a fabulous tool for parents and teachers to share with kids. (And it offers a good reminder to the adults, that they too, have blind spots, biases and feelings of being an outsider.) It also emphasizes the benefit of valuing differences in ourselves and others because differences are precisely what make each person unique.
Cultures around the world celebrate universal childhood milestones. This book is a fun retrospective of the varied ways cultures around the world celebrate children losing their baby teeth. Kids will get a tickle reading about the variety of ways cultures handle this rite of passage.
Yearning for acceptance, apprehension about difference, the search for common ground…Here are three books which tackle these big concepts with humor and emotion. They open perspectives and minds while entertaining. GReat selections for readers of ANY age.
Unless we are Native American all of our family lines began elsewhere. We are grafted into the dream of this country. Each of us yearns for the fruits of education, opportunity, upward mobility, and religious freedom. “In spite of where we come from…We are all Americans.”
A Celebration of Building serves as an excellent metaphor for building community, creativity and relationships. The illustrations feature a diverse characters who create universal kid creations: sofa forts, sand castles, blocks, etc. The accompanying arhitectural photographs bring those imaginary designs to life in real buildings from all around the world. The similarities between fantasy and reality are stunning. Some of them are so unusual it is difficult to believe that they are real. Such fun to see them!
Like the other books in reviewed in this post, readers will see the value of friendship, the benefit of being open instead of limited by bias and the willingness to dare–to be stronger, braver and more open-minded. These are great lessons for all kids but especially for adopted children who throughout their lives will frequently experience being “othered” simply because they were adopted.
The conversations which this book might open can include topics like defeating fear, trying new things, and walking in the “shoes” of others.
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee is especially relevant in today’s climate of intolerance and anti-immigration. Baseball is considered by many to be our national past time. In 1942, the United States gathered Japanese Americans, stripped them of their property, forcibly
The social climate today is increasingly nativistic so this is an important time to expose children to literature that affirms diverse cultures and expands limited horizons. This group of books includes newer titles as well as some classics and reflects both Chinese
These books expand understanding of what it means to be part of a family (nuclear & world) & they validate the spectrum of family constellations and cultures in their world.
“Round is a tortilla,” “Green Is a Chile Pepper” & “From the Bellybutton of the Moon” make delightful choices to mark Nat’l Poetry month. Each showcases Latino heritage and features brilliant colors and lyrical rhythms.