Multicultural Text Set

Sarah George
Dr. Harris
ELED310
November 15th, 2017
Multicultural Text Set: Bilingual Books
Title: Can You Greet the Whole Wide World?
Author: Lezlie Evans
Grade level: Pre-K - grade 3, ages 4-9
Key Words: Multilingual, Language, School Day
Summary:
The main character is a cat, that walks on two legs. It is his first day of school and he
greets his teacher and his classmates with common phrases. His day includes riding the bus,
asking his teacher questions, talking and playing with children and other typical school-day
activities. Each common phrase he says, is bolded and on that page there is a spread representing
that phrase translated into 12 different languages. The languages include: German, Hebrew,
Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Chinese, Zulu, Japanese, Italian, French, and Portuguese. The
last page includes a map, illustrating where each tongue is spoken.
SOLs:
English
K.9 The student will demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts.
a. Identify what an author does and what an illustrator does.

b. Relate previous experiences to what is read.
c. Use pictures to make predictions.
d. Begin to ask and answer questions about what is read.
e. Use story language in discussions and retellings. \
f. Retell familiar stories, using beginning, middle, and end.
g. Discuss characters, setting, and events.
1.8 The student will expand vocabulary.
a) Discuss meanings of words in context.
b) Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts.
c) Ask for the meaning of unknown words and make connections to familiar words.
d) Use text clues such as words or pictures to discern meanings of unknown words.
e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.
Geography
K.5 The student will use simple maps and globes to
a) develop an awareness that a map is a drawing of a place to show where things are
located and that a globe is a round model of the Earth;
b) describe places referenced in stories and real-life situations;
c) locate land and water features.
Evaluation:
This book is a great way to get students to engage with other languages in an appropriate
and fun manner! According to Hazel Rochman, the writer of the book Against Borders: A good
book can help to break down [barriers] (Higgins, n.d., p. 2). This book can be used in the
classroom to help students break down linguistic barriers and create space for open discussion on
the importance of language. There are 12 common phrases in 12 different languages on each
page chances are, there is someone is the classroom who either speaks the language, knows
someone who speaks it, or has heard of it. There are many different races and ethnicities
represented across the books pictures: Black, White and Asian, or Hispanic-looking students
this gives all students a chance to see themselves in the book. The main character, who seems to
be a new student, is a cat, therefore, because he has no race, all students have the opportunity to
relate.
Recommendations:
1. Create a lesson on rhyme - On each page there is a four-line, rhyming verse that includes the
phrase or word that is translated into 12 languages. Children can pick out the words that rhyme
and discuss them, while also learning about the languages represented in the book. If they can
speak another language, can they think of rhyming words in that languages too?
2. Create a lesson focused on language Pull out a map and have an open discussion about
different countries, cultures and languages. Make a note that different languages are spoken
across the whole world, and some languages are spoken in more than one place. Think of
examples together: English is spoken in the USA, but where else? French is spoken in France,
but where else? This discussion can lead into talking about what languages your students speak
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Freight Train, Tren de Carga
Author: Donald Crews
Grade level: Pre-K - grade 2, ages 4 - 9
Key Words: Bilingual, Colors, Trains
Summary:
This is one of the Caldecott Honor Books, a book written by Donald Crews. Freight
Trains, Tren de carga was made into a Spanish-English bilingual book. The story is very simple,
the illustrations are colorful and vibrant and the book is fun! The book is great for students who
are interested in trains or transportation. The book first describes the train, focusing on train parts
and colors. Then, it describes the train going, moving, crossing in the nighttime and during the
daytime. The sentences are short and simple enough for young students to understand and read,
yet the book can be used for older students to practice their language skills.
SOLs:
English
a) Identify what an author does and what an illustrator does.
b) Relate previous experiences to what is read.
c) Use pictures to make predictions.
d) Begin to ask and answer questions about what is read.
e) Use story language in discussions and retellings.
f) Retell familiar stories, using beginning, middle, and end.
g) Discuss characters, setting, and events.

Evaluation:
One of the things that I appreciated about the book, is the first section of the book where
each car being pulled by the steam engine is described - each car having a corresponding color.
The students can learn a color along with the name of that car. What I especially liked, was the
fact that the color of the font matched the color of the car being described, helping children
recognize their colors better, especially if they are an English language learner, or ELL. The
illustrations correspondence with the text was a great attribute of the book. The English text is
written first and then the Spanish text is either below it or to the left. Language bias is avoided in
the book, considering the fact that both languages are in the same font and size. Emphasis is not
placed on one language, making both languages seem important and valued.
Recommendations:
1. Lesson to practice colors This would be a great book to use to help students learn their
colors: yellow, orange, green, purple, red, black and blue. Each car of the train is a
different color. For example, on pages 2 and 3, it says: Red Caboose at the back/Atrs el
furgn de cola rojo, Orange tank car next/Sigue un vagn de tanque anaranjado, Yellow
hopper car/Vagn de tolva Amarillo Under each description, there is a picture of the car
in that corresponding color. Students could practice saying their colors in English and
Spanish and then even create their own illustration of a train using different colors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: My First Book of Sign
Author: Pamela J. Baker
Grade level: K grade 3, ages 4 - 11
Key Words: Sign language, Letters of the Alphabet, Manual Alphabet
Summary:
The author created a book of 150 high-frequency words in sign language - words that
many young children use. The book runs through the alphabet, each spread representing a letter.
On each page there is a letter, the signed letter and then large illustrations of children signing a
word that starts with that corresponding letter of the alphabet. The illustrations are vibrant and
the pages are colorful and glossy. In the back of the book, there is a list of the sign descriptions
for each word that explains to the reader the hand shape, position and movement necessary to
create each word this is a great resource for teachers if they want to know exactly how to
correctly and accurately teach their students.
SOLs:
English
d.) Use text clues such as words or pictures to discern meanings of unknown words.
Evaluation:
The illustrations are brightly colored and the book has an even mixture of boys and girls
of different races. According the article, Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Childrens Books for
Ableism, we should be using books in the classroom that include stories or pictures of children
with disabilities to promote inclusiveness (Myers & Bersani, 2008, p. 2). In the book, there are
illustrations of deaf children, with and without hearing aids. All of the children are signing and
are seem joyful. This is a great book to use to introduce students to sign language and to help
students realize that signing, a nonverbal language, is also a form of communication. The
illustrations are accurate in their representation of sign. The back of the book also includes
directions and more in depth descriptions of the different types of sign: fingerspelling, signing
and the 3 different aspects of signs: hand shape, position and movement.
Recommendations:
1. Learn to sign the alphabet I think this would be a great book to use to teach children
sign language! A class could do a unit on sign language and learn a few words per day.
Children could each learn one of their favorite words and teach their friends and family!
Learning to sign the alphabet would be fun and the class could use that skill in spelling
or writing lessons. The class could make flashcards to use to practice or create posters to
put around the room with the ASL signs displayed. For younger grades, the class could
also learn a song for morning meeting time that included ASL words from the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Getting to Know Germany and German
Author: Janine Amos
Grade level: grades 2-4, ages 8 and up
Key Words: German, Culture, History
Summary:
This is a great book of facts to use to introduce students to German culture, history,
landmarks, foods and lifestyle. The text is in English, but many of the illustrations are bilingual.
The last six pages give an introduction to German words and phrases. The book is organized
according to maps, facts, regions, food, what people do, children in Germany, history, famous
places, festivals, and more! Each page of the book is colorful with vibrant illustrations - there are
also German words to throughout the book.
SOLs:
English SOLs
2.10 The student will demonstrate comprehension of information in reference materials.
a) Use table of contents.

b) Use pictures, captions, and charts.
c) Use dictionaries, glossaries, and indices.
d) Use online resources.
3.11 The student will write a short report.
a) Construct questions about the topic.
b) Identify appropriate resources.
c) Collect and organize information about the topic into a short report.
d) Understand the difference between plagiarism and using own words.
Geography
1.6 The student will describe how the location of his/her community, climate, and physical
surroundings affect the way people live, including their food, clothing, shelter, transportation,
and recreation.
Enhanced Cultural Understanding (Foreign Language)
Develop an awareness of and an appreciation for another peoples unique way of life, the
patterns of behavior which order their world, and the ideas and perspectives which guide their
behaviors.
Evaluation:
I picked this book because I lived in Germany for 4 years, and may return there to teach
one day. This is a great book to use if you want to do an overview of Germany with your
students. There are many common words and phrases on the last 6 pages to learn the book
gives the German word, English word and then the phonetics of the German word to help with
pronunciation. There were a few outdated facts in the book that I found: the currency of
Germany is now the euro, rather than the Deutsche Mark (DM) described on page 7, and the
population is now approximately 82.6, rather than 79 million. Overall, it is a great resource book
fun to flip through and learn from! This book makes learning about culture an exciting
experience!
Recommendations:
1. Lesson on countries - This would be a great book to use for a research project on
Germany. I think it would be exciting to do a project on a country especially for the
older grades (2nd, 3rd, 4th) who are beginning to learn how to do research. Children can
buy a foldable poster board and print and cut out pictures of a country. This project
would be a great way to learn more about the world and help students become more
aware of different cultures and lifestyles. There are other books related to this book series
there is one on France/French too!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: How Do I Love You?, Como te Amo?
Author: P. K. Hallinan
Grade level: Pre-K- 1st grade, ages 3-6
Key Words: Language, Love, Spanish
Summary:
According to the note to Parents and Teachers at the beginning of the book, How do I
Love you?, Como te Amo? Was created to help children and parents learn to read to using both
Spanish and English. The books rhyming text is simple perfect for early readers to enjoy and
understand. The story is about a little boy and how his parents love him no matter what! This is a
great, encouraging message to all young children. The English text appears at the top of the page,
whereas the Spanish translation appears at the bottom.
SOLs:
English SOLs

Evaluation:
The sentences are short and simple, easy for a childs short attention span. The value of
being loved, no matter what, is a great thing to discuss in the classroom. This could be a book to
use to have an open discussion about unconditional love. If this was being used in a Christian
school setting for example, you could use this book to make a connection to Jesus unconditional
love for us, if we choose to follow him. The main character is a Caucasian boy, so that is one
thing to keep in mind, especially if the majority of students in your class are not white. Another
thing to think about when choosing this book, is if the child has a good home life experience?
What if the child does not have a mother or father? What if the child does not feel loved in their
home? These questions are important to ask when choosing the focus of the reading.
Recommendations:
1. Valentines Day You could use this book on Valentines day to start an open
conversation about love. What is love? How can we love each other? Can we love our
classmates, even when they arent perfect or make mistakes? Children can cut out a big
heart and write all the ways they can love other people. Another activity would be for the
child to pick a person they know and write his or her name in the middle of the heart.
Then, the child writes all of the reasons why they love that person and give it to them as a
gift.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: I Live in Tokyo
Author: Mari Takabayashi
Grade level: pre-K grade 3, ages 4 - 9
Key Words: Country, Home, Lifestyle
Summary:
This book follows the life of a young Japanese girl. The book is told in her perspective as
she explains her life through beautiful, big, colorful pictures. Each spread represents a month out
of the year and the child describes what her life looks like each month. Mimiko, the main
character, highlights special traditions each month. On each page there are certain things that are
labeled with Japanese words the readers to learn the real name. A glossary of Japanese words
and numbers are located in the back of the book as well.
SOLs:
English SOLs

Geography
1.6 The student will describe how the location of his/her community, climate, and physical
surroundings affect the way people live, including their food, clothing, shelter, transportation,
and recreation.
Enhanced Cultural Understanding (Foreign Language)
Develop an awareness of and an appreciation for another peoples unique way of life, the
patterns of behavior which order their world, and the ideas and perspectives which guide their
behaviors.
Evaluation:
This is a great book to use to begin talking about lifestyles and how they look different
across cultures. This book goes into detail on geography, holidays, family, buildings, daily life,
food and language. In first grade, children begin to start talking about their own environments
and cultures and how their community plays a role in their lives. This book could be
incorporated into a discussion and children could make a Venn diagram comparing their lives to
the life of Mimiko. The book is vibrant, and very detailed. There is a lot to look at on each page,
so that is one thing to keep in mind when reading the book go slowly, so you dont miss
something important!
Recommendations:
1. Months of the year - I would use this book to review the months of the year with
children. In the book, Mimiko goes through the calendar year, explaining to the reader
what is special about each month and what holidays or traditions she celebrates. Teachers
could create a lesson on favorite holidays or traditions that children hold in each season.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Six Dots
Author: Jen Bryant
Grade level: grades 1- 3, ages 6 - 9
Key Words: Exceptionalities, Multicultural, Bilingual
Summary:
A great picture book describing the life of Louis Braille, the boy who created Braille.
This biographys illustrations are made of mixed media and have vibrant colors. The biography
starts with Louis as a child and it deserves the accident he goes through in his fathers workshop
which makes him go blind. He is then sent to a school for the blind, where he becomes inspired
by Morse code to create an alphabet for the blind. The book is multicultural and includes French
words at the beginning of the book, there is a pronunciation guide. The end pages have the
braille alphabet on them the black braille contrasts with a beautiful blue background.
SOLs:
English

Evaluation:
The author of this book is an award winner she won the Schneider Family Book Award.
She does a spectacular job at using descriptive words to portray how Louis Braille sees the world
through his senses. This would be a great book to use in a lesson on senses: smell, touch, taste,
seeing, hearing. Boris Kulikovs illustrations in the book help us understand what it feels like to
be blind on multiple pages it is very dark with simple, light sketches here and there to represent
how Louis imagines the world. The story is real and inspirational, a great book to help children
start thinking about how they can make a difference in this world.
Recommendations:
1. Introduction to Braille Walk through school or downtown and look for examples of
braille do a braille scavenger hunt. Have students take pictures of signs with braille, and
then as a class, come together and practice feeling braille. The students can practice
writing and reading in braille, to encourage embracing and understanding certain
exceptionalities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: My Way, A mi manera
Author: Lynn Reiser
Grade level: Pre-K - grade 2, ages 4 - 8
Key Words: Similarities/Differences, Friendship, Daily life of Pre-K
Summary:
This simple picture book follows the daily life of two best friends in preschool, one
English-speaker and one Spanish-speaker (it never says where they are from). Their names are
similar - Margarita and Margaret and their lives look very similar, yet with minor differences
in details. This repeating line throughout the book is I like to ____my way or Me gusta ____a
mi manera" which helps guide early readers in working on fluency. The children talk about their
hobbies, how they take care of themselves, their school day, and what they eat. The English text
is on the top of the left page and the Spanish is on the right. Under each text, there are colorful,
watercolor pictures representing the text.
SOLs:
English

Evaluation:
This is a great book for children, especially in the stage of coming to find a balance
between interdependence in friendships and independence inn their own likes and dislikes. The
book is bilingual and both languages are displayed fairly in the book one font is not larger than
another. Values of acceptance, understanding, diversity, love, and friendship are all portrayed in
this book. The book shows no biases, prejudices or stereotypes, rather it focuses on the childrens
similarities and how much fun they can have together despite being from different cultures, and
speaking different languages.
Recommendations:
1. Venn Diagrams This would be a great book to use to introduce the concept of using
Venn diagrams to compare things or people to each other. The class could label each
circle Margaret and Margarita. As you go through the book, pick out similarities
and differences that the two children have. For example: Both girls eat lunch, but
Margaret eats peanut butter and jelly and Margarita eats tortillas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Biblioburro
Author: Jeanette Winter
Grade level: grades 1- 4, ages 6 -10
Key Words: Non-fiction, adventure, Columbia, Books
Summary:
This is a true story of a man named Luis Soriano, a man who loves to read. He becomes
inspired to take books to children who cannot afford their own books. These children live high
up in the mountains where no libraries exist. So, the man buys to donkeys, or burros and fills
crates with books to take to the children. The setting is in Columbia, and the colorful, playful
illustrations make the book come alive! The back of the book gives more information on the
author and the main character of the book.
SOLs:
English

Evaluation:
Overall, I think this was a great book to use for younger ages and older ages. The fact that
it is a true story, is really inspiring. It is culturally and linguistically respectful. The book will
inspire children to make a difference in this world, just like Luis. This book is absolutely
beautiful and the way the landscape of his home is depicted is so pretty to look at. Completing a
picture walk with students using this book would be fun there is a lot to describe on each page
plants, birds, animals, trees! The text is simple, with occasional Spanish names and words
throughout, to promote linguistic inclusiveness. It makes the book more genuine and authentic to
include the Spanish words.
Recommendations:
1. Discussion on Reading - The story is of a man who takes books to children who cannot
afford their own or do not have the resources to read. Have an open discussion with your
class about the importance of reading. Why do we need to learn how to read? When do
we need to read where is it important? Make a list! (Grocery store, letters, signs, school,
recipes, etc.)
2. Book Drive - Collect books for children who dont have the same resources! Encourage
the children to also make a difference by together as a class, collecting books for a book
drive!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Uno, Dos, Tres: One, Two, Three
Author: Pat Mora
Grade level: pre-K- grade 1, ages 4-6
Key Words: Numbers, Spanish, Big Book
Summary:
The book I chose from the library is actually a very large book, created by Lead21. The
size of this book works perfectly when reviewing with children the different parts of a book:
front, back, page, cover, picture, words, period, etc. This book describes two young sisters who
are on a search for a birthday present for their mother. Throughout the book, the children count
the presents they are buying in both English and Spanish. The children buy some things at the
market that are in Spanish too, for example, a piata! There is a Pronunciation guide at the back
of the book, to help English-speakers pronounce the Spanish words correctly.
SOLs:
English
1.1 The student will continue to demonstrate growth in the use of oral language.
c.) Participate in a variety of oral language activities, including choral speaking and
reciting short poems, rhymes, songs, and stories with repeated patterns.
1.5 The student will apply knowledge of how print is organized and read.
a) Read from left to right and from top to bottom.

b) Match spoken words with print.
c) Identify letters, words, sentences, and ending punctuation.
d) Read his/her own writing.
Evaluation:
At the end of the book, there is an authors note, where Pat Mora explains how she grew
up on the border of Mexico and would often visit Mexican markets as a young girl. I appreciated
how the author drew from personal experiences and it made me think that the book was more
accurate in its depiction of another culture and language. The book has beautiful illustrations and
the text is one the bottom of the page. The text is simple and there is rhyme, which helps young
students follow a long and understand.
Recommendations:
1. Practice Counting This book would be especially great for a Spanish-English bilingual
classroom. The book is the perfect resource to learn how to count from 1-10 in both
languages. Use this book to chant the numbers as a class the way the book is read has a
rhythm to it, so it would be fun to chant as a class!

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Sarah George

November 15th, 2017

Multicultural Text Set: Bilingual Books

Title: Can You Greet the Whole Wide World?

Author: Lezlie Evans

Grade level: Pre-K - grade 3, ages 4-9

Key Words: Multilingual, Language, School Day

last page includes a map, illustrating where each tongue is spoken.

K.9 The student will demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts.

a. Identify what an author does and what an illustrator does.

c. Use pictures to make predictions.

d. Begin to ask and answer questions about what is read.

e. Use story language in discussions and retellings. \

f. Retell familiar stories, using beginning, middle, and end.

g. Discuss characters, setting, and events.

1.8 The student will expand vocabulary.

a) Discuss meanings of words in context.

b) Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts.

e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.

K.5 The student will use simple maps and globes to

located and that a globe is a round model of the Earth;

b) describe places referenced in stories and real-life situations;

c) locate land and water features.

Author: Donald Crews

Grade level: Pre-K - grade 2, ages 4 - 9

Key Words: Bilingual, Colors, Trains

K.9 The student will demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts.

a) Identify what an author does and what an illustrator does.

b) Relate previous experiences to what is read.

c) Use pictures to make predictions.

d) Begin to ask and answer questions about what is read.

e) Use story language in discussions and retellings.

f) Retell familiar stories, using beginning, middle, and end.

g) Discuss characters, setting, and events.

a) Discuss meanings of words in context.

b) Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts.

e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.

Title: My First Book of Sign

Author: Pamela J. Baker

Grade level: K grade 3, ages 4 - 11

Key Words: Sign language, Letters of the Alphabet, Manual Alphabet

correctly and accurately teach their students.

a) Discuss meanings of words in context.

b) Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts.

e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.

Title: Getting to Know Germany and German

Author: Janine Amos

Grade level: grades 2-4, ages 8 and up

Key Words: German, Culture, History

also German words to throughout the book.

2.10 The student will demonstrate comprehension of information in reference materials.

a) Use table of contents.

c) Use dictionaries, glossaries, and indices.

d) Use online resources.

3.11 The student will write a short report.

a) Construct questions about the topic.

b) Identify appropriate resources.

d) Understand the difference between plagiarism and using own words.

Enhanced Cultural Understanding (Foreign Language)

Germany. I think it would be exciting to do a project on a country especially for the

there is one on France/French too!

Title: How Do I Love You?, Como te Amo?

Grade level: Pre-K- 1st grade, ages 3-6