Choose A Good Book

How do you know if a children's book you're about to share with your students accurately portrays the culture of its characters? Are there warning signs to look for? Are there telltale things that mark an outstanding multicultural book? To answer these questions.

• The first thing to do is to look at the cover. Read the title as well as the cover illustration.
• If you like a particular author read another book written by him.
• You can even go for a book from a series you enjoy reading.
• Choose a book that is based on a theme, topic or subject you are interested in.
• Choose a book that is based on a theme, topic or subject you are interested in.
• You can even ask someone to recommend a good book to you. It can be anybody like your older sibling, your mom, your dad, your best friend, even your English teacher. It’s better to ask someone, who knows you personally, specially your interests. 

Great Children's Books

1. Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
2. All for the Better: The Story of El Barrio by Nicholasa Mohr (Steck-Vaughn, 1993). 
3. Green Corn Tamales/Tamales De Elote by Gina M. Rodríguez, illustrated by Gary Shepard (Hispanic Book Distributors, Tucson, AZ, 1994).
4. Hairs/Pelitos by Sandra Cisñeros (Apple Soup/Knopf, 1994).  
5. Three Kings Day by Beatriz Zapater (Modern Curriculum Press, 1992).

KEEP IN MIND

• Make available books that reveal today's Native American cultures.
• Be prepared to talk about the ways in which Native American cultures have influenced world culture. 
• Avoid books that suffer from what Joseph Bruchac refers to as "The Dances with Wolves Syndrome" -- books in which all Indians are noble and all white people are bad. Any children's book that builds up one culture at the expense of another ultimately keeps racial tension alive. 
• Talk about values Native American cultures share, such as respect, sharing, and reverence for living things.