Multicultural Literature

 Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

 

Summary:

This book is about a woman who had a baby and was living in Mexico. She brought her baby to the United States to begin a new life. She did not speak or understand much of the english language when she got to the U.S. Eventually she discovered a library, there she and her baby found comfort and were able to speak and write the english language, which opened up an entire new world to them.

Evaluation:

This book is pretty short, which I believe has pros and cons. This book only touches on a small portion of the many struggles immigrants face when moving to a new country. This would be good for a young child, as I feel it would not confuse them and they would better understand some other struggles that those from other cultures may face. 

The illustrations make up a big part of the book, they are bright and colorful.  I also feel the illustrations really help to tell the story. The use of shape and texture are used to enhance the story through the illustrations.

Activities:

I think a good activity would be to read a book from a different language to the children and then collaborate with them to decipher the story. This would help them to understand the struggle that some immigrants face, when moving to a place where they do not understand the language. 

What do you think about using this book to help children to understand some of the struggles that immigrants face? 

Do you think this book could gave a tendency to glamorize the struggles that immigrants go through?

Reference:

Morales, Y., & Sananes, A. (2019). Dreamers. Solon, OH: Findaway World, LLC.

A Poetry Book

 A Pet for Me Poems by: Lee Bennett Hopkins

Summary:

This book consists of a series of poems about different types of pets, ranging from dogs and cats to iguanas and tarantulas. The books begins with a poem called I would Like to have a Pet, this poem is about a child who does not have a pet, but wants one. The book ends with a poem called Pet Love that includes all of the ways pets give their owners love. 

Evaluation:

 This book is perfect for beginner readers for a few different reasons. The book uses a bigger font, which makes it easy to read and the illustrations throughout the book are bright, colorful, and includes many types of animals and insects to keeps a child's interest. The illustrations are outline style and include the elements of line and color. This gives the illustrations a "cartoony" feel, which many children love due to the bright colors.

The book also includes a variety of words to describes the pets, which will give children the opportunity to expand their vocabulary. 

Activities:

A fun activity to do with children in relation to this book would be to have them pick an animal that they either have as a pet or would like to have as a pet and have them write their own poem about it.

 

Reference:

Hopkins, L. B., & Manning, J. (2004). A pet for me: Poems. New York, NY: HarperTrophy.