Notable Books for a Global Society

Amy Stumph & Carley Wood

Teach & Learn 307
19 April, 2016
Introduction:

This assignment was a chance for us to gain better understanding, acceptance, and

appreciation of cultures and backgrounds other than our own. We chose to analyze 8 books from

the 2005, 2012, 2015, and 2016 lists of Notable Books for Global Society. The Notable Books

for Global Society list was created with the intent to help students, families, and teachers locate

books that promote understanding and acceptance of the worlds diverse cultural and ethnic

groups. The books we selected have themes that center around culturally diverse characters and

topics, intended to broaden the viewpoints of its readers. These types of books are important to

incorporate in classrooms because they increase knowledge and acceptance of other cultures,

nationalities, religions, and ethnicities in readers. It is especially important for children to read

about diverse cultures because, as stated in our provided reading, Teachers who incorporate

multicultural literature into their curriculum expose students to viewpoints and experiences that

can broaden young adolescents visions of self and the world. (Landt, 2006, p. 1)

Purpose:

Our purpose for this project was for us to gain awareness of true quality multicultural

literature, where culture brings a deeper meaning to the characters and lessons in the book. Being

able to distinguish between this and throwing in a token cultured character that is

misrepresented throughout the story is a valuable skill to have as future teachers. It is important

to include multicultural literature into a classroom because, multicultural childrens books may

serve to help our generations see people living in far-flung parts of the globe or even in their own

city as equal and valuable citizens (Tunnell & Jacobs, 2016). We selected books for this project

that contained insightful stories and would fit well in a classroom setting. It is important for

multicultural books to be part of a students reading list because they encourage readers to feel
empathy, reduce stereotyping, and put themselves in other peoples shoes. These books also

enhance and/or challenge a students view of themselves and the world around them.

Definition:

Before completing this project, our definition of a multicultural book was a book thats

focused on a culture that is not prominent in American society. Now that we have a better

understanding of multicultural literature and culture itself, our definition has become more

refined and specific. Now we know that people cannot be generalized by their culture itself, and

there are many variations within each individual culture. Multicultural books can vary in topics

from anything traditions, history events, personal stories of life triumphs or anything in between.

These books are used to show a variation of people or ideas and how it can shape peoples lives.

Our definition has also changed from this project because a multicultural book does not have to

be based on someone from a different country. It could be about people that make different life

choices than us which can make them diverse than our own life.

Steps taken:

For the process of picking books we went through the different years and picked books

that we have already read. It made it easier to evaluate books that we were somewhat familiar

with because we could pick up on information that we may have missed the first time that we

read them. While reading the book for the second time with the NBGS checklist in mind made us

pick up on new aspects of the book. We split the eight books up so that each of us were reading

the four books that we had previously read or had heard about. We had not read every all of the

eight books before but we had been somewhat familiar with them or had heard about them from

listening to people talk about them in class or just hearing ideas from other people. We then
proceeded to write the summaries and critics for the books that we read on our own and then got

together to pick the winner and the two honor books. In order to pick the books we discussed the

main events of each of the books so that we were both on the same page. From there we picked

the books that fit with the criteria the most and the ones that seemed to go above and beyond the

others in our selection. Once the winners were picked we sat together and wrote up the winner

and the two honor books.

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

Kuklin, S. (2014). Beyond magenta: Transgender teens speak out. Candlewick Press.

Beyond Magenta follows five transgender young adults through their life of coming out

and being how they believe that they are. It follows these five teenagers through the bullying that

they went through, coming out, accepting how they feel about themselves, and where they are in

their lives today. The five teenagers names are Jessy, Christina, Mariah, Cameron, Nat, and

Luke. They struggle with constant judgement from people they do and they do not know. Some

often get dirty looks and wonder what it is so wrong with them. This then leads to them feel less

than everyone and have problems with their self-esteem which brings constant struggles to their

everyday life. In the following summary I will highlight three of the five teenagers stories and

what they went through when they transitioned. Jessy was born a female but eventually made the

transition to become male. Originally he was from Thailand but moved to Florida for his fathers

job. Growing up he knew he was different and that he did not feel comfortable in the body that

he was born in. He came out to his mom at first that he was lesbian and she was taken back by

the news. However, he did not want the back lash from the people that he went to high school

with so he went back into the closet for the rest of high school and did not tell people that he was
attracted to women. He grew his hair back so that people would not be able to see that he was

different form everyone else and could be seen as more feminine. One day, he saw an episode on

TV that was about a transgender community and realized that that might be where his life would

fit. He wanted to be a masculine figure in a relationship with straight women. That was when

Jessy realized that he wanted to transition from a female to a male. Before Jessy was going to

enter college he had to come out to his friends that he wanted to date women. Coming out to his

mom that he was trans she had questions as to why he wanted to do this and why he could not

feel comfortable in his own body. Jessys dad wanted him to be happy and if that was the choice

that he wanted to make then that would be okay with him. Eventually, Jessy went through his

transition, he started taking testosterone injections and little changes started to appear with his

body. Today, Jessy passes one hundred percent as a male.

Christinas was born a male and transitioned to being a woman. Her story starts on a train

when she is with her boyfriend. She realizes that the girls sitting by her are laughing and she

confronts them about it. It causes a scene and she ends up getting into a fight. Christina does not

take people laughing or talking about her very well. She tends to get a temper that does not lead

her in very good places. Growing up her parents insisted on sending her to an all-boys Catholic

school which made her feel very uncomfortable. The boys that she went to school with started to

call her mean names that would really get to her head. She has a brother that is gay and he shares

with her that his boyfriends mom is a transgender women. This intrigues Christina into looking

into transsexual on Google and that is when she thought it was possible for her to change

herself even though her mom still thought that she was straight. The summer right before her

senior year at her all-boys high school she decided to become a female. She grew her hair out

and began to transition from a male to a female. Her senior year of high school she actually
loved the attention she got from people asking her what she was. Sadly, someone at her school

found her female MySpace account and printed off her cross dressing pictures and posted them

around the hallways at school. Soon came graduation and Christina wanted so badly to wear her

weave but her mom was too embarrassed to let her do that. Her father made the comment,

Youre the first girl to graduate an all-boys school (Kuklin, 2014). After graduation, she

attended FIT where she felt very accepted by everyone. All the boys at her school were gay but

she wanted to experience what life was like as a girl and falling in love. Dating straight men was

hard because Christina was never sure how they would react when she told them that they were

transgendered. Christina has a serious on again off again boyfriend that she feels somewhat

comfortable with but still struggles with his sometimes. At the end of Christinas story, her mom

shares her hardship during the time that both her sons came out. She struggled to accept

completely but eventually apologized to Christina for everything.

Mariah is different from the rest of the teenagers in this book, she chooses to not have

any pictures of herself with her story because she does not feel comfortable. In the beginning she

mentioned that when she was little it was not like most transgendered people where they felt it

when they were little, instead she believed she was a girl when she was little. She has been in the

system her whole life because your mother died when she was ten and she never knew her father.

In school, her teachers became very frustrated with her when she would come to school dressed

in girls clothes. Teachers would tell her not to come to school dressed like that again. When she

was in placement homes she could not wear girls clothes and had to accept that fact that she was

a boy. In placement she made friends, but became really close to on boy named Michael. They

shared a somewhat intimate relationship out of curiosity. Eventually Mariah moved back in with

her Grandma where she began to act out because she was getting picked on at school. She had
the police called on her because she pushed a pregnant teacher down and threatened to blow up

the school. They sent her to a hospital where they diagnosed her as a bipolar, clinical psychopath

with narcissistic tendencies. She was checked in the state hospital where she was gaining lots of

weight. But she started to feel more like a girl. However, she tried to go back to doing boy things

like playing football and running track. She was very back and forth because her whole life she

thought she looked like a girl and so did others but then when she turned 16 she started to go

through puberty as a male. Her whole body started to change, she was growing facial hair and

the shape of her body was becoming very different. Today, she is taking her transition step by

step. She lives in a community that is hard for her to completely transition but she has in fact

started telling some people about her transition from male to female. She is one hormones but

has not noticed a huge change yet.

Beyond Magenta is a book like no other. At the end of it you are in awe with what you

just read. Realizing how much someones life can change because they are not happy with who

they were born as is amazing. This book meets the criteria of the notable books like because of

the way that it honors and celebrates diversity as well as a common bond. These five individuals

do not know each other but after they have been featured in this book they are now connected for

life. Beyond Magenta tells the story in a way that makes it so interesting to read. It truly is just

them telling their story but every time the author put in her side notes it makes the story come

together even more. It has an appealing format and enduring quality. The texts tell the story of

their life from whenever they chose to start telling it. The pictures also tell a story, too. The

picture are used to show the many changes that these people have gone through. This book can

open up a window for anyone that does not feel comfortable in themselves and that may be

scared to admit how they feel about themselves. There is nothing in this book that is sugar coated
or censored from the people that went through it. It shows the real experiences that these

teenagers went through their whole life and it is amazing to read and see the pictures that match

up with their story. One of the weaknesses of this book however is it does not seem as kid

friendly as most books. The stories behind this book are something that young adults would find

interesting but I do not feel that kids would completely understand the stories that these

teenagers share. It is good that none of this book is sugar coted but it makes it hard to introduce it

to kids. I think this book could potentially be introduced to high school aged students or older

because of some of the wording and stories in the book. One quote that came from this book that

I think anyone could potentially relate to is, Transition? Everyone goes through one kind of

transition or another. We ho through transitions every day. Except mine is maybe a little more

extreme (Kuklin, 2014). It is a quote that even if you are not a transgender person you can still

feel the change in your life with whatever you may do.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans

Brown, D. (2015). Drowned city: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Harcourt.

The focus of Drowned City is Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans in 2005. It was a

catastrophic event that will go down in history because of the damage that it caused to the land

and to millions of people lives. When the hurricane hit Florida it was a category 1 storm that

killed 6 people and left half a million without power. When the storm hit New Orleans it moved

to a category 5 and brought with it 85 degree weather, 155 mile per hour winds, and coming

directly for New Orleans, Louisiana. Some people were too stubborn to leave their houses

because they believed that the storm would not be able to take away their houses or some people
had too much pride that they did not want to be run out of their home because of the storm that

was coming. Once the storm hit there was massive amounts of water that flooded the entire city.

It was hard for some people to get out of their house because the water had blocked them in and

was also flooding their house. Some people had to escape to the roof to stay afloat so that they

did not drown. Rescue boats would be going through the streets but could not be as much help as

was needed so people used their personal boats to help rescue people that were stranded in their

homes or on top of roofs. Lots of police officers did not do their job because they were worried

for their own safety or for their family safety. Chaos broke out around the city because people

took advantage of people evacuating the city, so many people started to steal items from stores

and other people. The city days after the hurricane hit was left very gross because oil, gasoline,

and dead bodies had started to float around in the flooded areas. This was bad for anyone that

had come in contact with the water because they could potentially die from it as well. Many of

the people that did evacuate from the storm they evacuated to the Superdome to keep dry and

safe. But the Superdome was not prepared for the amount of people that it would have in it. They

did not have nearly enough power for the generator or food and water for the people that were

using the Superdome as a place to stay out of the storm. The Coast guard helped out by hoisting

people out of the flood and off of the roofs, by doing this they rescued 35,000 people. Other

states take in the homeless from Katrina and provide care for them. People were scattered across

the country during this time. The hospitals in New Orleans did not have enough resources to help

everyone but they did their best. President Bush during this time tried to reassure the nation by

saying that they had supplies in place and would move in to help the people affected. Rescue

helicopters and boats come from all over and try their best to help people. Animals are left to die

because disaster workers ignore the pets and worry about the people that also need to find safe
land. Many people become separated from their pets. Buses arrive to the Superdome to help

evacuate the thousands of people that were inside. Disaster teams search in the ruins for missing

people. Four months after Katrina, 1,100 bodies had been recovered, 200 cannot be identified

and 150 are unclaimed. By 2012, only 80 percent of the New Orleans residents had returned.

Storm barriers have been put in place since then and many neighborhoods have overgrown plants

and weeds.

With this book being about such a disastrous event the way that this book is written and

the illustrations bring it to a different life. Drowned City is written as a graphic novel which

shows many different pictures on every page. There are so many details of this event and

different aspects to the story that putting it into a graphic novel makes it easier to follow. This

book does a good job of portraying accuracy and authenticity of characteristics. If it was multiple

different facts or things that happened on one page with one picture it would be hard to see the

reality of each part. Having the multiple pictures and the way that their illustrated shows time

and effort into writing this book. There is so much detail and realness in each picture even

though it is animated. It shows the bond that was created with the people during such a tragic

time like Hurricane Katrina. It gives a since of community even thought everything was falling

to pieces. Obviously everything cannot be perfect and this book reflects it.
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras

Tonatiuh, D. (2015). Funny bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead Calaveras. New York:

Abrams for Young Reader.

Funny Bones is about Jose Guadalupe Posada also known as Lupe, was born in 1852.

Lupe has a passion for drawing and copying ones that he saw in books. He started to work for

Don Trinidad Pedrozas print shop where he discovered passion for printing and engraving. Lupe

and some friends were upset with how the government was working so he started drawing up

political cartoons to go into the newspapers. People thoroughly enjoyed looking at his cartoons

but the politicians did not. Once Lupe married he opened up his own shop and started making

illustrations and printing work as well. But in 1888 a flood destroyed the city and ruined Lupes

shop. Lupe started illustrating tales on paper and paperboys sold them on the streets for a few

cents. Lupe became best known for Calaveras which were special during Da De Los Muertos.

Calaveras are usually skeletons doing different activities. They celebrate joy and all things of

happiness during this time. Lupe had witnessed a lot of change that had gone on in Mexico City

during his life, he witnessed the world around him change and conflict happen in his home land.

During the conflict that had arose during his time he used his Calaveras as a way criticize those

men that were involved and show his own views. People were very familiar with Calaveras but

were not familiar with who the artist was that had created them. It was years after his death that

people had figured out who had made these creative deigns. Today, the people of Mexico do not

call him Lupe, instead he is just known as Posada.

Funny Bones meets the criteria for the notable books because it reflects accuracy and

authenticity of the Lupe and what he did for Mexican culture. This book is also about a minority

group in the United States so for us as readers it is most likely new information that was not
known about before. Since this book is about the Mexican culture it includes aspects of the

Mexican language that makes it interesting to read and also makes the book flow because it is

using the native language with explaining certain parts of the Calaveras. For example when the

book talks about the involvement of the Calaveras during Da De Los Muertos it says, On those

days, the city was full of vendors who sold pan de muerto (bread), cempaschil (marigold

flowers), alferiques (sugar skulls), and papel picado (paper cutouts) (Tonattiuh, 2015). This

sentence is a good example of how the book incorporates a unique language. The format of this

book is a picture book but it is very unique. It incorporated examples of the work that Lupe had

made which gives a more authentic feel and it is unique to see actual examples of the kind of

work that he had done during that time.

Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game

Coy, J. (2015). Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner

Publishing Group, Inc.

This book tells the story of how John McLendon and the Eagles, a Negro basketball

team, participated in a secret game against a team of white players, breaking the prohibition of

that time. McLendon lead his team to the location they would play without giving them any idea

of where they were going, as well as covering windows and taking precautions to make sure no

one was following them. If McLendon was caught doing such an illegal activity, he would be

fired or worse. The Eagles (McLendons team) beat Dukes team 88-44, leaving everyone

shocked. Then they played another round, after they had mixed up the players to even things out.

People who witnessed this event were shocked, but the players claimed that their viewpoints of
African-Americans had changed from that point on. The most amazing part about this story is

that this basketball game happened 19 years before Martin Luther King Jr.s famous speech, I

Have a Dream. This sends a really important message to readers that even a small group of

people who are passionate about something can take steps towards changing the world around

them.

One strength I saw throughout this book was that it was well balanced between telling an

interesting, engaging, and well-illustrated story, and also incorporating lots of interesting facts,

dates, and quotes about the event and events of that time period. For example, one player from

the Dukes had written a letter home to his family and said We played basketball against a Negro

college teamAnd when the evening was over, most of them had changed their views quite a

lot (Coy, 2015). Another quote that was used was from Coach John McLendon saying I just

wanted to further the idea that we all played basketball, that we all played it well, and that we

should be playing it together (Coy, 2015). The quotes that were used from players and coaches

were especially useful because it gave the audience a first-hand description of what happened

and how they felt about the game. The end of the book also included a bibliography, a timeline

of events, and more information about Coach John McLendons career for students to get more

information about this historic event.

As for Part I of the criteria for Notable Books for a Global Society, I believe this book

fulfills 3/6 mentioned criteria. Game Changer honors and celebrates diversity as well as common

bonds in humanity by telling the story of the black Eagles players and white Duke players

participating in a secret basketball game against each other, not for the purpose of humiliating or

demolishing the other team, but to come together as basketball players and familiarizing

themselves to people of other ethnicities. As the books quoted, George Parks commented on the
game by saying [This game was] just Gods children horsing around with a basketball (Coy,

2015). This book also includes characters within a cultural group or between two or more

cultural groups who interact substantively and authentically. This was shown when at the

beginning of the game when it said that both teams were little uncomfortable at first and were

hesitant to bump into each other because some players had never been around a person of the

other race before. This part of the book showed genuine interaction between the two races, rather

than just portraying the teams being completely comfortable around one another right away.

They also interacted substantially throughout the basketball games, and then hanging out after

the games to talk about it with one another. This book also included members of a minority

group for a purpose other than filling a quota, which was clear when the Eagles beat the Dukes

by double the amount of points, showing that they were skilled at the game and that blacks were

indeed just as capable as whites. The Eagles playing the Dukes represented a large step forward

towards the Civil Rights Movement.

As for the elements within Part II of NBGS criteria, I believe Game Changer meets all

four requirements. This book invites reflection, critical analysis, and responses by telling a story

that was so ahead of its time, with the probation still going on and the Eagles and Dukes

breaking the law to play basketball against one another. This really makes the reader analyze and

reflect on what it means to be a morally good human, even if society is telling us something

different. Game Changer utilizes unique language and style throughout the book by

incorporating eye pleasing illustrations and a collection of quotes which work to tell the story

from a first-hand perspective. It also meets the generally-accepted criteria of quality for non-

fiction books, which includes accurate details, engaging text and illustrations, as well as
appropriate language for the intended audience. Lastly, this book has an appealing format which

is easy to follow along with, and tells a timeless story that all age groups can learn from.

Hachiko Waits

Newman, L. (2004). Hachiko Waits. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Hachiko Waits is a heartwarming story of the loyalty that a dog has to his owner, even

when he suddenly does not return. Hachi is the dog of Professor Ueno and walks him to and

from the train station for work every single day. Then one day, the professor does not get off the

train to come home. Hachi continues to arrive at the train station every morning and every

afternoon for ten years waiting for his master to return. A young boy and his mother eventually

notice that the dog doesnt have a home and decide to take responsibility for feeding him. The

Japanese people take notice of Hachi waiting for his owner and start to adore and praise Hachi

for his loyalty and devotion. He is awarded a new name, Hachiko, because of the amount of

respect he receives, and eventually a statue of the dog is built in the train station. Hachiko

becomes a symbol of hope for everyone who passes through the station. People found strength

by watching Hachiko, saying If Hachiko does not give up hope, we will not give up hope

(Newman, 2004).

Hachiko Waits meets two requirements from Part I of the NBGS criteria. This book

includes characters within a cultural group who interact substantively and authentically- these

characters being Professor Ueno, Hachi, the Station Master, and the other Japanese residents who

use the train station. All of the people in the story clearly share the same culture and values, this

was clear once they all noticed Hachi waiting for the Professor and everyone started praising him
for his loyalty. In America, I doubt a dog waiting in a train station would gain that much

attention, let alone become an inspiration. You could tell the characters were being authentic and

genuine by the way they cared for the dog, even though they had no obligations to it in the first

place. Everyone who witnessed Hachikos death at the station were genuinely sad for the loss of

Hachiko, but also happy that he could be reunited with the professor. This was a great

demonstration of the peoples immense love and care of Hachiko. The book also included

members of a minority group for a purpose other than filling a quota. As I discussed, the

shared values of the Japanese people created a loving and supportive environment for Hachiko,

and he even became an inspiration for them. The Japanese culture had a huge influence in the

book because if no one cared that Hachiko showed up every day, there wouldnt be a story to

begin with.

Hachiko Waits also meets all stated requirements from Part II of NBGS criteria. The

impact Hachiko has on the surrounding community encourages reflection from readers as they

learn to love Hachiko and how he spreads hope and optimism into the community. This really

shows readers how one persons positive attitude/outlook on the world can be contagious. It also

evokes an emotional response when Hachiko dies and everyone is gathered around him, when

Mr. Yoshikawa says Day after day after day he (Mr. Ueno) has waited up in Heaven, just as

Hachiko has waited here on Earth. And today, when the special train reaches Heaven and opens

its doors, Hachiko will be the first one to step out. Just think how happy he will be to see his

master again (Newman, 2004). Hachiko Waits also demonstrates unique language or style by

incorporating illustrations of the story and incorporating many different character interactions so

the reader experiences different viewpoints. This book also meets generally-accepted criteria of

quality fiction literature by incorporating character development, an engaging storyline, and

relatable characters. Lastly, Hachiko Waits has an appealing format and is of enduring quality

because it is a timeless true story of a dog who never gave up hope on his owner. Animal lovers

everywhere will be able to connect with this story and love the loyalty that Hachiko

demonstrates for his owner.

Honor Book: Last Stop on Market Street

Pena, M. D., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last Stop on Market Street. New York: G.P. Putnam's

Sons.

On CJ and his Nanas way home from church, CJ has a lot of questions about the way his

Nana and him do things compared to everyone else around him. It is raining outside and CJ does

not want to be walking to the bus in the rain. When he sees his friend Colby get in a car and

drive off while he is still standing in the rain, he wonders why they dont have a car. His Nana

reassures him that there is nothing wrong with the bus and says, We got a bus that breathes fire,

and old Mr. Dennis, who always has a trick for you (De La Pena, 2015) While on the bus CJ

meets a blind man and wonders why he cannot see. There were also older boys that got on the

bus with music players that CJ wished he had, but Nana said that he has live music because the

man next to them was playing his guitar. The blind man taught CJ to close his eyes and listen to

the music to actually feel the music. As they got off the bus on Market Street CJ and his Nana

were walking down the dirty part of the street and Nana explains Sometimes when you are

surrounded by dirt, CJ, youre a better for what is beautiful (De La Pena, 2015). In the end,

when his Nana and him make it to the soup kitchen he is very glad that he came and saw all of

the familiar faces. It did not matter that he did not have everything everyone else did.
 For being a childrens book, Last Stop on Market Street has a much stronger meaning

than many. It brings to light the diversity between some peoples way of life and how they may

be different. Without CJs Nana, CJ might wonder what is wrong with him or why he does not

get to drive cars or have nice music players. Instead his Nana makes sure he knows that beauty is

in the eye of beholder and that what he does have and what he does do it just as good as the rest

of the children around him. The most pressing line in this book is when CJs Nana tells him,

Sometimes when youre surrounded by dirt, CJ, youre a much better witness for what is

beautiful (De La Pena, 2015). This book brings such a deeper meaning with simple text and

simple conversation between two people. Not only do the words on the page develop the book

but so do the illustrations. Every page is filled with color and brightness which shows how happy

this book actually is and the meaning that it is trying to give. There are little details in this book

that go such a long way. For example, the man on the bus with the tattoos it so simple but shows

so much. Many childrens book do not have details like that so that makes it very unique. It

shows the life of a minority child and his grandmother. Everyone comes from all walks of life

and this books allows for the reader to think about what the deeper meaning of it all is and

maybe why people chose to do some of the things that they do.

The first honor book that we chose is Last Stop on Market Street. In order for a book to

be on the Notable Books for a Global Society it has to meet certain criteria parts which this book

certainly does. One of the first criteria that it meets is it honors and celebrates diversity as well

as common bonds in humanity. One the bus when CJ meets Mr. Dennis the bus driver, the blind

man, two older boys with music players, and the man playing a guitar he starts to realize how

they are very different from him.. However all of them are bounded together for that moment

because they are all on the same bus. They may not being going to the same place but at one
point in time they are all in the same area. Because of this diversity on the bus CJ wonders about

the people he is surrounded by. He wonders why the blind man cannot see and when the blind

man explains that his other senses help him explore the world and CJ starts to wonder to himself

how that is possible. When the man with the guitar starts playing the blind man says, To feel the

magic of the musicI like to close my eyes (Pena, 2015) so CJ tries it himself. He dreams off

into his own world and feels the music without seeing it. He got lost in the sound of the music

and got a chance to feel how the blind man feels the music. For once, CJ put himself in someone

elses shoes and felt like them for a quick second. It was important for CJ to understand the

diversity around him and the Last Stop on Market Street shows diversity in a way that is easy for

the reader to understand as well. This book also qualifies for an honor because it has an

appealing format. Last Stop on Market Street is a picture book that is filled with vibrant colors

and appealing pictures on each page making the style of the book appealing. This book

demonstrates unique language because since it is in a kids perspective and he is talking for a lot

of the book, even some parts of the book are not proper English when he is speaking. It keeps the

book true to the setting and characters that are in it. After a reader reads this book it can invite

them to reflect their own life around them and the diversity in the people that they encounter on a

daily basis. It can allow readers to respond to how they may interact with people that come from

a different background than them. When CJs Nana makes the remark that beauty is in the eye of

the beholder it can make the reader think about the beauty that is around them and maybe they

can find the good in something they once saw as bad. The general genre of this book is fiction

and it is a childrens book. The author and illustrator appeals to this genre by keeping it true to a

book that would normally be a fiction book. It is realistic and does not involve any imaginary

aspects to it. This is a story that could potentially happen in anyones lives and may children
could wonder these exact same things about their life. Since it is also a childrens book it is easy

for children to understand. What the author does that is very beneficial is not dumbing the

content of the book down just because it is written as a childrens book. It keeps the content

understandable but also uses words that is easy for all ages to understand and grasp the concept

of the book.

Honor Book: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Lin, G. (2009). Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. New York: Little, Brown

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a mix of fantasy and Chinese Folklore stories

creatively intertwined to tell the story of a young girls uniquely remarkable journey. This story

is about a girl named Minli, who lives with her family in the Valley of Fruitless Mountain. Her

and her parents must work hard in the fields every day just to produce enough rice for them to

survive. Minli sees how this work tires and frustrated her parents and decides to leave one night

to search for the Man of the Moon in order to ask him how to create a better fortune for her

family. Minli travels through City of the Bright Moonlight, the Village of Moon Rain, and the

Never Ending Mountain in order to reach the Man of the Moon. On her journey, she meets

Dragon, who agrees to accompany her on her journey even though he does not know how to fly.

She also meets buffalo boy, who does not have any family and very few belongings but he

remains extremely grateful for what he does have. The influence buffalo boy had on Minli is

shown through the quote, As Minli looked at the buffalo boy, aglow with happiness against his

poor surrounding, she saw it was enough for him. More than enough, as the smile that kept

curling up on his face told her. Minlis questions fells from her as she realized there was nothing
else to say (Lin, 2009). From this, Minli learned that she should be thankful for her two loving

and caring parents she left behind, as well as her home and belongings. She also meets a Green

Tiger which threatens her and Dragon, the twins Da-Fu and A-Fu who help save Dragons life,

the King of the City of Bright Moonlight who gives her the Borrowed Line- all of whom clearly

play an essential part in her search for the Man of the Moon. Once Dragon and Minli reach the

Man of the Moon she realizes she is only allowed to ask one question, and she chooses to ask

him why the Dragon cannot fly rather than asking how to improve her familys fortune. She had

shaken her head in confusion then, but now, finally, Minli understood all of it. Fortune was not a

house full of gold and jade, but something much more. Something she already had and did not

need to change (Lin, 2009). Once Minli realizes she does not need to change her familys

fortune, The Man of the Moon tells her to take the ball off the Dragons head. And when she

does, Dragon can fly and they realize the ball is a pearl and it is worth a fortune. Dragon flies

Minli home, where the mountain starts to grow with lavish fruits, the Jade River becomes clear

and fresh, and beautiful colorful flowers start to grow. Minli is finally reunited with her parents

and is happier than ever.

We chose Where the Mountain Meets the Moon to be one of our honor books because it

is rich in cultural details and lessons that can be taken away by an audience of any age. This

book fulfills aspects of cultural accuracy because Minli and her parents live in a small poor

village and work from sun up to sun down to make a living and support each other. It is clear that

making a better fortune for her family is important to Minli, which is commonly found in

Chinese culture. She listens to and uses the folk tales her father has shared with her to find the

Man of the Moon who will hopefully turn her familys fortune around. Minlis character is very

authentic because she risked her life in hopes of improving her familys living conditions,
showing how much she loves them and wants everyone to live a better life. Another authentic

relationship was between Minli and the Dragon. After they meet, they became a team and

protected one another throughout their journey to find the Man of the Moon. All of the folklore

stories incorporated into the story were aspects of Chinese culture and their way of life,

providing rich cultural details. Everyone that was met along the way also embodied the beliefs

and lifestyle of the Chinese culture that Minli and her family lived by. This book celebrates

diversity and common bonds because the dragon and Minli were both very different one from on

another but they shared a common bond with wanted to change their fortunes and help each

other. Also, even though Minli and the buffalo boy came from vastly different backgrounds, he

was able to teach Minli how to be grateful for what she does have even though she was searching

for more. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon invites reflection, critical analysis, and response

from readers because there is a lot of underlying meaning and life lessons that are incorporated

throughout this book. This is especially relevant through the folklore stories that were

implemented by characters actually sharing the stories with Minli. An example of this is told in

The Story of Wu Kang. Wu Kang is a man who was never satisfied with what he had, and was

always on the search for more wealth. The Man of the Moon ends the story by punishing him,

So every night Wu Kang cuts the tree. Tied by the string of destiny, he cannot leave it and is

fated to chop until he learns his lesson or until the end of time (Lin, 2009). This folk tale

teaches the lesson to appreciate what you have, always chasing for more will only cause you to

make a fool of yourself. An aspect of the book that is unique is that she meets a lot of different

characters along the way that each bring insight to Minlis journey. In a typical novel there is a

set group of characters that are followed throughout the entire book but this novels characters

come and go after providing knowledge to Minli. Being a fiction novel, this book incorporated
an interesting and complex storyline for readers. Another generally-accepted criteria of fiction

books is that all of the details of the book come together at the end of the novel and create a

satisfactory ending. The pictures that are incorporated in the novel bring an appealing format to

the storyline. There is also an enduring quality to this book by including real pictures at the end

of the book and showing how the different places inspired Grace Lin and how they came to life

in the illustrations.

Winner: George

Gino, A. (2015). George. New York: Scholastic.

George is a story of a transgender little girl who was born into a boys body. She must

use the boys bathroom, dress like a boy, and like boy topics/sports to avoid people making fun

of her, but she secretly looks at girl magazines and dreams of playing the role of Charlotte in the

school play, Charlottes Web. Her teacher tells her that she is not allowed to audition for this part

because it is a girls part and she can only try out for Wilbur. After she cant stand being a boy

any longer, George tell her best friend Kelly that she is really a girl. She fully supports George

and helps her come up with a plan to become Charlotte and show everyone who she really is. I

felt so happy when George finally got to identify herself as Melissa and went to the zoo with

Kelly wearing their pretty dresses. This book is a simple and charming story for young readers of

the struggles a transgender child may be going through in school. I think it is important to have a

book like this in your classroom for students who may feel like they are all alone with these

issues, especially with the growing awareness of the LGBTQ community.

We chose this book to be our NBGS winner because of its exceptional job at meeting the

given criteria and representing a transgender child in a realistic, relatable, and appropriate way
for young audiences. From Part I of NBGS criteria, George portrays cultural accuracy and

authenticity of characters in terms of (a) physical characteristics, (b) intellectual abilities and

problem solving capabilities, (c) leadership and cooperative dimensions, and (d) social and

economic status. George is portrayed as a completely normal girl who was just born into a boys

body and has to deal with the judgement that comes along with that. George wants to try out for

Charlotte in the school play, wear dresses, learn in school, and be accepted and happy just like

everyone else. She may be misunderstood by many people in her life, but since the reader gets an

inside look into her mind, they can see how she deals with being judged based off of her body

and not her true personality. One example of George being judged/bullied was when she started

crying when Charlotte dies at the end of the book, and her classmates say Heh, some girl is

crying over a dead spider. That aint no girl. Thats George. Close enough, followed by

laughter (Gino, 2015). This takes a toll on her and makes her feel really sad at times, which

eventually pushes her to tell her best friend Kelly and try out for Charlotte to show how good of

a girl she really is. George does a wonderful job of honoring and celebrating diversity as well as

common bonds in humanity. This is shown through Georges relationship with her best friend

Kelly. When George tells Kelly she might be a girl, Kelly says And you know what If you

think youre a girl, then I think youre a girl too! (Gino, 2015). Although some adults

throughout the book were hesitant to be this supportive of George, Kelly was the light at the end

of the tunnel for her. Even though Kelly couldnt really relate to George being transgender, Kelly

was automatically willing to support George and help her come out to other people in her life.

George also includes characters within a cultural group or between two or more cultural groups

who interact substantively and authentically. This is shown throughout the book by classmates

and teachers who dont understand what George is going through, and judge her because of the
way she looks physically. These interactions were authentic by showing how George was

sometimes bullied by her classmates and stereotyped by her teacher since she wouldnt allow

George to try out for the part of Charlotte. These genuine interactions were a realistic

representation of how unaware and judgmental people can be when they dont understand

another person.

In addition, George meets all the Part II requirements of the NBGS criteria. George

invites reflection, critical analysis, and response from its readers because as the story progresses

you feel empathy for George as she faces harsh judgements, even though she cant control the

way she was born and how she feels inside. It really makes readers think twice about

judging/criticizing another person because you really have no idea what they are going through.

At the end of the book, I felt so happy for George finally getting to go to the zoo as Melissa

because I felt like I had been on the emotional roller coaster right along with her. I think this

quote really captures her first moment being who she wants to be and getting to forget all her

cares in the world, A wave of warmth filled Melissa from deep in her belly and out to her

fingers and toes. She put her arm around Kelly. Kelly held her camera at arms length and took a

picture of the two girls grinning faces (Gino, 2015). Alex Gino demonstrates unique language

or style in his writing by using very descriptive and language which makes it natural for the

reader to emotionally connect with Georges feelings. An example of this emotional language is,

The word man hit like a pile of rocks falling on Georges skull. It was a hundred times worse

than boy, and she couldnt breathe. She bit her lip fiercely and felt fresh tears pounding against

her eyes. She put her head down on her desk and wished she were invisible (Gino, 2015). At

this point I could totally relate to how George felt and the same feeling came over me, even

though I was just sitting on my bed reading. George meets the generally-accepted criteria of
quality fictional literature by incorporating genuine dialogue between characters, an engaging

storyline that finds a solution to the main issue, and relatable characters for a young audience.

This book also has an appealing format which allows readers to easily connect with George and

feel her pain through those tough situations. It also has enduring quality since it is told from the

perspective of a young girl and many kids can relate to being bullied and judged by others.

This book could be introduced into a classroom setting to encourage acceptance, not only

for transgender people, but of anyone that is different than ones self. Since the story puts the

reader into Georges shoes, teachers could have students participate in an activity where they try

and see life from someone elses perspective. It will give students the opportunity to feel

something for one another. Making this book available in the classroom can also offer simple

support to students that may relate to George in anyway.

The literary elements Alex Gino incorporated into the book George worked to make the

story feel real, relatable, and engaging for the reader. The plot followed George during her daily

activities such as going to school, interacting with friends and family, and trying out for the

school play. Gino did not fail to leave out the hard times George had to go through, like when

she got bullied by classmates or did not feel accepted by her mother when she first came out to

her. George knew Mom was trying to make her feel better, but it didnt work. Nothing-

certainly not a buffet dinner- could help the fact that Mom didnt see her (Gino, 2015). Because

the reader experiences these rough situations and can connect with how George is feeling, there

is a deeper sense of connection the reader had with the story. One major theme of this book is

friendship, which is shown through Kellys endless support for and friendship with George. She

never once questions George and trusts her judgement when she says she is a girl. She even gives

up one of her performances as Charlotte to let George take on the part by saying, There are
two performances silly. I could take one and you could have the other Youd do that for me?

Of course I would. You could totally do it! In fact, you make a better Charlotte than I do

(Gino, 2015). The characterization throughout the book is unique to Georges character as a

young girl, even though people see and treat her as a boy. I have never read a book where the

character is referred to as both a girl and a boy, which made this reading experience unique from

others Ive had. One example of this is when George takes a trip to the bathroom, George hated

the boys bathroom. It was the worst room in the school. She hated the smell of pee and bleach,

and she hated the blue tiles on the wall to remind you where you were, as if the urinals didnt

make it obvious enough. The whole room was about being a boy, and when boys were in there,

they liked to talk about what was between their legs. (Gino. 2015). This also emphasized how

uncomfortable everything boy-related makes George, which is frustrating for her because she if

forced to conform to everything boys are expected to do/like. This book was written with the

voice of young elementary aged kids, so there are lots of silly words and phrases, as well as

childish interactions. They ran to their respective busses, the soles of their sneakers slapping

against the blacktop, calling One, two, three and Zoot! behind them (Gino, 2015). This was

George and Kellys special way of saying goodbye without having to feel sad about leaving each

other. The writing style that was incorporated by Gino uses a combination of authentic dialogue

between characters, as well as descriptive emotional/thinking language from Georges point of

view. This was a creative way to allow the reader to experience everything George does, as well

as getting the inside picture of what she thinks and feels throughout the whole book. After

George finished her performance as Charlotte, the book says The moment George reached the

ground, she cried too. She slumped against the backstage wall, hugging her knees, as she cried in

sadness and in joy. Charlotte was dead, but George was alive in a way she had never imagined.
She watched the remainder of the show from the side of the stage, in a heady post-performance

glow (Gino, 2015). This quote is a perfect example of how the reader is able to experience

exactly what George is feeling after her first performance as a girl character.

Conclusion:

After we completed this assignment we learned more about multicultural books and what

they have to offer as far as knowledge on the world around us. We have learned how there are

many different ways to write about ones culture that may be different than our own. They can

come in all different types of books (chapter books, picture books, or graphic novels) but still

teach us something about a different walk of life. They can be about people in our own

community or people in a different country. However, there are still things that would be useful

to know about multicultural books. For example, we may have read a variety of different books

that can be read to kids but it would be helpful to know how to incorporate these books into our

classrooms besides just putting them on our shelves and hoping that our students will eventually

read them. Another thing that could be beneficial to learn is what to do if parents get offended

that one of these books may be in our classroom library and their student decides to read it. A

couple of the books that we read have appeared on a controversial list that may make parents

uncomfortable or offended if their child is reading it. If we were going to do this assignment

again we would clarify the criteria before we write paragraphs that do not actually need to be

included in the final product. It brought on more work for our project that was not necessary for

us to do or incorporate into the final draft. This assignment can be tied to other courses like our
ELL classes that we take. Some of these multicultural books show cultures in different countries

and in the future we may have students that are part of those cultures. In our ELL classes we

have learned that it is important to understand where our students come from so we can make our

interactions with them more beneficial for them.

 Bibliography

Brown, D. (2015). Drowned city: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Harcourt.

Coy, J. (2015). Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner

Publishing Group, Inc.

Gino, A. (2015). George. New York: Scholastic.

Kuklin, S. (n.d.). Beyond magenta: Transgender teens speak out. Candlewick Press.

Landt, S. (2006). Multicultural Literature and Young Adolescents: A Kaleidoscope of

Opportunity. International Reading Association.

Lin, G. (2009). Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. New York: Little, Brown

Newman, L. (2004). Hachiko Waits. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Pena, M. D., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Tonatiuh, D. (2015). Funny bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead calaveras. New York:

Abrams for Young Reader.

Tunnell, M., Jacobs, J., Young, T., & Brynn G. (2016). Childrens Literature, Briefly: Sixth
Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson.
 Name: Carley Wood & Amy Stumph

Checklist for Critiquing Multicultural Literature (NBGS Project)

Refer to this sheet as you complete your multicultural literature critique paper (also
known as the Notable Books for a Global Society Project). Include two copies of this
sheet with your paper, one for you to complete a self-assessment before you turn in the
paper, and one for my assessment and comments. These are the minimum expected
requirements. You may, of course, exceed these expectations as you complete the
assignment.

X Title page.
X Introduction.
X Purpose of the assignment.
X The steps you used in completing the assignment. How you went about selecting and
finding books for the assignment.
X Your own definition for multicultural or global literature and how you arrived at this
definition. How your original definition for multicultural or global literature changed
as you completed the project.
X List of the eight multicultural titles read for project in APA bibliographic form. (This
bibliographic information will appear separately for each book you read within your
paper and then again, at the end of the paper.) A brief critique of each of the eight titles
you selected for the project. You would summarize the books and point out their
strengths and weaknesses.
X Thorough discussion of the Notable Books for a Global Society criteria that shows you
have read, considered, and used this criteria for the books you have read for this paper
and why. You will need to offer specific examples from the books, of course.
X Strong references to the Childrens Literature, Briefly text and one other journal article
or any other relevant piecesif you use another relevant piece, you must delineate the
applicable parts for this paperas you explore multicultural literature and make your
book choice. Weave this information into your paper, possibly when you explain the
assignments purpose or the criteria or rationale for multicultural literature. Several
articles on multicultural literature are available on Angel.
X A thorough examination/critique of one multicultural book from one of the NBGS
lists that you might consider using in your classroom. Why might this book appeal to
students? To a lesser degree, you will also critique your two honor books, and offer
support for their inclusion on the list.
X A critical reaction paper expressing the books strengths and weaknesses and its
usefulness in your classroom. Why this particular book out of all the other titles you
read or that have been nominated? How does it meet your criteria for good
multicultural literature?
X A critique and evaluation of the books relevant literary elements, including plot,
theme, voice, and characterization as well as writing style. You must provide extensive
examples of all of these.
X Conclusion. What did you learn from this assignment? What do you still need to
learn? What would you change if you did the assignment again? How can you tie the
assignment to coursework for this course and previous courses?
X Bibliography of references used for critique. This includes the book you critiqued,
your honor books, all other books read, and additional critical references that informed
your paper.

Name: Carley Wood & Amy Stumph

Checklist for Critiquing Multicultural Literature (NBGS Project)

Refer to this sheet as you complete your multicultural literature critique paper (also
known as the Notable Books for a Global Society Project). Include two copies of this
sheet with your paper, one for you to complete a self-assessment before you turn in the
paper, and one for my assessment and comments. These are the minimum expected
requirements. You may, of course, exceed these expectations as you complete the
assignment.

____ Title page.

____ Introduction.
____ Purpose of the assignment.
____ The steps you used in completing the assignment. How you went about selecting
and finding books for the assignment.
____ Your own definition for multicultural or global literature and how you arrived at
this definition. How your original definition for multicultural or global literature
changed as you completed the project.
____ List of the eight multicultural titles read for project in APA bibliographic form.
(This bibliographic information will appear separately for each book you read within
your paper and then again, at the end of the paper.) A brief critique of each of the eight
titles you selected for the project. You would summarize the books and point out their
strengths and weaknesses.
____ Thorough discussion of the Notable Books for a Global Society criteria that shows
you have read, considered, and used this criteria for the books you have read for this
paper and why. You will need to offer specific examples from the books, of course.
____ Strong references to the Childrens Literature, Briefly text and one other journal
article or any other relevant piecesif you use another relevant piece, you must
delineate the applicable parts for this paperas you explore multicultural literature
and make your book choice. Weave this information into your paper, possibly when
you explain the assignments purpose or the criteria or rationale for multicultural
literature. Several articles on multicultural literature are available on Angel.
____ A thorough examination/critique of one multicultural book from one of the NBGS
lists that you might consider using in your classroom. Why might this book appeal to
students? To a lesser degree, you will also critique your two honor books, and offer
support for their inclusion on the list.
____ A critical reaction paper expressing the books strengths and weaknesses and its
usefulness in your classroom. Why this particular book out of all the other titles you
read or that have been nominated? How does it meet your criteria for good
multicultural literature?
____ A critique and evaluation of the books relevant literary elements, including plot,
theme, voice, and characterization as well as writing style. You must provide extensive
examples of all of these.
____ Conclusion. What did you learn from this assignment? What do you still need to
learn? What would you change if you did the assignment again? How can you tie the
assignment to coursework for this course and previous courses?
____ Bibliography of references used for critique. This includes the book you critiqued,
your honor books, all other books read, and additional critical references that informed
your paper.