Though we do our best to offer you easy access to Spanish and bilingual books, we all have to admit it’s still far more of a challenge to find good Latino-themed children’s literature than it is to find great Anglo-centric books. That’s why we love it when we see someone else participating in the search and producing great resources for Latinos and other ethnic groups.
The same organization that brought us the Read Early, Read ALOUD! campaign has just released its 2012 multicultural book list to promote literacy across the spectrum of minority populations. The list includes 45 titles, intended for grades K-4 and representing a variety of cultural groups. El mundo hispanohablante is represented by a handful of titles, including I Love Saturdays y domingos and My Name is María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada, and Up and Down the Andes by Laurie Krebs.
This is no ordinary list, either. Check out the accompanying parent and educator resources. Using these activities, which range from discussion questions to easy recipes, is an excellent way to spark the all-important conversation about how we all fit into the world and what we can learn from each other.
For even more great celebratory titles, see Reading is Fundamental’s multicultural book lists from previous years.
Read more about the Reading is Fundamental Multicultural Literacy Campaign here.
RIF is great!
Check out my presentation on multicultural children’s literature K-8 – feel free to use for teacher development or however! – senorarosa.posterous.com
Thank you, Chelsea, for your kind words about the newest RIF Multicultural Book Collection; we agree it is not just a list, but with the activities you point, out the list can be a great resource for parents, educators and community volunteers for years to come. We welcome feedback and hope to hear from many of your readers. I invite everyone to follow RIF’s work on the Multicultural Literacy effort and other activities by RIF on our blog, Rasco from RIF (www.rascofromrif.org).
Happy Valentine’s Day to all,
Carol Hampton Rasco
President/CEO
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.
Hello,
At the Library where I work, I will be including in my contribution to our Reading Program a summary of how Carnival, Festival and Parades co-relate as a celebration of our cultural heritage.
One of our popular Author’s is Nunez who writes about Latino identity and perceptions.
From someone who works in the education field, I can say that this is a really an excellent list. The activities are great and very helpful when extending the experience after the book ends!
I just had the opportunity to check out this collection on RIF’s site. What a great way to share different cultures and experiences with your children! Wonderful resources!