Multicultural Stories

I know it makes sense to use stories of different cultures in the classroom; I've actually observed kids choosing books because the characters look like them. I think it's really important not only to have them in your library, but use them in lessons as well.


Here are some of my other favorites:

I love to read this one at the beginning of the year.

A little girl who thinks her parent's Chinese restaurant won't do well on an American holiday.

I know some teachers don't talk about September 11th in Kinder, but if you do, this is a really neat story. A village in Africa got together to send us cows as their sympathy for had happened. Really amazing!

This is just an incredibly well-written story about a simple concept-needing some rain to cool down on a hot day.

Did you know Debbie Allen was once self-conscious because she was too tall? I watch her on "So You Think You Can Dance" and just think of the mark she's made on so many lives. What would have happened if she hadn't had the courage to continue with dance? A real feel-good story.

Boys in Africa who are extremely excited for a new soccer ball until some bullies come along and try to steal it. But they are too clever for that. It talks about what a scary world they live in, but when they play as a team, it all fades away.

A typical day in Kenya-a fun story. Lots of activities you could do with it including comparing it to their day.

Not only Will Smith's wife, but an author too! I love the photos in this story. My boys will pick it up and start making faces when they actually read the text, but it's true-we do hold up the world! :)

A collection of poems from various writers-lots of different cultures represented.

It's a scarf-if you didn't know. Mostly English with a few Spanish words sprinkled in.

The following are all English and Spanish text. I read the English when I read it aloud, but do catch some of my kiddos reading the Spanish text.

Some chapter books:

A refugee from Kosovo adjusting to life in America.

I really loved this book. I thought it was touching and funny at the same time, which is hard to do. I read it to my 1st Grade class but edited some of the text. His cousin lost a hand in the war and his father was killed-I skipped over some of those descriptions. But he is adjusting to life in America and does things like put the dishes in the washing machine. I think it's a really heartfelt story.

**** I'm on the lookout for any books that represent India. I have had more students that fit in to that demographic and I haven't been successful at finding anything, if you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them!