Contents

1. Multicultural/International Literature (5 books)
2. Traditional/Folk Literature (5 books) *includes 3 variations of a fairy tale
3. Realistic/Historical Fiction (5 books) *includes graphic novel
4. Modern Fantasy/Science Fiction (5 books)
5. Non-Fiction/Biography/Autobiography (5 books) *includes 3 uses of technology

Multicultural/International Literature

Book List:
-Cactus Soup
-Napi
-Kamishibai Man
-I, Doko: The Tale of a Basket
-The Night of the Fireflies

Cactus Soup, Written by Eric A. Kimmel, Illustrated by Phil Huling

Summary: Cactus soup is set in a town in San Miguel; the story tells of the peoples attempt to keep to themselves what food they had, rather than sharing it with soldiers. When the townspeople saw the soldiers coming, they quickly hid everything they had including: beans, cornmeal, tortillas, tamales, chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cows, sheep and chile peppers. Their plan was to tell the soldiers they were very poor and unable to feed their own people, thus they surely couldn’t feed a troop of soldiers who they very well expected would clear out their food. When the mayor expresses this to the Senor Capitan, he “feels sorry” for the people and requests to make Cactus Soup. This strikes curiosity in the people and soon he is boiling water with a single cactus thorn. Senor Capitan continuously drops hints suggesting what ingredients make the soup better, but never comes right out and asks. It isn’t before long that the mayor, priest, children, teachers and townspeople are contributing their products to the soup.

Implementation: This story shares a beautiful message that giving can be rewarding. It also shows that clever requests can sometimes lead to getting what you want. Sharing is a primary ideal from this story I would practice in the classroom. I would urge students to share with one another so that both may benefit. Give and take is all a part of getting along in society. Furthermore, this is a Hispanic based multicultural literature piece similar to Stone Soup. I think this would motivate some ELL students to help their peers learn and understand some on the Spanish words and culture exposed in the story.

Napi, Written by Antonio Ramirez, Illustrated by Domi

Summary: Napi is a story about a young Mazateca girl who lives with her poor family in Mexico on a riverbank. Every day the family sits together under a tree to listen to her grandfather tell stories. With each afternoon that comes, so does another color of life. Napi appreciates the brilliant orange, calm purple and dark green colors of the forest each day. She finds beauty in both day and night and dreams of becoming one of the herons that live in the tree on the river bank so she can fly peacefully and view from above the breathtaking colors of her habitat.

Implementation: In the classroom, this book would be great to teach that beauty can be found in anything. Tradition is also instilled in this story in regards to her grandfather telling stories. The illustrations in this story are wonderful. I think a neat activity to do with students would be to give them an image of something plain and “ugly” and have them color it with bright colors then write a story about it using strong adjectives to explain their illustration.

Kamishibai Man, Written by Allen Say

Summary: In Japan, Kamishibai men are known to ride their bikes into town with a paper theater, candy and wooden blocks. They attract the attention of the public, primarily children, hand out candy and tell stories. This book is about one man in particular who hasn’t been to town for some time but makes the decision to try again. His wife makes some candies and he packs his bike up; he is ready to venture out. Once he reaches town though, he is disappointed to realize how many buildings are sky high, how many cars there are on the road and how many rude people there are! He sets up his theater and begins to clap his wooden blocks. He begins to tell the history of his best days of coming to town as the Kamishibai man, then his struggle to remain an entertainer once television became popular and sadly his last day as the Kamishibai man. As he is telling this long story, people of the town young and old have gathered around him to listen. A man calls out from the crowd that he remembers him and soon most of the townspeople who have gathered remember him from their childhood. The Kamishibai man is interviewed by a television reporter and later discusses with his wife how busy his day was and suggests he may need more candy!

Implementation: The most important theme in this story is tradition. In my opinion, traditions are so important for children and adults. I would use this book to spark conversation about things my students remember from their early years that they’re still doing or something their family does every year. Whether its buying new supplies for school every year, eating dinner with family every Sunday or wearing a purple shirt every Monday. Traditions can be very simple or very complex and vary from culture to culture. I feel that this would be a good way for students to find common ground through discussion of classroom traditions. I would include each student by allowing them to discuss their traditions.

I, Doko the Tale of a Basket, Written by Ed Young

Summary: This is an anthropomorphic story about a basket. Told from the perspective of the basket, it begins with the basket being purchased by a couple Yeh-Yeh and Nei-Nei with a baby. The basket is used by the couple to carry the baby, heavy things, kindling wood, and later, the body of the wife who died after an epidemic. The baby grew into a boy and eventually got married, the basket was used to carry his wife’s dowry, and it felt proud. Soon another baby, Wangal was born. At this point, Yeh-Yeh (who was Wangal’s grandfather) was an elder man, and the basket had seen better days. They were left at home. One night, Yeh-Yeh, the basket and Wangal heard Wangal’s father talking about bringing Yeh-Yeh to the temple steps to leave him with the priests. It is up to Wangal to save both the basket and his grandfather from being left behind.

Implementation: The lesson learned by the end of the story is to treat elders with respect, tolerance and harmony. I think often we get lost in the rush of the world and forget to treat everyone with respect and tolerance. Whether it’s an elder writing a check, crossing the street, or walking down a hallway; it is important to remember to treat them the way they deserve. After reading this story, a discussion with the class regarding the way we treat people would be beneficial to the way they contribute to society their values and ideals.

The Night of the Fireflies, Written by Karen B. Winnick, Illustrated by Yoriko Ito

Summary: The Night of the Fireflies is a tradition in Japan. A long time ago, summers were filled with fireflies until they eventually disappeared. So now, fireflies are raised and saved for one summer night when they are set free for children to experience their magic. Set in Japan, this story is about Miko and her brother, Toshibo, singing and waiting by the river for the fireflies. The principal comes with a box and releases hundreds of fireflies to travel through the sky. Miko desires to catch them and chases them all around. She catches some in a jar and they lead the way home for her and her brother. Once they get there though, he instructs her to release them. She learns that their beauty is in their freedom.

Implementation: This story would lead to great conversation about seeing the beauty in nature all around. I think it would help students make personal connections with the text, because many people have experienced fireflies, and if not-this could make for a great science lesson about insects! To further comprehension of the text, students could develop their own personal connection with application of previous knowledge to write a story about a time when they saw beauty in nature. Furthermore, since this is set in Japan, cultural tradition is exposed which could be used to tie a geography/social studies lesson.