Multicultural Text Set Autosaved

Vutsinas
Sami Vutsinas
ELED 310
Multicultural Text Set
15 November 2017
Multicultural Text Set
Read Aloud- Book #1: Were Different, Were The Same
Book 2: All Kinds of Friends, Even Green!
Book 3: Special People Special World
Book 4: Its Okay To Be Different
Book 5: My Pal Victor, Mi Amigo Victor
Book 6: My Buddy
Book 7: Some Kids Have Autism
Book 8: Some Kids Wear Leg Braces
Book 9: Some Kids Are Deaf
Book 10: Some Kids Are Blind

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Book 1: Were Different, Were The Same by Bobbi Jane Kates
Description of the book: This book is a Sesame Street book about differences between types of
people. This book is not all about disabilities, but it definitely starts a conversation about it. This
book talks about how we have different hair, different noses, different skin, different bodies,
but we are all people who can find similarities as well. At the end of the book, there is emphasis
on the truth that although we are different, we are also the same and we are wonderful. The
appropriate age level for this book is K-2. Three words to represent this book would be
inclusive, differences, and celebration.
Evaluation of the book: This book did a pretty good job including those with disabilities in the
illustrations. For example, on the page where it was talking about how our bodies are all
different, there was included in the illustration, a boy in a wheelchair playing basketball. I loved
this because often times people think that people in wheelchairs cant play sports with their
peers, but this book trumped that stereotype. For the illustration of people whose eyes are
different, they could have included a picture of someone who was blind with a white cane or
braille or something just to show a more inclusive thought on the topic. However, I am still just
so impressed with the illustration of the boy playing basketball in his wheelchair and I think that
will really promote positive self-image for people with physical disabilities that read this book.
Recommended use for the book: I used this book as an introductory Read Aloud for my
prepared lesson plan on disabilities. I thought this book was great for an introductory book
because it does not hold a ton of information about disabilities, but definitely starts the
conversation if you want to. I would not say this book is explicitly about disabilities. However, it
is about celebrating our differences, and as the teacher, there is freedom in the different ways
you can use this book for. It is a great conversation starter for how to respect, find similarities
between, and include people who are different than yourself.
SOLs: 1.10 The student will apply the traits of a good citizen by
a) focusing on fair play, exhibiting good sportsmanship, helping others, and treating others
with respect;
1.12 c) include people who have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions, who make
contributions to their communities and who are united as Americans by common principles.
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Book #2- All Types of Friends, Even Green! By Ellen Senisi
Description of the book: This book is a non-fiction book about special needs. It highlights the
life of a boy named Moses who has spina bifida and lives his life in a wheelchair. The book
focuses on Moses in his class completing a writing activity about a friend. Moses is super
friendly so he had a hard time picking just one friend to write about so instead he chose to
write about his neighbors iguana, Zaki. Moses feels bonded to Zaki because she has no toes on
her back feet so she has special needs. Three key words to represent this book would be
inclusion, physical disability, and iguanas.
Evaluation of the book: This book is illustrated with all photographs of Moses, his classmates,
his parents, and Zaki. In the pictures of Moses interacting with his peers, I was impressed with
how in those photos, his peers are playing with him and talking with him in a way that appears
to be genuine and fun. There are not any pictures of him being out casted or left out of fun
activities outside just because he is in a wheelchair. In fact, there is one page in particular that
shows a picture of a boy named Manuel pushing Moses fast on the cement area of the
playground. It looked like they were having a great time together. There is another picture
where Moses is holding hands and sitting in a circle with his able-bodied classmates. This book
as a whole seems very inclusive for people with physical disabilities. Regarding the article, Ten
Quick Ways To Analyze Childrens Books For Ableism, I am a little worried that this text shows
Moses as helpless a little too much. I would suggest that they include more photos of Moses
doing things on his own without help from others. In most photos, others are pushing his
wheelchair, holding him, helping him write, helping him think about his writing assignment.
There is very little individuality for Moses. Moses is also not shown in leadership roles, which
feeds into the stereotype that kids with disabilities are not leaders.
Recommended use for the book: I would recommend using this book to build upon student
knowledge and exposure to those with physical disabilities while also introducing a science
topic about animals or iguanas. This book is very informative about both physical disabilities
and iguanas. I would pick this book to read before my lesson about reptiles, which is an SOL
SOLs: Science 1.5 The student will investigate and understand that animals, including humans, have
basic needs and certain distinguishing characteristics. Key concepts include b) animals, including
humans, have many different physical characteristics.
Social Studies 1.10 The student will apply the traits of a good citizen by a) focusing on fair play,
exhibiting good sportsmanship, helping others, and treating others with respect.
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Book #3: Special People, Special Ways by Pat Thomas
Description of the book: This book is similar to Were Different, Were The Same in the sense
that it has no plot, but instead is just about accepting people who are different. The book
explains different kinds of people and their various needs. For example, on one page, it says
some see with a touch or shape fingers to talk. Others sit silent and many cant walk. Other
differences that are described include people who have pain, have a hard time getting through
the day, and need help getting fed and dressed. Three words to represent this book are
differences, unity, and disabilities.
Evaluation of the book: I thought this book was really great. The whole book was about how
some people live differently than others. Most of the pages were very inclusive and truthful
instead of stereotypical when talking about the various differences. However, on one of the
pages, says Not everyone born is athletic or smart. We each have a choice to give from our
heart. I did not appreciate this wording because I believe it is presumptuous to assume that
someone is not born athletic or smart. Also, this line alludes to the misconception that people
who have various disabilities cannot be athletic or smart. This is a dangerous misconception to
feed into. Other than this one page, the rest of the book was good and stereotype free.
Recommended use for the book: I would recommend using this book in a similar setting as
book #1, Were Different, Were the Same because it does a great job introducing the idea that
there are people that are born and live different than we do. It also is a very positive book that
emphasizes the need to celebrate our differences, regardless of what they are. I would use this
book for a class K-2 when introducing a lesson on special needs. I would follow this read aloud
with an activity where the students put themselves in a person with disabilitys shoes. One
activity that I really like that is good for this is to have the students put on headphones that play
static noise and have them try to hear what their classmates are saying to them. This activity
does a really great job showing the students what it may be like to be hearing impaired. It also
introduces students to the idea of someones ears hearing differently than their own.
SOLs: 1.10 The student will apply the traits of a good citizen by a) focusing on fair play, exhibiting
good sportsmanship, helping others, and treating others with respect; 1.12 c) include people who
have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions, who make contributions to their communities
and who are united as Americans by common principles.
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Book #4- Its Okay to be Different by Todd Parr
Description of the book: This book is a book intended for young children to introduce the
concept that people are different and unique. It explains several different realms of diversity
and emphasizes that all of them are okay. This book very clearly communicates that all
differences are to be embraced and celebrated, not looked down upon. If I could describe this
book in three words it would be: diversity, ableism, and race.
Evaluation of the book: Overall, I thought this book was great. It was super simple and definitely
something that could be read to young children. It does a great job introducing complex topics
such as race, ableism, adoption, homosexuals, and diversity.
Recommended use for the book: I would recommend using this book as a read aloud for any
unit that deals with the topics that are introduced in this book. This book prvides a great
introduction to some rally complex topics. I would definitely use this book to show that we are
all different and then would follow the read a loud with a lesson on something from diversity.
For example, on one of the pages, it says that its okay to have wheels. I would use this page
in particular to introduce a lesson on physical disabilities.
SOLs:
1.10 The student will apply the traits of a good citizen by
with respect;
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Book #5- My Pal, Victor Mi Amigo, Victor by Diane Gonzales Bertrand
Description of the book: This book is about a boy who is physically disabled who is best friends
with another boy named Victor. They love to do all these different activities together like
swimming, playing baseball, and playing Frisbee with the dog. Their friendship is awesome and
Victor is super inclusive to his best friend, regardless of how well he is able to walk or run. This
book is bilingual with English and Spanish.
Evaluation of the book: I love how this book tackles issues of ableism, disabilities, and
bilingualism. This book does a super great job being able to relate to a bunch of different types
of people. For example, the book is about two Hispanic friends. One of the friends has a
physical disability. The other friend does not have a disability. The whole book is bilingual. Also,
the author does not reveal to his audience that the main character is in a wheelchair until the
very last page. I love that he did this because then while reading the book, the audience is not
pitying the main character because the pictures are all showing things that he likes to do, sports
he likes to play, and places he likes to go. This book does a great job reinforcing the truth that
people in wheelchairs can do a lot of the same things that we can do. Although how they do
those things may look a little different, they still can achieve what they want to.
Recommended use for the book:

I would recommend reading this book to a first or second grade class that has some Spanish
speaking English Language Learners in it. I would use this book as Read Aloud that serves as an
introduction to a lesson or discussion about physical disabilities.
with respect;
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Book #6- My Buddy by Audrey Osofsky
Description of the book: This book is a story about a boy who is in a wheel chair. The book talks
about different things that were difficult for him because of his physical disability. Then, the
book talks about how he was able to train a service dog to help him live his life. This book goes
in to detail about how this service dog helped him do better in school and in life in general. Not
only did this service dog help the boy practically, he also proved to be a great friend and
companion to him.
Evaluation of the book: I think this book is awesome and did a wonderful job explaining what it
would be like to live life in a wheelchair. It highlights some difficulties that may arise when living
in a wheelchair like showering, moving around, or doing random tasks in school. I love how
most of the book focused on what it is like to train and own a service dog and how that
positively affects someones life who is in a wheelchair. I think this book is an important source
for teachers to use in their classrooms to explain what service dogs are and how they can help
friends who are in wheelchairs or have other disabilities.
Recommended use for the book: I would recommend using this book as a Read Aloud that
introduces a discussion/small lesson about disabilities, special needs, and service dogs. If I read
this book to my class, I would invite someone I know who trains service dogs in her past time in
as a guest speaker. I would ask for her to explain the process of training them, the benefits of
having service dogs, and hopefully she would be able to bring in one of her service dogs to the
class.
with respect;
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Book #7- Some Kids Have Autism by Martha E. H. Rustad
Description of the book: This is a Nonfiction book providing information about those who are
living with Autism. This book is very fact based, heavily sharing information about the main
difficulties that those with Autism struggle with. These difficulties include: communicating with
other people, picking up on social cues, understanding feelings, making and keeping friends,
repeating physical actions, importance of everyday routine. The book also explains some
strengths that those with Autism have like having stronger senses and having special talents like
music and math skills. Three words I would use to describe this book are autism, special needs,
and isolation.
Evaluation of the book: Overall, I dont think that this book did a great job steering away from
various stereotypes or insensitive photos. For example, on page nine, the photo is of a boy who
is sitting alone playing with his toys. The words on the page say kids with autism might have
trouble making friends. I believe that it was insensitive for them to include this picture because
just because it was a picture of a kid playing alone does not mean that he had trouble making
friends. It just seemed like they were making assumptions that the kid doesnt have friends
because he is autistic and playing alone for this one photo. In al the pictures in this book, the
child pictured is either alone or with a teacher/aid. The child pictured is never with a peer. This
just feeds into the stereotype that kids with Autism are isolated from their peers. Similarly, on
page 21, the text says they like to play with friends, but the picture on that page is of a child
playing with an adult, not a peer. This feeds into the stereotype that kids with autism are only
friends with adults, not their peers.
Recommended use for the book:

Due to the many insensitive photos and assumption-based texts, I would not recommend using
this book in an instructional setting.
with respect;
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Book #8- Some Kids Wear Leg Braces by Lola M. Schaefer
Description of the book: This is a Nonfiction book providing information about children who are
living with leg braces. This book is very fact based, sharing information such as: leg braces help
to support weak or injured legs, kids could have been born with weak bones or muscles, kids
could have gotten hurt or paralyzed, young kids are more likely to wear leg braces, leg braces
can cover just a part or the whole leg, physical therapists help kids to walk or move, walkers
and crutches can help as well, wheelchairs could be used instead depending on how serious the
imparity. Three words I would use to describe this book is physical disability, overcome, and
helpful.
Evaluation of the book: Overall, I think this book achieves its intended purpose of providing
information about blindness to children K-2. However, I really dislike the way page 17 was
written. It said, kids who wear leg braces help at home. They dust or do other jobs. I feel as
though this statement is the author trying too hard to make kids with leg braces fit certain
societal norms of what able-bodied kids do. Just because there is one picture of a kid wearing
leg braces helping to dust, does not mean that all kids with leg braces do the same thing. This
page was a definite overgeneralization. Page 19 was written very similarly. It said, kids who
wear leg braces enjoy animals. They take care of their pets. This is another overgeneralization
as not all kids who wear leg braces enjoy animals and take care of them. This is another
example of the author trying too hard to make kids who wear leg braces seem more normal
to society by making assumptions for what they enjoy doing.
Recommended use for the book: I used this book in a reading group setting in a First Grade
class. I would recommend printing each student out their own paper copies of the book so that
they can follow along together and highlight vocabulary words and underline or circle unknown
words. By reading this book, you are introducing the fact that some people cannot use their
bodies in the same ways as us. I would follow reading this book with a special activity. One
activity that I really like is to have the kids put socks on their hands and try to pick up pennies
on the table. This activity helps to show the kids how difficult life would be with a physical
disability. Although it has nothing to do with wearing leg braces, it still helps to show what
physical disabilities are like.
with respect;
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Book #9- Some Kids Are Deaf by Lola M. Schaefer
living Blind. This book is very fact based, sharing information about those who are deaf or
hearing impaired. Some of the information given includes: the definition of Deaf, definition of
hearing impaired, how one can become or be born Deaf, what hearing aids are and how they
work, what cochlear implants are and how they work, who uses cochlear implants vs. who uses
hearing aids, how speech therapists can help those with hearing impairments, how flashing
lights can be of use to those who are deaf, how closed captioning can help, and how pagers can
help. The whole last page of the book is full of every definition mentioned throughout the book.
Three words to describe this book would be hearing impaired, special needs, and sign language.
information about deafness to children K-2. I really like the way that page 8 was written
because its focus was on hearing aids and only one of three girls pictured is actually wearing
hearing aids. I really like this because it shows how the girl with hearing aids is still being
included by those who are not hearing impaired. This choice of photo encourages inclusivity
among peers. A few of the photos included such as kids looking at the flashing lights, texting on
a pager, and watching TV with closed captioning are kind of strange because it sort of seems
like the kids pictured were not even hearing impaired or deaf. It kind of seemed like the
photographer just took random pictures of random kids doing things that could potentially help
a person who was deaf. Also, on page 12, the boy who is using sign language is showing facial
expressions that make it seem as though he is making fun of it or not taking it seriously. I feel as
though the photographer could have chosen a better picture that did not make it seem like sign
language was a joke or something to be laughed at.
words. I would follow reading this book with a special activity. One activity that I really like is to
have a student wear headphones that are plugged into a radio that is playing static noise. That
student then has to decipher what their peers are trying to tell them through the background
noise of the static. This will probably be super frustrating for the students, but is a great
representation of what it is like to try to hear when you are hearing impaired.
with respect;
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Book #10- Some Kids Are Blind by Lola M. Schaefer
living Blind. This book is very fact based, sharing information such as: what Blindness is, how
people become and are blind, what senses they use instead of sight, what Braille is, how canes
and guide dogs help them move around, and how audio books help them to read. This book
shows photographs of various Blind people doing everyday activities. Three words I would use
to describe this book are blindness, special needs, and differentiation.
information about blindness to children K-2. There were no photos where the blind person
pictured had to be helped. Instead, the book emphasized the resources they can use as an aid
or help for themselves. The author also does a great job showing different strategies for helping
them. Some of these strategies include guide dogs, white canes, audio books, and braille.
However, there is one page that includes a photo of a blind person riding a bike and the words
on that page say, Blind people like to ride bikes and have fun, too. I dont think that this page
was necessary. They didnt explain at all how riding bikes is made safe or differentiated when
you are blind. I think if they are going to include a page about blind people riding bikes, they
need to include a description of how that is made possible so that it seems legitimate to
readers.
words. I would follow reading this book with a special activity. One that I really like is to make
Braille nametags using printed out Braille cells and puffy paint. Another activity that could be
used to show blindness along with this book could be to have a box of random objects. Then,
you could blindfold every student and have them try to guess what each object is based upon
how their sense of feeling is.
with respect;
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Read Aloud Reflection
I chose the book, Were Different, Were the Same, to read to my students. This
book is a book sponsored by Sesame Street and illustrated by Bobbi Jane Kite. This book
is a great introduction to explaining differences between people, including disabilities
that cause for those people to function a bit differently. This book proved to be an
awesome conversation starter for the topic of disabilities. I enjoyed this book for this
purpose because it acknowledges people with disabilities in a way that celebrates their
differences and includes them into society through their choice of wording and
illustrations. For example, on the page that discusses physical differences and
disabilities, there is an illustration of a boy with a wheelchair being included in a
basketball game with his friends who are not in wheelchairs. This was an awesome
illustration because I was able to point it out and ask the students various questions
about that.
This book proved to be an awesome introductory book for teaching my students
about disabilities. Not only did we have some pretty great discussions about the
differences expressed on each page, I also was able to lead them in a couple post-read
aloud activities to build upon what we had read about. The two activities I chose to lead
with them let them experience what life would be like as someone who is Blind and
Hearing Impaired. For Blindness, I blindfolded each student and had them reach into a
box and use their sense of touch to try and guess what each object was. This was a great
activity because it let the kids see what life is like and the various difficulties that come
along with being blind. Then, for deafness, I had each student take turns wearing
headphones with static noise in them and they had to try and guess what their peers
were saying to them. These two activities proved to be pretty great to help them
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understand disabilities in a pretty real way. I felt as though the book, Were Different,
Were the Same, did a great job setting me up to do these activities in an environment
that was inclusive and respectful.
I paused at various points throughout the book to ask different questions along the
way that challenged the students to think about differences and similarities between
people. This book encouraged the students to think about people who are different than
them in a positive way that celebrates our diversity as humans. Throughout the read
aloud, I was surprised at the ways that my class was so respectful of and curious about
the disabilities introduced. I definitely think that this read aloud created an
environment where the students were open-minded and excited to learn more about
ways that people are different, able-bodied or not.
The multicultural text set topic that I chose was Special Needs/Disabilities. I chose
to read aloud the book, Were Different, Were The Same for a few different reasons. As I
was deciding whether or not to use this text, I thought back to an article I had to read for
READ 366 by Junko Yokita, called Multicultural Literature. The author emphasized the
important fact that without cultural accuracy, a book cannot be considered a quality
piece of multicultural literacy (Yokita 159). One thing I really appreciated about this
book is that it was culturally accurate in the sense that it didnt make the argument that
we are all the same, but it emphasized the fact that we are all different and that is okay.
First of all, I wanted to choose a book that would prove to be a good introductory book
to several disabilities, not just one. I wanted this because I knew that I would be leading
centers where we learned about Deafness and Blindness. This book was an awesome
choice for this reason because it talks about the ways our noses, eyes, bodies, and
emotions are all different. Because the differences included were so broad, I was able to
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focus in on what was going to be relevant for the lesson that day (eyes and ears). This
book is very diverse because its whole purpose was to show the various ways that
humans are all different. In recognizing those differences, the book emphasized how all
of these differences between us are wonderful and can bring us all together. It was such
a great lesson for my class!
Overall, this read aloud went pretty great. I was very pleased with the discussion
that filled the classroom about diversity, disabilities, and differences because of this read
aloud text. It is so important for us, as teachers, to take the time to explain disabilities to
our students in a way that celebrates those differences and shows ways to be helpful and
inclusive. If we never take the time to teach these values to our students, then we cannot
expect them to naturally treat people with disabilities with the authentic respect and
inclusion that they deserve.
Through this assignment, The Multicultural Text Set, I learned a lot about how various
stereotypes are embedded into childrens books. The surprising thing about this was that some
of the books that had these stereotypes were books that were written in efforts to educate
students of disabilities. I know that the authors intentions were pure, but there were a couple
books that were full of stereotypes like: children with autism can only be friends with adults,
kids with leg braces all like to clean and take care of pets. I found the article, Ten Quick Ways to
Analyze Childrens Books for Ableism, to be extremely helpful while I was evaluating each text
for these stereotypes. In the future, I will definitely use the strategies I learned in this article to
ensure that the books that I am choosing to expose my students to are not ones that feed into
any unhealthy or negative stereotypes about those who have disabilities.

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Sources
Myers, C. (2008). Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Ableism. Rethinking Schools
Online, 1-5.
Yokita, J. (1993). Issues in Selecting Multicultural Children's Literature. National Council of
Teachers of English, 70(3), 156-167.

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Multicultural Text Set

Multicultural Text Set

Read Aloud- Book #1: Were Different, Were The Same

Book 2: All Kinds of Friends, Even Green!

Book 3: Special People Special World

Book 4: Its Okay To Be Different

Book 5: My Pal Victor, Mi Amigo Victor

Book 7: Some Kids Have Autism

Book 8: Some Kids Wear Leg Braces

Book 9: Some Kids Are Deaf

Book 10: Some Kids Are Blind

Book 1: Were Different, Were The Same by Bobbi Jane Kates

Book #2- All Types of Friends, Even Green! By Ellen Senisi

Book #3: Special People, Special Ways by Pat Thomas

Book #4- Its Okay to be Different by Todd Parr

Book #5- My Pal, Victor Mi Amigo, Victor by Diane Gonzales Bertrand

Recommended use for the book:

Book #6- My Buddy by Audrey Osofsky

Book #7- Some Kids Have Autism by Martha E. H. Rustad

Recommended use for the book:

Book #8- Some Kids Wear Leg Braces by Lola M. Schaefer

Book #9- Some Kids Are Deaf by Lola M. Schaefer

Book #10- Some Kids Are Blind by Lola M. Schaefer

Read Aloud Reflection

is a great introduction to explaining differences between people, including disabilities

disabilities, there is an illustration of a boy with a wheelchair being included in a

This book proved to be an awesome introductory book for teaching my students

that was inclusive and respectful.

ways that people are different, able-bodied or not.

a great lesson for my class!

inclusion that they deserve.

any unhealthy or negative stereotypes about those who have disabilities.

Yokita, J. (1993). Issues in Selecting Multicultural Children's Literature. National Council of

Teachers of English, 70(3), 156-167.

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