ISBN 1-85269-599-4
This is a wonderful book about what it is like for children who have biracial parents. It follows young Mia and Kai through a few frustrating scenarios where their peers and other people do not realize that they’re related to their mothers. Mia and Kai attempt to work out a plan that will make things easier and in the end there is a comforting message; I am proud and happy with who I am and the way my family is!
In today’s day and age, there are more and more biracial couples. Because of multi-racial cities in North America and immigration, there is a much higher chance of falling in love with someone of a different ethnicity. Families come in all colours, shapes and sizes and it is important to acknowledge a child’s (not-so-unique) situation if and when it is present in the classroom. This book is good for 3-5 year olds because it has few words and simple sentences, spoken from Kai and Mia’s point of view. The book is mostly dialogue so it would be beneficial not to read too fast and to use enthusiasm when impersonating the voices. This book is very useful because on each page it translates the sentences into Farsi; a language I am personally not familiar with but none the less, it is a feature an educator should look for among a diverse classroom.
There are pictures throughout this book. The illustrations are really colourful and grab the reader’s attention. Some pages are filled with foreground and background, while others are simpler images, just containing the visual needed to portray the scene. I like how well the characters’ faces are drawn.
Extensions:
• A picture: To extend this book I would choose a picture of Mia and her mother, photocopy it, enlarge it and maybe laminate it. This picture would be put up somewhere in the classroom and left for children to find on their own and start wondering what it is and why it is there. The picture will allow for conversation to which will tie into the book.
• Family Project: After they’ve read the book, the children could get pictures of their parents, talk about them, what they do together, what they love about them (which the teacher could record and include in the final presentation of each project), draw pictures of themselves with their parents and more.
• Puppets: You can present this story to children using people puppets as Mia, Kai and their moms; talking through them and acting out their roles.
ISBN 978-0-8075-4786-1
This is a really great book to talk about bullying with the children. It deals with Lucy (the victim) and Tommy (the bully). Tommy begins a routine of purposely breaking Lucy’s belongings and projects. He warms her not to tell anyone, and out of fear she listens. Over the next week Lucy comes home from school sadder and sadder. Eventually she tells her mom and her mom insists on telling the teacher. From then on Tommy was no bully and instead he seemed embarrassed and shy. Lucy befriends him anyway and in the end they both realize they can be friends after all.
Children are constantly faced with conflict and this includes during interactions with their friends and peers. They are at the young age where they’re beginning to find out how to maintain self-control of one’s emotions and how to socialize acceptably and effectively. Challenges such as bullying can be common within the classroom or school setting. Bringing awareness to this issue is important so that children can hopefully be taught to see from all lenses of the bully cycle (the victim, the bully, the by standard), allowing them the ability to avoid the situation in the present or the future. It also lets you reach out to a child and relate to their feelings.
The illustrations in this book are large scale, taking up the entire page. The paint is vivid and colourful and is uses simple brush strokes. The animal characters are cute, and every so often the author has included comments coming from their mouths, allowing the reader to say it aloud or not.
Extensions:
• Art Time: In the book Lucy and her classmates do a lot of art work such as drawing and painting. By giving the children time for their own art offers them the chance to interact with each other through the drawings and put their creativity to use. The children can learn to assist each other, or how to be positive and supportive of the others in the class.
• Picture: In the book there is a picture of the children’s animal models made in art class; including Lucy’s whose was smashed by Tommy later on. I would put the copy of the picture near a shelf with their art projects before I read the book, to see what questions and statements are made in response to randomly finding this.
• Friendship cards: The children can make little cards (or create a present of some sort) for one other person in the class. In the cards they can have friendly pictures or comments so that when they exchange their cards they can feel happy and good about themselves.
ISBN 978-0-375-84258-0
This is one of my favourites of all the books I’ve chosen. It deals with the issue of bringing home a new baby. This is such a common issue in early childhood classrooms because new born babies are usually born when the first child is still fairly young. In this book Cameron, a little boy, welcomes his new baby sister Sadie, into the world. He goes through three scenarios where Sadie is crying and his parents explain what she needs each time, and then allows Cameron to watch. First it was changing her diaper, then putting her down for a nap, and then feeding her. The fourth time nobody can figure out why Sadie is crying until only Cameron, her big brother, calms her down and makes her smile!
This book has amazing illustrations! The paintings are so beautiful and unique. The artists fill the whole page with bright, colourful representations of the characters and to really add an interesting touch, they made each background into a series of patterns and shapes; a wonderfully abstract visual. What’s more, is they have incorporated one-word descriptions of what is going on in the scene, so even if you don’t read the book, the children can still understand what’s going on by themselves. For example, when Sadie is crying it reads, “waaaaaah!” along the bottom and when she’s getting her diaper changed it reads, “wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe.” This book is a great addition to any daycare and deals with the familiar experiences and/or challenges a new big brother or sister may face.
Extensions:
• Visit: I really like bringing the family into the classroom. The children can go and visit the infant or toddler rooms so they can interact with persons younger and smaller than themselves.
• Discussion: Reading this book to a group of children you know have some experience with siblings and new babies, will up the chances of sparking a discussion about their sisters and brothers, their personal experiences with them, what happened, what feelings arose, what babies require etc.
• Hunt: After reading the book once, you can always read it again another day. Before you do this, perhaps to extend it you could hide a (real or paper) diaper, a bottle, and a pillow. Get the children to help Sadie (the baby sister in the story) find all the things she needs to stop her from crying. This gets the children actively involved and thinking about what they can do to help take care of a baby.
ISBN 978-1-55451-094-8
This book talks about appropriate and realistic situations children experience when their parents get a divorce. Made for 3-5 year olds, it explains where mommy and daddy live now, and how the child might spend time with each parent separately; the fun places they might go and things they might do together (in a western society). It poses questions like why the parents divorced and whether or not it is the child’s fault. This book ends with a message of acceptance and comfort knowing that things are going to be this way from now on and that it is ok; helping the children to understand that no matter what, both parents love and care for their child.
Divorce as we all know is a very common occurrence these days. More and more children are forced to go through this experience, including myself, and it can be very difficult on many levels. Geared towards early childhood, this book shows one how to see the “bright side” of the situation. It acknowledges the child’s possible emotions and reassures him/her that they can get through this. The book uses clear cut sentences to talk about a complex issue in a simple way. The Illustrations are good and give the child an accurate representation of the scene. The drawings are well done with some colour. Within several of the backgrounds there is a lot going on, which will allow for children to explore, ask questions and answer questions, beyond the main story line.
Extensions:
• Picture: There is a picture of the little girl in the story when she is packing her bag and looks upset. I think it would be a good one for the children to find and wonder about, posing questions like “why is she so sad?” and “where is she going?” It will help children make a connection between the picture and the book so to remember it.
• House: Buy materials and props and dress-up clothing (old clothes, thrift store, and costumes) and put them out for children to use. Naturally the game house may unfold and if so, the children can learn about their fantasy families through play.
• Felt Board: This book could become a felt board story. It would contain about 10 pieces but the story has a good message. These methods of reading really grab the children’s attention, I find.
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