The Egyptian Cinderella

Title: The Egyptian Cinderella
Author: Climo, Shirley
Illustrator: Heller, Ruth
Publisher and Date: Crowell Books, 1989
Genre: Picture Book, Multicultural, Traditional Tale
Age Range: K-5th

Summary:
Rhodopis is a young slave girl in the land of Egypt. She is noticeably different from the other servant girls (she has green eyes, light hair, and rosy sun kissed skin, while the Egyptian servant girls have brown eyes, dark hair, and copper skin.) and often gets teased and left out. They would often make her do their chores when their master wasn’t watching. The only solace Rhodopis found was in her animal friends and dancing. She would often dance after her daily chores were through, her feet moving across the earth as nimbly as a goddess. One day her master caught sight of her dancing, and to reward her for her beautiful dance he gave her a pair of rose red slippers. This made the other servant girls even more jealous of Rhodopis and they piled so many chores on her that she often felt too tired to dance. One especially cruel thing that her fellow servants did was to exclude from going to meet the Pharaoh. While she is doing her chores, however, a falcon comes and snatches one of her slippers away and delivers it to the Pharaoh. Believing it is the will of the gods that he marries the girl that the slipper fits; he sets out to find her. When he finally arrives at Rhodopis’ house, she hides in the reeds. Pharaoh spots her and makes her try on the slipper and it fits! She then produces the other shoe to match! When the other servant girls cruelly exclaim that she is not even Egyptian, the Pharaoh kindly says that her eyes are green like the Nile, her hair is feathery like papyrus, and her skin is pink like a lotus flower. Her physical beauty reflects the beauty of Egypt!

Response and Teaching Ideas:
I absolutely loved reading all the different versions of the Cinderella .I would love to read as many versions as possible so that I can introduce them all in my classroom someday. I think it is important for students from other cultures to see that their culture is being represented in the classroom. These Cinderella stories would be a great way to do so. One thing that struck me as different in this story is that Rhodopis is teased and treated cruelly by her fellow servant girls not stepsisters or a stepmother. Also, there is no magical element to this story. No fairy godmother or magical fish bones are there to save the day. The story does have elements similar to other Cinderella tales however. She is sought by a royal man to try on a shoe so that he can marry her. This story also, thankfully, has a happy ending like most Cinderella versions. I would love for my students to explore this and other versions of Cinderella and create a creative Venn diagram and an I-POEM. I think that both of these activities help students think critically about what they are reading and make each book more memorable. Be sure to check out the Egyptian Cinderella and other great Cinderella tales!

Science Verse

Title: Science Verse
Author: Scieszka, Jon
Illustrator: Smith, Lane
Publisher and Date: Scholastic, Inc., 2004
Genre: Poetry
Age Range: 2nd-5th

Science Verses is such a fun collection of poems! The book starts out with Mr. Newton, their science teacher, telling them to listen closely and try to hear the science of poetry. Our narrator feels he has been zapped by Mr. Newton and now he hears the science of poetry in everything! In fact he can’t seem to stop rhyming. This poetry anthology covers a broad range of scientific topics from Evolution and anatomy to dinosaurs and black holes. This book is so catchy that it’s sure to have students learning and laughing at the same time. What a fun way to study science!

My favorite poem from the Science Verse is…….

LOVELY

I think that I ain’t never seen
A poem as ugly as a spleen.

A poem that could make you shiver,
Like 3.5…..pounds of liver.

A poem to make you lose your lunch,
Tie your intestines in a bunch.

A poem all gray, wet, and swollen,
Like a stomach or a colon.

Something like your kidney, lung,
Pancreas, bladder, even tongue.

Why you turning green good buddy?
It’s just human body study.

This is such a funny, yet gross poem. I could have never imagined creating a poem about a spleen. I just love it because it’s so unique. When reading through the elements of good poetry in the Temple textbook I noticed that this science verse fits two of them. The first element I noticed was rhyme. Every poem in Science Verse had an ending line rhyme to it. I think rhyme is an important part of poetry because it gives it a musical quality, which in turn makes it easier to read and more memorable to the reader. The second element I noticed is imagery. Can’t you just picture the human spleen from the visual imagery descriptions in this poem? It describes it as weighing 3.5 pounds and being wet, gray, and swollen. These poems are such a treat! Be sure to check them out….just don’t eat any lunch first!

Here's a great site with lesson plans and all for Science Verse!

Sitti's Secrets

Title: Sitti’s Secrets
Author: Nye, Naomi Shihab
Illustrator: Carpenter, Nancy
Publisher and Date: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1994
Genre: Picture Book, Multicultural
Age Range: K-3rd

Summary:
This is the story a young girl and her grandmother. She and her grandmother live very far apart; she lives in the United States, while her grandmother lives in Palestine. When it is time for her to go to bed, her Grandmother is just getting up. During the story, she recounts her very first visit to her grandmother’s home in Palestine. She talks about the difference in their languages, but how this allowed them to come up with their own special language. She called her grandmother, Sitti, which means Grandmother in Arabic, and her grandmother called her Habibi which means darling. During her visit, she and her grandmother were inseparable; they got milk from a real cow, watched men pick lentils in the field, made meals together, and combed her Grandmother’s long, striped hair. Her Grandmother’s hair was usually hidden under a scarf, so when her Grandmother let her see and fix it, she felt like she knew a secret. When it was time for her and her father to leave, everyone cried and hugged and her Grandmother gave her a beautiful handmade purse. When she returned to the United States she wrote a letter to the President telling him about her Grandmother and asking for peace. (I think it is important to touch on the continuing conflict between Isreal and Palestine.)

Response:
This is such a touching story! Every child should have a great relationship with their grandmother. I love how they were both able to share parts of their culture with each other even though they didn’t speak the same language. Sitti showed her Habibi how she hangs the laundry out to dry on the rooftop and how the women walk to get water in the afternoon. She teaches her how to make bread and how to serve lemonade with the fruit grown on her own lemon tree. A Grandmother’s love and life lessons are universal and timeless. This is a common thread that ties readers to this unique and heartfelt tale. I had such a great relationship with my Grandmother; she taught me how to make my coffee the “right” way, to make Spaghetti, and to make up beds and fluff pillows. I love the way Nancy Carpenter states this in her illustrator’s note. She say, “What I discovered in my research….is a culture so very different from my own, with traditions that go back hundreds of years. Mona’s Sitti, especially comes form a time and a place where people have been wearing the same style of clothes, eating the same food, planting the same crops, and living on the same land for centuries. I live in a culture where people get a new spring wardrobe every year, change their hairstyle every few months, and eat various ethnic foods every night of the week. What I CAN relate to in this story is universal-enjoying a sunny day and lemonade, playing games with friends, loving the smell of fresh baked bread, and knowing the special bond between Grandparent and child.” This is such an important mindset to have; we need to look for similarities, not differences when we encounter someone who is a different nationality from our own. We are more alike than we may think. Also make sure to pay special attention to the illustrations in this book. They are beautifully painted to reveal the true colors of the desert and to depict the closeness of a grandparent-grandchild bond.


Teaching Ideas:
This would be a great book to read with Kindergarteners when they are studying about families. They can see that families come in all shapes, sizes, and nationalities. Another great idea would be to have students read Sitti’s Secrets and then write five similarities that they share with her. This would be a good way to show the universality of this tale.

The Power of Positive Thinking

Title: Becoming Naomi Leo’n
Author: Ryan, Pam Munoz
Publisher and Date: Scholastic, Inc., 2004
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Multicultural
Age Range: 4th-6th

Summary:

Naomi Soledad Leo’n Outlaw lives in a in a small trailer named “Baby Beluga” in Avocado Acres Trailer Rancho in Lemon Tree, California. She lives with her Great-Grandmother, Gram, and her younger brother, Owen. Naomi and Owen have been raised by Gram ever since their mother, “Skyla” dropped them off as young children when she went “to find herself.” Naomi is the narrator of the story and she shares her life with the reader throughout the book. You read of her struggle to be accepted at school. How the boys make fun of her last name Outlaw and call out “have you robbed any banks lately?” or “Is this a stickup?” She is an outcast with the girls in her school as well, because she is quiet and looks different. Her father is from Mexico and her mother is from America, so she is darker that most of the girls in her class. She has even heard one girl refer to her as “trailer trash.” Naomi doesn’t complain much about her life, however, because Gram has taught her to be a positive thinker and a believer in self prophecy. When she asks Gram what to do about the teasing boys, Gram says to write “Those boys will not bother me” over and over again until she believes it. Naomi’s brother, Owen also has trouble fitting in at school. He was born with a deformity that even after several surgeries has left his head leaning slightly to the side and pointed down. He is picked on at school as well for his unusual habit of wearing strips of tape on his shirt every day.


Naomi and Owen’s lives changes dramatically one day when their mother, Terri Lynn, (or Skyla as she now wants to be called) returns to town. She shows up at the doorstep on “Wednesday chicken bake” after being absent for seven years. Naomi knows nothing about her mother’s past except that she dates a tattoo artist name Clive, and she is an alcoholic who has been in and out of rehab and halfway houses for years. Skyla wants to take Naomi to live with her and Clive in Los Angles and to be a big sister to Clive’s daughter Sapphire. Naomi tells her mother no and receives a slap in the face for her “bad attitude.”


Naomi, Gram, Owen, Fabiola, Bernardo (their family friends), and “Baby Beluga” escape from Skyla and travel to Oaxaca, Mexico in search of Naomi and Owen’s father. They arrive in Mexico five days later to stay with Fabiola’s sister’s family. Naomi enjoys Mexico very much, and believes with all of her heart that they will find their father. On the night of the Festival of the Radishes (La Noche de los Rabanos), Naomi and her family finally come face to face with her father. After many tears, hugs, kisses, and promises to visit later it is time for Naomi and her family to head back to California for their custody court hearing against Skyla. In court, Naomi faces her fears and bravely tells the court her story loudly and truthfully. In the end, the court decides to grant Gram custody of Owen and Naomi and their lives will never be the same. Naomi has become brave, embraced her individuality, and finally lived up to her name “Naomi the lion.” She has many great years ahead of her to look forward to with Gram, Owen, her father, and faithful neighbors and friends.

Response:

Wow, is all I can say about this book. I wasn’t initially sure I was going to connect with this book, but after the first chapter, I was already falling in love with the characters and the setting. I loved how each character was so true to life, and how the setting was a down home friendly place where anyone one would be lucky to live.

Naomi was one of my favorite characters. She went through so much in this story. As an adolescent girl she is struggling to fit in a culture that tends to be unkind to anyone it considers “different.” She is teased by the boys because of her “different” last name, and she is shunned by the girls because she looks “different.” I love the way Gram tells Naomi to deal with these problems; she teaches Naomi the power of positive thinking and self prophecy. If you are positive about something and keep telling yourself something then and begin to work toward it, then one day undoubtedly it will happen. I loved this lesson so much that I chose it for the tile of my entry. This is such a positive message for us all. When faced with adversity, we need to remember that we can only control our actions and our thinking, not others. This book will also give students an inside look at what it feels like to be teased. Naomi had dreams, hopes, and talents, just like us all. Maybe the next time a student begins to tease someone they will think of Naomi Leo’n and remember not only how hurtful it is, but also how alike we all really are.

Mr. Marble, the librarian, is also one of my favorite characters. He is such a good example of the difference one caring adult can make in a child’s life. He gave the outsiders at school a place where they could belong. He showed them they were special by nicknaming them his lunch club kids. He always listened to Naomi and had something positive to say. He encouraged her, helped her find books to read, and even extended to her the special honor of displaying her soap carving in the display case during open house. He gave her a safe place at school; he cared and that truly made a difference.

Gram and Santiago Leon (Naomi’s father) are my other two favorite characters. I loved Gram for her faithfulness and dedication to her grandchildren. She taught them so many positive life lessons, gave up her “golden years” for them, and provided for them in the best way that she could. Santiago is also special to me, because even when he thought he could not be a part of his children’s lives, he never abandoned them. He wanted them, and sent money to help support them. Many students could be ale to relate well to this story, because they too could have experienced this scenario. This is such a great story, because it shows that a family is not just a mom, dad, and kids; a family is any group people who love, support, and care for one another unconditionally.

Listed here are the criteria for good multicultural literature from the Temple Textbook:
· Do the author and illustrator present authentic perspectives?
· Is the culture portrayed multi-dimensionally?
· Are the cultural details naturally integrated?
· Are details accurate and is the interpretation current?
· Is language used authentically?


When I think of good multicultural literature I think of the analogy given in our Temple Text of windows and mirrors. “Mirrors let them (children) see reflections of their own lives; windows let them see other’s lives.” I think this is such an important part of multicultural literature; for a book to truly be good it must first be truthfully representative of the culture it portrays and second it must be engaging and teach about that culture. I think that Becoming Naomi Leon definitely qualifies as good multicultural literature. Pam Munoz Ryan gives us such wonderful insider perspective into to the culture using her own background as a springboard. She represents this part of her heritage very accurately. I definitely think the Mexican culture is represented authentically throughout the book. Mexican customs, celebrations, and speech (such as the Spanish words and translations) are integrated into the book without taking away from the flow of the story. Family is another theme that is emphasized in the story. This is very important to the Mexican culture; usually Hispanic families are close knit families that can count on each other for anything and everything. Families are not only part of the Mexican culture though; families are universal and can give students a good reference point for the story. I also think that the story portrays the culture multidimensionally. It shows a quite a variety of people who don’t think or act the same. They share similar customs and beliefs but they undeniably unique. The book also doesn’t stereotype Mexican Americans. One common stereotype we place on them is that we see them as all wanting to come to America. In this story, quite the opposite occurs. Mexico, specifically Oaxaca, is represented as such an inviting place that Naomi yearns to live there. All in all Becoming Naomi Leo’n is such a good book for students to read. It opens children’s eyes to a new cultural perspective and allows them to be empathetic to others who are different from themselves.

Here are some of the cultural markers in Becoming Naomi Leo’n:
Noche de Rábanos
las posadas
Carving: soap carving, wood carving, and radish carving
Food: mole, pan dulce, quesillo, pina coco
Close family relationships
Spanish Language
Piñatas
Nuestra Senora de la Soledad


Teaching Ideas:
I would definitely read this book with students. I would encourage them to immerse themselves in the culture; I would bring in food to try, share information about the celebrations mentioned in the story, and maybe even let them try their hand at soap carving. I would also encourage my students to imagine what it would be like to live in a foreign culture. They could write a journal article expressing their thoughts and comparing their reaction to Naomi’s.

Dim Sum for Everyone

Title: Dim Sum for Everyone
Author/ Illustrator: Lin, Grace
Publisher and Date:Alfred A. Knopf, 2001

Genre:Multicultural, Picture Book

Age Range:k-2nd

Summary:
This story is narrated by a young girl. She and her family are visiting a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown. She takes you on a tour of the restaurant and shares with you what her family had to eat. She explains that dim sum is served on carts and can be found on tables as well. He mother(Ma-Ma) chooses sweet pork buns, her father (Ba-Ba) chooses fried shrimp, her siblings Jei-Jei and Mei-Mei choose turnip cakes and sweet tofu, and she chooses little egg tarts. Dim Sum is traditionally served in little dishes, and everyone tries a little bit of everything. Dim Sum can be translated to mean “touches the heart or little heart.” It originally began as an appetizer or snack served in teahouses. It soon became so popular that restaurants opened to exclusively serve Dim Sum. Dim Sum wasn’t brought over to the Western world until the 19th century. There are several cool customs that go along with Dim Sum. To thank your waiter you tap three fingers on the table, and the waiters don’t clear away dirty dishes from the table, they count them to calculate the bill.

Response and Teaching Ideas:
This was such a unique book! I would have never imagined I could learn so much about another culture in just a few short pages. It would be a great book to reader with younger children. The words are simple enough that they can practice repeating them after you, and predicting what the text will say next. The brightly colored, double page spread illustrations are also sure to draw students in. I particularity loved the picture showing the whole room filled with families all eating Dim Sum. I loved seeing that there was such a diverse crowd of people represented in her illustrations. I think it would be so neat to focus on the Chinese tradition of Tea houses and Dim Sum. You could cover the history and serve traditional food. Students could also plan their own imaginary trip to Chinatown and write about what they would see and eat.

The Librarian of Basra

Title:The Librarian of Basra

Author/Illustrator: Winter, Jeanette

Publisher and Date:Harcourt Inc., 2005

Genre: Multicultural, Picture Book, Biography

Age Range: 1st-5th

Summary:
This is the incredible true story of Alia Muhammad Baker. Alia is the librarian of Basra, Iraq. She loves the library and the books that it contains. It is a place for those who love books to come and “discuss matters of the world and matters of the spirit.” One day, however, things change for Alia and her beloved library. The talk in the library turns to war and the fears it is brining with it. Alia fears that all of her precious books will be destroyed. She asks the governor for permission to move them to a safe place, but he refuses. She reacts by taking as many books as she can fit in her car home from the library each night, hoping that she can keep them safe. Days pass and war turns in to a reality for Basra. Alia calls on to her friend Anis Muhammad, who owns a restaurant beside the library, for help. She asks him to help her move all the books out of the library. She, Anias, and others work all night to move all the library’s books over the seven foot wall separating the two buildings. Nine days after this, Alia’s library is burned to the ground. Finally, war moves out of the area and Alia hires a truck to move the books to a safe place. She hides thirty thousand books in her and her friend’s houses. Books are everywhere, but Alia is finally satisfied that they are safe. Alia waits for the war to end, for peace to come, and for a new library to be built.

Response:
What a wonderful, inspirational story! It could truly benefit all of our students to read this heroic tale. I am, however, not naive enough to think that everyone would accept and like this story. I’m sure this is a very controversial story to some, because of the times that we live in. Some people might not like this book because it touches on the often touchy topic of war; it has several pictures of planes, gunfire, and fires destroying cities. Some might fear that this picture book is too harsh for children to read. I disagree, however. In a time when we are at war with Iraq, it is important to see that the people of Iraq are not our enemies. They are people just like us, who enjoy the same things we enjoy, and who live lives similar to ours. They read books, hold discussions, and have fears just like we do. We need to emphasize to our students that the majority of the citizens in Iraq have done nothing wrong; they are victims caught in the crossfire of their circumstances. It is always wrong to foster hatred, anger, or prejudice against any group of people. I would love to read this story to my student so that they can hear the amazingly true and heroic story of a person who is real and who is still alive! I think it would encourage them and help them show empathy toward others who are more similar to them than they may think.

Teaching Ideas:
First, this would be a great book to incorporate into a geography or history lesson when studying Iraq. I would have my students study Alia and learn more about her and the culture, geography, and history of Iraq. Second, it would also be a great book to incorporate into a third grade social studies curriculum on heroes. This ordinary woman did something extraordinary that deserves to be remembered. She is truly inspirational to all; she proves that no matter where you’re from or what age you are, you can do amazing things! Finally, this would be a great conversation starter for any age group about war and it's consequences.

ps. be sure to check out the note from the author on the last page of the book! It contains information about how this amazing story was found and what Alia is up to now.

IF Not FOR THE Cat

Title: IF Not FOR THE Cat
Author: Prelutsky, Jack
Illustrator: Rand, Ted
Publisher and Date: Greenwillow Books, 2004
Genre: Poetry
Age Range: K-5th

IF Not FOR THE Cat is such a unique collections of poems; I have never read anything like it. The book is made up of seventeen Haiku’s written by Jack Prelutsky. A Haiku is a special form of poetry first developed and used by the Japanese. It is a three-line nonrhyming poem that contains seventeen syllables. (Usually five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third.) A haiku traditionally makes an observation about nature. In Jack Prelutsky’s book, each Haiku is written about a different animal. Each animal is described in the Haiku and a picture of the animal is drawn on the page, but the name of the animal is not revealed. Students have to guess the animal’s name based on the description and the picture. I have to take a moment to mention the illustrations in this book. Each illustration is a painting constructed using a mix of sumi brush drwing in India ink, traditional watercolors, chalk spatter, and printmaking techniques. They are done on rag stock watercolor paper and rice paper. Each drawing is beautifully done to give the reader a hint about the animal's name, be sure to check them out! The animals are listed by page numbers for the reader on the “Who is who” page at the end of the book. This reminded me a lot of Steve Jenkins’s book, What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? In both books, the students get to interact with the text by guessing. I think it’s a great way to get students excited about reading and in this case it’s an excellent way to introduce the Haiku form of poetry.
One of my favorite poems from the book is…..

Gaudily feathered,
With nothing at all to say,
I can’t stop talking.

I really liked this poem because it reminded me of the parrots I have seen in pet stores. I always visit a pet store if I see one, and usually there are always parrots in the store talking and chirping away. The racket they make is always noticeable. It’s such an oxymoron that they are always talking yet they don’t have anything to say; if you take time to think this through, you’ll discover it is so true. Parrots constantly make noise, but they only parrot or repeat what we say, they can’t make intelligent conversation on their own. When reading through the elements of good poetry in the Temple textbook I noticed that this Haiku fits two of them. The first element of good poetry that I noticed in this Haiku is imagery. When you read this poem it first emits visual imagery with the line “gaudily feathered” and then it moves to auditory imagery with the lines “with nothing at all to say, I can’t stop talking.” The reader can both hear and see the parrot. The second element I noticed is insight. As I mentioned earlier, if you take time to think through what this poem is saying, you find yourself saying, “ah that is so true.” Parrots don’t have anything to say, yet they talk constantly.

Jack Prelutsky's poems are a treat! He was named our nation's first Children's Poet Laureate! Be sure to check him out!