Beatrice's Goat- Page McBrier

This story is about a young girl living in a West African village who only hopes to attend school, even though she knows that probably won't happen due to her family's lack of money. As she works to help support her family, one day she receives a young goat as a gift, and from that day on, the goat was a helpful way for Beatrice and her family to make money. As she continues to bring home money made from selling the goat's milk, she has enough money to help buy her siblings some new clothes, however, her mother wants her to go to school. Because of the generosity of someone she did not even know, Beatrice was able to make enough money in order to attend school.

This book would be a beneficial text to use in talking with students about other cultures and the ways that we as the United States might differ from people all over the world. This type of story would be very useful in talking with students about being the change in the world; encouraging both students and teachers to be more intentional in how they give.

Multi-Cultural/International

jambo means hello-Muriel Feelings

This West African book written and illustrated by a husband and wife living among the culture, is one that is intriguing not only because of its factual information but also for its insight into African culture and the Swahili language.

Although this book is not telling a story, it would be a great text to be used within the classroom because of the way it introduces the reader to the West African culture and the language spoken therein. By exposing students to cultures other than their own, we can broaden their knowledge on other ways of life and help them to combat misconceptions. This could also be beneficial if there were a student within the classroom that could relate to this text, however the teacher must be mindful of how they are teaching with it and must be prepared and well informed of the culture to the best of his/her ability.

Multi-cultural/International

Estela's Swap-Alexis O'Neil

This short story is one that has a way of warming the heart. Estela, a young girl who is attending her first swap meet with her father at the market place, is trying hard to sell her music box to be able to afford dancing lessons. As she continues to watch her father sell various things to customers, she herself tries to barter with people and convince them to buy her music box. In the end however, a neighboring woman who is working on a skirt and making flowers has her booth blown away by the wind. As Estela seeks to help her, she realizes her need to give the woman her music box so she can continue making her flowers to make money and keep her booth going. At the end of the story, the woman brings Estela the skirt she had been working on.

This book would be a great use of multi-cultural literature to allow students to experience stories based off of Hispanic culture. This would also be a positive resource in encouraging students to be kind and giving with the things that they have, providing evidence with the story as to the effects of doing so.

Multi-Cultural/International