Thanks for a great semester Val! I really enjoyed this class a lot I felt that I learned more in 448 than I did in 348. When I look at books now I realize that I am looking at them with a new lens. I critique them and think about them more than I used to. For example, when looking at books about disabilities I am looking for books that give a message that it is okay to be different, but it is not okay to be treated differently because you are different. I also look for accuracy in the book and if I do not have enough background information about the disability then I will look it up to make sure that the book is accurate.
This class has taught me to appreciate all types of literature. I have really enjoyed reading the books for the book discussions, they all raised questions that I had a hard time answering, which I feel is important. Books should make you think and they should make your students think.
Thanks again and enjoy your break!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Reflection
As a whole I thought that the books I chose were really good. Not only were the books diverse but they were accurate in talking about the fears and hardships that Korean-Americans can face. I thought that each book was able to talk about one issue or misconception and how it effects the main character. One talked about fitting into the Korean culture, one was about being from a different family, and one was about becoming a citizen. Overall the theme of the books was about finding your true identity, and at a young age that can be very hard. These kids were faced with challenges that adults have a hard time with. They are trying to fit into the American culture while understanding why they are different and if that is okay. All the books addressed the fact that it is okay to be different and that everyone is different in some way.
Overall I learned a lot about the minority group, Korean-Americans. I learned that there are many challenges they face no matter what their situation. I also learned that they are resilient and willing to work together to make things better for their children. I think all of the books are great examples of diverse literature and I would use all of them in my classroom.
Overall I learned a lot about the minority group, Korean-Americans. I learned that there are many challenges they face no matter what their situation. I also learned that they are resilient and willing to work together to make things better for their children. I think all of the books are great examples of diverse literature and I would use all of them in my classroom.
Scholarly Book Review
Warring, D. F. (2006). A Korean-American story. Multicultural education, 14 (4). Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://p2047-ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy2.cl.msu.edu:2047/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu:2047/pqdweb?did=1077229291&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=3552&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
This review gave a summary of the book throughout the review, commenting on how the book can be used to introduce people to bi-racial issues. It also mentions the fact that America is not a "melting pot" of cultures but instead a place that we have to work to live together. I thought this was interesting because I never thought about America like that. I now realize that it is hard for people to populate the same area while being completely different from each other. The review mentions hope and how hope is weaved into the story by having Mr. Lee teach Cooper about being part of two cultures and finding his identity.
Overall I thought the review gave me a lot of insight on the book. It opened up my eyes and let me see all that this book was offering.
This review gave a summary of the book throughout the review, commenting on how the book can be used to introduce people to bi-racial issues. It also mentions the fact that America is not a "melting pot" of cultures but instead a place that we have to work to live together. I thought this was interesting because I never thought about America like that. I now realize that it is hard for people to populate the same area while being completely different from each other. The review mentions hope and how hope is weaved into the story by having Mr. Lee teach Cooper about being part of two cultures and finding his identity.
Overall I thought the review gave me a lot of insight on the book. It opened up my eyes and let me see all that this book was offering.
Cooper's Lesson book review
Shin, Y. S. (2004) Cooper's lesson. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press.
The book Cooper's Lesson is about a Korean boy living in American with his Korean mom and American dad. The book starts with Cooper's mom asking him to pick up some ginger from the store. Cooper talks about how he does not like going to the market because his mom insists on speaking Korean and he does not know Korean fluently so he is uncomfortable. He talks about his skin color and how he is half and half which can lead to being teased. When he reaches the store he is uncomfortable but starts to walk through the aisles. He ends up stealing a brush because he thinks the store owner is laughing at him. When caught he has to work at the store for the week as his punishment. Throughout the week he learns more Korean and becomes comfortable at the store. He learns that Mr. Lee the store owner is Korean American, like him, and Cooper explains that he never knows where hes from. Eventually his mom comes in and invites Mr. Lee to dinner. While on the walk home he talks to his mom in Korean telling her that he doesn't know how to explain in Korean. She tells him that they can work it out together.
After reading this book I think that it is a piece of diverse literature. I think that it shows how hard life can be for a Korean American or anyone who is born here but looks "different" than the average American. The book also shows how people overcome that issue, they work to include both cultures into their life. Yes they will always be different but that does not mean that it is wrong. A really cool thing about this book is that it is written in English and Korean so it encourages children who are Korean to read Korean words. I liked this book, it showed no stereotypes about gender or race, just issues that people can face everyday.
The book Cooper's Lesson is about a Korean boy living in American with his Korean mom and American dad. The book starts with Cooper's mom asking him to pick up some ginger from the store. Cooper talks about how he does not like going to the market because his mom insists on speaking Korean and he does not know Korean fluently so he is uncomfortable. He talks about his skin color and how he is half and half which can lead to being teased. When he reaches the store he is uncomfortable but starts to walk through the aisles. He ends up stealing a brush because he thinks the store owner is laughing at him. When caught he has to work at the store for the week as his punishment. Throughout the week he learns more Korean and becomes comfortable at the store. He learns that Mr. Lee the store owner is Korean American, like him, and Cooper explains that he never knows where hes from. Eventually his mom comes in and invites Mr. Lee to dinner. While on the walk home he talks to his mom in Korean telling her that he doesn't know how to explain in Korean. She tells him that they can work it out together.
After reading this book I think that it is a piece of diverse literature. I think that it shows how hard life can be for a Korean American or anyone who is born here but looks "different" than the average American. The book also shows how people overcome that issue, they work to include both cultures into their life. Yes they will always be different but that does not mean that it is wrong. A really cool thing about this book is that it is written in English and Korean so it encourages children who are Korean to read Korean words. I liked this book, it showed no stereotypes about gender or race, just issues that people can face everyday.
Families Are Different book review
Pellegrini, N. (1991). Families are different. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.
The book Families are Different is about two girls that were adopted from Korea when they were babies. The main character of the story is Nicola, who is the younger sister. Nicola introduces her family, talking about her sister, her dog, and activities she does. She explains the adoption process and then begins to talk about how sometimes she gets sad and mad because she does not look like her parents. Her mom tells her that there are many kinds of families and it doesn't matter what they look like because love holds them together. Then Nicola goes through and talks about many different types of families that there are. At the end she says that she is not strange at all and that her family has a lot of love.
I think that this book would be a great book to use as a diverse piece of literature because it shows diversity of families. There are about ten families that Nicola talks about, and even though they do not show all the combinations there still are many types included. Nicola talks about each family and how they are not wrong just different. This is key because she is not judging, just pointing out the facts as they are, which is sometimes what diverse literature needs to include. Besides diverse families they also show diverse people, there are people of different races and genders, and the book does not choose one over the other, it puts them all in equal light which is great! I really enjoyed reading this book!
The book Families are Different is about two girls that were adopted from Korea when they were babies. The main character of the story is Nicola, who is the younger sister. Nicola introduces her family, talking about her sister, her dog, and activities she does. She explains the adoption process and then begins to talk about how sometimes she gets sad and mad because she does not look like her parents. Her mom tells her that there are many kinds of families and it doesn't matter what they look like because love holds them together. Then Nicola goes through and talks about many different types of families that there are. At the end she says that she is not strange at all and that her family has a lot of love.
I think that this book would be a great book to use as a diverse piece of literature because it shows diversity of families. There are about ten families that Nicola talks about, and even though they do not show all the combinations there still are many types included. Nicola talks about each family and how they are not wrong just different. This is key because she is not judging, just pointing out the facts as they are, which is sometimes what diverse literature needs to include. Besides diverse families they also show diverse people, there are people of different races and genders, and the book does not choose one over the other, it puts them all in equal light which is great! I really enjoyed reading this book!
An American Face book review
Czech, J. M. (2000). An American face. Washington, DC: Child and Family Press.
This book, An American Face is about a young boy (5 or 6 years-old) who has been adopted from Korea by American's. He is in the process of becoming a citizen and he believes that he will be getting a new face once he is an American so he can look like everyone else who is American. Each page shows him in a different environment with people who he thinks look American, because they do not look like him. When he sees people that are foreign he thinks they have not yet become American's. He is teased because of the way he looks, but he knows that will change eventually. On the day he goes to court to become a citizen his parents realize what he is thinking and tell him that his face will not change. He is sad but once he sees the judge who is Korean, his spirits are lifted and he realizes he can be an American without getting a new face.
I think that this book works as a piece of diverse literature for many reasons. For one the illustrations show a variety of people doing many tasks. There is no stereotyping about gender or race. The book talks about the fact that people do have different faces. His parents explain that even though people look different they can all become American without having to lose their identity. The book really works at making everyone feel welcome and respected. I would definitely use this book as a diverse piece of literature.
This book, An American Face is about a young boy (5 or 6 years-old) who has been adopted from Korea by American's. He is in the process of becoming a citizen and he believes that he will be getting a new face once he is an American so he can look like everyone else who is American. Each page shows him in a different environment with people who he thinks look American, because they do not look like him. When he sees people that are foreign he thinks they have not yet become American's. He is teased because of the way he looks, but he knows that will change eventually. On the day he goes to court to become a citizen his parents realize what he is thinking and tell him that his face will not change. He is sad but once he sees the judge who is Korean, his spirits are lifted and he realizes he can be an American without getting a new face.
I think that this book works as a piece of diverse literature for many reasons. For one the illustrations show a variety of people doing many tasks. There is no stereotyping about gender or race. The book talks about the fact that people do have different faces. His parents explain that even though people look different they can all become American without having to lose their identity. The book really works at making everyone feel welcome and respected. I would definitely use this book as a diverse piece of literature.
Mutil-ethnic literature
While looking for articles for the project I found this website about why multi-ethnic literature should be used. The article mainly focuses on Asian-American literature. I found this article interesting because of one line in particular. It was in part of the rationale for using multi-ethnic literature in the classroom.
It said "So students of non Caucasian descent can read about people from their ancestral background. Let readers have experiences that speak to their own lives. By the year 2000, enrollment of minority students will be anywhere from 35 to 50%."
I found this line interesting because I had never thought that people would look to children's books to get information. Now that I think about it, it does make sense and if written correctly there is no reason that people wouldn't be able to get correct information from children's literature.
The article mentioned the characteristic's that a multi-ethnic piece of literature should have and I agree if those are there then the book contains factual information that could be used to teach children about their heritage.
Here is the link to the website so that you can have a look at it too!
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/asialit.htm
It said "So students of non Caucasian descent can read about people from their ancestral background. Let readers have experiences that speak to their own lives. By the year 2000, enrollment of minority students will be anywhere from 35 to 50%."
I found this line interesting because I had never thought that people would look to children's books to get information. Now that I think about it, it does make sense and if written correctly there is no reason that people wouldn't be able to get correct information from children's literature.
The article mentioned the characteristic's that a multi-ethnic piece of literature should have and I agree if those are there then the book contains factual information that could be used to teach children about their heritage.
Here is the link to the website so that you can have a look at it too!
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/asialit.htm
Monday, November 19, 2007
Book Discussion
Hey group! I really enjoyed meeting today outside of class. I thought it was a nice change of scenery. I thought that meeting in the library worked out well. Meeting outside of class was a different experience because it was all on us, there was no one to guide us in our discussion but I felt that we didn't really need someone to guide us anyway. I think that by letting students meet outside of class it allows them to talk about more topics than in class because sometimes people shy away from topics because we are in class. This is interesting and I will keep this in mind for future teaching.
:o)
:o)
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sydney Taylor Award
The purpose of this Sydney Taylor Award is to encourage the publication of outstanding books of Jewish content for children. It spotlights books that are of the highest literary standards and includes authentic content of Judaism.
This award was created in 1968 under a different name, The Shirley Kavitz Children's Book Award. It was renamed the Sydney Taylor Award in 1978.
The style of the award has changed over the years. It originally awarded only one book per year. In 1981 they started recognizing two books per year, one picture book and one novel. There is a committee that carefully evaluates the books and selects a winner.
The criteria for the award includes:
Literary and artistic merit,
positive Jewish content and focus,
age appropriateness in terms of style, vocabulary, content, format, and illustration,
and accuracy.
2006 winners:
Younger reader: Hanukkah at Valley Forge by Steven Krensky illustrated by Greg Harlin
Teen winner: Julia's Kitchen by Brenda Ferber
Some honor award winners 2006 (young reader):
I Am Marc Chagall by Bimba Landmann
Rebecca's Journey Home by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman
When we went to the library to check out some of the Sydney Taylor Award books, there were not very many available. We found one younger read book and two juvenile fiction book (teen reader). One of the two teen reader books was checked out which made us happy! :) Unfortunately we didn't find the majority of the books listed on the website that won this award.
When looking up the Sydney Taylor Award on the internet we found no "official website" but there was information about it on the "Association of Jewish Libraries" website. When you go to this website you will find a long list of books that have either been awarded or honored in regards to this award.
please check out www.jewishlibraries.org for more info!
This award was created in 1968 under a different name, The Shirley Kavitz Children's Book Award. It was renamed the Sydney Taylor Award in 1978.
The style of the award has changed over the years. It originally awarded only one book per year. In 1981 they started recognizing two books per year, one picture book and one novel. There is a committee that carefully evaluates the books and selects a winner.
The criteria for the award includes:
Literary and artistic merit,
positive Jewish content and focus,
age appropriateness in terms of style, vocabulary, content, format, and illustration,
and accuracy.
2006 winners:
Younger reader: Hanukkah at Valley Forge by Steven Krensky illustrated by Greg Harlin
Teen winner: Julia's Kitchen by Brenda Ferber
Some honor award winners 2006 (young reader):
I Am Marc Chagall by Bimba Landmann
Rebecca's Journey Home by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman
When we went to the library to check out some of the Sydney Taylor Award books, there were not very many available. We found one younger read book and two juvenile fiction book (teen reader). One of the two teen reader books was checked out which made us happy! :) Unfortunately we didn't find the majority of the books listed on the website that won this award.
When looking up the Sydney Taylor Award on the internet we found no "official website" but there was information about it on the "Association of Jewish Libraries" website. When you go to this website you will find a long list of books that have either been awarded or honored in regards to this award.
please check out www.jewishlibraries.org for more info!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Insider/outsider debate
For the insider vs. outsider writer I would say that it depends on the person. An insider may have more knowledge on a certain topic but they might also have a generalized view and not report everything in the most accurate way. However an insider may have researched the topic throughly and can write an article in a not bias way. Either way just because they are an insider does not make them an expert, it just gives them a few more resources than an outsider who does not have the same circle of friends or the same type of friends that an insider has access to.
However an outsider can also write just as well about a topic. If an outsider researches a topic and writes about it from a non-bias viewpoint it can be just as useful. The outsider must be knowledgeable otherwise it won't be accurate and may produce or support stereotypes that are already in place.
I agree with the Bishop article in which he talks about how multicultural children's literature is the same as children's literature. Everything we read can be used to talk about multiculturalism since many people can connect with many different works or examples.
Questions I have for class would be examples of good and bad works by insiders and outsiders. I want to see how they differ and if there is a huge difference in view points, and/or bias.
However an outsider can also write just as well about a topic. If an outsider researches a topic and writes about it from a non-bias viewpoint it can be just as useful. The outsider must be knowledgeable otherwise it won't be accurate and may produce or support stereotypes that are already in place.
I agree with the Bishop article in which he talks about how multicultural children's literature is the same as children's literature. Everything we read can be used to talk about multiculturalism since many people can connect with many different works or examples.
Questions I have for class would be examples of good and bad works by insiders and outsiders. I want to see how they differ and if there is a huge difference in view points, and/or bias.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Intro
Hi, I am christa and I am in my 4th year at MSU studying child development. I am really excited that this is my senior year and cannot wait to start teaching! The reason I am taking this class is because I am interested in learning more about diverse literature. I know how much I learn from books and how much they have opened my eyes to the world around us and I want the children in my classes to have the same response from reading. Of course with younger children it is more difficult since you have to break everything down to their level. So I am looking forward to seeing what kind of books are out there for them to read.
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