I Am Latino: The Beauty in Me

I Am Latino: The Beauty in Me
Written by: Sandra L. Pinkney
Photographs by: Myles C. Pinkney
Published by Little, Brown, and Company in NY in 2007
Genre: Informational Text, Concept Book (language and senses) (Bilingual Multicultural Work)
Ages: Grades K-2

Summary: This work is dedicated to celebrating Latinos. It deals with the language, music, the love of their families, and the rich foods that are part of their culture. The text and pictures alternate in that the first page will have a picture of a Latino child and read "I am Latino. Can you sense the beauty?" and the next page or so will detail an element of their culture, then readers see another Latino child with the same text as before and learn about another aspect of their culture until all of the aforementioned aspects are spoken of. This book introduces young children to simplistic elements of Latino culture in a format that will definitely grab their attention.

Response: This book does and excellent job at letting children know that no matter what their nationality, they are beautiful. I think that many times in our society we let our feelings about immigration affect our judgement of people before we get to know them and this book lets us see that Latinos are just like everyone else--beautiful. Although this children's book might not explicitly make that connection, I think that adults can learn that from this work.

The photographs in this work are excellent. I tend to enjoy more realistic art, especially in illustrations in picture books, so the photography in this book definitely suited my taste, as photographs are as realistic as illustrations can be! The colors in this book are vibrant. Each page has a new bright color on it, which will very likely intrigue younger students as will the many faces in the photographs. None of the pictures in this work are double-page spreads, but in many cases there are several pictures on each page and some of the pictures also have colorful borders to attract even more attention to them.

The text on the pages where students will learn about Latino culture have one large word an a few smaller ones. For example, on the family page, there is a large word--
See" and then the rest of the sentence is small--"the love in my family (mi familia)" (15). Then the book goes on to give adjectives for certain family members and even translates some of them into the Spanish words as well. This is the case for the entirety of the book.

Teaching Connections: Teachers could use this work to help ELL children become engaged in their reading because they would be learning about elements of their culture that they already know about, but would also be reading several English words. If their interest level is high, their reading ability might be improved.

Teachers could also use this book as a way to help ensure that Latino children are not excluded by others in the class. The teacher could read this allowed and help English-speaking students understand a little more about Latino culture. This would be especially helpful if the Latino students are shy and do not talk with their peers often.

This work could also be used as an introduction to a multicultural unit for younger children as it provided excellent information, but in a way that will not overwhelm younger students.

This book is also great for teaching adjectives. The teacher could read this work and then have students chose another culture that they might be interested in and then the teacher could bring in information about dances, families, language, and foods that are a part of that culture. Then the class could write a small book together about those elements of that particular culture and add in their own descriptive adjectives given by the students. The teacher could then make copies of the "book" the class wrote and have students illustrate the pages. Another idea is to take pictures of students in the classroom dressed like the people from that culture and doing those activities outlines in the book they helped write!

(Image retrieved from http://www.getcaughtreading.org/images/IAmLatino.jpg on 7 April 2008)

Birthdays Around the World

Birthdays Around the World
Written by: Mary D. Lankford
Illustrated by: Karen Dugan
Published by Harper Collins Publishers in Hong Kong in 2002
Genre: Informational Text (Multicultural Work)
Ages: grades 3-5

Summary: This book takes readers around the world to seven foreign countries. It shows them many of the traditional birthday celebrations in countries such as Finland, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, The Philippines, and Sweden. This book not only tells of foods, games, and traditions people in these countries take part in on their birthdays, but also gives readers other interesting facts about birthdays. The back of the of the book has a page about birthday superstitions, birthday flowers, gemstones, and character traits, and also gives ideas about how to have an "around the world" birthday party.

Response: I learned many things from this book. First of all, Mary D. Lankford tells us that "Happy Birthday to You" was written by two women, Mildred J. and Patty Hill, about 100 years ago! I also learned that in The Netherlands children play a game called Koekhappen in which "children are blindfolded and attempt to eat soft cookies from a string," (page 16) which to me sounds a little cruel. A popular game in New Zealand is Pass the Parcel. In this game music is played and a package is passed around. When the music stops, whoever is holding it will unwrap a layer and find a small gift. This continues until the final gift is unwrapped. There was so much great information in this book, that a could not possibly mention all of the interesting facts I learned!

One of the good ideas I got for a birthday party was the "around the world birthday party" idea in the back of the book. The author suggests that the invitations be part of the theme and one theme they suggest is the ocean. Therefore, they suggest that the reader draw a fish pattern and trace it twice, then cut it out and decorate it with gills, etc., then glue only the edges of the fish together so that the fish is mostly hollow still. the next thing one should do is draw several smaller fish in different colors and put the location on one, the time one another, the date on one, and the event title on yet another. The invitation will be given to the invitees with the smaller fish in the larger fish's mouth!

The illustrations in this work were very good. Karen Dugan uses vibrant colors and makes her characters look as though they were real people just photographed. She uses lines to create depth in her illustrations and draws remarkable trees, especially in the Finland illustration. She does not forget to pay careful attention to her backgrounds so they look like settings within the country represented. Also, she takes great care in ensuring that the majority of the girls are wearing hair barrettes, necklaces, earrings or some form of accessory. No detail is too small for her!

Teacher Connections: This book would be wonderful to do a multicultural study with. A teacher could read this book to her class and have them get into seven groups and then choose which of these countries the group wanted to do a research project about.

A teacher could also read one page of this book to her class each day or week and then devote the rest of the day or week, respectively to a study of that particular country.

Or, one could combine these two ideas and have the students choose from these seven countries before knowing about the birthday celebrations and then the students could present on that country and the teacher could read to the class about that nation's particular birthday celebrations.

(Image retrieved from http://thesavvytraveller.com/agraphics/family_travel/for_kids/insights/people/celebrations/birthdays_around_the_world_125h.jpgon 4 April 2008)

"Penguins"

Penguins
Written by: Seymore Simon
Illustrated by: Numerous photographers
Published by Harper Collins Children's Books in NY in 2007
Genre: Informational Text
Ages: grades 3-5

Summary: This text provides a myriad of information about all types of penguins. From Antarctic penguins to Australian penguins to Galapagos penguins, numerous species are detailed in this book. Penguins discusses what penguins eat, how they choose mates, how they incubate their eggs, and what animals are their predators. This incredibly fact-based work is like an mini- encyclopedia of information filled with remarkable pictures of numerous species of these animals.
Response: I learned a great deal about penguins from this book! I learned that all penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere and some can live in rookeries of more than twenty million! Sometimes they even dive 1,500 feet to find food and have the ability to remain submerged for up to fifteen minutes before needing air! Some penguins can swim up to fifteen miles per hour and most lay two eggs at a time. The most interesting thing I learned about penguins was about their mating rituals. When a male penguin is ready to mate "He bows, struts about, and may offer a rock as a gift. If a fight breaks out, the males use their bills and flippers to hit their rivals. When penguins...find their mates, they bond by touching necks and slapping each other on the back with their flippers. By 'singing' to each other, they learn to recognize each other's voice. A penguin may stay with its mate for years--or as long as the pair has chicks together" (8). I thought this part of the information was hilarious! I could just picture the male penguins hitting each other with their short little wings and "strutting about" offering rocks to females. The picture in the book that corresponds to this page shows two king penguins "hugging" with their necks. It is so cute!

The pictures in this book are amazing! Because this work was produced in correlation with the Smithsonian, obviously the pictures must truly capture the essence of being a penguin because the Smithsonian employs such great photographers. This book does not disappoint in this aspect at all! Most of the photographs are single-page spreads because the vast amounts of information are on the corresponding pages. Although the pictures do not cover both pages, they are nonetheless extraordinary. Many are close-ups of beautifully colored penguins in their natural habitats.

Teaching Connections: The one disappointing element in this book was the vast amount of information provided. The facts given were well-organized and insightful, but , especially for younger children, it might be a bit too much to handle. I would suggest possibly splitting up the reading of this book into several days and talk about only one species per day or one aspect of penguins per day for younger students.

In order to help students comprehend the totality of information provided by this work and distinguish between species of penguins, an organization chart or diagram might be of assistance. Categories could include food, habitat, number of penguins in a rookery, how many eggs the female lays, height, and weight.

As a response to this book, students could find their own pictures (or draw some) of a particular animal of their choice and write a mini-book about information they found through research about that animal.

(Image retrieved from http://img.libreriauniversitaria.it/BUS/300/395/9780060283957.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"Germs Are Not For Sharing"

Germs Are Not For Sharing
Written by: Elizabeth Verdick
Illustrated by: Marieka Heinlen
Published by: Free Spirit Publishing Inc. in Minneapolis, MN in 2006
Genre: Informational Text
Ages: grades K-2

Summary: This book tells children about ways to prevent the spread of germs. It details places germs live, how to rid oneself of bad germs, and when and how to wash one's hands. It talks about the relative size of germs, that one should use a kleenex (or at least cover one's mouth in some way) when one coughs or sneezes. This book also gives a way for children to tell when their hands are clean. The book suggests singing "Happy Birthday" twice while washing one's hands. In addition, the back of the book also gives great information for parents and educators to share with their children and students about germs.

Response: I learned a lot about germs from reading this book. I never knew how long they could live on surfaces (2 hours!) or about the "Happy Birthday" song. The information in the back of the book is great for teacher reference in a lesson about germs. This book has so much information, but is written in a style that is so wonderful for children. It teaches them about germs, but it ceases to be like a textbook full of "extra information." This book simply tells children when and why to be cautious about germs and how to get rid of them once one comes into contact with them. Germs are explained in a way that very young children would easily be able to understand and since those are the children who do not have very much knowledge of the germs around them, the awareness this book provides is wonderful for them!

This author and illustrator have worked together on several of Elizabeth Verdick's book. The illustrations are very colorful, in a 24-pack of crayons kind of way! The children in this work are drawn with very bold lines. The backgrounds are also very bright oversized scenes. All of the illustrations, which I believe to be watercolor, are all double page spreads, which give readers more time to ponder the situations to the pages.

One of the remarkable aspects of this book is the diversity of the children within. Multiple nationalities of children are represented within this work as well as children with disabilities, which makes this a great book to show children that all people are similar-we all become sick occasionally, we all need to wash our hand frequently, and none of us is immune to germs.

Teaching Connections: Teachers could make questions from the factual information in the back of this book, have her students form groups, and assign two or three of those questions to each group for them to answer.

Then, the teacher could have one student from each group write their group's answer to their questions on chart paper to serve as the "what we think we know" part of the lesson. (This paper could be hung in the room for a few days to remind them of this lesson.)

Next, the teacher could read Germs Are Not for Sharing to her students.

A great activity for this lesson is about glitter germs. Click here for the glitter germs activity. Following this activity, discuss how germs are similar to the glitter.

The conclusion to this lesson, to determine what students learned, can be to look back at the answers students wrote on the chart paper and discuss the correct answers.

(Image retrieved from http://www.kensonparenting.com/prodimages/germsPB_small.jpg on 19 April 2008)

"What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?"

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Published by Houghton Mifflin in NY in 2003
Genre: Informational Text
Age: grades K-3
Award: Caldecott Honor Book

Summary: This book is not a traditional story, perse, but is more of a quirky way to relate information about for what certain parts of animals' bodies are used. This book has two pages each about noses, ears, tails, eyes, feet, and mouths. The first page shows pictures of these parts of different animals and lets children guess what animal it could be from until the next page when the pictures are of whole animals and the text details what they do with their respective body parts. The last several pages of the work given encyclopedia-like information about each of the animals in the book to further explain their use of these body parts.

Response: The first thing that caught my attention regarding this book was the title. I cannot imagine how someone could not want to read a book with a title such as this! Fortunately, the title is not the only grand thing about this work.

The artistic media (collage art) of each animal, and the texture created by this form of art are remarkable. There is a lot of white space on the pages, but that allows the rich colors from the collage to be more striking. Furthermore, the words on several pages are integrated with the artwork in the book and flow well with the illustrations.

I love the way that the first page of each new body part's introduction allows readers to guess what the animal could be. The author and illustrator used page turns as a means of creating suspense.

Due to the layout of the piece and the humor, the information is woven into the book. This makes learning seem less like learning for readers.

The information at the end of the book is great for expanding one's knowledge about animals and for teachers to share more information with their classes.

Teacher Connections: Teachers could do a health lesson about parts of the body: arms, legs, heads, noses, ears, etc. and then read this book about animals.

Students could make a Venn Diagram about what they use their body parts for and how that is different or similar to animals.

Students could chose one animal to concentrate on or use a different animal for each body part.

(Image retrieved from http://www.larl.org/kids/images/tail.jpg on 19 April 2008)