Post by whisperingalene on Feb 9, 2017 11:22:51 GMT -5
I was going to mention Ada Twist, Scientist. We have the whole lot of those books (Rosie Revere, Engineer & Iggy Peck, Architect) and they each make me cry at the end. Such a sap.
I also want to mention Ish, by Peter H Reynolds. My son loves art and so I picked this up for him. When I thought about it, I realized it features an hispanic family.
Thanks for all the great suggestions! My amazon cart is full!
I just want to be clear here that I'm trying to avoid a library of white kids in suburban settings and POC in urban settings. I'm not trying to make sure that they can relate to kids are in ranches like ours, I'm trying to make sure they don't get the idea that there are any areas where POC don't "belong". Our home setting is white kids in suburbia, which is 100% a failing on our part and also something I'm trying to compensate for with media, which is why I'm particularly cognizant of it.
A lot of kids' books set in big cities have apartments in them. I can't look at them all right now because my children are sleeping and the books are in their rooms, but off the top of my head, I think the white children in "Adele & Simon" live in an apartment. I am pretty sure that "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" takes place in an apartment. It's very possible that every Paris-centric kids' book we have involves white, apartment-dwelling children.
Then you have white characters like Madeline and Eloise who live in boarding schools (or is it an orphanage?) and hotels, respectively.
Dora the Explorer and a lot of the Hispanic kids who Alma Flor Ada and Georgina Lazaro write about live in houses.
And for the older kids, Superfudge (I forget the kid's actual name) lives in an apartment building. Ramona Quimby and her sister are his neighbors. All white and in apartments.
A lot of kids' books set in big cities have apartments in them. I can't look at them all right now because my children are sleeping and the books are in their rooms, but off the top of my head, I think the white children in "Adele & Simon" live in an apartment. I am pretty sure that "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" takes place in an apartment. It's very possible that every Paris-centric kids' book we have involves white, apartment-dwelling children.
Then you have white characters like Madeline and Eloise who live in boarding schools (or is it an orphanage?) and hotels, respectively.
Dora the Explorer and a lot of the Hispanic kids who Alma Flor Ada and Georgina Lazaro write about live in houses.
And for the older kids, Superfudge (I forget the kid's actual name) lives in an apartment building. Ramona Quimby and her sister are his neighbors. All white and in apartments.
Ramona isn't Fudge's neighbor! Ramona lives in Portland, the Fudge books are set in NYC. Sheila is his Fudge's neighbor. Ramona's neighbor is Henry Higgins
And for the older kids, Superfudge (I forget the kid's actual name) lives in an apartment building. Ramona Quimby and her sister are his neighbors. All white and in apartments.
Ramona isn't Fudge's neighbor! Ramona lives in Portland, the Fudge books are set in NYC. Sheila is his Fudge's neighbor. Ramona's neighbor is Henry Higgins
You are correct! I knew it was one of them, but in my sleepless haze from being awoken at 2 am by my toddler's pull up leaking all over my bed, I got them mixed up. Point still stands - white girls and white Fudge live in apartment building in the story.
Ramona lives in a suburb of Portland. For a time, h lived on her street (klickatat or something like that). I love that it's a real street in a fictional book. And it's funny sounding, too.
I have this series which is great for pre-school age and early readers. The series has diverse characters and the simple stories are easy for young kids.
We were borrowing them from the library before we were gifted a set.
Can anyone recommend books featuring jewish kids or families, where the whole point of the book isn't Judaism/"WE'RE JEWISH!!"? I have a decent library of jewish books, but they are all holiday-themed (passover, sukkot, tu b'shevat) and I'd like my kids to see in books that jewish kids are "regular" kids.
Judy Blume's "Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself."
Takes place right after WW2 and discusses Judiasm, but it's not "Here's what you need to know about Sukkot."
There is a very sweet movie adaptation of The Snowy Day that is free on Amazon Prime. Voiced by Laurence Fishburne, Regina King and Angela Bassett and Boyz II Men created a song for the adaptation.
Ramona isn't Fudge's neighbor! Ramona lives in Portland, the Fudge books are set in NYC. Sheila is his Fudge's neighbor. Ramona's neighbor is Henry Higgins
You are correct! I knew it was one of them, but in my sleepless haze from being awoken at 2 am by my toddler's pull up leaking all over my bed, I got them mixed up. Point still stands - white girls and white Fudge live in apartment building in the story.
Sorry, that might have come out kind of bitchy. I didn't mean it that way. As an Oregonian, I take my Ramona books seriously
Can anyone recommend books featuring jewish kids or families, where the whole point of the book isn't Judaism/"WE'RE JEWISH!!"? I have a decent library of jewish books, but they are all holiday-themed (passover, sukkot, tu b'shevat) and I'd like my kids to see in books that jewish kids are "regular" kids.
The Anastasia Krupnik books (Lois Lowry). Lowry gave an interview confirming Anastasia's family is secular Jewish. I loved those books growing up.
I loved the Anastasia books as a kid! Remember the one where she gets a job as a maid/helper and tries to pretend to be 40? Or when she tries to make a gourmet dinner?
I should have noted in my post, though, that my kids are 4 & 6. So not quite there yet.
I've been working on diversifying DS's reading lists and fell into the I'm From... series by Chloe Perkins. Each book follows a child in a different country it teaches a little bit about the history, languages, food, and culture of each country. So far we've read the ones from India, China, South Africa, and Italy and I might have to (GASP) buy a few because our library doesn't have Mexico yet and DS loves the series.
The site thriftbooks.com has a ton of these titled; a lot of the used books range from $3.59 - $3.99 and it's free shipping over $10.
I ordered about a dozen books from this thread last week and I'm pleased. Book condition is rated "like new", "very good", "good", "acceptable" etc and I feel like they represent the condition accurately. So for anyone who likes to buy used and/or is low on funds, I recommend it.
My kid randomly brought home a library book I'd never heard of that had a great message re: body differences. It's for young kids or early readers and is called "Can I Play, Too?"
Summary: Elephant and pig are playing catch, snake wants to play. Elephant and pig are embarrassed to say, "hey you don't have arms, so...how can you play catch?" They say it, snake is sad and says "okay. You don't want to play with me??" Then they work out a solution so they can all play a game together. It was a great opening for me to talk about how people's bodies are different and that you can still play even if you are missing an arm, or your body is different, etc.
I am bumping this thread for a little help. I don't have kids of my own, so even though I've read through this thread and checked out some of the books, it's hard for me to decide what books would really be good for certain ages. It's a little bit like when I look at the "recommended" ages for certain toys, but they aren't really realistic, I'd love to know what "real" kids are reading and enjoying. Can anyone help with a few suggestions for 7 and 9 year old girls who both specifically asked for books?
I really appreciate any further recommendations, I am totally out of my element on this one.
I am bumping this thread for a little help. I don't have kids of my own, so even though I've read through this thread and checked out some of the books, it's hard for me to decide what books would really be good for certain ages. It's a little bit like when I look at the "recommended" ages for certain toys, but they aren't really realistic, I'd love to know what "real" kids are reading and enjoying. Can anyone help with a few suggestions for 7 and 9 year old girls who both specifically asked for books?
I really appreciate any further recommendations, I am totally out of my element on this one.
We just took our students to see three authors who are highly recommended for YA novels.
Check out The Stars Beneath our feet for that age.
For HS kids: American Street and All-American Boys
Lola Devine chapter books The first rule of punk Gaby Lost and Found Tía Lola series Sofía Martínez chapter books I am not your perfect Mexican daughter
Since I love this topic so much, I always have to plug We Need Diverse Books- follow @diversebooks on twitter! Also, teachers often post requests on donors choose for classroom sets of diverse books, so if you’re able to donate... As a writer, I can attest that voting with your dollars is so important. When books by POC make money, those writers get more book deals. So buy books, request your libraries buy them, review them on amazon. It all helps move the industry forward.
Post by iheartbanjos on Dec 12, 2017 9:23:14 GMT -5
I thought I'd share one of my favorites growing up. My girls are getting a copy for Christmas. I haven't read it in 30+ years, but remember it being a story of family and a grandmother's love.