Los Gatos Black on Halloween- By: Marisa Montes

Although Los Gatos Black on Halloween is not my favorite book I've read for this class, I do think it is a fun book that could be very beneficial to young students in a classroom. It approaches a much loved holiday by children, Halloween, from a totoally different standpoint that many students may be accustomed to. The Mexican culture celebrates "Day of the Dead" and this book is about monsters who throw a ball in the Haunted Hall. Once again, this book brings Spanish words into the text and offers a glossary at the end. I think what is important to realize in relation to this book is that "Day of the Dead" is a real celebration that people take part in and it is celebrated with honor and respect. This is not done just for fun, but to actually honor the dead. I think the book is tastefully done and not any scarier than other books that have monsters and ghosts, etc. I love the artwork and the fact that the story is written in a poem format takes away the edge of being too scary. I think children would really get into this book and would show once again that there is more than one way to celebrate Halloween.

I Love Saturdays y domingos- By: Alma Flor Ada

The way Alma Flor Ada brings together two different cultures in I Love Saturday y domingos is brilliant. There are so many children that come from mixed cultures and it is so important to be able to celebrate the heritage of both. The things I particularly like about this book is it discusses the differences and the special bond she has with each of her grandparents. Even for children who come from families of the same culture, they are going to have a different relationship with each family member. This book shows how wonderful it is to celebrate the differences. I also love how parts of the book are written in Spanish to really bring the language to life and how she would really talk to her grandparents. I was able to connect to the way the grandparents told their family history through stories to her as all of my grandparents have done the same. I feel like my students will be able to have the same connection. I think it will be important for me to stress to the children who do not come from culturally different backgrounds to think about their own family and the different relationships they have within their own family. This will help everyone understand that each family is unique, even their own. This will definitely be an important book to have in my classroom!

The Name Jar- By: Yangsook Choi

I feel like The Name Jar is an important book in helping children understand that names are special and even though they are different, they are very important. In this story, a girl by the name of Unhei realizes her Korean name is different than the other American children's names when they are unable to pronounce it correctly. They agree to help her come up with an American name by putting ideas in "the name jar" and allowing her to choose whichever one she wants.

My favorite line in the story is "You are different, Unhei. That's a good thing!" Her mother is trying to express the fact that being different is okay. This is important for Unhei to understand so she will be proud of her name and the reasons why she was named Unhei and not worry about changing it to satisfy others. I also loved how she in the end was proud of her name and the meaning behind it which was "Grace". To all the children's surprise, they found out that both American and Korean's childrens names can have some special meaning behind them! This broke the barrier of anyone thinking that her name was weird or out of place, but helped them all realize that their names were all unique and acceptable. They even went a step futher to each student wanting a Korean nickname.

This is a touching story about young children learning acceptance and individuality and that being different is okay. I think this is an excellent book and plan to definitely use this in my classroom.

I Went Walking, By: Sue Williams

I Went Walking is a fun, interactive book that can be read to young children. As a young boy takes a walk, he identifies animals of different colors. The book is interactive because the children can say "What did you see?" after the reader says " I went walking". Ideas brought up in class were that either the color words or the names of the animals, or the actual animals could be covered up allowing the students to say either the animal or read the words. This is a very useful book for the classroom and I think fun for both the teacher and students. The illustrations are also beautiful! I really enjoyed I Went Walking.

My Name is Maria Isabel

I really enjoyed this book and thought it had a strong message that a name is powerful and meaningful and not just something we call people. In Maria Isabel's case, her name represented all the important people in her life such as her granmothers and grandfather who all influenced her as well as her family. Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez was a name she was proud of and felt like a strong person when called that. I think in this fast paced world, we tend to focus on what will make OUR days easier for us and not take in to account the other persons feelings. In Maria Isabel's case, her teacher decided to call her Mary Lopez as it would help the teacher out since there were already two Marias in the class. The teacher did not know, but she had actually made Maria Isabel "wilt" much like the character Chrysanthemum in the book by Kevin Henkes. Maria Isabel was not able to "bloom" until she was able to express her feelings through her writing about her greatest wish which of course was to be called Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez! I love how in the end she is able to get the courage to express why she feels so strongly about her name, and wishes to be called by it.