FOLLOW ME TO READ
Week 2
exploring culturally authentic children's books
Stella diaz never gives up
By Angela Dominquez
Dear primo: A letter to my cousin
By Duncan Tonatiuh
Today we are going to review Stella Diaz Never Gives Up and Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. Both of these books gives a great insight and example of culturally authentic children's books. Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin is available on Epic! Books. One cousin is in America and the other cousin is in Mexico. They write letters back and forth about how their lives are different yet similar. Duncan is from New Mexico and lived there for 16 years. He then moved to Massachusetts for a boarding school. He still visits Mexico frequently in the summers and embraces both cultures. The illustrator included beautiful cartoon graphics to help explain the bilingual book. This book includes both the English and Spanish language. I am a little familiar with Spanish but I cannot speak the language fully. This book labeled the Spanish words with pictures which helps readers know what the Spanish word means in English. This is a great book to introduce young readers to a dual-language book. Stella Diaz Never Gives Up by Angela Dominguez is about a little girl that is Mexican-American and wants to become an environmental activist. Her mother planned a surprise trip to Mexico and Stella is excited to see the ocean for the first time. Stella is very passionate for marine life and protecting the sea. She needed some help along the way from some new friends and old friends to help advocate her love for the ocean. Angela is from Mexico City and lives grew up in Texas.The illustrator included kid friendly pictures to help support the text and bilingual book.These two books remind me of the book I read last week, We Are the Water Protectors. These three books work together as a text set. You can check out my post from last week here.
Integration of culturally authentic language
I wanted to take a closer look at Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. The author is Duncan Tonatiuh. He is from Mexico City and grew up in San Miguel de Allende. Duncan's mother is Mexican and his father is American. This is also the same for Stella in Stella Diaz Never Gives Up. Duncan moved to Massachusetts when he was 16 years old to attend a boarding school there. He visited Mexico every summer and was able to embrace both cultures. Duncan explained that despite the two cultures, there are plenty of similarities. For example, the buildings, the food, physical appearances, day-to-day routines, and more. Located in the back of Dear Primo, there is a glossary of Spanish words. It lists the Spanish word, the pronunciation, and the definition in English. Duncan did a great job at designing this book for non-Spanish speaking readers because he labeled the Spanish words throughout the book and provided a glossary at the end. The additional language is embedded contextually very well throughout the book.
Angela Dominguez (Stella Diaz Never Gives Up) also did a fantastic job at integrating culturally authentic language. Throughout the book, Stella uses some Spanish words. While there is no glossary in the back, readers are able to figure out what the word means by context clues and illustrations. Carole Lindstrom also incorporated this into We Are the Water Protectors. She incorporated the Ojibwe culture and their language. She also provided a glossary at the end of the book. All three of these books incorporated culturally authentic langauge in different ways.
framework
Laminack and Kelly described books as mirrors, windows, and doors. A book can be a mirror by the reader viewing themselves and lives reflected on the book they read. A book can be a window by the reader viewing the book from an outsiders perspective. A book can be a door by the reader exploring new ways on the topic of the book and making a change (Laminack & Kelly, 101). Students that read Dear Primo, Stella Diaz Never Gives Up, or We Are the Water Protectors can view themselves as all three. I love this technique in order to dive into the story and the meaning behind the text. You might have students in your class that come from similar backgrounds that can provide insight for their classmates. Students can also provide way to connect to the text by comparing similar experiences. For example, Dear Primo is about one cousin in Mexico and another in America. While they live in 2 different countries, there are many similarities. For example, going to school, food, day-to-day routines, and physical appearances. It's crucial for readers to connect to the text so they can understand the book better. Students can take action after reading this text set. For example, in Stella Diaz Never Gives Up, the class can discuss how they can make a difference and change for the ocean. I would start this by creating an anchor chart and discussing ways to clean up the ocean and protect it. Even if you are not near an ocean, you can make a change. Whether that is bring awareness to the situation, creating a fundraiser, or taking a field trip.