One of the hardest tasks for teachers is creating effective, engaging, and relevant experiences for students. Relevancy reflects the communities and cultures our students come from, and creating relevant activities means placing their lived experiences into the classroom so that students can see themselves within the content that they learn. This should be of particular interest for literacy teachers who have an extraordinary advantage for delving into the identities of their students using text as the medium. One goal of the READ East Harlem team is to encourage and assist with teachers’ text selection, and as a team we’ve created a culture of sharing inclusive and dynamic texts with one another.
So, are YOU interested in diversifying your text choice to expose children to other cultures? Are you in search of colorful texts that engage and delight young readers? Check back periodically because we’ll be sharing book suggestions in blog posts and our new Library tab (click to be redirected to page). The following are this month’s book suggestions from the READ East Harlem team.
The featured books are:
Red Is A Dragon: A Book of Colors
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors
Green Is A Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors
Hey Black Child
We March
Red Is A Dragon: A Book of Colors
Written by Roseanne Thong
Illustrated by Grace Lin
In this lively concept book a little girl discovers a rainbow of colors in the world around her. Red is a dragon in the Chinese New Year parade, yellow are the taxis she sees on her street, green are jade bracelets and the crunchy kale growing in her garden. Many of the featured objects are Asian in origin, but all are universal in appeal. With rich, boisterous illustrations, a fun-to-read rhyming text and an informative glossary, this colorful book will brighten every child's day! -Reading Rockets
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors
Written by Hena Khan
With breathtaking illustrations and informative text, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns magnificently captures the world of Islam, celebrating its beauty and traditions for even the youngest readers. Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, this entrancing volume is equally at home in the classroom as it is being read to a child on a parent's lap. -Diverse BookFinder
Green Is A Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors
Written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
Illustrated by John Parra
In this lively picture book, children discover a world of colors all around them: red are spices and swirling skirts, yellow is masa and tortillas, and brown are churros and homemade chocolate. Many of the featured objects are Latino in origin and all are universal in appeal, with rich, boisterous illustrations and a fun-to-read rhyming text. Colors are written in both English and Spanish. -Roseanne Greenfield Thong
We March
Written & Illustrated by Shane W. Evans
On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people gathered in our nation's capital to participate in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march began at the Washington Monument and ended with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech, advocating racial harmony. Many words have been written about that day, but few so delicate and powerful as those presented here by award-winning author and illustrator Shane W. Evans. When combined with his simple yet compelling illustrations, the thrill of the day is brought to life for even the youngest reader to experience. -Good Reads
I Love My Hair
Written by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Illustrated by E. B. Lewis
Tarpley's first book for children joins a growing list of titles about African-American hair, linking it to issues of self-esteem and acceptance. Every night before she goes to bed, Keyana sits down between her mother's knees to have her hair combed. But no matter how gently Mama pulls, it sometimes still hurts! Keyana doesn't feel lucky to have such a head of hair, but Mama says she is because she can wear it any way she chooses. "I can spin you hair into fine, soft yarn, just like our grandmothers did at their spinning wheels", she tells her. "Or I can part your hair into straight lines and plant rows of braids along your scalp, the way we plant seeds in our garden". Soon Keyana, too, finds reasons to love her hair, and she wears it any way she chooses with pride. Lewis's imaginative and warm interpretations of these exchanges as well as the inclusion of bits of African-American cultural history expand the personal content. -Google Books
Hey Black Child
Written by Useni Eugene Perkins
Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Collier’s characteristic watercolor-and-collage masterpieces bring joy and gravity to Perkins’s inspirational poem. With a compelling rhythm that begs for recitation, the verse celebrates the power and potential of black children. The illustrations pair young black faces with visions of their successful futures as astronauts, artists, politicians, and more and feature some of the artist’s favorite motifs, including soaring balloons and rays of light. The visuals also contribute historical heft to the lyrical affirmation, layering images from African civilizations, the civil rights movement, and Black Lives Matter into the spreads, connecting the book’s triumphs to African Americans’ roots and ongoing struggles against racism and oppression. -SLJ Review
I Love My Hair
