Multicultural Books

 

Fortune Cookie Fortunes

Lin, G. (2004). Fortune cookie fortunes. USA: Alfred A. Knoff

ISBN 0-375-81521-X

This story is about a Chinese American girl who goes to a Chinese restaurant with her family. At the restaurant, each of the girl’s family members got a fortune cookie and read their fortune inside their cookies. The girl’s fortune was “You see the world in a different way”. The next day, the girl discovered that the fortunes her family members all received came true.  The girl then wondered if her fortune will come true too. Does she see the world in a different way? Her answer is, yes, she does see the world in different ways. She then became curious as to whether or not she will always see the world this way. She decided to crack another fortune cookie open to read another fortune, in which it said, “Look forward to a life of great fortune!” In the end, the girl believes that fortune cookies are always true.

This book is excellent for three to five-year olds because the story is short with one to two sentences per page. Because the story is short, the children will be able to sit through the entire story. In addition, this book is a great tool for children to learn about a different culture and the food the people in that culture eat. Furthermore, the vocabulary is simple enough for three to five-year olds to understand, and thus they will be able to enjoy the story. Also, the illustrations are enjoyable for preschool age children. The colourful picture of the origami and colourful birds can engage and attract children to the story. The characters’ clothes in the story are also unique, in different floral patterns and colors from each member of the family. All the different colors and patterns in the book create a cheerful atmosphere in which the children can enjoy.

Provocation:

To provoke the interest of the child, I would introduce fortune cookies for children to eat as a provocation. The children can also read what is written on their fortunes. This will really pique their curiosity because reading from a small piece of paper in a cookie may be completely new for them. As a result of this provocation, the children will be excited when they listen to the story about fortune cookies.

Another provocation could be to ask children if they have ever read from a piece of paper from a cookie before. If the children say no, then I will say, “How would you like to hear a story about people reading their fortunes on a piece of paper hidden inside a cookie?” The children will then be curious to learn about how to read fortunes from a cookie.

Presenting the Story:

1) I can have the children act out the story. I can make fortune cookies myself, stuffed with the described fortunes from the story. I will have children act as the characters in the story. They will be delighted to see the same fortune inside the fortune cookie as they saw from the story.

2) I can make a felt story with the pieces made by me. The pieces would include the girl and her four other family members, 1 fortune cookie that can open up to reveal the 5 white pieces of paper with small words on it that holds the fortune, a bench for the park, a tomato and leaf to represent the garden, two pieces of origami, 2 birds, 4 pieces of paper with words on how the girl sees the world, and one last piece of paper with the fortune for the end of the story.     

3) I can tell the story using fortune cookies. I can crack them and tell the children the story as if I am reading the whole story from the small pieces of paper from the fortune cookies.  

A spot where I think is perfect to stop for a minute and ask the children questions is near the end of the story where the author asks what the fortune cookie will say. The children can guess what the fortune will be. This is an opportunity to get the children to use their creativity and imagination to come up with a fortune. Another section to engage with the children is at the end of the book when the children are asked “I think fortune cookie fortunes are always true, don’t you?” This allows the children to consider the story and share their opinions and thoughts to the rest of the class on what they think of fortunes.

 Extending the Story:

1) I can have children write a fortune on a piece of paper, collect them, bake the fortune cookies with them, and then have the children randomly pick a fortune cookie. This will create curiosity and excitement because they are excited to pick a fortune that was written by another child. This activity will also help the children develop their creativity and imagination. They can think of something creative to write on the piece of paper.     

2) Because the story talked about the girl’s elder sister with lots of origami in her room, the children can fold origami. The next time when I present the story again, I can use the origami to aid me in telling the story. Folding origami can help the children develop their fine motor skills.

3) The children can go on a treasure hunt outside and look for the fortune cookies. The children will really enjoy this activity because they will want to find out what fortune they are going to find.