students she met in India, which is where Kailosh lives in this story. The students often told stories and drew pictures, which helped her create this book. With that being said, it is clear that this author has the expertise to write this story and has used firsthand resources to aide in the writing process. Although she is not necessarily writing from an "insider" perspective, she is using "insider" resources that she gained from her visit to India. (Awards) This book has won so many awards there are too many to list. But to name a few major ones, this book won the South Asia Book Award, Illinois Monarch K-3 Children's Choice AW ML, Illinois Monarch Award: K-3 Children's Choice Award Master List, GA Picture Storybook Award ML, and many more! This proves the effectiveness of this book and shows the appreciation people have for this story.
Title: Same, Same, But Different
Author & Illustrator: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Year: 2011
ISBN Number: 9780805089462
Number of pages: 40
Reading level: K - 2nd
Genre: Fiction
Summary:
This story is about a boy from America named Elliot who has a pen-pal named Kailosh, who is from India. They exchange letters and drawings back and forth and they learn that they both love to climb trees, they both have pets, and they both love school. They come to find that despite the differences in their world, they seem to have more similarities than differences between their two worlds, and leaves the reader feeling as though they are apart of the same world.
Critical Review:
Strengths: (Cultural details) This book contains a lot of details regarding the culture of both America and India, which can spark discussion between students and can lead to further lessons from parts of this story. For example, Kailosh talks about how he lives with 23 of his family members, which is typical in the Indian culture, while Elliot lives with just his mom, dad, and baby sister, which is representative of a typical American household. These details are naturally integrated into the storyline, as the information is told first hand from the characters. Another cultural detail that is included is an illustration that shows the differences between their alphabets - English and Hindi alphabets. Again, this can be followed up with a lesson over different alphabets. (Multidimensionality and interconnections) This book does an excellent job of bringing the two characters together and very obviously pointing out their similarities, but also points out their differences in a way that does not belittle either culture. To a young child, this book would demonstrate to them that it is okay to be friends with someone who is a different than you are and it encourages them to find similarities. (Author perspective and expertise) The author, Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, has done a lot of traveling in her life, which has come in handy for writing children's books. This book was inspired by her students she met in India, which is where Kailosh lives in this story. The students often told stories and drew pictures, which helped her create this book. With that being said, it is clear that this author has the expertise to write this story and has used firsthand resources to aide in the writing process. Although she is not necessarily writing from an "insider" perspective, she is using "insider" resources that she gained from her visit to India. (Awards) This book has won so many awards there are too many to list. But to name a few major ones, this book won the South Asia Book Award, Illinois Monarch K-3 Children's Choice AW ML, Illinois Monarch Award: K-3 Children's Choice Award Master List, GA Picture Storybook Award ML, and many more! This proves the effectiveness of this book and shows the appreciation people have for this story.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: I would say the overarching theme of this book is that different cultures have both differences and similarities that can be used to bring people together. In this book, Elliot and Kailosh are able to connect very easily and accepting of each others cultural differences. It also highlights the differences in the two countries as well, America and India, through it's illustrations. So, in a classroom, I could educate my students more about those differences and talk about how the world is not just like America.
Activities: As for activities within the classroom, a cool thing to do would be to find a penpal classroom, preferably a classroom that is not from America. But that may be sort of tricky, so just a class from somewhere different than we are, even if its within the U.S. With this, the students could write and draw pictures back and forth with this class explaining what our town looks like and the things they like to do to try and find similarities with their penpal. I think the students would really enjoy this activity. Another fun activity could be for them to design their own stamps. The end pages of the book are covered in interesting stamps from India and America, so the students could draw a stamp that represents where they live.
Resources:
Lesson Plan for Same, Same, But Different: This link takes you to a lesson plan idea that was written by the author herself. It has the students write their own letter to Kailosh where they can describe the town where they live, their school, and things they like to do.
southasiabookaward.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ssbd.pdf
Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw Official Website: On Kostecki-Shaw's website, you can find information about her, a list of her books, resources for teachers and educators, as well as a blog where she posts fairly frequently.
dancingelephantstudio.com/visualart/
Youtube Video of Read Aloud: Below is a you tube video of the book being read aloud. The readers voice is clear and it shows each page from the entire book. Children could watch this video and get the same experience as having a hard copy of the book.
Main Themes: I would say the overarching theme of this book is that different cultures have both differences and similarities that can be used to bring people together. In this book, Elliot and Kailosh are able to connect very easily and accepting of each others cultural differences. It also highlights the differences in the two countries as well, America and India, through it's illustrations. So, in a classroom, I could educate my students more about those differences and talk about how the world is not just like America.
Activities: As for activities within the classroom, a cool thing to do would be to find a penpal classroom, preferably a classroom that is not from America. But that may be sort of tricky, so just a class from somewhere different than we are, even if its within the U.S. With this, the students could write and draw pictures back and forth with this class explaining what our town looks like and the things they like to do to try and find similarities with their penpal. I think the students would really enjoy this activity. Another fun activity could be for them to design their own stamps. The end pages of the book are covered in interesting stamps from India and America, so the students could draw a stamp that represents where they live.
Resources:
Lesson Plan for Same, Same, But Different: This link takes you to a lesson plan idea that was written by the author herself. It has the students write their own letter to Kailosh where they can describe the town where they live, their school, and things they like to do.
southasiabookaward.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ssbd.pdf
Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw Official Website: On Kostecki-Shaw's website, you can find information about her, a list of her books, resources for teachers and educators, as well as a blog where she posts fairly frequently.
dancingelephantstudio.com/visualart/
Youtube Video of Read Aloud: Below is a you tube video of the book being read aloud. The readers voice is clear and it shows each page from the entire book. Children could watch this video and get the same experience as having a hard copy of the book.
The Skin You Live In
Category: Race & Ethnicity
Title: The Skin You Live In
Author: Michael Tyler
Illustrator: David Lee Csicsko
Publisher: Chicago Children's Museum
Year: 2005
ISBN Number: 0975958003
Number of pages: 32
Reading level: PreK - 2nd
Genre: Fiction, poetry
Summary: This book contains a rhythmic poem that describes different shades of skin. It compares skin shades to ice cream, pumpkin pie, chocolate chips, and more. It encourages the reader to look in the mirror and be accepting of all skin tones. The ideas are presented in an extremely positive way that is meant to boost self-esteem and acceptance.
Critical Review:
Strengths: (Stereotyping) I think this book does an excellent job of steering clear of any stereotypes with certain skin colors. It could have been very easy for the illustrator to have drawn the characters wearing certain outfits that are stereotypical for a certain race. This book takes a very neutral stance on the idea of skin tones and cultural stereotypes.
Weaknesses: (Cultural details) What I noticed from reading this book is that it lacks any sort of cultural detail. It simply points out the fact that there are different shades of skin, but doesn't expand much past that idea. It may have made this book stronger if the author included more about the cultures behind it all. (Multidimensionality and interconnections) Similar to the lack of cultural details, this story fails to bring together the different skin tones in a way that connects their differences. I get that this story was most likely written with the intent to just point out the different shades, but it does not connect the differences. It's almost as if the story ended too soon, I feel as though it definitely could've kept going and had a connection at the end. (Illustrations) To be honest, I was not impressed with the illustrations in this book. To me, they lacked detail and were very basic. With this detailed descriptions of ice cream, pumpkin pie, etc. and it's rhyming, the illustrator could've drawn much more detailed pictures to go along with this book, which most likely would've enhanced the message and effectiveness of this story.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The overall theme of this book is that there are different skin tones and each person should be thankful for the skin that they have. The author shows this theme by naming some of the activities you do in your skin, such as saying "The skin that you play in... the skin that you dream about eating ice cream in... the skin that you run in..." This makes the readers think about all the endless things that they do in their skin and makes them feel thankful that they are able to do these things. This idea can reflect back into the classroom by asking the students what they like to do in their own skin.
Activities: Some activities for this lesson could be to have the students "add a page" to this story. The students can each think of one or two things they enjoy doing and turn it into the rhyme that would fit into the story. After writing their poems about what they like to do in their skin, they could then draw a self portrait of themselves doing what they wrote about. Then the teacher could compile everyones creations and make their own class story.
Resources:
Lesson Plan for The Skin You Live In: This link takes you to a lesson plan that you could use in the classroom. It includes a pre-reading activity that has the students draw themselves and also includes a post reading activity.
bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/SocialJustice/Issues/Antiracism/CelebratingSkinColour.pdf
Full text PDF: This link will take you to a PDF that has the entire book.
livre.prologuenumerique.ca/telechargement/extrait.cfm?ISBN=9780989012300&type=pdf
About the Author: This website includes information about the author. It includes his background story, the books he has written, and his inspiration behind them.
www.illinoisauthors.org/authors/Michael_Tyler
Title: The Skin You Live In
Author: Michael Tyler
Illustrator: David Lee Csicsko
Publisher: Chicago Children's Museum
Year: 2005
ISBN Number: 0975958003
Number of pages: 32
Reading level: PreK - 2nd
Genre: Fiction, poetry
Summary: This book contains a rhythmic poem that describes different shades of skin. It compares skin shades to ice cream, pumpkin pie, chocolate chips, and more. It encourages the reader to look in the mirror and be accepting of all skin tones. The ideas are presented in an extremely positive way that is meant to boost self-esteem and acceptance.
Critical Review:
Strengths: (Stereotyping) I think this book does an excellent job of steering clear of any stereotypes with certain skin colors. It could have been very easy for the illustrator to have drawn the characters wearing certain outfits that are stereotypical for a certain race. This book takes a very neutral stance on the idea of skin tones and cultural stereotypes.
Weaknesses: (Cultural details) What I noticed from reading this book is that it lacks any sort of cultural detail. It simply points out the fact that there are different shades of skin, but doesn't expand much past that idea. It may have made this book stronger if the author included more about the cultures behind it all. (Multidimensionality and interconnections) Similar to the lack of cultural details, this story fails to bring together the different skin tones in a way that connects their differences. I get that this story was most likely written with the intent to just point out the different shades, but it does not connect the differences. It's almost as if the story ended too soon, I feel as though it definitely could've kept going and had a connection at the end. (Illustrations) To be honest, I was not impressed with the illustrations in this book. To me, they lacked detail and were very basic. With this detailed descriptions of ice cream, pumpkin pie, etc. and it's rhyming, the illustrator could've drawn much more detailed pictures to go along with this book, which most likely would've enhanced the message and effectiveness of this story.
Classroom Connections:
Main Themes: The overall theme of this book is that there are different skin tones and each person should be thankful for the skin that they have. The author shows this theme by naming some of the activities you do in your skin, such as saying "The skin that you play in... the skin that you dream about eating ice cream in... the skin that you run in..." This makes the readers think about all the endless things that they do in their skin and makes them feel thankful that they are able to do these things. This idea can reflect back into the classroom by asking the students what they like to do in their own skin.
Activities: Some activities for this lesson could be to have the students "add a page" to this story. The students can each think of one or two things they enjoy doing and turn it into the rhyme that would fit into the story. After writing their poems about what they like to do in their skin, they could then draw a self portrait of themselves doing what they wrote about. Then the teacher could compile everyones creations and make their own class story.
Resources:
Lesson Plan for The Skin You Live In: This link takes you to a lesson plan that you could use in the classroom. It includes a pre-reading activity that has the students draw themselves and also includes a post reading activity.
bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/SocialJustice/Issues/Antiracism/CelebratingSkinColour.pdf
Full text PDF: This link will take you to a PDF that has the entire book.
livre.prologuenumerique.ca/telechargement/extrait.cfm?ISBN=9780989012300&type=pdf
About the Author: This website includes information about the author. It includes his background story, the books he has written, and his inspiration behind them.
www.illinoisauthors.org/authors/Michael_Tyler
Part 2
Lily Hates Goodbyes
Summary: Four year old Lily's father is deployed in the military. This book talks about how she feels, how she handles those feelings, and ways she stays connected to her father who is overseas. She counts down the days until her Daddy comes home, and when he finally does, Lily learns that she hates goodbyes, but loves hellos.
Critical review:
Strengths: I loved this book! I think it has a lot of strengths and will definitely benefit a child who is going through something similar. One of it's strengths is authors perspective and expertise. If you read the very last page of the book, its about the author and her purpose and why she wrote this story. She definitely has seen first hand how a child may react to a parent being gone for so long, since the main character, Lily is her granddaughter. The entire story is written about her and how she handled the deployment, so everything in this book is realistic to what a child may be going through. Another strength is the illustrations. In the back of the book, there is a photograph of the author with her granddaughter, and the illustrations look exactly like her. This is neat because you can picture the real-life Lily while reading this story. It just gives it a more authentic feel to it. They also illustrate how she's feeling, so young children can both hear how she's feeling through the words and see her emotions through the illustrations.
Weaknesses: One weakness I found was that this book lacks cultural details. I realize that this story is mainly about how Lily handles her father being gone, but it could include some more historical or cultural details within the story. The story could talk more about the military and what soldiers do in the military. Another weakness is the lack of multidimensionality and interconnections. This story does not contain anything that is outside of Lily's home and personal life. It does not connect her to anything that is diversely related to her. We know nothing about her social life, school life, etc. So, no, she is not recognizable as distinct beings apart from her culture.
Classroom Connections
Main themes: The overarching theme of this book is how to handle emotions when you are sad or lonely, specifically if a parent is deployed, but this can apply to many other situations as well. It gives specific examples of things you can do to feel better when you are feeling a certain way. For example, it says, "Sometimes she feels mean and stubborn while Daddy is gone... Mommy says it helps when Lily gives her a big hug." Lily also has created a "Daddy box" where she puts things that she wants her daddy to see when he gets home. I could connect this in my classroom in many ways and it would hopefully help students going through something similar to cope.
Activities: After reading this book, we could come up with ways we can make ourselves feel better when we are angry, sad, or lonely, and practice them throughout the day as these emotions. If i have a student whose parent is deployed, I could use this book to help encourage them to do some of these things, like make a box to keep things they make/do at school that they'd like to show their mom or dad when they return.
Resources:
Suggestions for Getting The Most Out of This Book
In the back of this book, you can find a page that has suggestions on how to get the most out of the story. Some of the suggestions are to have the deployed parents read it with the child before their departure and agree on ways they will stay connected while they are gone.
Lilly Hates Goodbyes - Official Website
This site contains an about the author page, a page to help your child cope, and a peak at whats inside the book. You can also find reviews on the story, so before you buy it, you can review it.
http://jerilynmarler.com/
Youtube Video of Full Book
This video is a read aloud of the text and includes real life photos in between pages of the book.
Critical review:
Strengths: I loved this book! I think it has a lot of strengths and will definitely benefit a child who is going through something similar. One of it's strengths is authors perspective and expertise. If you read the very last page of the book, its about the author and her purpose and why she wrote this story. She definitely has seen first hand how a child may react to a parent being gone for so long, since the main character, Lily is her granddaughter. The entire story is written about her and how she handled the deployment, so everything in this book is realistic to what a child may be going through. Another strength is the illustrations. In the back of the book, there is a photograph of the author with her granddaughter, and the illustrations look exactly like her. This is neat because you can picture the real-life Lily while reading this story. It just gives it a more authentic feel to it. They also illustrate how she's feeling, so young children can both hear how she's feeling through the words and see her emotions through the illustrations.
Weaknesses: One weakness I found was that this book lacks cultural details. I realize that this story is mainly about how Lily handles her father being gone, but it could include some more historical or cultural details within the story. The story could talk more about the military and what soldiers do in the military. Another weakness is the lack of multidimensionality and interconnections. This story does not contain anything that is outside of Lily's home and personal life. It does not connect her to anything that is diversely related to her. We know nothing about her social life, school life, etc. So, no, she is not recognizable as distinct beings apart from her culture.
Classroom Connections
Main themes: The overarching theme of this book is how to handle emotions when you are sad or lonely, specifically if a parent is deployed, but this can apply to many other situations as well. It gives specific examples of things you can do to feel better when you are feeling a certain way. For example, it says, "Sometimes she feels mean and stubborn while Daddy is gone... Mommy says it helps when Lily gives her a big hug." Lily also has created a "Daddy box" where she puts things that she wants her daddy to see when he gets home. I could connect this in my classroom in many ways and it would hopefully help students going through something similar to cope.
Activities: After reading this book, we could come up with ways we can make ourselves feel better when we are angry, sad, or lonely, and practice them throughout the day as these emotions. If i have a student whose parent is deployed, I could use this book to help encourage them to do some of these things, like make a box to keep things they make/do at school that they'd like to show their mom or dad when they return.
Resources:
Suggestions for Getting The Most Out of This Book
In the back of this book, you can find a page that has suggestions on how to get the most out of the story. Some of the suggestions are to have the deployed parents read it with the child before their departure and agree on ways they will stay connected while they are gone.
Lilly Hates Goodbyes - Official Website
This site contains an about the author page, a page to help your child cope, and a peak at whats inside the book. You can also find reviews on the story, so before you buy it, you can review it.
http://jerilynmarler.com/
Youtube Video of Full Book
This video is a read aloud of the text and includes real life photos in between pages of the book.
My Dad's A Hero
Summary: This book is about a young boy who's father is deployed in the military. It talks about the cool things his dad does while he's gone and the things he does when he misses his dad. It lists things that he does that may make him a hero, but most of all he sacrifices time with his family, which makes him a big hero! There is also a place for the reader to place a photo of their dad and also a photo of themselves.
Critical Review
Strengths: (Cultural details) The first strength I noticed in this book was the fact that it includes illustrations that represent countries and races that are different than the main characters. There is one specific illustration that has 6 young children holding up their native flags to go along with the words, "The United States military protects people all around the world." If I had a child from one of those countries in my classroom, they would feel represented by seeing their flag in the illustrations of this book. (Stereotyping) This book does a great job of welcoming other cultures and not portraying different cultures negatively. It specifically talks about how his dad helps people in different places, protects them and brings them hope. So, this book definitely shows respect towards people of other cultures through both its words and illustrations. (Author's perspective and expertise) One of the authors, Rebecca Christiansen, stated in the back of the book that she wrote this story in honor of her children when her husband was deployed. The other author, Jewel Armstrong, was her children's teacher at the time of the deployment. So, both of these authors have seen firsthand the effect that a deployment has on a family and have learned ways to cope and handle the loss.
Weaknesses: (Tokenism or typecasting) The weakness I found was tokenism and typecasting in this book. In a few places in this story, it indicates that the United States is superior to other cultures around the world. It specifically states, "My dad and other military heroes help people in different places build roads, schools and hospitals... The United States military protects people around the world. My dad travels to far away lands to help bring peace and create hope for the people living there..." In these statements, the reader would get the sense that all other countries and cultures are dependent on them.
Classroom Connections
Main themes: The main theme of this book is to tell the reader all the cool things that the men and women serving our country do while they are overseas. In doing this, it hopefully will make children who are missing someone overseas feel better about the deployment. The military is often portrayed as scary and violent in children's eyes, but this book takes a positive turn on deployment and tells about all the good things they are doing for our country and the world. With this book, I could connect to other things that could make people "heroes" and have a discussion or activity based on heroes.
Activities: An activity I can do with this book is to have the students brainstorm what they think makes a hero, in their opinion, other than stereotypical superheroes. They could then draw their hero and write a note to them. An example could be a police officer, a firefighter, a doctor, etc. This will also connect my classroom to the outside community and will show our appreciation for these people who work so hard to help others.
Resources
Connecting Kids and Soldiers: This site provides teachers with ways to connect students to solders overseas. . They can volunteer or send stuff to them.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev060.shtml
Educator's Guide to the Military Child During Deployment: This PDF is a booklet that tells specifically teachers the best way to teach children whose parents are deployed.
www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/homefront/homefront.pdf
Box for Dad: This link takes you to a project you can do with your student that has them collect things over time to give to their deployed parent when they return.
www.pinterest.com/pin/283234264047546741/
Critical Review
Strengths: (Cultural details) The first strength I noticed in this book was the fact that it includes illustrations that represent countries and races that are different than the main characters. There is one specific illustration that has 6 young children holding up their native flags to go along with the words, "The United States military protects people all around the world." If I had a child from one of those countries in my classroom, they would feel represented by seeing their flag in the illustrations of this book. (Stereotyping) This book does a great job of welcoming other cultures and not portraying different cultures negatively. It specifically talks about how his dad helps people in different places, protects them and brings them hope. So, this book definitely shows respect towards people of other cultures through both its words and illustrations. (Author's perspective and expertise) One of the authors, Rebecca Christiansen, stated in the back of the book that she wrote this story in honor of her children when her husband was deployed. The other author, Jewel Armstrong, was her children's teacher at the time of the deployment. So, both of these authors have seen firsthand the effect that a deployment has on a family and have learned ways to cope and handle the loss.
Weaknesses: (Tokenism or typecasting) The weakness I found was tokenism and typecasting in this book. In a few places in this story, it indicates that the United States is superior to other cultures around the world. It specifically states, "My dad and other military heroes help people in different places build roads, schools and hospitals... The United States military protects people around the world. My dad travels to far away lands to help bring peace and create hope for the people living there..." In these statements, the reader would get the sense that all other countries and cultures are dependent on them.
Classroom Connections
Main themes: The main theme of this book is to tell the reader all the cool things that the men and women serving our country do while they are overseas. In doing this, it hopefully will make children who are missing someone overseas feel better about the deployment. The military is often portrayed as scary and violent in children's eyes, but this book takes a positive turn on deployment and tells about all the good things they are doing for our country and the world. With this book, I could connect to other things that could make people "heroes" and have a discussion or activity based on heroes.
Activities: An activity I can do with this book is to have the students brainstorm what they think makes a hero, in their opinion, other than stereotypical superheroes. They could then draw their hero and write a note to them. An example could be a police officer, a firefighter, a doctor, etc. This will also connect my classroom to the outside community and will show our appreciation for these people who work so hard to help others.
Resources
Connecting Kids and Soldiers: This site provides teachers with ways to connect students to solders overseas. . They can volunteer or send stuff to them.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev060.shtml
Educator's Guide to the Military Child During Deployment: This PDF is a booklet that tells specifically teachers the best way to teach children whose parents are deployed.
www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/homefront/homefront.pdf
Box for Dad: This link takes you to a project you can do with your student that has them collect things over time to give to their deployed parent when they return.
www.pinterest.com/pin/283234264047546741/
The Invisible String
Summary: This story is about a set of twins who get scared because of a thunderstorm and just want to be close to their mother. Their mother introduces them to the "invisible string." Which is a string that connects people when they are apart and makes you feel not alone. Wherever you are at in the world, you can pull on the invisible string that is connected to your missed loved one and they will feel it tug on their heart and they will pull back. No one is ever alone.
Critical Review
Strengths: (Multidimensionality and interconnections) Once the author introduces the idea of the invisible string, she then explains how the string can be connected to everyone in the world and there is an image of children from different parts of the world included on the page. If I were a child reading this, I would feel connected to other cultures. As for a student whose parent is overseas, they know that no matter how far their parent is, the string will connect them across the world. (Illustrations) The illustrations depict the characters from other countries/cultures in a realistic and positive way. On the same page as I was explaining above, the characters' features are all recognizable because of their culture but it is not overdone or exaggerated. The illustrator does an excellent job of illustrating the characters that are supposed to be "different." (Author's perspective and expertise) The author of this story has experience with being apart from a loved one. She also says that she wrote this book in hopes of helping others who are experiencing the same thing, especially young children; although, this story could benefit adults too. This story is something that she shared with her children and it seemed to have helped. So the author has definitely tried out the idea of the "invisible string" and has seen its benefits.
Weaknesses: (Awards and honors) After doing some research on this story, I was not able to find that this book won any awards. Although it is a great story that helps a lot of people, it would not stand out amongst award-winning books.
Classroom Connections
Main themes: The main theme of this book is that no one is ever alone and no matter how far you are from a loved one, you can always hold up your invisible string and feel closer to them. For military connected students, this book would bring them comfort if I were to read it out loud to them. I could explain to them that their parent is holding the other end of the string and whenever they are missing them, they can think of the string and tug on it.
Activities: An activity i could do with this is have the whole class sit in a circle and give one person a ball of yarn. The first person holds the end of the string and rolls the string to someone across the circle. Those two people are now connected by a string. The second person would then do the same thing with someone else across the circle. By the end, the whole class will be connected by this string and it will give them a visual of how the string can connect them.
Resources
Patrice Karst Official Website: This link will take you to the authors website where you will find a list of her books and you can even email her directly with any questions.
www.patricekarst.com/books.html
Book Review and Activities: This link will take you to a site that provides a book review and various activities you can do with your class.
www.lifelessonsforlittleones.com/book-review-the-invisible-string-by-patrice-karst/
Youtube Video Read Aloud: Below is a YouTube video of the entire book being read aloud. If you do not have a physical copy, this video will give you the next best experience.
Critical Review
Strengths: (Multidimensionality and interconnections) Once the author introduces the idea of the invisible string, she then explains how the string can be connected to everyone in the world and there is an image of children from different parts of the world included on the page. If I were a child reading this, I would feel connected to other cultures. As for a student whose parent is overseas, they know that no matter how far their parent is, the string will connect them across the world. (Illustrations) The illustrations depict the characters from other countries/cultures in a realistic and positive way. On the same page as I was explaining above, the characters' features are all recognizable because of their culture but it is not overdone or exaggerated. The illustrator does an excellent job of illustrating the characters that are supposed to be "different." (Author's perspective and expertise) The author of this story has experience with being apart from a loved one. She also says that she wrote this book in hopes of helping others who are experiencing the same thing, especially young children; although, this story could benefit adults too. This story is something that she shared with her children and it seemed to have helped. So the author has definitely tried out the idea of the "invisible string" and has seen its benefits.
Weaknesses: (Awards and honors) After doing some research on this story, I was not able to find that this book won any awards. Although it is a great story that helps a lot of people, it would not stand out amongst award-winning books.
Classroom Connections
Main themes: The main theme of this book is that no one is ever alone and no matter how far you are from a loved one, you can always hold up your invisible string and feel closer to them. For military connected students, this book would bring them comfort if I were to read it out loud to them. I could explain to them that their parent is holding the other end of the string and whenever they are missing them, they can think of the string and tug on it.
Activities: An activity i could do with this is have the whole class sit in a circle and give one person a ball of yarn. The first person holds the end of the string and rolls the string to someone across the circle. Those two people are now connected by a string. The second person would then do the same thing with someone else across the circle. By the end, the whole class will be connected by this string and it will give them a visual of how the string can connect them.
Resources
Patrice Karst Official Website: This link will take you to the authors website where you will find a list of her books and you can even email her directly with any questions.
www.patricekarst.com/books.html
Book Review and Activities: This link will take you to a site that provides a book review and various activities you can do with your class.
www.lifelessonsforlittleones.com/book-review-the-invisible-string-by-patrice-karst/
Youtube Video Read Aloud: Below is a YouTube video of the entire book being read aloud. If you do not have a physical copy, this video will give you the next best experience.
Part 3
Don't Call Me Special
Summary: This picture book is full of detailed information that answers questions and concerns about physical disabilities. It sheds a positive light on multiple different kinds of disabilities by discussing the special equipment they use and shows that people with disabilities are just as capable of living a happy, full life as someone without a disability.
Critical Review
Strengths: (Tokenism or typecasting) This story does a great job of depicting the characters with disabilities in the same way as those without. In a story like this, with a character in a wheelchair, it wouldn't be hard to make them seem minority. But this story does not and everyone is shown to be on the same level or playing field. In fact, it talks about ways to help include people with disabilities and how to not to make assumptions about them, which shows that there is no tokenism involved with this book. (Multidimensionality and interconnections) This story does a great job of bringing together the characters with disabilities and the ones without. For example, all the illustrations include one or two people with a disability, such as in a wheelchair, and that character is surrounded by able-bodied characters. The two types characters do have similarities and differences, and the book allows the reader to see that both through the words and the illustrations. (Author's perspective and expertise) The author, Pat Thomas, is educated when it comes to people with disabilities. She has worked as a Psychotherapist as well as an education counselor. So, not only does she have the background knowledge on the technical side of disabilities, but she also has the knowledge on how it mentally affects people.
Weaknesses: (Stereotyping) This story includes a wide variety of diverse characters, those who are of different race, sizes, etc. Personally, I feel as though these characters are just thrown in there simply to include diversity. There is a sentence that reads, "Everybody in the world is unique." Although this is true, this story is about disabilities, not about differences as a whole. So it seems as though these diverse characters were being used a "token".
Classroom Connections
Main Themes: The overall theme of this book is that children with physical disabilities are no different than able-bodied children. Having a physical disability is not something to look down upon and these people can have a completely normal life and be happy. With this book, I could teach the students about being respectful to one another and including everybody. This book would be extremely beneficial to a class that a student with a physical disability, so the rest of the class can learn that this student should be treated no differently. However, reading this book during a class meeting when the student with the physical disability not present may be better.
Activities: As for activities with the book, I could host a class meeting and read this book. We could then have a class conversation about how it is important to include everybody and be respectful. I could ask if any of them have ever felt left out and how that made them feel. This could be beneficial because social circumstances are the ones affected the most, rather than academically.
Resources
Lesson Plan: Don't Call Me Special - A First Look at Disability - This lesson plan is for grades Pre-K - 2nd grade. It's objective is that students will be able to appreciate why all people are special in their own way.
museumofdisability.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/1.-LESSON-PLAN-Dont-Call-Me-Special.pdf
Lessons and Activities for Don't Call Me Special - This link is to a site that will describe lessons that correlate with the book and it also describes the best ways to teach tolerance through play acting.
jessebarlow.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/lessons-based-on-book-dont-call-me-special/
Youtube Video of Book - This is a video of the book, which makes it handy so you don't have to have a physical copy of the book to still read it to a class.
My Brother Charlie
Summary: Charlie and Callie are twins who are a lot alike. But they also are different in many ways as well, because Charlie has Autism. This book shines an extremely positive light on autism. It comes from the point of view of his sister and she talks about what its like to have a brother with Autism. She explains that sometimes its hard to play with Charlie, but she knows that he loves her, even though he doesn't say it very often. She also talks about how Charlie is very smart and is good at so many things.
Critical Review
Strengths: (Author's perspective and expertise) The authors, Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete, both have extensive experience when it comes to autism. Holly is the mother of Charlie and Ryan is the sister of Charlie (they changed their names in the story). So the entire story is a true story based on experiences they've had with Charlie. The last page of the book is a page titled, "Why we wrote this book - and how it can help you." (Awards and honors) My Brother Charlie has won many awards. Some of the major ones include the Dolly Gray Award (2012), Comstock Book Award Honor Book (2011), Best Children's Book of the Year (2011), Bank Street College of Education Choices (2011). (Illustrations) I love the illustrations in this book. They definitely make the words stronger and speak for themselves. You can tell by the physical positioning of Charlie that he is distant at times, but then other times he is acting very loving.
Weaknesses: (Multidimensionality and interconnections) Although Charlie is shown interacting with his sister who is different than her, the book fails to show Charlie interacting with peers, classmates, etc. This would've made the story stronger, especially when reading it in a school setting.
Classroom Connections
Main Themes: A main theme from this book is to show that autism can be a blessing and there are many traits that people with autism possess that make them so unique and special. It also shows that being a sibling of someone with autism can be hard and it can potentially lead to conversations about how to handle that. This would be a great connection to make especially if I have a student in my class who has autism or if I have a student who has a sibling with autism. Either way, there is a good chance that most people will run into someone with autism in their life and this book can potentially help them understand more about autism and the ways they behave.
Activities: For this book, I think a cool activity would be to act out scenarios of ways to handle or things you can say during hard situations involving someone with autism. A group of teachers can act out the first scenario and then allow the students to do the same in groups and then present to the class.
Resources
Teaching Children About Autism With "My Brother Charlie" - This website explains the importance of teaching children about autism and how My Brother Charlie is an excellent resource in doing so.
learningattheprimarypond.com/blog/teaching-children-about-autism-my-brother-charlie/
Lesson Plan for My Brother Charlie - This is a Pinterest PDF of a lesson plan you could use while reading the book to a class. The lesson objective is "Students will describe actions they can take when working or playing with someone who behaves differently from them."
drive.google.com/file/d/0B1UI0Z21uTN6OEtQYW9mZlYtaG8/view
Interview with the Authors - This video is an interview with the coauthors of My Brother Charlie. They describe why they wrote the book and how it has helped RJ.
vimeo.com/8538473
Critical Review
Strengths: (Author's perspective and expertise) The authors, Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete, both have extensive experience when it comes to autism. Holly is the mother of Charlie and Ryan is the sister of Charlie (they changed their names in the story). So the entire story is a true story based on experiences they've had with Charlie. The last page of the book is a page titled, "Why we wrote this book - and how it can help you." (Awards and honors) My Brother Charlie has won many awards. Some of the major ones include the Dolly Gray Award (2012), Comstock Book Award Honor Book (2011), Best Children's Book of the Year (2011), Bank Street College of Education Choices (2011). (Illustrations) I love the illustrations in this book. They definitely make the words stronger and speak for themselves. You can tell by the physical positioning of Charlie that he is distant at times, but then other times he is acting very loving.
Weaknesses: (Multidimensionality and interconnections) Although Charlie is shown interacting with his sister who is different than her, the book fails to show Charlie interacting with peers, classmates, etc. This would've made the story stronger, especially when reading it in a school setting.
Classroom Connections
Main Themes: A main theme from this book is to show that autism can be a blessing and there are many traits that people with autism possess that make them so unique and special. It also shows that being a sibling of someone with autism can be hard and it can potentially lead to conversations about how to handle that. This would be a great connection to make especially if I have a student in my class who has autism or if I have a student who has a sibling with autism. Either way, there is a good chance that most people will run into someone with autism in their life and this book can potentially help them understand more about autism and the ways they behave.
Activities: For this book, I think a cool activity would be to act out scenarios of ways to handle or things you can say during hard situations involving someone with autism. A group of teachers can act out the first scenario and then allow the students to do the same in groups and then present to the class.
Resources
Teaching Children About Autism With "My Brother Charlie" - This website explains the importance of teaching children about autism and how My Brother Charlie is an excellent resource in doing so.
learningattheprimarypond.com/blog/teaching-children-about-autism-my-brother-charlie/
Lesson Plan for My Brother Charlie - This is a Pinterest PDF of a lesson plan you could use while reading the book to a class. The lesson objective is "Students will describe actions they can take when working or playing with someone who behaves differently from them."
drive.google.com/file/d/0B1UI0Z21uTN6OEtQYW9mZlYtaG8/view
Interview with the Authors - This video is an interview with the coauthors of My Brother Charlie. They describe why they wrote the book and how it has helped RJ.
vimeo.com/8538473
Back To Front and Upside Down
Summary: One day, Stan's class was writing birthday cards for their principal, Mr. Slippers. Stan was really good at drawing, but struggled with the writing part because Stan has dyslexia. He was too afraid to ask his teacher for help because he didn't want to be embarrassed, but he was really struggling! At recess, he confided in a friend who encouraged him to ask for help. So, he did. His teacher and him practiced so much that eventually writing became a lot easier for him!
Critical Review
Strengths: (Illustrations) The illustrations in this book create a powerful tone. Without the illustrations, the words alone would not create such a strong tone. For example, when Stan is struggling but doesn't want to ask for help, the illustration was just a black page with Stan sitting in the corner alone. The text read, "Stan felt sick, like his tummy was being all stirred up with a big wooden spoon." The illustration was a good visual of how Stan was feeling. (Awards and Honors) Back to Front and Upside Down won the Schnieder Family Book Award in 2013 and the US Paterson Prize for continued excellence also in 2013. This book is very well known and has been a popular book among grade schools! (Interconnections) Stan is intermixed with other students who either are or aren't struggling. They are also represented in a fair and equal way, even though Stan has his struggles. So yes, the characters are brought together in a realistic way. I really liked how once Stan asked for help, another classmate of his, Mimi, also comes forward that she was struggling.
Weaknesses: (Author's perspective and expertise) After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that Claire Alexander was not coming from an "insider" perspective. However, I don't believe that that takes away from the book's credibility. I think that the story is still just as strong, the author just does not have a strong background in dyslexia in general.
Classroom Connections
Main Themes: A main theme from this book is that it is okay to ask for help when we are struggling. And chances are someone else is struggling too, just like Mimi and Stan both were. This idea can connect to a classroom perfectly, especially if there a lot of kids who don't like to ask for help a lot.
Activities: An activity that I thought of to go along with this story is a system to ask for help so students don't get embarrassed in front of the whole class, like Stan in this story. For this system, at the end of each lesson I would pass out a sheet where the students rate themselves on how they are feeling about the material. That way, I can go through their individual ratings and see who is getting it and who is not. For those that are not, I would find time during the day to work one on one with that student. I feel like this would be beneficial because not only getting individual work with the teacher, but it is also in a more private setting so they don't feel embarrassed in front of their classmates.
Resources
Claire Alexander Official Website - This link will take you to the author's official website. Here you can find a list of some of her other books, background about the author, and you can even enroll in courses to learn how to create picture books.
www.clairealexander.com/wordpress/
Dyslexia Materials for Teachers - This website is full of tools that are helpful when teaching a student with dyslexia. It is broken down by subject, so there is information on all subjects.
www.dyslexiamaterials.com/
YouTube Read Aloud - This video is a read aloud of the text.