Embedded Files
Multicultural Literacy
When children see themselves in books they read it sends along the message that they matter and belong. This aids in a childs devlopment in confidnce and sense of belonging. Having diverse literacture in the classroom supports the representation of all ethnicties and races, devloping a safe leanring envionrment for all students. Not only do culturally diverse books support a safe learning environment but it also aids in the development of cultural awareness promoting an inclusive classroom.
"Books can be mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Books that are mirrors reflect a child’s experience; they include characters that look, talk, and act like them, their families, and their communities. These books can be self-affirming and build self-confidence, so it’s important to build a book collection that includes diverse books that reflect the races, ethnicities, cultures, and languages of the children in our classroom community."
(Bishop, 1990)
This sections provides an array of muticultural literacies that can be used in the classroom. Books are able to be relatable for all students and can be used as a source of information. Children can learn much about themselves and the word around them through childrens books. With the increasing diversity growing the the classroom it is important that teachers do their part to educate their students, creating a classroom wheres students feel safe to express themselves and ask questions.
First & Second Grade Level Books
ISLANDBORN
By: Junot Diaz
Illustrated By: Leo Espinosa
In Lola’s Manhattan classroom, all of the kids are from other countries. When the teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their family immigrated from, Lola can’t because her parents left the Dominican Republic when she was a baby. So she asks her family and their neighbors in New York to tell her about the island. Through their vivid memories, she gets to know the tropical beauty, food, and culture of her family’s original home. The more she learns, the more she realizes that the island is part of her, even though she can’t remember it.
It's Okay to be Different
By: Todd Parr
Illustrated By: Todd Parr
A brightly colored and charmingly eccentric picture book. Parr’s illustrations and text celebrate diversity by featuring people of all colors of the rainbow — mostly blue, green, and orange people — and depicting animals with long noses and big ears. This book tackles everything from eating macaroni in the bathtub to accepting adoption in a way that speaks volumes about self-acceptance without preaching a word.
Jacob’s New Dress
By: Sarah and Ian Hoffman, Illustrated By: Chris Case -
Little Jacob loves playing dress up. He likes pretending to be a fireman, a pirate, an animal — but his new favorite outfit is a dress he made himself! Naturally, Jacob wants to wear his new dress to school, but his classmates tell him that he’s not supposed to wear “girl” clothes. With the help of his parents and his teacher, Jacob learns that there are many ways to be a boy.
Amazing Grace
By: Mary Hoffman
Illustrated By: Caroline Binche
Grace loves stories and play-acting. So when she learns that her class will put on the play, Peter Pan, she’s thrilled. Grace is determined to win the lead role. But her classmates inform her that she can’t play Peter Pan because she’s a girl and she’s black. With encouragement from her family, she practices all weekend, aces the audition, and gets the part.
Third & Fourth Grade Level Books
The Crane Girl
By: Curtis Manley
Illustrated By: Lin Wang
Lyrical storytelling deftly interwoven with original haiku create a magical adaptation of a popular Japanese folktale about a boy who rescues an injured crane, only to have a mysterious girl arrive at his home the next night. An inspirational story of friendship and the power of kindness to transform lives.
Richard Wright and the Library Card
By William Miller,
Illustrated By R. Gregory Christie
As a young black man in the segregated South of the 1920s, Richard Wright was hungry to explore new worlds through books, but was forbidden from borrowing them from the library. This touching account tells of his love of reading, and how his unwavering perseverance, along with the help of a co-worker, came together to make the author of Native Son and Black Boy‘s dream a reality.
Crazy Horse’s Vision
By: Joseph Bruchac
Illustrated By: S.D. Nelson
Crazy Horse is among the best known Native American heroes. Yet many people do not know his boyhood name was Curly, inspired by his curly hair. Renowned Abenaki author Joseph Bruchac tells a gripping and compelling story of how the dedicated young boy, Curly, grows into the brave warrior Crazy Horse.
As Fast As Words Could Fly
By Pamela Tuck
Illustrated By: Eric Velasquez
When a civil rights group wins a school desegregation case, Mason learns that now he will be attending a formerly all-white high school. Despite his fears and injustice from the students and faculty, Mason perseveres. And when he competes in the county typing tournament, Mason decides to take a stand, using his skills to triumph over prejudice and break racial barriers.
Fifth & Sixth Level Books
Esperanza Rising
by: Pam Muñoz Ryan
Esperanza is the privileged daughter of a wealthy landowner in Mexico. She has beautiful dresses and servants to take care of her. But after her father’s sudden death, she and her mother have to immigrate to the U.S. They end up as migrant farm laborers in California during the Great Depression. This historical novel tells the story of Esperanza’s struggles to adjust to her new life as her mother falls ill and the workers in the labor camp strike for better working conditions.
Number the Stars
By: Lois Lowry
A brave Danish girl helps smuggle her Jewish friends to safety. Lowry’s sense of timing and choice of details put readers in the middle of the story. A riveting read, but your kids may have questions afterward.
Before We Were Free
By: Julia Alvarez
Twelve-year-old Anita de la Torre has normal adolescent worries about school and friends, crushes, and sibling rivalry. But some worries she erases from her diary, lest she implicate her family in a dangerous coup against the Dominican Republic’s dictator. When the resistance’s assassination attempt fails, Anita’s father and uncle are arrested and she and her mother must flee the secret police and go into hiding, eventually immigrating to the United States. Set in the Dominican Republic in the 1960’s during Trujillo’s regime, this historical novel is about family, perseverance, and the human spirit.
Dancing Home
By: Alma Flor Ada and Gabriel M. Zubizarreta
Ten-year-old Margarita calls herself Margie at school. Her parents were born in Mexico, but Margie is proud to be American and wants the other kids in her class to think of her as just like them. When her cousin Lupe comes from Mexico to live with them in California and goes to school with Margie, it threatens the identity Margie has created for herself. This story alternates between the viewpoints of Margie and Lupe as they become as close as sisters and learn what it means to live in two cultures.
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