Running head: SKILL BUILDER #3

Skill Builder #3
Anna-Marie Legaspi
San Jose State University

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For INFO 275: Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities,
students are asked to participate in a series of skill building activities. This assignment asks
students to create a kit or book bundle that would be useful to a specific community. The
community I have chosen to focus on is the people living in the Valley View Librarys service
area. The Valley View Library is located in SeaTac, WA, with the ZIP code 98108. This library
belongs to the King County Library System, a large library organization with 48 libraries in King
County, WA. I will explain my approach to this assignment and the steps I took in order to
complete it below.
I have been researching the Valley View community for several weeks now. Located in
the neighborhood of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, this community has a high poverty
level, as well as a large immigrant community. I wanted to create something that would be of
interest to new immigrants in the community. At first, I wanted to create a kit for adults who
have recently immigrated to the U.S.A. Researching this idea, I came across a very useful, free
kit that already exists called the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit, which comes from the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services government organization. This toolkit is available to any
information organization that may have a need for it. Because this information was already welldistributed, I decided to approach the kit from a different angle: new immigrant children.
Uprooting from your home and relocating your life is a very stressful event, and when a
person moves to a new country where they may not even speak the predominant language, it can
be incredibly stressful. Immigrant children have to face many obstacles and usually get no say in
the whole process. I wanted to create something that could potentially help these children this
hugely challenging life change.

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Looking at the King County Library Systems current resources, there does not appear be
a kit specifically about moving to the U.S.A. or being a new immigrant. KCLS does have over
200 kits for children, called Books to Grow On. These kits contain books, CDs, DVDs, activity
suggestions, toys, and other items focused on specific themes. These kits come in a sturdy tote
that has a checklist of all the items enclosed. Patrons can check out the kits and have them for 28
days, with the option of two renewals. Kit themes range anywhere from Penguins to Divorce.
Building off of the aforementioned Civics and Citizenship Toolkit as well as these existing
Books to Grow On kits, I have created a New to the U.S.A kit for new immigrant children. I
created the kit using the library catalog searching under subject heading Immigrant Children,
ALA booklists including a list about Contemporary Immigrant Experiences in Childrens
Books, as well as personal interviews with childrens librarians at KCLS.
The New to the U.S.A. kit could be used by new immigrant families. All of the books
included use simple English, so that the whole family can read the books together. Many of the
books selected cover the experiences of attending a new school as a new arrival from a foreign
country, as well as issues with clashing cultures and missing home. The goal of this kit is to show
new immigrant children that they are not alone in the often difficult transition of moving to the
U.S.A. The items selected depict children from a broad range of cultures and home countries.
This book kit will be of particular use to the Valley View Library community, as well as any
other communities with a high immigrant population. All of the items are arranged in the kit just
like the other Books to Grow On theme kits. I took an existing tote and turned it into this New
to U.S.A. kit. I think that KCLS should incorporate this kit into their existing collection.

Whats inside the New to the U.S.A. Kit:

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8 Picture Books
2 Nonfiction Childrens Books
1 Music CD
2 DVDS
1 Puzzle

Picture Books:

Im New Here by Anne Sibley OBrien.

Summary: This book follows the journey of three new immigrant children from a diverse range
of countries (Somalia, Guatemala, and Korea) who have recently moved to the U.S.A.
Rationale for Inclusion: This book shows that the struggles and challenges new immigrant
children face when moving to a new country are similar, even when they come from very
different countries. The reader may be able to identify with one or all of the characters in the
book.

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Speak Up, Tommy! by Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Summary: Tommy is a new immigrant from Israel who faces challenges in his new American
classroom due to his limited English language skills. He gains confidence when he befriends a
visiting police dog who only understands Hebrew.
Rationale for Inclusion: This humorous book encourages new English language speakers to
speak up in class and shows them that their classmates want to hear what they have to say,
even if they are not fluent in English.

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One Green Apple by Eve Bunting

Summary: Farah is a Muslim immigrant of Arab descent (home country not named) who attends
her first American school field trip. On the field trip, the class travels to an apple orchard where
Farah selects a green apple, which is different from the rest of her classmates red apples. At first,
the other students protest her green apple, but when they combine the apples to make apple cider
the end result is a delicious mix. Farah masters her first English word, apple and gains selfconfidence.
Rationale for Inclusion: This book explains what it feels like to be different and new to American
customs and culture. Reading this book can lead to a conversation about acceptance and
belonging.

Waiting for Papa by Rene Colato Lainez

Summary: After a fire burns down their home in El Salvador, young Beto and his mother move
to the United States. Betos father is not able to move with them due to visa complications. For
three years, Beto waits for his father, drawing closer to a happy reunion that takes place at the
end of the story.

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Rationale for Inclusion: Many immigrant families are split up during the process of moving to
the United States. Reading this story may give some comfort to children struggling with missing
their family members living far away.

Half a World Away by Libby Gleeson

Summary: Louies best friend Amy moves away from their hometown in Australia to New York
City. Louie misses Amy terribly, and they find magical ways to communicate with each other,
even though they are living half a world away.
Rationale for Inclusion: Moving away from friends and familiar places can be very emotionally
difficult for new immigrant children. This book shows two best friends facing that very problem,
but still finding ways to remain friends even though they no longer live in the same country.

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Sofie and the City by Karima Grant

Summary: Sofie and her family have recently moved from Senegal to an unnamed American
city, which Sofie hates. She misses her home and her grandma, who she speaks to on the phone
every Sunday. Believing her new city to be ugly and dirty, her opinion starts to change after
she befriends another girl who lives in the same city.
Rationale for Inclusion: Accepting a new city as ones home takes time. At first, Sofie hates her
new city, but over time she grows to accept it when she finds that the people living in the city are
friendly and not as different from her as she initially thought. This book could be helpful to a
child struggling with their feelings about where they have moved to.

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My Name is Bilal by Asma Mobin-Uddin

Summary: Bilal and his family move to a new city. When he and his sister start school, it turns
out that they are the only Muslims there. When the other students tease Bilals sister for wearing
a headscarf, Bilal tries to change himself, going by the name Bill in order to fit in. But after a
while, he does not feel right about it and decides to stay true to himself and his faith by
defending his sister. This gains other students respect and acceptance.
Rationale for Inclusion: Concepts of religious prejudice, freedom and tolerance can be
considered and discussed after reading this book together as a family.

Hannah is My Name by Belle Yang

Summary: When a young girl and her parents emigrate from Taiwan to the San Francisco, the
young girl gives up her Chinese name, Na-Li, for the American name Hannah. Hannah and her
family wait for their green cards for a long time while they learn to adjust to all of the changes
that come with moving to a new country.

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Rationale for Inclusion: This book shows the challenging green card waiting process that
immigrants face when moving to the U.S.A., which may be familiar to some families who read
this book. Also, when Hannah picks an American name the feelings associated with the change
may also be relatable to other new immigrant children who either keep or change their name to
an Americanized version.

Nonfiction Childrens Books

Immigrant Children by Sylvia Whitman

Summary: Follow the journeys of four different real-life groups of immigrant children as they
make their way to and through the United States.
Rationale for Inclusion: Reading this book will show new immigrant children that there have
been other children moving from their home countries to the United States for centuries. They
can compare their experiences with the historical experiences of past generations of immigrant
children.

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First-Generation Immigrant Families by Juliana Fields

Summary: Describes the challenges to living in a first-generation immigrant family, including
cultural and language differences, generation gaps, and immigration issues, as well as what it is
like for families to live in two different cultures, speaking at least two different languages and
how children often adapt to their new country more quickly than their parents.
Rationale for Inclusion: Out of all of the books in the kit, this book is the most relevant and
important for new immigrant children and their families to read as it is a nonfiction book with
real life people and examples of the situations and challenges that first-generation immigrant
families go through. This book shows immigrant families that there are many other families that
have moved the United States that have had similar experiences to theirs.

Music CD

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American Playground by Putumayo Kids

Summary: This fun kids music CD is full of classic American folk songs that families can listen
to and learn together. This will help them familiarize themselves with American kids songs that
are a part of American culture. A sampling of the songs on this CD include: You Are My
Sunshine, Oh, Susannah, and Shell Be Coming Round The Mountain.
Rationale for Inclusion: Learning these songs is a fun family activity, as well as potentially
useful knowledge as the children may encounter these songs again at school, at story times,
camp, daycare, concerts, or on television or the radio. Knowing these songs can help the families
participate and feel more welcome in American cultural activities.

DVDs

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Sea to Shining Sea by Reading Rainbow (PBS)

Summary: This special two-episode set from the classic Reading Rainbow company focuses on
stories of America. The first episode is about immigrants coming through Ellis Island during the
turn of the century and shows real footage and describes the immigrant experience. The second
episode describes various regions of the United States through pictures and poetry.
Rationale for Inclusion: Reading Rainbow videos have long been a valuable educational tool.
Watching this fun yet educational DVD can help children see the experiences of prior
immigrants in history first-hand, as well as help them learn visually about the different regions
and characteristics of the United States.

The Scrambled States of America and More Stories to Celebrate Our Country by
Scholastic
Summary: Based on the popular books by Laurie Keller, this DVD is a geography and cultural
lesson disguised as a humorous story about the 50 United States. Unhappy with their current

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locations, the States decide to switch places with each other. Hilarity ensues. This set contains
four different stories, or episodes, each with a moralistic point about acceptance.
Rationale for Inclusion: This DVD can help kids with their United States geography, while
keeping it highly entertaining. Messages of finding ones self and acceptance and used
throughout the stories.

Puzzle

United States of American Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle by Melissa and Doug

Summary: This is a wooden jigsaw puzzle by popular childrens toy company Melissa and
Dough. There are 50 individual pieces to represent each State. Also, there is at least one image
per State painted on each piece that represents the States culture. For example, Washington State
has a Salmon, representing Washingtons fishing industry.
Rationale for Inclusion: In addition to watching the educational DVDs listed about, this puzzle is
a useful tool in mastering the geography and knowledge of the differences between regions of the
United States. Practicing on this puzzle will help families who are new to the United States
understand the country and the differences between the individual States.

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The Kit

This is what the kit looks like when closed. It is sturdy and easy to carry.

With library barcode and New to the U.S.A label.

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The kit open and from the top. The labels on the right side list the contents.

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