This well-organized guide to multicultural resources for preschool to grade 6 students is arranged thematically and contains annotations for over 450 recently published fiction and nonfiction titles. . . . The authors provide useful indexes by culture and grade level, by author, by title, by illustrator, and by subject and grade level. . . . Recommended for developing a diverse collection, for use in literature circles, and for a variety of curriculum uses.” —Teacher Librarian
“The best part of this professional reference title is the arrangement of titles by thematic grouping. This is not a title meant to be read cover to cover, but is a well-indexed collection of current multicultural literature for PreK to sixth grade. The authors include parent-child reader group titles and give ideas about how various titles relate to each other. Librarians and teachers will find the listing of award-winning multicultural titles extremely helpful. The authors are obviously seasoned librarians; they included all information needed to purchase these titles for our school libaries. This title would be very useful as a buying tool and reference title as media specialists strive to develop multicultural collections. Recommended.” —Library Media Connection
“[U]ser-friendly and extremely helpful both in terms of choices and the descriptions. . . . The information on discussion groups will be familiar to most teachers, but should prove useful to librarians or parents who are interested in encouraging children to talk about what they are reading. East and Thomas have cast a wide net, including more than 400 high-quality books for preschool through sixth grade that deal with a variety of topics, all relating to multiculturalism in some way.” —School Library Jourbanal
“Amazing blackbirds, winged cats, families whose kindness is repaid a hundred-fold, frogs that own the water, and young men who decide an act of charity intended for them should go to those in more need abound in this bibliography and activity guide. The authors, practitioners in public and school libraries, find a wide selection of quality children's books for grades K-12 that describe daily life and extraordinary events in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. They take a topical rather than geographic approach, covering identity, self-image, learning, families, friends, neighborhoods, traditions, the past in diverse communities and ways to learn about today's world, including coping with conflict. They describe how to build lessons, programs, and parent-child discussion groups, and list award-winning books about multicultural life. The indices are particularly helpful, giving teachers and librarians plenty of topics and ideas to explore in a range of grade levels.” —Reference & Research Book News
“This is an indispensible resource packed guide full of suggestions for books that could be used to each multicultural studies to young children. It should act as a must read resource for librarians and teachers, revealing a vast range of literature that my otherwise have gone unnoticed.” —Library Review
“Librarians and teachers will welcome this book. The authors combine experience working in public and school libraries with extensive professional development in the field of children's literature. The result is a thoughtful annotated list of resources for preschool through grade 6, arranged in thematic chapters. . . . The thematic chapters are followed by two chapters dealing with parent-child discussion groups and literature circles. A total of 465 titles are covered. The content chapters are followed by lists of award winners and every kind of index a teacher or librarian could want: culture, author, title, illustrator, and subject. A useful tool for collection development, library programming, and classroom use.” —Booklist/Professional Reading
“I found this book useful in putting together booklists on everyday topics that would appeal to a wide range of kids and would potentially introduce an unsuspecting kid to another point of view. It is also practical for rounding out subject guides or pathfinders to help teachers, parents, and kids learn just a little bit more about a culture. I appreciated that the selections given for each theme were not overwhelming—the lists include a few quality books, many of them award-winning. Across Cultures is a good resource that encourages the integration of multicultural literature into almost any learning experience.” —Colorado Association of Libraries
“Useful features are the suggested reading levels given for each title and the list of titles that have been given literary awards. This title could easily be used in public and school libraries as a tool for collection development, library programming, and classroom use.” —ARBA
Once readers realize that this volume could not possibly include every good children's book with a multicultural theme, they'll find it to be user-friendly and extremely helpful both in terms of the choices and the descriptions. East and Thomas have organized their lists of multicultural literature into six themes: "Identity, Self-Image, and Learning"; "Families, Friends, and Neighborhoods"; "Traditions-Food, Art, Poetry, Music, and Celebrations"; "Traditions-Folktales"; "Exploring the Past in Diverse Communities"; and "Knowing Today's World." Each of these sections is subdivided into multiple categories, giving teachers and librarians an excellent system for finding books on just the right topic. In addition, titles are listed in five different indexes, again making the task of finding a particular book as easy as possible. Two chapters address getting children and the adults in their lives to discuss books. The information on discussion groups will be familiar to most teachers, but should prove useful to librarians or parents who are interested in encouraging children to talk about what they are reading. East and Thomas have cast a wide net, including more than 400 high-quality books for preschool through sixth grade that deal with a variety of topics, all relating to multiculturalism in some way.-Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
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