multi-cultural

ALLY The ACCEPTING ALLIGATOR 

By: Kim Trumbo - Illustrated by: Fanny Liem

Presented by : Nicole Cashman 

Summary of the story:  This story was about an alligator named Ally who was friends with all the other animals. Ally talked about how each animal was different, but that didn't stop her from being friends and playing with them. Ally said some of her friends have fur-some don't, some have paws, others have claws, some are white, and some are brown, some fly, and other stay on the ground. One day a unicorn came and Ally wanted to play with her. Ally friends said they did not want o play with the unicorn because she looked different and made Ally go play somewhere else. Ally went home and asked her mother why her friends would do that because she really wanted to play with the unicorn. All's mother told her to be brave and ask the unicorn to play. Ally couldn't wait for the next day. The next day Ally found unicorn and became friends. They were playing when Ally's friends showed up wondering what was going on. Ally told them that it doesn't matter that the unicorn looked different, the everyone looked different and she wanted to be her friend. All of Ally's friends soon started playing with unicorn and everyone became friends. 

Setting - Forrest

Characters - Alligator, Wood/ forrest animals, unicorn, alligators mother

Theme - Everyone looks different 

Pictures - The illustrations in this book are very colorful which keeps the reader interested. You can tell by the illustrations that this book is meant for younger children. The illustrations flow well throughout he book, making it easy for a child to re-tell the story in their own words by just looking at the pictures. 

Pattern -  The pattern in this book was rhyming. 

Reader response questions - 

1. Can you tell another difference the animals have?

2. How do you think unicorn felt when no one wanted to play with her?

3. What character traits did Ally have?

Activities - 

1. Rhyming activity - have students find and write the rhyming words from each page.
 (graphic organizer style)

2. Class difference- Make a chart to show the difference in everyone in the classroom. 
(Topics /Data could be - hair color, height, show size, color of eyes)

My Personal Thoughts - 
I think this book can teach many lessons. I think this book teaches how everyone is different in some way, other's feelings, bravery, and friendship. This book would be great to introduce to incoming kindergarten student's in the beginning of the school year. I believe teaching children early that peoples feelings matter and also how to respect and be kind to someone even if they are different from you. 

References - 

• Ally The Accepting Alligator | Children's Book VIDEO. Kameron Trumbo. (June 30, 2016). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7y5hKb_hs0&t=56s

The Sandwich Swap 

By: Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio

Presented by : Nicole Cashman 

Summary of the story:  Lily and Salma were best friends. They did everything together at school like play, draw, swing, eat lunch. Everyday for lunch Lily had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Salma had a hummus and pita sandwich. Each girl everyday thought that the other girls sandwich looks and smelled gross and wondered how they could eat that everyday for lunch. Neither of the girls ever said anything about the others lunch until one day it just slipped out. Your sandwich looks gross! When Lily told Salma that, Salma replied with No, your sandwich looks gross! Both girls were very upset and their feeling were hurt. They did not play with each other for the rest of the day. The next day at lunch the girls sat at different lunch tables and the rumors of the sandwich fight had spread to the whole lunch room. Soon everyone was taking sandwich sides an yelling insults to each other that had nothing to do with the kind of sandwich. The next thing you knew, someone yelled FOOD FIGHT, and the lunch room turned upside down. The next day the girls sat at the same table but didn't talk. Finally Lily asked Salma if she wanted to try her sandwich. Salma said sure, do you want to try mine. Lily said she would like that. The girls counted to 3 and took a bite of the other sandwich. Both girls ended up liking the others sandwich. Salma and Lily presented the principal with an idea for an event for the entire school. 

Setting - School / Lunch Room

Characters - Lily and Salma

Theme - Try new things / Be kind to others and their feelings

Pictures - The illustrations in this book are very detailed and makes the book and characters come to life. The illustrations flow smoothly with the text in the book. The illustrator used a nice balance to pictures vs text and made it to where the reader could re-tel the story by looking at the pictures. The pictures also had bright colors which kept the readers interest.  

Reader response questions - 

1. Why did Lily and Salma feel "ashamed" during the food fight?

2. What event did Lily and Salma create for the entire school?

Activities - 

1. After getting parent permission from each child that participates, have each student bring in their favorite snack food to share with their classmates. Each child will try and new snack food to see if they like it or not. 

2. Class Vote - What is the classes favorite sandwich. Use graph to record data so that children/students have a visual to look at. 

My Personal Thoughts - 
I think this book can teach many lessons. I think that it teaches how to respect others opinions and feelings, it teaches that sometimes you have to try new things before you think you don't like something, it teaches that things you say that might not be that bad turn into something that is really bad. I think that many children to can relate to this book, the characters, and the issue that is in the content. 

References - 

• Tami Reads “The Sandwich Swap" By: Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio. Tami Dunn. (June 26, 2016). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcFgp1Pe0NM&list=PLa762OxYSEJLJdSSyA7DT0JjK3Qnngc9X

Fantasy

There's An Alligator Under My Bed

By: Mercer Mayer

Presented By: Nicole Cashman 

Summary of the story:  This story is about a little boy who has an alligator under his bed. Every night when it was bedtime, he would have to carefully get in his bed without the alligator hearing him. He knew the alligator was there, but every time we would look, the alligator would hide. HE thought by calling his mom and dad, they would see the alligator. The little boy called his mom and dad, but they did not see the alligator either. So he knew he had to come up with a plan and it was up to him to get rid of the alligator. The little boy got out of bed quietly and went downstairs to the kitchen to gather alligator bait. He grabbed all kinds of food . In the garage he left a peanut butter sandwich, fruit and the last piece of pie. He started from the sandwich and made a path/trail from the garage, down the hall, up the stairs, all the way to his bed and he waited and watched. It worked, the alligator came out from under the bed and started eating all the food all the way to the garage. When the alligator went into the garage, the little boy slammed the door and locked it. The little boy was so proud of himself for making a good plan to get he alligator out from under his bed. He went upstairs to go to sleep. While laying in bed, the little boy thought, I hope dad can get in his car tomorrow. He decided to leave his dad a note and leave it on the garage door.

Setting - House.

Characters - Little Boy, Mom and Dad, and Alligator.

Theme - Plan to make a scary thing go away

Pictures - The illustrations in this book are so life-like that it really makes you feel that the little boy is real, the alligator is real, and that you are really in a little boys room. This book has very good illustrations for a non-reader to look at the pictures and re-tell the story in their own words and it be pretty similar to the actual text/ content.   

Pattern - I would consider the alligator bait (food) was a pattern. The book told the reader what food the little boy put down and where and then repeated it as the alligator ate it. 

Reader response questions - 

1. What food/drink did the little boy put next to his bed to get the alligator to come out?

2. Do you think Dad will see the alligator in the morning when he gets in his car? Why or why not?

Activities - 

1. Write a short story about something some one would think would be under their bed and what your plan to get it to come out would be?

2. Graphic Organizer - What food did the little boy use to get the alligator to come out?

My Personal Thoughts - 
I think this book is a story to read to (K-2nd grade). I think this book is a good way to teacher children that if you think about something, you might be able to come up with a plan to solve your problem. The little boy was very resourceful in this book and came up with a good plan. This book could also be used talk to children about silly things they may think are there and that hey are afraid of, but really they aren't. 

References - 

• Read Aloud - There's an Alligator Under My Bed - by Mercer Mayer. Red Apple Reading. (April 10,2016). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N20nSvXSZFI

Mystery

Pete the Cat and the Mising Cupcakes

By: Kimberly and James Dean 

Presented by: Nicole Cashman 

Summary of the story:  This story is about Pete and his friend Gus making cupcakes for a cupcake party they were throwing for their friends later that day. After making 10 cupcakes and lining them up on the window ledge, Pete and Gus noticed that 2 cupcakes were gone. They wondered what could have happened to them. Pete and Gus went outside to the window to look for clues. They saw their friend Squirrel and said that he took the cupcakes. Squirrel said it was not him and told them where he was when the cupcakes were take. As the 3 of them searched for more clues, they noticed 2 more cupcakes were gone. They saw their friend Alligator and said he took them. Alligator said it wasn't him and where he was when they were taken. Now the 4 of them searched for clues and noticed 2 MORE cupcakes were gone. They saw their friend Turtle and said that he took them. Turtle said it wasn't him and told them where he was when the cupcakes went missing. Now that all the friends were together, they look and searched for clues. They then saw that ALL the cupcakes were gone. They spotted Grumpy Toad and said you took all the cupcakes. Grumpy Toad told his friends that he took the cupcakes. He only wanted one but couldn't stop eating them till they were gone. He told his friends that he was sorry. All the other friends said that because Grumpy Toad took all of the cupcakes, he was not allowed to come to the cupcake party anymore. Pete told his friends that Grumpy Toad made a mistake but said he was sorry. Pete said that everyone deserves a second chance. Pete's friends agreed and let Grumpy Toad come to the party. Grumpy Toad was so thankful that he was still allowed to go to the party, that he brought new cupcakes to share with all of his friends. 

Setting - Daytime at Pete's house/backyard.

Characters - Pete the Cat, Gus, Squirrel, Alligator, Turtle, and Grumpy Toad.

Theme - Mystery of the disappearing cupcakes. Another theme was accepting others apologies and giving someone a second chance. 

Pictures - The illustrations in this book are painted so colorful. The illustrator paints all of the illustrations for the Pete the Cat book and does such a great job using silly facial expressions and colors to draw in a reader. In this book the missing cupcakes disappeared by 2 and it was nice that the illustrator used the text/content to tie into his illustrations, making them a resource for kids to use when counting the cupcakes. 

Pattern - In this book there are 2 patterns. The first pattern is rhyming. Every last word in a sentence rhymed with the last word of the next sentence throughout the entire book. 
The second pattern is a counting pattern. This book used counting down from 10 by 2's. 

Reader response questions - 

1. What clues did you see in the pictures that would help you to find out who took the cupcakes?

2. Why did Pete want to give Grumpy Toad a second chance?

Activities - 

1. Write a mystery short story and put clues in your illustrations.

2. Graphic Organizer - Gave someone a second chance (in the middle circle) and in the outside circles put things someone has done to you.

3. Graphic organizer - Rhyming words

4. Math activity - Counting by 2's

My Personal Thoughts - 
I think this book is a story to read to (K-2nd grade). This book not only was a form of mystery, but also could be used in a math lesson. This book taught many different things like looking for clues, rhyming, math, forgiveness, second chances, and making things right after making a mistake. I think there are many lessons and activities this book can be used for, even in little recess arguments that (little) children have. 
I loved the illustrations in this book. All of the Pete the Cat books are always so bright and colorful and the silly expressions and things that Pete has and does, keeps the reader wanting to read more to find out what happens. I really enjoy the all of these books and plan on having a collection in my classroom.   

References - 

• Pete The Cat and the Missing Cupcakes Children's Read Aloud Story Book For Kids By James Dean. Kids Stories 4 You. (October 16,2016). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d74tIWKn1Vk

Historical Fiction - Henry's Freedom Box

Henry's Freedom Box 

True Story from the underground Railroad 

By: Ellen Levine 
Illustrated by: Kadir Nelson

Presented by: Nicole Cashman 

Summary of book - 
Henry Brown was a child slave who didn't know his age because slaves didn't have birthdays. Henry and his family (mother and siblings) worked for a master that was good to him and his family but Henry's mother knew that children slaves could be sold at anytime, so she was always afraid of that happening. 
One day Henry's master called him and his mother to see him. Henry was nervous in hopes that his master would set him free (as some master's would). Henry's master was very ill so he told them he was giving Henry to his son. He told Henry to work as good as he did for him, obey him, and never to tell a lie. Henry had to say goodbye to his family and left o be a slave picking tobacco leaves. Henry's new master would often poke his slaves with a stick for not working fast enough and if any of the slaves made a mistake, they would be beat. 
One day while Henry was in town, he met Nancy, a woman slave. Nancy made Henry so happy and filled with joy that he wanted to sing. He knew he couldn't because slaves were not allowed to sing in public. 
A few months later, Henry asked Nancy to be his wife. Henry and Nancy worked for different masters, so they had to get permission to marry from each of them. After Henry and Nancy were married, they had 3 children. Now Henry knew how his mother felt and feared everyday that his children would be sold or given away. 
Henry was working in the factory one day and another slave came to him to tell him that his wife and children were just sold. Henry was devastated at he thought that he would never see his his family again. 
Henry was done being a slave and came up with a plan for freedom. Henry's plan was to mail/ship himself somewhere where the people didn't believe in slavery. With the help of his friend James and Dr.Smith, Henry was shipped out on a journey to freedom. If Henry made it, he soon would receive a middle name and a birthday. 

Setting - Late 1700's early 1800's

Characters - Henry, Henry's Mother and siblings, The Master, The Master's Son (New Master), Nancy, Henry's children, James (Henry's Friend), and Dr. Smith.

Theme - Freedom from Slavery using the underground railroad.

Pictures - The illustrations in this book are paintings done by Kadir Nelson. The illustrations make Henry come alive and help the reader to relate to Henry as a person and as well as his experiences being a slave. These illustrations flow well with the text/content of the book, giving readers the resource of looking at the pictures to help with the comprehension of the vocabulary. 

Reader response questions - 

1. Before students read this book - What do you know about the Underground Railroad?

2. Why did Henry want to be free from slavery?

Activities - 

1. Map out the route that Henry took on his journey for freedom?

2. Put on a play to re-tell the story of Henry's Freedom Box.

3. Make a freedom box as a class. How big would a box have to be to be able to fit an adult man inside to ship him? Do you make holes for air, if so how big will the holes be? 

My Personal Thoughts - 
I think this book is a story to read to (3rd-5th graders) when learning about history, slavery, or the Underground Railroad. I think that emphasizing that this story is based on a "true story" will catch students attention and get them excited to read and learn about Henry. I love the pictures in this book and the details really make the characters come alive. 
The only thing I wish this book had was more information at the end. I want to know if Henry ever talked to his mother after he was given to another master, if he ever got to see or speak to his wife Nancy or his children again. Don't get me wrong, I love that his freedom plan worked and he made it out of slavery, I just would like more information to his story! 

References - 

• Henry's Freedom Box | Children's Books Read Aloud. Story time with Miss. Nancy. (December 29,2017). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE5ukrt8eLU

Biography - Ruby Bridges

The Story Of Ruby Bridges 

By: Robert Coles Illustrated by: George Ford

Presented by: Nicole Cashman 

Summary of book - 
This story started of by telling the readers about Ruby Bridges. It stated that Ruby was born in Mississippi in the 1950's. Her father at he time worked picking crops but when machines were brought into play, her father lost his job. Their family was very poor and sometimes did not have money for food. In 1957, when Ruby was 4, Ruby and her family moved to New Orleans, where her father worked as a janitor and her mother cleaned bank floor as night. Ruby and her family were church goers and looked toward God for guidance and strength. During this time, even though it was against the nations law, black and white children were to attend different schools (segregated) and black children received different/poor education. In 1960 a judge in New Orleans ordered 4 girls to go to 2 different white schools. Ruby was one of those girls chosen and she was sent o William Frantz Elementary School. On Ruby's first day of school as a first grader, she had to walk through a mob of people protesting. These people wanted to hurt Ruby. They called her names and made threats against her and no one protected her. In fear for Ruby, the Federal Marshall's (with guns) stepped in and walked Ruby into school each day. This lasted for months. When Ruby began school, these angry people started to keep their children home from school because they did not want their children to associate with a black child. When this happened the only child in the classroom everyday was Ruby. Ruby's teacher, Mrs. Henry, watched Ruby and wondered how she came to school everyday and was calm and excited to sit in a classroom by herself and learn to read and write. Mrs. Henry watched Ruby day after day and asked quite often if she was OK. 
One day while waiting at the window, Mrs. Henry saw Ruby walking to school. As she watched out the window, she saw Ruby stop in the middle of the mob of angry people. Mrs. Henry could see Ruby's lips moving, like she was talking to these people. When Ruby made it to the classroom, Mrs. Henry asked Ruby what she was saying to the people of of the mob. Ruby said, I wasn't talking to them, I was praying for the people who hate me. This prayer that Ruby said while standing in the middle of these people was a prayer that she said 2 times a day, before and after school asking God to forgive these people for the mean and bad things they say about her everyday just like he forgave people a long time ago that once spoke bad about him. 
By the time Ruby began 2nd grade, the angry mob gave up on trying to scare Ruby and fight the courts decision to keep black and white children segregated in schools. Ruby went on to finish school at William Frantz Elementary School, and even went on the graduate high school.   

  

Setting - 1960 in New Orleans with segregation a huge role in society.

Characters - Ruby, Ruby's Parents, Mrs. Henry, Angry mob, Judge, Federal Marshall's

Theme - Biography (person's story) about a brave little girl that wanted an equal education. 

Pattern - Timeline 

Pictures - I feel that the pictures brought the characters to life. I think the feelings shown on their faces is on point. I believe that the pictures made the text easier to follow and kept the reader interested. The illustrator used paint to create the illustrations in this book.

Reader response questions - 

1.  What is the main idea or the important thing that Ruby did in this story?

2. What character traits did Ruby show in this book?

Activities - 

1. Writing activity - If I was Ruby Bridges...... 

2. Graphic Organizers - Timeline of events in story, Re-tell the story 

3. Have the students pick one thing they feel strongly about, would like to change, or add to and have them make signs about it and write a paragraph explaining why they feel they way and why other people should feel the same way. Have a protest in the classroom and let every student read about their issue.  

My Personal Thoughts - 
I really enjoyed this story. I feel that it was a good way to portray the events of segregation in schools with black and white children. I believe that this book showed the bravery of a little girl who just wanted a fair and equal education like all of the other children, no matter the color of her skin. I also think it showed kindness as well when she stopped in the middle of a crowd of people who wanted to hurt her and prayed for them. Instead of being mad and wanting to yell and scream back at these people, she used her thoughtfulness and kindness to ask for forgiveness for them. 
I believe that this book should be used in 3rd grade or higher. I think this is a good book, but just like in the book with the issue of segregation, in today's world we have to be careful of the books we read in the classroom. In this book it talks about church and God and it is a fine line to walk to read this in the classroom, especially if you have children of different cultures and religion in your class. I would make sure that this book would be allowed to be introduce and read in the classroom before doing it.   

References - 

• The Story of Ruby Bridges. The Teachers Library. (February 18, 2016). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8D4ldGY41s

Folklore Blog - Cashman

Rabbits Gift 

By: George Shannon and Laura Dronzek

Presented by: Nicole Cashman 

Summary of book - 

This book is a fable from China that teaches about sharing and how to be a good friend. The book starts off with a rabbit looking for food in the winter. The rabbit finds 2 turnips and takes them home. When he gets home, he starts to think about his friend donkey and wonders if donkey has enough to eat. Rabbit takes his turnip and hops to donkeys house to give him the turnip. Donkey was not home so rabbit left it at he door for him. Donkey comes home with food of his own and wonders who left him a turnip. Donkey then starts to think about his friend goat and wonders if he has enough to eat. Donkey decides he will take the turnip to goats house. The story repeats its self going from goat to deer and then from deer back to rabbit. At he end of the book when the turnip is given back to rabbit, rabbit decides that he knows what he should do with the turnip. Rabbit then takes the turnip to the woods, where all of his friends are, and shares the turnip with everyone. 

Setting - Winter

Characters - Rabbit, Donkey, Goat, Deer

Theme - Sharing

Pattern - A repeated pattern is used in the book with each character that comes into the book. 

Pictures - There were pictures that were used on every page of this book. Most of the pictures have a lot of the color white in them as the setting is during the winter while it is snowing. The illustrations in this book are paintings. The colors used are warm and inviting for children. 

Reader response questions - 

1. What pattern did you hear/see when reading this book?

2. What was the moral/lesson of this book?

Activities - 

1. Writing activity - What things would you share with your friends and why would you like to share this thing with them?

2. Classroom project - Using scissors, crayons, markers, construction paper, glitter, and other art materials, have the students work together as a whole class group and make a poster of different scenes from the book. This will teach working together and sharing (materials) to complete a project. 

3. Snack Share - First make sure there are no allergies and you get parent permission first. Have each student bring in a snack that they can share with a partner. This will teach sharing and also give students the opportunity to try new things. 

My Personal Thoughts - 

I thought that this book was a nice read. It had colorful and inviting illustration that followed the text and could also be used as a resource for a child that may not be able to read the words. I feel that the moral/lesson was good for younger aged students and is something that should be taught to every child. The book was easy to read and the vocabulary used was comprehendable enough  for students to understand. 

References - 

• "Rabbit's Gift," by G. Shannon & L. Dronzek - Books Read to Kids Aloud! (September 3, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXxgpdFnw7w

Literature Collection 1 - Cashman

Literature Collection 1

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Nicole Cashman 

Amazing Grace 

By: Mary Hoffman

Illustrated by: Caroline Binch

This story is about a little girl named Grace who loved to play and had an extensive imagination. When she would play she would be anything and everything from an explorer, doctor, Aladdin, and even Mogli in a jungle. One day she went to school and her teacher said they were doing a play called "Peter Pan". Grace knew that she wanted to lay the part of Peter Pan, so when the teacher asked who would like to be Peter Pan, Grace raised her hand. One of Grace's classmates said she could not be Peter Pan because she was a girl and Peter Pan is a boy. Another one of Grace's classmates told her she could not be Peter Pan because she was black. There were so many children who wanted to be Peter Pan, the teacher told the class that they would hold auditions. Grace went home upset because of the comments her classmates said. Her grandmother took her to a ballet of Romeo and Juliet where Juliet was played by a black woman. After the ballet Grace went home and practiced for the auditions. When Grace went back to school, auditions were held, and the whole class was surprised at how good of a Peter Pan Grace was, that he whole class nominated Grace for the part. This story moral was that no matter if you are a boy or girl, black or white, speak English or don't, you can be whatever you want to be.

This book would be considered Contemporary realistic fiction because the story is plausible with a well defined conflict and Grace had a strong characterizations. The illustrations in this books defintly enhanced the characterizations and the plot. The pictures really gave the reader a visual of Grace's feeling and emotions towards things she liked to do, comments made by other children, and success. 

A motivational activity that could go along with this book would be to have the class pick out 3 things that they think only girls can do (activity, job, game) and 3 things that they think only boys can do (activity, job, game). Girls might be - teacher, softball coach, Laura Croft Tomb Raider and boys might be - firefighter, football coach, Spiderman. Then the each child would have to pick one of the things on the other gender list that they think they could be the best at. This could help show students that just because people see that someone is a boy or girl doesn't mean that if they want to do something they can't because they are the other gender. Another motivational activity is to have a play audition in the classroom. The teacher can use the play Peter Pan from the book or choose a different play. The auditions should be boys trying out for a girls part and girls trying out for a boys part. After the auditions are done, the class could vote for the person who did the BEST job. 

Two reader response questions I would ask would be LAFS.2.RL.1.1 - What is the main message of the story? The second question I would ask is How did Grace feel when her classmates told her she couldn't be Peter Pan. How do you know? (LAFS.2.RL.1.3)

   

I thought that this book was good. I felt that it gave a good example of how children of minority feel sometimes in different settings or by remarks made by their peers. I think that this book is also a good resources tool for teachers in the classroom to teach their students that every person is the same no matter what they look like. 

References 

Lee Galda, B. E. (2010). Literature and the Child. 7th Ed. Belmont: Wadworth. Cenage.
Publishers Weekly.(September).Amazing Grace.Retrieved from : https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8037-1040-5