Seedfolks

Author: Paul Fleischman
Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Disrespect and Insensitivity for Individual and Group Differences
Year of Publication: 1997
Publisher and Location: Harper Trophy: New York
ISBN# 0-06-447207-8
Target Age Level: Upper Elementary/Junior High
# of Pages: 70
Quality of Illustrations: B/W illustration on first page of each chapter. Helps reader visualize the characters.
Brief Summary: Each chapter is a vignette of a different character who lives in a poor, Cincinnati neighborhood. A little girl starts a garden in an abandoned dump, and other characters join them. Through this garden, friendships also grow and barriers are overcome.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This book is very easy to read, but some students may have difficulty with the number of characters. For those students, consider using a character map or selecting just a few vignettes to focus on. Can also be used to help heal in other situations, such as a death, or illness.
Activity: 1) Create a worksheet with a chart so the students can write down the character's name, the problem they are having, and how the garden helps them. 2) If possible, grow your own "garden" with the students.

Esperanza Rising

Author: Pam Munoz Ryan
Type or emotional/crisis issue addressed: Financial Problems
Year of Publication: 2002
Publisher and Location: Blue Sky Press:
ISBN# 043912042X
Target Age Level: Upper Elementary/Junior High
# of Pages: 288
Quality of Illustrations: None
Brief Summary: Esperanza is a girl who went from being the daughter of an wealthy aristocratic family in Mexico to a migrant worker in California after having to quickly flee their home. Through this change, she learns more about hard work, her people, and herself.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: This book portrays the plight of Mexican migrant workers at a labor camp during the Great Depression.
Activity: This book can be read aloud in class or as a class assignment. Have the students make a journal for Esperanza and have them describe how she is feeling. Focus on the sections that describe the changes she is making, especially after her mother gets sick.

We All Sing with the Same Voice

Author: J. Philip Miller & Sheppard M. Greene
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Respect for individual differences
Year of Publication: 2001
Publisher & Location: New York: Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN#: 0060293640
Target Age Level: Lower elementary
# of Pages: 32
Quality of Illustrations: Excellent
Brief Summary: This joyful Sesame Street song embraces the notion that no matter where children live, what they look like, or what they do, they're all the same where it counts--at heart.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Apparently this is a Sesame Street song, so it's pretty simplistic.

Activity: Have the children draw pictures of themselves, including their own unique qualities. Discuss what is the same about people and what is different.

Don't Call Me Pig!

Title: Don’t Call Me Pig!

Author: Conrad J. Storad

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Insensitivity to individual or group differences

Year of Publication: 1999

Publisher & Location: Resort Gifts Unlimited, Inc. Tempe, AZ

ISBN#: 1-891795-03-1


Target Age Level: Elementary

# of Pages: 29

Quality of Illustrations: Very good

Brief Summary: This book is told from the standpoint of a javelina- a wild boar or collared peccary that lives in the southwest desert. While the javelina may look a lot like a pig, have a snout like a pig, and grunt like a pig, it most certainly is not a pig. Through clever rhyme the javelina describes it’s characteristics, eating habits, habitat, and personality while emphasizing the point that it is not a pig.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: none

Post Reading Activities: Have students describe the differences between pigs and javelinas. Then lead a discussion about different ethnicities. Have students complete a Venn diagram or T-chart to point out differences (and similarities, if using a Venn diagram) about people from different ethnicities. Talk about why people feel strongly about having their ethnicity correctly identified.

My Name is Bilal

Author: Asma Mobin-Uddin

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Bullying, Ethnic diversity

Year of Publication: 2005

Publisher & Location: Boyds Mill Press, Honesdale PA

ISBN#: 1-59078-175-9

Target Age Level: Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

# of Pages: 28

Quality of Illustrations: Very good

Brief Summary: Bilal and his sister moved from a community where there were many Muslims. Bilal’s sister is bullied because of the way she dresses. At first Bilal doesn’t want anyone to know that he is Muslim but with the guidance of a teacher, realizes how important his religion and diversity is important to him. He helps his sister the next time she is teased and begins to make new friends.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children: Religious content

Activities: Have students find something about their culture that is unique and special and share it with everyone else.