Diverse Literature Collection
As I was deciding which topics to include in my collection, I realized that I was thinking about the overall theme of families. Each part of the collection deals with diverse families, from who is included in the family to how the family worships. The texts I have included are starting points for activities which will help students connect what they read to their own lives. The sequence of books is also important as the books with the more complex ideas and themes are introduced later in each section. This collection is for intermediate students in grades 3-5.
LGBT Families
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Adoption
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Migrant Families
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Muslim Families
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The Family Book by Todd Parr
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We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families by Todd Parr
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Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
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My First Ramadan by Karen Katz
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Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesleá Newman
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How I Was Adopted
By Joanna Cole
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Migrant by Maxine Trottier
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Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr by Lisa Bullard
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Donovan’s Big Day by Lesleá Newman
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A New Barker in the House by Tomie DePaloa
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Going Home by Eve Bunting
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Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena
Khan
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And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
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My Adopted Child, There’s No One Like You by Kevin Leman and Kevin
Leman II
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Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams
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Time to Pray by Maha Addasi
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In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco
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Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis
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First Day in Grapes by L. King Pérez
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The Roses in My Carpets by Rukhsana Khan
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LGBT
The Family Book by Todd Parr
This colorful book is a nice introduction to the whole theme of family differences. Each page describes families in terms of what they eat or where they live. The book also gives examples of families with lesbian and gay parents.
With this book I would do the activity “Me too!” This activity is very simple, each student will write three facts about her/his family that they don’t mind sharing with the class. For example a student could say “I have two sisters”. If that fact also applies to other students in the class, they will stand up silently. This is a great activity to show how much the students in the class have in common.
Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesleá Newman
On her first day of school Heather realizes that her family is different because she has two mommies. The teacher encourages each student to draw a picture of his/her family. This reveals that all of the students have unique families with siblings, grandparents and step-parents. Heather is relieved that all of the families are unique, but loving. She is excited to show her mothers the picture she drew of them.
I would have the students draw pictures of their families and label them with the appropriate terms. These would be hung in the classroom throughout this unit.
Donovan’s Big Day by Lesleá Newman
Donovan has a big day today. He needs to look his best and follow all of his instructions, including keeping track of a special satin box. He finally walks down the aisle to watch his mothers get married with the rings he was keeping safe.
I would use this book as a starting point for a writing activity about a special day each student experienced. The sequence of events in this book could be a guide for students’ writing. This special event could be a wedding, First Communion, a sibling coming home from the hospital or the first day of school. This book is also a really good example of vivid language. So I would also highlight the vivid words (gobble, slurp, tumble) and have students rewrite the passage using boring words. They would then reread the pages we rewrote with a partner and decide which kind of writing was more exciting.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
In the Central Park zoo there is a penguin exhibit. Every year the penguins become couples and lay eggs. One couple, Roy and Silo, is different. They are both boys. They made a nest just like the other couples, but didn’t have an egg that they could hatch. The zookeeper noticed that Roy and Silo were sitting on a rock that looked like an egg. The zookeeper found an egg that needed to be cared for and put it in their nest. A chick hatched and she was named Tango by the zookeeper. This is based on a true story.
I would use this book for a Science lesson about life cycles. The life cycle of birds is similar, but this story shows that even if two male birds can’t lay eggs, they can care for one and raise a young bird.
In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco
This beautiful story depicts the story of a lesbian couple who adopted three children. They had many happy times together including a neighborhood party and unique costumes for Halloween. This story doesn’t gloss over the prejudice that the family faced from others in the neighborhood. The ending is bittersweet as the children grow up and start their own families.
I would use this book as a culmination activity for this theme. One of the best scenes is the extended family cooking gnocchi together. I would have the students work on a project with their family to cook a meal together and write the steps like the scene in the story. The meal could be a special one or even a simple meal as long as they write the steps in sequence.
ADOPTION
We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families by Todd Parr
This story is told in kid friendly language and illustrates how each child has a unique need and how the adoptive parents became their family.
I would use this as an introduction to the theme of adoption. We would talk about how children become adopted and what that means.
My Adopted Child, There’s No One Like You by Kevin Leman and Kevin Leman II
When Panda has to draw his family tree as an assignment for school he is worried. He was adopted so his family tree will be different from everyone else’s in his class. His Mama Bear tells him the story of how he was adopted including a story about his birth mother. Panda makes a family tree which is special and different - just like his family.
After a lesson on family trees, I would have the students also make a family tree like the story. Every family is different and this would be a great way to have students learn about their own family tree.
How I Was Adopted by Joanna Cole
This story invites children to listen to Samantha’s adoption story and then share their own. Sam’s parents were very excited to have her join their family when she was one week old. Her parents are open about the process of adoption and birth.
This activity would be a companion activity to the family tree assignment. The students will present their family tree to the class and talk about who is in their family.
A New Barker in the House by Tomie DePaola
Twins, Moffie and Morgie, are getting a new brother. Their family adopted Marcos who is three years old and only speaks Spanish. At first the twins are excited, but Marcos doesn’t understand them or want to play the way they do. The twins learn to play with Marcos and they begin to form a bond as siblings.
I would use this as a mentor text for a writing activity. I would first point out the opening of the story which is dialogue. Then I would have the students write a story that begins with dialogue about a time when there was a change in their family – new sibling was born, moved to a new house, new step-parent joined the family, or adopted a pet. The story needs to be at least 10 sentences with dialogue in the opening just like the book.
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis
This is a story about how little girl’s parents journeyed to adopt her. The little girl knows the story by heart and ends up telling the whole story herself.
I would have the students ask their parents or guardians about a special story involving them. This could be about their birth like the book or another funny or special day. The students would make a storyboard with the events in time order.
MIGRANT FAMILIES
Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
Every summer Tomás and his family travel from Texas to Iowa for his parents’ job picking fruits and vegetables. His grandfather comes too and tells them stories, but Tomás has heard the stories so often he has them memorized. Tomás decides to go to the library and get new stories. While there he meets a nice library lady who helps him check out books. The books transport him to another time and place. He is eager to share these new stories with his family. When his family has to go back to Texas, the library lady gives Tomás a new book to take with him. This is based on a true story.
I would use this book as a bridge to the library as a place to encounter new worlds. Each student would pick their favorite book from the library. I would encourage them to read it (or sections) several times to practice fluency. They would each present their favorite library book. Another companion activity would be to write thank-you letters to the librarian for helping them discover new books. This would be a great way to practice friendly letter format.
Migrant by Maxine Trottier
In the 1920s some Canadian Mennonite families traveled to Mexico and settled there. Many of these families still have farms there, but travel to Canada to help with the harvest. This story is about a girl named Anna who travels with her family every year from Mexico to Canada. The story is full of Anna’s wistful comparisons of herself to animals as her family travels and works in the fields.
For this story I would incorporate technology. I would have the students map the route from Mexico to Canada that Anna’s family took on Google Maps and track the miles and the major cities along the way.
Going Home by Eve Bunting
Carlos and his family are traveling back to Mexico to visit family for Christmas. Carlos isn’t sure why they are going back and is nervous about crossing the border. His parents have explained to their children that they have come to the United States for opportunities, but all Carlos sees is their back breaking work in the fields. When they arrive to their grandfather’s house everyone comes to visit and Carlos begins to understand the sacrifice that his parents made.
I would use this book to talk about visiting family either during the holidays or other times of the year. The students would talk with their family about extended family and where they live. This could be aunts, uncles, or grandparents. They would then present to the class about where their extended family lives.
Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams
This story is about a girl named Shelan who goes to the cotton fields with her family every day. The family works together from dawn to dusk and Shelan carries water to her parents and looks after her baby sister.
This book is written in a southern dialect and would be appropriate as part of a bigger lesson on dialect in stories.
First Day in Grapes by L. King Perez
This story is about Chico’s first day in a new school. His family moves around to work on different farms and he has had many first days. His day is going well until two boys pick on him at lunch. Chico stands up to them and realizes that he needs to proud of himself and his family.
I would use this book as a mentor text for students to write a story about the first time they did something new. They have to include how they felt and important sensory details.
MUSLIM FAMILIES
My First Ramadan by Karen Katz
This straightforward book is about the first time a young boy fasts for Ramadan. The boy and his family eat before the sun comes up and fast all day until the sun goes down. Once the sun goes down they have a date to break their fast, just like people have done for many years. This book does a good job explaining Ramadan in clear and simple language.
I would use this book as the starting point of the Muslim family unit. I would have the students use a Venn diagram to compare this family with Heather’s family in the LGBT unit. How are the two families different and how are they the same?
Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr by Lisa Bullard
This easy to read story shows Rashad’s family as they celebrate Ramadan. It explains what Ramadan is and what Muslim families to during this time. There are notes throughout the book that explain important facts about Ramadan. There is also a craft idea which is a moon can children can make to collect money to donate at the end of Ramadan.
I would use this book to give more background information about what Ramadan is and who celebrates it. We could also do the moon can craft.
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan
This informative book depicts a different color on each page with how that color relates to Islam. The rhyming text details several aspects of Ramadan and Muslim life. There is a helpful glossary at the end of the book that gives definitions and pronunciations for the Arabic words.
For this book I would encourage students to think of their own book of colors related to some aspect of their life, religious or otherwise. The students could brainstorm items related to each color and then think of sentences to describe each color relationship. For example brown is the color of my teddy bear or red is the color of my favorite socks. The final product would be a “published” book of colors that we would keep in the classroom library.
Time to Pray by Maha Addasi
In this bilingual book a young girl named Yasmin visits her Muslim grandmother in another country. Yasmin sees her grandmother praying and wants to learn about it. Her grandmother gives her a prayer rug and makes her special prayer clothing. Yasmin has to return home and opens the gift from her grandmother, an alarm clock that sounds like the call to prayer.
This is a great book to talk about how our extended family impacts our lives. I would have students write a journal entry about something they have learned from a family member. Maybe their grandpa taught them to fish or their aunt taught them how to roller skate. These important relationships show how much we all have in common.
The Roses in my Carpets by Rukhsana Khan
This book is about a refugee boy from Afghanistan and his family. He is haunted by memories of bombings and worries that he must care for his mother and sister now that his father is gone. The boy hates school, but is learning the trade of rug weaving. This craft gives him a creative outlet as well as hope for his future. He chooses the thread colors carefully and always adds roses to his weavings to symbolize the connectedness of the tribes of his country.
For this book I would teach a lesson over symbols. The boy in the story uses roses to symbolize the tribes in Afghanistan. I would help the students think of other symbols and then they would design their own carpet “weaving” with the symbols they have chosen.
