Notable Books for a Global Society

Amanda Patrick
Anna Williamson
Teaching and Learning 307, Professor Ward
11/8/17
Introduction
This paper is a collection of our summaries and critiques of eight books from the notable
books for a global society list. We will list strengths, weaknesses, and literary elements from
each of the books. We will use these critiques to help us better understand the elements and
criteria for a book to make it on the list. The books that make it on the notable books for a global
society list are the ones that are well written and ones we know would be affective in our
classrooms. This project will be used to help us understand other cultures better and use these
books in our classrooms to broaden our student’s horizons and cultural knowledge.

Purpose
Most people, ourselves included have not read many multicultural books and would have
a hard time implementing them in our classrooms. This assignment gives us a great start towards
learning about different cultures, what makes a book fit in the category of multicultural, and
some great books in this category as well. Before this project or the textbook reading I did not
know what would put a book into this category and didn’t realize how many stories like this
there were out there. To be an effective and culturally responsive teacher we must be
knowledgeable about many different cultures and have a resource to find new information about
cultures we are being exposed to in our classrooms. We should be sensitive to all the differences
our students bring into the classroom and ready to share books about these different religions,
countries, and cultures.

Steps Toward Completion

To begin this project, we looked at the list of books provided and researched the ones we
found interesting to decide which books we would use for this project. We picked books that we
believed had an interesting and intriguing title or an engaging title page along with a storyline
and text that we thought would be interesting to us. After we had our 8 books picked out and
went to pick them up from the Owen Library, we split them up and read them after classes and in
our free time. After finishing reading each book we would take notes on the main ideas and
pieces of the book we found important. These notes would aid us in starting the project so that
we were able to remember and spark ideas about what the book was about and what points we
wanted to include within this project. Once all the books had been read and we had notes on each
one, we began the assignment of writing the critiques on each book and diving into this project.

Definitions

Amanda: Before reading the chapter or doing the project all I knew was that it would be a book
from an author in a different culture or with a main character from a different culture. I had no
idea it could be a different religion or author from the US who has a different culture or religion.
I had read very few multicultural books and was not used to this style. It was not introduced
much in my schooling. I figured the book was solely about people from a society outside the US.
After doing this project I now realize the multicultural books cover a wide variety of
cultures, religions, and countries. These stories are basically any lifestyle that varies from your
own. It could even be from the same religion or country and you but practicing and living in a
very different way. I realize now that a well written book in this genre must be accurate,
authentic, and detailed. The story should teach you about the way other people live and broaden
your horizons. I feel like a have a much better understanding of a variety of cultures after doing
this project, I am seeing an insight into the way other people live and how different the lives in
this world can be. I feel like I have a much better ability to be a culturally responsive teacher
after completing this assignment. The book says, “Literature can be one of the most powerful
tools for combating the ignorance that breeds xenophobic and judgmental behaviors” (Tunnell)
After only reading eight multicultural books I feel this quote has been proven because with just
this short introduction to multicultural literature I feel less ignorant and more understanding and
tolerant of other cultures.

Anna: When I think of multicultural literature, I don’t have much prior knowledge on this genre
and don’t believe I’ve read many books that would be considered multicultural. I would assume
it is a genre of books that talk about different cultures and traditions of others around the world.
A genre like this would be important to have within the classroom so our students become
worldly people and understand others different from them.
My definition for multicultural literature changed heavily throughout this project and
after completing it. At the beginning, I had no idea what this type of literature was and what it
entailed. Now that I have completed this project and have done the research and read books that
are in this genre I now feel like I have a greater understanding. Multicultural literature is not just
literature based on another race or another part of the world, but instead can be literature
discussing traditions, food, holiday etc. and everything included within a culture. Multicultural
literature is more than literature on a specific race but instead is all the little pieces that make up
a culture, and I came upon this new definition by completing this project. Something that I also
learned from the article we read outside of class was that “Make sure the illustrations and text do
not leave the students with stereotypes.” (Scholastic) Before reading this article I had never
thought about the fact illustrations could stereotype the way different races look so easily but
now that I have thought about it there are many books that illustrate a race all the same way and
fail to show their diversity.

Criteria:

 Accuracy and authenticity of the people depicted in terms of physical characteristics,

social and economic status, intellectual and problem-solving abilities, and displays of
leadership and cooperation
 Richness of detail concerning the group or groups depicted
 An approach that honors and celebrates diversity as well as the common bonds of
humanity
 In-depth treatment of issues
 Depiction of substantive and authentic interaction among characters within and across
groups
 Inclusion of members of a "minority" group for purposes other than tokenism or
fulfillment of any type of "quota"
 Thought-provoking content that invites reflection, critical analysis, and response
 Uniqueness of language or style
 High quality as determined by evaluation in terms of generally accepted criteria for the
genre
 Appealing format
  Enduring quality

8 Summaries of NBGS Books:

Chains

Anderson, L. H. (2016). Chains. Place of publication not identified: Atheneum Childrens Books.

Summary: Chains is the story of Isabell, a slave during the revolution. The story follows her and
her sister as they are sold to cruel loyalists after the death of their previous owner. Their previous
owner was kind to them and had promised their freedom, but that never came due to her brother.
The new owners are harsh and often verbally abuse the two sisters. To try and escape from them
Isabell tells a patriot master and slave the loyalist secrets she has heard in the house. While the
trouble the owner is about to get in causes him to flee to England nothing happens that was
promised for the girls. The evil woman owner believes Isabella’s sister is possessed by the devil
because she is suffering from seizures so she sells her. When Isabella confronts the owner about
selling her she brands Isabell and sends her to take care of the Lady Seymour; her husband’s
aunt. After Isabella gets back and tries to spy to help free her slave friend from being a p.o.w
Mrs. Lockton finds out and in a rage, tells her that they still own her sister on another one of their
homes. Isabella is so mad she runs away and escapes with her friend Curzon to New Jersey with
a new name and fake freedom papers.
This book gives a great insight to the lives of slaves during the revolutions. The book
talks a lot about how different groups of slaves interact with each other and how slaves and their
masters interact with each other. These groups are very different and you can see how much the
author worked to keep these relationships authentic. There was a relationship that was kind
between a master and slave and then one that was cruel and violent showing that people in the
same society can be very different from each other. The book could have done a better job of
celebrating diversity. The story would talk about some of the slave’s beliefs and lifestyle but I
wish they would have talked more about the culture the slaves were stripped of and missed. The
book was extremely thought provoking and did a great job of showing the deep issues that
surrounded slavery. The book was heartbreaking and made you feel as if you were there and it
was you family being torn apart and mistreated. It really showcased all that the people had to go
through in this time and made you think about how we can and need to keep this from happening
again.

Mirror

Baker, J. (2010). Mirror. London: Walker Books.

Summary: This is the story of two boys in seemingly opposite worlds. One boy is from an urban
life in Australia while the other is living a rural life in Morocco. This story has no words but uses
intricate images to show the day to day lives of the boys. The images show all the differences
between the two boys and how different people’s lives can be. The images were colorful and
showcased different patterns and styles of the countries. The images would also show case the
different landscapes of the two places with large expansive images of the countries. However, at
the same time the story highlights some similarities between the boys. Their lives become
intertwined when a carpet made in Morocco ends up in the Australian home. I think this quote
from the text book says it best when it says, “Well-written books that express multicultural
themes or are international in their origins may have a profound effect on readers, prompting a
global outlook as well as an understanding that members of the human family have more
similarities than differences.” (Tunnell) This book did just that and really proved how similar
humans are no matter where in the world they are from.
The strengths and weakness of this book were clear to me when I considered the criteria
of a notable book for a global society. The book did a great job of including thought provoking
content. The way the two lives were seemingly so different yet also intertwined really made the
reader stop and think about how everyone in the world no matter how different does have some
similarities. However, I also think the author could have done a better job a better job
representing the characters as equals. The family from Morocco was shown in a very different
socioeconomic class than the family from Australia. While this may be accurate for some
families I think, the book would have been stronger if she had shown the family from Morocco
in a lifestyle of similar class and not made it seem so urban vs. rural. The format of the book was
another strength in my mind. The book opened in two different ways so you could see both lives
at the same time with their own full pages, I also liked the way there was no writing so the reader
could just enjoy the descriptive scenery and images. While these sceneries and the land shown
were very colorful and well done the last thing I think the book could have done better would be
to contain more details about the different cultures shown. This is hard to do without words but I
think there could have been more of their life styles shown in the images so the reader learned
more about the two societies.

Ruby on The Outside

Baskin, N. R. (2016). Ruby on the outside. New York: Scholastic.

Summary: Ruby Danes is a young girl starting middle school after her summer has come to an
end. During her summer break, she meets a friend that lives in her neighborhood, her name is
Margalit. Margalit and Ruby are great friends and they make each other feel comfortable with
being themselves, but there is something Ruby is too scared to share with her dear friend. Ruby’s
mother has been in prison for 6 years and has a sentence of another 10 years to come, this secret
is too hard for Ruby to share with anyone in her life so she makes this prison part of her life the
“inside” as this is the only place she can see her mother. On the “outside” Ruby is a typical
middle school girl that has friends and peers in her classroom along with her aunt. As the two
girls spend more time together and become closer, Ruby grows more conflicted with telling
Margarit the secret about her mother because she’s scared she will lose her good friend. This
book shares what life may look like for young children with parents in prison and the stress and
anxiety this secret brings to their everyday life.
This book “Portrays cultural accuracy and authenticity of characters in terms” as stated
by the NBGS criteria. This is a strength of this story because this is a book with raw emotion and
a look at authentic characters and the stress having a parent in prison brings to a young child.
Although this story doesn’t include many cultural details all the facts and discussions about the
prison system and such are accurate and honest, meeting this standard very well. The characters
within this story, especially Ruby are true and authentic with the feelings and emotions she has
throughout this hard time of life with her mother away. The author does a strong job of relaying
the raw emotion and accuracy of the characters and criminal justice system in this book so that
the reader can feel the pain Ruby has.
As mentioned above, this story isn’t particularly based around a specific culture different
from the average humans but instead is the culture of the criminal justice system. With a
weakness to this book would be that it lacks the criterion of “Be rich in cultural details”. Within
this book, you are not going to learn about different traditions and the lives of people around the
world and how they live. This book focuses on the prison system and the life that comes along
with that, instead of a cultural take on a book. This isn’t necessarily a weakness because the
author was not going for a book with rich cultural detail but if you are reading to learn about the
cultural or traditions of another human, this isn’t the book you may find it in.

14 Cows for America

Deedy, C. A., Gonzlez, T., & Naiyomah, W. K. (2009). 14 cows for America. Atlanta, GA:
Peachtree.

Summary: This is a story about the Maasi, who are a group of people that are in a village within
Western Kenya. They are important to this story because out of the warmness of their hearts,
they give a thoughtful gift to another country in a time of need. This book tells the story about
when the Maasi people found out about the terrorist attacks on September 11 in the United States
and their reaction to the devastation. The Maasi people came together and asked the elders of
their village what they can do to help the United States during this time of need. They brainstorm
and decide to offer their cows to the people as cows in their culture are very valuable and the
most respected animal in their culture. When they have decided to offer 14 of their precious
cows to the United States, they invite an American diplomat to come and accept the offer from
their people and village. They give this gift to the United States as a jester of hope and love so
the people going through this hard time know the Maasi people are there supporting them.
There are several different strengths and weaknesses throughout this book that relate back
to the NBGS criteria. The main strength of this book is tied to the criteria that “Honor and
celebrate diversity as well as common bonds in humanity”. This criterion is perfectly portrayed
in this story as the Maasi people are caring and looking out for people in humanity and people
outside of their own village and culture. By offering the 14 cows to the United States they are
signally the bond they feel with those humanities different from them. Not only are the Maasi
people sharing a common bond of humanity, they are also celebrating and honoring diversity as
the people and country going through this hard ship are different from them. The illustrations in
this book add the strength of honoring and celebrating diversity. The illustrations on each page
show the culture and traditions of the Maasi people through what they are pictured wearing and
where they live. The illustrations are extremely engaging and the color scheme is bright to add to
the strong storyline of this book. The shading within each illustration adds almost a blurred effect
which gives the illustrations and book itself more character and more to gage the reader. This
book portrays this aspect of criterion well and makes you regain hope for the peacefulness and
positivity within this country.
As for a possible weakness found within this book, although I do not believe it is a strong
weakness or something that would be a major flaw within this book, it didn’t quite meet the
criteria of “Provide in-depth treatment of cultural issues”. As I mentioned, although this isn’t a
strong weakness within this story, the book doesn’t dicuss or touch on possible issues going on
within the culture and village of the Maasi people but instead focuses on the relationship
between their culture and that of the United States. If the author would have included more in
depth information about the Maasi culture is may of given more reason and background as to
why they are so giving and why they felt they needed to do something after this terrorist attack.
We know some details and cultural elements of this village and culture but this standard is not
above and beyond written about like every other one is.

George

Gino, A. (2015). George. New York: Scholastic Press.

Summary: This is a story about a boy named George, George has a secret he is trying to
understand and figure out how to share with the world that he fears he will have to hide forever.
George was born a boy but knows he is a girl on the inside. George is fearful she will never
understand how to share this with her peers and those around her until one day George’s teacher
announces they will be acting out the book Charlotte’s Web. George realizes how perfect of a
time this is to try out to play the part of Charlotte and let her class and the world know he sees
himself as a girl. George’s plan didn’t go how she had hoped although because her teacher will
not even let George try out for the part of Charlotte because George is a boy. With the help and
guidance of her best friend Kelly, George devices a plan that will not only land her the part of
Charlotte but will show the world what George really feels about herself inside.
The story and message behind this book is a strength in itself but a strength based on the
NBGS criteria is that this book “Honor and celebrate diversity as well as common bonds in
humanity”. This piece of criteria is perfectly fitting for this story as George would be considered
different than typical humanity and she is hoping once her secret is out, the diversity of this
secret will be celebrated. This story shows the common bond in humanity and the good heart
George’s friend Kelly has for him and the happiness she hopes she can find. There are plenty of
different strengths within this story as the message portrayed is something very relevant to the
times and the life people are living now, but a major strength is the diversity shown throughout
the story and the close bonds there are in humanity regardless of what gender you may see
yourself as.
This story is based around the individual life of George and the feelings she has inside
about her identity. One thing this story doesn’t give insight to is how others view George and the
criteria based on “Includes members of a “minority” group for a purpose other than filling a
“quota”. Although this book doesn’t discuss the race and cultural stance of any of the characters,
this book lacks insight and points of views on George and how others may view her other than
just saying George is a boy. This weakness that I see while reading this book is something the
author probably wanted with the outcome and it turned like planned. While reading it although I
wish and yearned that there was more insight and perspective on the life of George from an
outsider’s perspective a group perspective so that as the reader, you can the see the possible
struggle from a perspective other than Georges. Seeing what George was like from someone that
didn’t know her secret may have let the reader gain a better understanding of how much George
was struggling with her identity.

When the Beat was Born

Hill, Laban Carrick. (2013). When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip
Hop. Illus. Theodore Taylor III.
Summary: In 1973 on a hot sunny day there was a back-to-school party being thrown in a park
in the South Bronx by a girl named Cindy Campbell and her brother, Clive Campbell was going
to be the DJ. He began spinning the records and playing music, for everyone at the party to find
out how different he was doing it. Instead of the normal way their music had been played, Clive
was making breaks in the music and was including interludes so that it was better dancing music.
Music being played like this was something brand new to the people and a way of it being played
they had never heard done before. Clive called himself DJ Kool Herc and he changed the way
music was played from then on. He changed the way the music was played and this is When the
Beat was Born. From this point on, after the things DJ Kool Herc did at that back-to-school
party, music and beats were transformed and changed the music scene from then on.
With this book providing so much new material and such a new subject as a new form of
music created through this book, it provides many different cultural details. The NBGS criteria
“Be rich in cultural details” is provided heavily in this book, as you can see the culture in the
South Bronx and how life seemed to change after DJ Kool Herc came about. While reading this
story the author provides details about the setting and the people that make the reader feel like
they understand this culture and how it changed during this time. The details about culture and
everything that comes along with culture made this book even stronger for the reader. The
illustrations within this book added to the story and gave the reader an idea of the people and
setting of the story. The illustrations, although quite simple, added to the overall story and
portrayal of this book. The illustrations are done in a bright and engaging color scheme and the
fashion the illustrations were done in make it different from a typical plain and clean lined
illustration. This was a large point in history for music lovers and those that follow this genre of
music, and this book’s strength is that you can experience it through the cultural details.
NBGS criterion discusses that books “Provide in-depth treatment of cultural issues”
whereas this story stuck to the single culture and what changes and things took place within this
group. There wasn’t much explanation as to other cultures and what their possible views and
thoughts were on this music or the music change, but instead it focused on the culture and lives
of the South Bronx people. If the author were to include the perspective and discuss the cultural
issues within the South Bronx neighborhood or issues within other cultures of people around
them, it may have given the reader a better idea of the time and the issues taking place during
this change. Although this book is still strong in its single cultural traditions, including cultural
issues and the inclusion of other cultures during this time, it may provide a greater and more
general idea of what the time was like during this “beat changing”.

Hands around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s treasured books

Roth, S. L., & Abouraya, K. L. (2012). Hands around the library: protecting Egypt’s treasured
books. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Summary: This book told the story of the Egyptian rebellion for freedom. As the crowded was
beginning to get close to the library the young people gathered together to protect it. The crowd
of protestors had begun to get violent and destructive and were on their way to ruin the library.
The young people who did not want to see that happened formed a line in front of the library
holding hands. They laid a giant Egyptian flag down in front of them and protected the library
with their peaceful line. The images of the book followed an almost cartoon like style. The
drawings were very colorful and blocky, much like a cartoon or graphic novel would be created.
The images were also full of different patterns, the backgrounds and clothes all showed a
different pattern that helped the reader get a better feel for art in Egypt. The story also ended
with real pictures taken during the event which added a lot of validity to the story and helped
readers feel like they were there.
This book did a great job in portraying the Egyptian rebellion and protection of the
famous library. I thought the author did a great job of describing why the people were rebilling
but also show casing the peaceful protest and success rather than the violent or destructive acts.
In my mind the book could have done a better job in varying the writing style and book format.
The language and style of writing was generic and didn’t engage in a new and exciting way. This
style will however be long lasting and allow the content to be relevant and endure throughout
time. The book did do a great job of describing the people and their diversity even within the
same community. It showed how different groups of people interact with each other and how
groups of people can be so similar but also so different even in the same town. The images also
helped by having different patterns and colors to show they all dressed similarly but also
different within their different groups. Because it was a true story and they had actual names and
images of the event it was very accurate and authentic to the individuals who went through the
protest. I thought the story did a great job of taking this event and telling it in such a way even a
small child could comprehend what happened and its significance.

Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices

Swain, G. (2012). Hope and tears: Ellis Island voices. Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek.

Summary: This story is a mash up of various people whose lives were affected by Ellis Island.
Many of the stories are of various immigrants who either entered the country or were denied
from diseases or other reasons. The story is showed in many different formats. There are essays,
poems, and monologues that each show a different aspect of an individual’s thoughts and
feelings. The story even follows those who worked and around the island and how their lives
were changed by the immigration happening around them. The story tries to give readers a new
perspective on what it meant to live or work on Ellis island. The book also adds some authentic
images from the island and time period to the beginning and ending of some of the chapters. The
images complement the stories and show the things they were describing in real life and with real
people.
This story did an amazing job of celebrating and highlighting diversity. The whole story
was people from different countries and lifestyles and how their cultures were intertwined on
Ellis Island. The author took the time to research different cultures to make sure the voices and
emotions of the different people were accurate and authentic to how those who were actually on
Ellis Island felt. The format of the story was also super well done and intriguing. Because each
chapter was told in a different way I was always engaged in the story. You wanted to hear how
everyone felt and how they would portray their thoughts compared to the person before them.
The only thing I wish this book did a little more of would be talking about the interactions
between the different groups. While it does do this, I think it would have been interesting to hear
more about it and more about what the rest of the country outside of Ellis Island was like with
these people. Overall I thought it was super thought provoking and informative. Ellis Island is
nothing something talked about much in schools but it was a great melting pot of cultures and
should be explored more.

Conclusion:
I learned so much in doing this project. I never knew anything about some of the cultures
we studied and I now feel like I have a good base to at least hold an intelligent conversation
about them. Before this project I barely knew there was a genre like this and what I did know
was very limited. Now I know what makes a book go into this genre, how they qualify a book in
this genre to be well written, and how to find these book titles online. I gained a lot of ideas on
how to implement these titles into a classroom and how to be a culturally responsive teacher.
Before this project I was naive on what it meant to be multicultural and now I have a better
understanding of that and what my own culture is.
I still need to learn about different cultures. I feel like I learned so much about the eight
different cultures I studied but there are obviously so many more in this world. I want to be able
to have a vast knowledge of cultures so when my students come in the classroom I can talk about
almost any they are a part of or have questions about. This is no easy task, I will have to take the
time to dedicate myself to this study and always be reading more about society. I would also like
to know if most these books are picture books or chapter books. I will have a wide variety of
reading levels in my classroom and want to provide students of all levels books in this genre but
it seemed when I was looking that there were much more chapter books than picture books. I
would also be curious to see the ratio of non-fiction to fiction books in this category, it seems
like there is a good ratio but I would like to better how to find these different types to provide for
my classroom.
What we would change if we did this assignment again would be to break it up into
sections per week throughout the semester. With it being such a big assignment we would have
liked to use the checklist and have certain parts of that checklist due in class each week to keep
us on track for this assignment. Not only would this keep us on track but making sure students
had their books checked out far in advance would help students get the opportunity to take longer
reading the books and spotting information or details they maybe wouldn’t have gotten the
chance if they had to read through them quickly. With this being such a large project breaking it
up into weeks and having certain sections due may of made it a bit easier and not so much work
all at once.
This assignment ties closely to previous courses we have taken and courses we are in
now because we are both English Language Learner endorsements. The assignment gave us an
opportunity to learn about books we could use in the classroom, which is very helpful in aiding
our work with our endorsement. We have learned about different cultures and the traditions of
those cultures but this project ties back to those courses is a larger and more influential way. We
are now aware of what multicultural books are and how to find a good one to include in the
classroom. Our previous courses have given us the foundation for multicultural uses in the
classroom but this assignment helped even more to give us resources for our classroom.

Hope and Tears: Ellis island Voices

The book we chose to use in our classroom would be Hope and Tears: Ellis Island
Voices. This book did a great job of portraying many different cultures in one book and would be
useful when talking about all the different cultures we have in America and how they all got
here. Ellis Island is rarely talked about in school and we feel it should have more of a focus. In
our classroom, we would give each child a chapter to read and then have them look more into
that culture. We want students to create a journal entry where they either write a pre-or post-
story about the immigrants lives. Ellis Island immigration was a huge part of American history
and would be easy to incorporate into the classroom and because immigration laws are still a big
topic of current events it is even more important that we show our students what immigrating is
like and how these people feel coming to a new country.
We think Hope and Tears is a great book to use in the classroom because it fits all the
different criteria presented for a book to be notable for a global society. This book really helps
kids better understand different cultures by following all the different expectations presented.
The book also has many real-life images from that time. It shows different people and events
happening at Ellis Island and help students get a better idea for what it was really like for an
immigrant or worker on Ellis Island back then. The book itself was also just really well written
and had interesting content that we think students would enjoy learning about. The book was
authentic and interesting and definitely deserved to be on the notable books list. This book didn’t
lack any of the areas it needed to hit to make the list and it did every aspect really well.

1.Accuracy and authenticity of the people depicted in terms of physical characteristics, social
and economic status, intellectual and problem-solving abilities, and displays of leadership and
cooperation

This book did a great job or being authentic and accurate when describing the people who
were on Ellis Island. I know this because the essay section of this book is all factual and
compliment the fictional stories of the individuals. The introduction and acknowledgements also
show how much research was put into creating this story. Without all the research, it would be
hard to create such accurate depictions of the people coming through Ellis Island. Each chapter
was a different person’s perspective causing the story to be very authentic to the different
cultures being described.

2.Richness of detail concerning the group or groups depicted

There is an abundant amount of detail concerning the groups depicted in the story. Every
chapter features a different ethnic group and each group depicted shares their emotions about
coming to the new country and some details about their previous life and culture. Along with this
are the real images that accompany the stories. These images share different details, names, and
events that really happened during this time and on the island. The book also talks about chefs
who worked on the island and the struggle they faced trying to create meals that everyone would
eat. This detail was not something I had ever thought about before but it gave new insight into
how different some cultures live in their everyday lives.

3.An approach that honors and celebrates diversity as well as the common bonds of humanity

This book celebrated diversity and the commonality between humans. Each chapter had
something like the next and brought the people together while also celebrating their differences.
This story didn’t try to hide all the diverse cultures that entered America and even praised it for
the amazing things these immigrants brought to our country. They would tie the different groups
together well when they showed the point of view of Americans working on the island. They saw
similarities and differences between all the different racial groups and loved working with all of
them and learning how the cultures were different from each other and which things all humans
shared the same. The people working on the island had to find a way to create a comfortable
living situation for all the different groups of people. These different groups also had to find
ways to communicate with each other and live in one place cohesively despite difference they
may have.

4.In-depth treatment of issues

This book really considered some of the stereotypes and irrational fears that follows
immigrant. I saw this a lot when they showed point of view from those who were working on
Ellis Island. The book had a chapter from the point of view of a nurse. She had the rule to never
kiss or embrace an immigrant patient. While she understood the risk of getting sick the nurse
appreciated that these were scared children and adults who needed reassurance they were going
to be ok. She knew many of them didn’t speak the same language as her so the only way to
comfort them would be a physical action. She ignored the rules and treated the immigrants like
humans which a lot of people did not. This mistreatment and in some cases even hatred of
immigrants was a huge problem during the time Ellis island was running and continues today. By
showing the different peoples stories and point of views the book helps to humanize and remind
people how similar immigrants are to each of us to end the tension that surrounds immigration.

5.Depiction of substantive and authentic interaction among characters within and across groups

The book also describes the interaction between all the different people and cultural groups
who were at Ellis island. Most people working spoke English while the immigrants all spoke
different languages. While people were in the process of either being admitted to the US or
denied entrance they all lived together and interacted on the island. While the book doesn’t have
any chapters of specific people interacting there are many from the point of view of workers on
the island who described what it was like working with and trying to communicate with so many
different cultures. Some characters also describe this when telling their story of coming to
America. These interactions are described candidly and authentically. Some people mention how
hard it was to get used to the idea of living with people from countries they had never even heard
of or maybe didn’t get along with in their side of the world. They all ate different foods and
enjoyed different activities and this sometimes cause controversy but for the most part the book
talked about how much they enjoyed learning from each other and celebrated the introduction to
new groups of people.

6. Inclusion of members of a "minority" group for purposes other than tokenism or fulfillment of
any type of "quota"

This book focuses on the lives of immigrants and the struggle that they went through
during this time, making this book fit the criteria that is minority groups. This book does not
include the life of immigrants as a minority group because the author feels they are trying to
fulfill “quota” but instead includes information about these people to enhance the information
within. While reading this book you never feel a bias to a minority group or majority group by
the author and therefore this book does a well-done job making this criterion fit.

7.Thought-provoking content that invites reflection, critical analysis, and response

Even if you are very educated and have read many different books on this topic of Ellis
Island this book will give the reader even more information to consider and ponder on. There is
interesting and intriguing information that will force the reader to reflect and think back on what
they read during this book. The storyline is not something a reader would find boring or would
be dissatisfied with at the end of the story, but instead is a storyline that constantly has the reader
critically thinking and reflection. By the end of this read, the person reading should have a sense
of wonder and reflection on all the information they just read about, they should have a response
on what they book taught them and will hopefully become more interested in this topic.

8. Uniqueness of language or style

There is a uniqueness of style throughout this book with the format and layout it was done
in. This book is set up in the sense that with each new chapter the format and style is done
differently and is formatted differently from the chapter before. This uniqueness of style adds to
the engagingness of this book for the reader as you don’t see many informational books or stories
set up like this that also includes pictures. The language within this book is that you might find in
another storyline similar and therefore wouldn’t be considered unique in any sense. Although
this doesn’t fit the criteria for this aspect, the language within the book is easy to read and
follow. The style and how unique it is, is what makes this book different from any others and
will keep the reader interested until the end.

9. High quality as determined by evaluation in terms of generally accepted criteria for the genre

This book would be considered high quality within the criteria of non-fiction because of
the highly-regarded information and pictures included within. The terms of criteria for this genre
are like that of NBGS besides the criteria regarding culture and minority groups. It is a well
written book with appealing and engaging style, as well as being enduring with the quality of the
book and its information. This book is very appealing in its format with the style and color
scheme as well as important and interesting pictures. This book would fall under high quality for
its genre of non-fiction because of every detailed aspect that went into the preparation and
writing for this book.

10. Appealing format

This book includes first hand pictures and illustrations that give the reader a feeling that
they were there during this event. The format of this book is extremely appealing and the
pictures are the main reason for that statement to be true. The format is different with each new
chapter consistently keeping the reader engaged and giving them something new to look at with
each chapter or turn of a page. There is color within this book that also is engaging for the
reader, and just by looking at the title and cover page of this book, you can make predictions
about the interesting information and format inside.
11. Enduring quality

This book is highly enduring with its quality in the sense that information about Ellis
Island will always be relevant and interesting for people that are interested in this topic.
Although the writing styles or pictures within this book may become somewhat out of date with
years to come, the overall storyline and information within will continue to be relevant to the
story of Ellis Island. People will be fascinated regarding learning more about Ellis Island with
time to come and that is why this book will always be enduring with its quality.

Honor Books:
The two honor books we would use in our classroom and chose to talk about would be
George and Ruby on the Outside. These two books are very different from the traditional cultural
books we read for this assignment, and therefore we would use them as our honor books. The
reason we picked George as an honor book is because of the strong message and educational
purpose it holds. This book focuses on gender identity and finding yourself and what makes you
the happiest. This message is something we believe to be very important in young students
growing up and going through puberty. We would use this book in our classroom to shed light on
transgender people for those students whom parents may not discuss it in the home. We believe
this message to be extremely important for our students to understand so that they know to
accept all people, especially those different from them. This book shows the struggle George has
coming out about how she feels inside and by reading this story we believe students would learn
how to help a friend or someone close to them with this struggle. Not only would this book help
students understand the idea of transgender, but if there is a student struggling with this issue or
felt they didn’t know who they were truly meant to be, this book would hopefully give them the
courage to come out or peruse understanding their identity. We wouldn’t pair this book with an
activity the students were to work on in class, but instead we would use this book to create a
whole class discussion about this topic. This book is a great Segway into a hard and personal
topic like this and therefore we would use it to create an open and comfortable group discussion
so students are aware of it and how they should be accepting and loving to others different than
them.
Our second honor book is Ruby on the Outside, which is like our other honor book in the
sense that their message deals with real issues we see especially in the world today. This book
follows the life of a young 5th grade girl whose mother has been in prison for 6 years and still
has 10 more years to serve. Although this book may not pertain to the area you are teaching in or
the students you have, it is still an eye-opening read and something students should be aware of.
By reading this book we hope our students will be grateful for the life they have and the parents
or guardians they live with. Reading this book will give students another understanding, different
from the honor book above, about accepting their peers or other people they may meet with a life
background different from theirs. Students will be able to hear and understand the struggle Ruby
goes through in her daily life and the anxiety she carries on her shoulders even at such a young
age. We hope that reading this story will make our students worldlier and more educated on right
and wrong choices and where they can possibly land you. An activity we would use with this
book to begin would be like George and we would open the class up to a group discussion about
how this book made them feel, reactions they had to it, etc. Taking it beyond a group discussion
though, we may use an activity of asking our students to write general letters and cards of
encouragement and love that we would drop off to a neighborhood or near-by prison for the
inmates to read. Incorporating and activity like this after reading this book would cement the idea
that we should love all people and accept them even if we may not believe in their choices or
actions. Having students write cards to inmates would give them a purpose and make them feel
good that they are helping someone in a much more unfortunate position then themselves. This
story gives us a wide variety of class discussion and activities would could use, and therefore we
would use it in the classroom, to teach our students to love and accept all people.
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Baker, J. (2010). Mirror. London: Walker Books.

Baskin, N. R. (2016). Ruby on the outside. New York: Scholastic.

Deedy, C. A., Gonzlez, T., & Naiyomah, W. K. (2009). 14 cows for America. Atlanta, GA:
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Gino, A. (2015). George. New York: Scholastic Press.

Hill, Laban Carrick. (2013). When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip
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Roth, S. L., & Abouraya, K. L. (2012). Hands around the library: protecting Egypts treasured
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Tunnell, M. O., Jacobs, J. S., Young, T. A., & Bryan, G. (2016). Children’s literature, briefly.
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