Anisa's International Day: cultural pride

Anisa’s  International Day by Reem Faruqi is an early chapter book story about a 3rd grader named Anisa who is Pakistani-American. She is a positive role model for young people as she is proud of her heritage and is eager to share it with her classmates. It even inspires her teacher to create a project around it for her whole class: an International Day!

As an immigrant myself, I enjoy this story because of how Faruqi seamlessly weaves in cultural information into the story and supports it with recipes, directions for the crafts and a glossary at the end of the book! As a parent and teacher, I like how Faruqi shows how Anisa uses her doodling to help with her anxious feelings and how Anisa’s teacher helps her when there is a misunderstanding with her best friend. Conflict resolution is an important topic for social-emotional lessons for children and this story is a perfect example to use. 

A huge thank you to Reem Faruqi for sharing an ARC of this book with my Book Excursion book review group. I cannot wait to share this with my students!

106 Kindness Books & Activities for Elementary & Middle Grades

 

The month of February is dedicated to friendship, kindness, empathy and love.  When I was curating the book display for my students across grades kindergarten through fifth grade, I began seeing common themes arise:  how kindness is shown between people, towards animals, between animals, with grandparents, and towards oneself.  

During my library lessons I book-talked these books with the themes and my students responded with interest and enthusiasm.  They began recalling other stories that fit in the themes that I hadn't added so they recommended them to their classmates.  Every class that came through the library selected books from the kindness display and discussed their choices with their classmates.  This led me to share my list below along with extension ideas:

Extension ideas that go with these books and themes are numerous:

1. Give students the themes, then book-talk a book or show the cover and have them guess what theme it would be.
2. Ask students to write or draw a story from their life that exhibited kindness.  Have them share with and ask others to determine the theme.
3. After choosing a book, ask students to create an artifact, button design or keychain charm that pairs well with the theme of the book.
4. Allow students to use a video creation application to tell which book they recommend to others. You can show them vintage Reading Rainbow clips as inspiration. 
   
   
5. Give students a random picture, ask them to think of a story that incorporates the picture with a kindness theme. If they are stuck give them the prompt, "Once upon a time in ________ (setting) there was a __________(character) who wanted to _____________ but couldn't (plot). Then _______(climax) came along and ___________(resolution).  Let them pair up and combine their picture prompts and story ideas. They can even share them with others or act them out.

Do you have more books and/or activities to suggest that go well with these themes? Please share them in the comments below!

The Power of a Name: Proud to Be...

Proud to Be... is a children's picture book written by Natalie McDonald-Perkins and is illustrated by Mary Ibeh.  The heart of the story is an elementary-aged child from Nigeria named Ifunanya. She is starting at a new school and is already nervous for the typical reasons any child would be.  On her first day she is greeted by a substitute teacher who mispronounces her name. As the day goes on more classmates make fun of her name so much that she starts to question why she even has such name that is so problematic.

Disappointed in her unwelcoming class, Ifunanya shares her feelings about her name with her parents. They listen then tell her about the origin of her name and the meaning behind it.  The advice they give her is to be patient as people learn to say her name correctly.   

Ifunanya decides to give school another chance the next day. Thankfully, her permanent teacher is back and she takes the time to make sure she is pronouncing her name correctly.  She sympathizes with Ifunanya's situation because her name is also commonly mispronounced. The classmates who made fun of her name apologize for their behavior and they start to share the meaning behind their names.  

As a teacher, librarian, parent, and an immigrant whose name is often mispronounced, I liked this book's message and delivery of the point that a person should be proud of their name and be patient as others learn it.  There have been many books published about children with difficult names to pronounce, but this is the first story I have seen with a main character from Nigeria.  The illustrations are also vibrant, show a range of characters and capture the mood of the story well.  

This story could lead to discussions with young people about many topics.  For example, what are ways that you can ask how to pronounce a person's name?  What if your name is difficult to say? How can you help others learn your name?  People can also share experiences they have had with other people's names who were new to them.  What did they learn from those experiences?  It could also be a time to invite readers to share the origin of their own names.  The author also includes a Teacher Tips section at the end of the book for what to do if a student has a name that is difficult to pronounce.  She also includes a list of unique names with their language of origin and meanings.  Children can try to say them out loud for practice.  

I'd definitely add this to my school library collection and include it in my daughter's reading collection, too!

Another book that this author and illustrator duo have created is Best In Me. I reviewed it last year and it had similar themes of looking inward to point out your unique traits.  

 

Genesis Begins Again: a middle grade novel of self-hate & hope

 Genesis Begins Again, the multiple award winning chapter book by Alicia D. Williams is mighty in its characterization of a young woman who comes from a traumatic home life who's desperate to erase her past and start anew.  13-year old Genesis and her parents have been kicked out of their rental home again.  Unfortunately it's on the day that Genesis finally convinces the cool clique of classmates to accompany her home.  Right from the start of that opening scene the reader feels for Genesis as many can connect to her humiliation and helplessness for what will happen tomorrow when she has to face them at school.  Fortunately for Genesis, her mother decides to leave her father's harmful ways and move the two of them to a new place that she can afford on her own.  Will Genesis have the fresh start that she's always wanted or will the reasons why she hates herself according to class bullies and her father come back into her mind? 

At her new school, Genesis surprises herself by making friends easily, even if they aren't in the popular crowd. With her new friends and a supportive singing teacher who opens Genesis's eyes to singers who also had unstable home lives but funneled their emotions into their singing, maybe this is Genesis's shot at a new identity?  Genesis still makes questionable decisions that are relatable to any reader who has tried to change a part of themselves or hide a family secret at the expense of their health only to hope for a better tomorrow.

This story is perfect for middle schoolers and above who want to understand how race, social class, substance abuse, bullying and trauma can affect a person.  Educators can learn more about their students who may be going through similar issues that Genesis faces like homelessness, poverty and self-hatred. Williams is a teacher herself so she writes with authenticity for what Genesis experiences at school It's no wonder that this book has won so many accolades!  

Readers can also discuss how much they understand about skin color shades as they pertain to different cultures around the world.  As a societal prejudice in many areas of the world, the darker the skin tone, the more the person is persecuted. How does this ring true for Genesis? Young people can also discuss what they'd do if they were in Genesis's shoes.  What if they were her classmates?  

Here is a special treat of Williams reading aloud from the first chapter of the novel:

The publisher's website also has an audio excerpt from the audiobook and a book club discussion guide!

The House That Lou Built: what makes a home?

 

The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio is an award-winning, middle-grades chapter book that is great for a book club, read aloud, or independent reading book.  It offers a unique look at the Filipino-American culture while exploring universal themes of grief, family, and friendship for a middle-schooler.

13 year-old Lou is half-Filipina, half-White but she identifies with her Filipina side since she lives with her mother's family in San Francisco.  Her father passed away before she was born and he left her some land as her inheritance.  When Lou visits her plot of land she feels at peace and connected to her father.  When her mother considers moving them away so she can find a better job Lou decides to build a tiny house on her land that she has always dreamed of building. Lolo, her grandpa, tells her, "That's how dreams work.  You just have to do them."  Perhaps this will convince her mother to keep them there?

Lou's community is an important part of the story.  Her mentors, Lolo, Annie, the salvage yard owner and shop teacher, Mr. Keller,  help her with her plans, as have her close friends and family members.  She even makes friends with the ever-popular, Jack, who she encourages to document her project.  Lou is not a typical character because she excels in building and engineering, which makes her stand out amongst her friends and classmates.  Her favorite place to be is the salvage yard because it inspires her to use the parts to invent new machines.  Readers can share a place that inspires them!  She also keeps a running 1,001 Cool Things to Build list and adds items to it, like a catapult.  Readers can add items to the list of something they'd like to build one day.

Lou's identity is an interesting theme that Respicio addresses in the story.  Lou says, "Being half and half is something I don't think about much."  Readers who are split between cultures can compare how they feel to Lou.  When Lou compares her grandparents from both sides of her family she says, "I never knew the difference between my white grandpa and my brown one because they loved me the same." Readers can discuss differences between their family members.  Lou describes her White and Filipina features noting that she doesn't look like her mom but "Mom knows that inside, I'm just as Filipina as she is.  We connect with each other no matter how different we look."  Readers can consider to whom they feel most connected in their lives.  Lou also compares her experiences when eating meals at non-Filipino households.  Readers can share about times when they were exposed to cultures outside of their own.

I enjoyed this story in many ways.   I learned about the Barrio Fiesta and how homes in the Philippines could be moved if flooding were to occur.  Readers can learn about the trials that immigrants endure when moving to the U.S.  I loved Respicio's description of the foods, dancing, and community in the story.  It reminded me of my own Persian community of ex-Pats growing up in Kansas.  

Readers will want to stick with Lou all the way to the end to find out if she ends up building her tiny dream home or if she has to follow her dad's advice she read in his journal, that "sometimes plans change."

Readers can also explore the Tiny House Movement and design their own as an extension idea.  

She has a strong outlook and jumps over the hurdles the adults put in her way.  My favorite line is when she says, "Sure, I'm only 13 but my ideas matter."  When I taught middle school students, this was the feeling that students said frustrated them the most, that they weren't being heard.  Readers can share what is important to them, just like Lou.

  

78 Books to End the School Year & Kick-off Summer for elementary/middle

 

As the school year winds down students want to continue to build memories with their teachers and classmates.  A shared read can provide that for them.  The list below contains poetry books, riddles, joke books, nonfiction picture books and picture books.  They are on the shorter side and are all engaging topics that students will enjoy listening to and discussing.  If you have more, please add them in the comments!

What I love about these books is that there are a wide of range of themes represented.  There are stories about growth, fear, summer, family, friendship, adventures or just fantastical stories that stretch the imagination.  Reading just for pleasure and not tying it to a worksheet or activity models for students the importance of literacy to broaden their minds and form bonds with one another. 

35 PRIDE Reads for elementary/middle grades

 

Our students want stories that encompass various people's perspectives.  PRIDE month offers the chance to spotlight LGBTQIA+ people through sharing books and stories.  From nonfiction picture books to fictional chapter books about families, friendship, and growing up, there is a push for including more of these books in our library collection.  I am thankful for the GLSEN organization for offering free books to our schools and classrooms.  Hopefully more will be published and shared, until then, check out what we have in our library below: