Multicultural Text Set

Grace Lesniak Lesniak 1
Professor Harris; ELED 310

Multicultural Text Set: Family Structures
Book 1:
A Yellow Ribbon for Daddy by Anissa Mersiowsky
Description of the book:

This book is about a child who does not understand why her dad has to go away to war.
The child does not understand why her dad has to go away while other childrens dads are
always home. The response voice (seems to be the author) is telling the child why the father has
to go away and that he will be back when he has done his job and everything is well. The
response voice explains that the childs dad signed up to fight to help children just like her who
might not have a dad to protect them.
Grade level: Pre-k to Kindergarten
Words: protection, fighting, strong, proud
Relevance to family structure: This book relates to the family structure of having at least
one parent in the military because it is a book that can be used to help children understand why
their parent in the military might not always be there and why they joined.
Evaluation of the book:
About the Author: Anissa Contreras grew up in Gilbert, Arizona and attended Arizona
State University. She graduated from ASU in 1996 and worked as an IT consultant for Accenture
for five years while searching for her soul mate. She met her husband, Jeff Mersiowsky, while he
was stationed in Fort Knox, Kentucky. They were later married while he was stationed at Fort
Hood, Texas. Soon thereafter, they had their daughter Kaitlyn. As fate would have it, he was
deployed to Iraq when Kaitlyn was just 2 weeks old. Anissa was the Family Readiness Group
(FRG) leader during Jeffs company command in Iraq. This book was written in anticipation of
questions Kaitlyn might ask if she were able to understand that her daddy had to go to war.
I think that this book is inclusive because it is not specific to one nationality or ethnicity
because all types of people join the military. I dont think it would apply to all children in a
classroom, but I believe that it would help the ones who connect to it understand more clearly.
Recommended use for the book:
An activity that you could do with a kindergarten class would be have them draw a
picture of what their parents do for a living and write a short sentence or two about it. They could
also write about what they want to be when they grow up.
SOLs:
English K.11: The student will print in manuscript.
a) Print uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently.
b) Print his/her first and last names.
English K.12: The student will write to communicate ideas for a variety of purposes.
a) Differentiate pictures from writing.
b) Draw pictures and/or use letters and phonetically spelled words to write about
experiences.
c) Use letters and beginning consonant sounds to spell phonetically words to
describe pictures or write about experiences.
d) Write left to right and top to bottom.
Visual Arts K.5: The student will create works of art that connect to everyday life.
Visual Arts K.6: The student will create works of art that include the human figure as
subject matter.
Book 2:
All Hands on Deck! Dads Coming Home! by Julia A. Maki

This book is about a boy whose father is in the Navy. His dad works on a large ship
called an aircraft carrier. Sometimes The boys dad has to go away on deployment for a while at
a time. The boy is sad that his dad is gone, but knows that his job is very important which makes
him proud. When his dad comes home, the whole family goes to welcome him back at the dock.
Grade level: Kindergarten to Second Grade
Words: proud, deployment, military, excited
Relevance to family structure: This book relates to the family structure of having at least
one parent in the military because it is about a boy whose father is in the Navy and has to go on
deployment sometimes. It talks about the ways the boy deals with being sad that his dad is gone
and it also talks about the ways that the boy helps his mother out while his dad is gone.
About the Author: Julia A. Maki served in the navy for five years. Her sister and brother-
in-law are currently deployed. Julia lives in Maryland.
I think that this book is pretty inclusive because, again, many people join the military
from all kinds of backgrounds so it can relate to any child who has to go through a parent being
on deployment. It could also relate to any child who has a parent who has to go away for long
periods of time for business, or even to prison.
An activity that you could do with a class to go along with reading this book would be to
have any students whose parent/parents are in the military and have been deployed or are
currently deployed talk to the class about how it makes them feel. Then you could have the
whole class draw a picture of their family and write about how it would make them feel to have
one, or both, of their parents have to go away for a long period of time.
SOLs:
experiences.
subject matter.
Book 3:
Countdown til Daddy Comes Home by Kristin Ayyar

This is a story about a boy who is waiting for his dad to come home from deployment.
While their dad is away, the children and their mom create different ways to make the time go by
faster. They create countdowns to keep track of how much time is left until their dad comes
home. When he finally does come home, they share stories of everything that happened while he
was gone and he tells them about his experiences away from home.
Grade level: Pre-K to First Grade
Words: trip, goodbye, waiting, countdown, adventures
About the Author: Kristin Ayyar is the mother of three wonderful children, an avid
volunteer in her community, and has been an Air Force spouse since 1990. Countdown til
Daddy Comes Home is a book based o her familys experiences and is filled with rituals that she
and her children follow when her husband is traveling the globe or deployed overseas serving
our nation. Kristin Ayyar lives wherever the United States Air Force sends her family.
I think this story is inclusive because it goes into detail about how the boy feels when his
dad leaves. It also talks about all the ways the family keeps busy and counts down the days until
their dad comes home. In the back of the book there are even discussion questions that parents
of families who are going through a deployment can ask their children. There are also numerous
activities in the back of the book that families who are going through a deployment can do to
pass the time and keep a countdown until their other parent come home.
One activity you could do with a class is to have them talk about any times that one or
both of their parents have had to go away on a trip or deployment. You can use some of the
discussion questions from the back of the book to talk about how they felt when that parent was
gone, or how they passed the time until they came home. Another activity that you could do is, if
someones parent was currently gone, you could use one of the countdown methods from the
back of the book to keep track of how much longer they will be gone as a class.
SOLs:
English K.3: The student will build oral communication skills.
a) Express ideas in complete sentences and express needs through direct requests.
b) Begin to initiate conversations.
c) Begin to follow implicit rules for conversation, including taking turns and staying
on topic.
d) Listen and speak in informal conversations with peers and adults.
e) Participate in group and partner discussions about various texts and topics.
f) Begin to use voice level, phrasing, and intonation appropriate for various language
situations.
g) Follow one- and two-step directions.
h) Begin to ask how and why questions.
Book 4:
My Family is Changing: A First Look at Family Break Up by Pat Thomas

This book takes a look at the issue of divorce in families with children. It uses simple
terms to reassure children that divorce is not their fault. It is meant to help answer any questions
that children have about divorce and also shows them that they are not alone in going through it,
nor in their feelings that they have as a result from it. It describes how parents will get divorced
because they no longer love each other, but that in no way reflects how they feel about their
children. It is a good guide book to help children understand what is going on in their family
structure, because divorce can be a confusing thing to go through as a child because their
emotional understanding has not quite developed enough to understand love, or disdain, or any
complex emotions at all.
Grade level: Kindergarten to First Grade
Words: divorce, separated, married, love, unhappy
About the Author: The author, Pat Thomas, is a psychotherapist and counselor. She wrote
this book to promote interaction among children, parents and teachers on an issue that affects
many families.
I think that this book is very inclusive because it talks about a real life phenomenon that
happens, unfortunately, in many households in America. It addresses some very specific
thoughts and emotions that go through childrens heads when they are stuck in the middle of a
divorce. It even has little side notes of things that children can do to make themselves feel better
while going through such a difficult situation. The book does narrate rather bluntly which could
help the child who is reading it, or might not.
Students can draw a picture of their current family and write a sentence or two of how
they feel when they are with their family. This could help a teacher gauge what the students
home lives are like and if there are any ways the student might need help dealing with them. This
could be an indicator of whether or not the student needs to talk to someone, such as a guidance
counselor, about how they are feeling through the process of divorce.
SOLs:
experiences.
subject matter.
Book 5:
Two Homes by Claire Masurel

A boy names Alex is describing his two different homes. Alex has two homes because his
parents are divorced and live apart. He gets to spend time with both of his parents in their own
homes. This means that Alex has two rooms, one at his moms house and one at his dads house.
He describes how they are different and all the different things he has in them. He also talks
about how he has friends at each house that he stays. No matter which house Alex is staying he is
loved by both parents, no matter what.
Grade level: Pre-K to Kindergarten
Words: Daddy, Mommy, home(s), love
About the Author: Claire Masurel wrote Two Homes after talking to a girl whose parents
were divorced. The girl was sad about the recent divorce and in order for her to comfort the girl
she talked to her about her two homes and the many things she could do in them. This way the
girl would not focus on all the sad parts of the divorce and how she might be missing out on
things, but rather she would focus on the good that came of the divorce.
I believe that this book is inclusive because it takes a lighter approach towards the subject
of divorce. It will help any children who are going through a divorce or have just gone through
one to think of the good things that have come from it. The children should also be reassured
that, no matter where they are, their parents will continue to love them.
A good activity that you could do with students would be to have them draw pictures of
themselves in their rooms at home, and if they have two homes then they could draw both. Then
they could talk about what their favorite part about their room is and what their favorite part
about their house is. This will help connect students who are in different family structures
because most every student has a bed room.
SOLs:
subject matter.
on topic.
situations.
Book 6:
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Stellaluna is a baby bat who is separated from her mother when they are attacked by a
large owl. She is not old enough to know how to fly so she drops through the air and finds
herself in a birds nest. She is adopted into the bird family, but must change her ways so that she
fits in with the birds way of life. She must eat what birds eat instead of what bats eat and she
must sleep when birds sleep instead of when bats sleep in order to fit in to her new family.
Words: Mother, same, family
About the Author: Janell Cannon has no direct connection to adoption, but rather writes
books to relate to children of all backgrounds. She typically uses animals that are not usually
thought of as cute and cuddly to depict the stories she writes.
This book is inclusive because its connection to adoption is rather subtle. It also relates to
the theme of being yourself and not changing yourself to be like other people. This book could
be used to teach a number of moral lessons. But it shows students that just because someone is
different than themselves doesnt mean that they cant get along and be friends.
An activity you could do with a class could be to have them all draw themselves and then
write down either a list of words or a couple sentences that they think describes them and where
they came from. Then you could have them walk around to their classmates who they consider to
be their friends and compare the words/sentences. Most likely the students lists wont match up
one hundred percent so you can show the students that just because you are different doesnt
mean you wont get along with someone.
SOLs:
on topic.
situations.
subject matter.
Book 7:
God Found Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren

This book is about a little fox who was adopted by his Mama Fox. He knows that he was
adopted and begins asking his mother about the day that he came home. He asks her how he
came home and whether she would be his forever mama. She explains that his birth mother
must have had a very good reason to give him up and probably prayed every night that he was
somewhere safe, just like how she had prayed every to find him. She tells baby fox that the day
god found us you, you made me the happiest mama in the world.
Words: home, happy, dreamed, prayed, waited, gift
About the Author: I could not find anywhere whether or not Lisa Tawn Bergren has any
direct ties to adoption, however, in her dedication she says To Shari, Traci, and Lauras
precious, adopted children Eugenia, Jem, and Elijah and to their mothers, who helped me
make this book sing. Based off of the dedication I would assume that she knows people who
have adopted children, but was not adopted herself nor did she adopt children herself.
This book is inclusive because it is not only talking about adoption, but the love a parent
has for their child no matter the circumstances. No matter whether the parent is the adoptive
parent or the biological parent, they both love the child all the same. Parents have to do what is
in the childs best interest, which might mean giving them up for adoption. Giving a child up for
adoption does not mean that the biological parent doesnt love their child, it just means that they
think the best way to show their love is to give their child to a family who can give them what
they cant at that time.
A fun activity to do along with this book would be to have the students bring in pictures
of when they were babies and talk about where they are from, when their birthday is, and
something fun they do for their birthday.
SOLs:
on topic.
situations.
Book 8:
Tell Me Again About the Night I was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis

Tell Me Again About the Night I was Born is a book about a child who was adopted and
is asking her parents to retell her about the night she was born and they went to pick her up. The
parents in this book seem to be very open about the childs adoption and the child seems to know
all about how she came to be their child through the adoption process. She goes through every
aspect of her adoption night starting with the phone call her adoptive parents got when she was
born and they could go get her.
Words: birth mother, parents, adopt, happy, mommy, daddy
About the Author: Jamie Lee Curtis has no direct connection to adoption, but rather just
likes to write touching books for parents and children to read and relate to. She has many books
about relatable topics that parents can read to their children.
This book is very inclusive because it talks about the night the child was born and how
she wants her parents to describe it to her again. Every parent can recall the day their child is
born and, at least for most, how it is one of the most special days of their lives. The day their
children are born is, usually, an incredible day for all parents no matter whether or not they are
the childs biological parents or adoptive parents.
A cool activity to go along with this book might be to have the students ask their parents
about the day they were born before reading the book to them in class. Then have them bring in a
picture from the day they were born or from when they were little. Then you could have them
draw their own depiction of themselves when they were born and then describe the story their
parents told them and their picture to the class.
SOLs:
on topic.
situations.
subject matter.
Book 9:
Mommy, Mama, and Me and Daddy, Papa, and Me by Lesla Newman

Both books are about children with same sex parents. The stories describe the different
activities the children do with each of their parents. It shows that even though the parents are the
same sex, it does not mean that they are the same. The different parents like to do different things
with their child.
Words: Mommy, Mama, Daddy, Papa
About the Author: Lesla Newman is a Jewish Feminist author. She has written many
books about controversial topics in both childrens books and adult literature.
I think these books are inclusive in the sense that they show that families with parents of
the same sex do the same activities as families with parents of the opposite sex. However, I
believe that this book also interrupts homophobic mindsets that children with same sex parents
miss out on doing things in their childhood because they either dont have a female parent or
dont have a male parent.
I think a good activity to go along with reading these books would be to have the children
draw a picture of them and their family doing a family activity that they really do together, write
a short sentence or two about what the activity is, and share it with the class. This will show the
students that just because their family make up might not look the same as other, that doesnt
mean that they dont do the same things with their families.
SOLs:
on topic.
situations.
subject matter.
Book 10:
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

This book is about Horton, an elephant, who is asked by a bird to sit on her egg for her
because she has grown bored of it and wants to go on vacation. Horton agrees and must endure
all kinds of extreme weather, missing out on doing things with his friends, and any potential
dangers. Hunters decide to take him alive, the egg, and the tree with them back to New York
where they sell him. The circus sells tickets for people to see an elephant in a tree. Then the
mother bird decides to see the show and runs into Horton. The egg starts to hatch and now the
mother bird wants to claim it because all of the hard work had been taken care of.
Words: gentile, faithful, work
About the Author: Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Geisel) was a well known political comic strip
artist. He also began writing childrens book in 1931 because childrens books were one of the
only forms of writing that werent prohibited in his advertisement contract (Nel, 2010).
This book is both inclusive and interruptive because it shows the two different ways that
single parents might deal with being the only parent. The mother bird in the story depicts the
single parents who were not ready to be parents and begin to feel trapped, bored, and just want to
get away. Hortons character depicts the single parents who might not have been expecting or
thought they were ready to be parents, but they would still do anything to be there to protect their
child.
After reading this book to a class you could have the students draw a picture of their
family. You could have them write a brief description of their family to go along with the
picture. Then you could have the students share about their drawings and their families to show
that not everyones family will look the same.
SOLs:
on topic.
situations.
subject matter.
References:
Mersiowsky, A., & Contreras, R. (2005). A yellow ribbon for Daddy. Phoenix, AZ: Veritas
Media, Inc.
Maki, J. A. (2012). All hands on deck! Dads coming home!Mustang, OK: Tote Pub.
Ayyar, K., & Bailey, M. (2013). Countdown til daddy comes home. Herndon, VA: Mascot
Books.
Thomas, P., & Harker, L. (1999). My familys changing: a first look at family break up.
Hauppauge, NY: Barrons.
Masurel, C., & Denton, K. M. (2003). Two homes. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Cannon, J. (2017). Stellaluna. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Bergren, L. T., & Bryant, L. J. (2009). God found us you. New York: Harper Blessings.
Curtis, J. L., & Cornell, L. (2000). Tell me again about the night I was born. New York, NY:
Joanna Cotler Books.
Newman, L., & Thompson, C. (2009). Mommy, mama, and me. Berkeley: Tricycle Press.
Newman, L. (2013). Daddy, Papa and Me. Place of publication not identified: Tricycle Press.
Seuss, D. (2017). Horton hatches the egg. St. Louis, MO: Turtleback Books.
Nel, P. (2010, January 1). Biography: Seuss. Retrieved November 14, 2017, from
http://m.seussville.com/biography.html
Book Covers:
Book #1: Book #2:
Book #3: Book #4:

Book #5 Book #6:
Book #7: Book #8:

Book(s) #9: Book #10:

Reflection:
For my read aloud to my practicum class I read Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. I decided on
reading this book because its underlying message is about adoption. This topic relates to ELED
310 because adoption is a different type of family structure that strays from the nuclear family
structure. Adoption can even be intertwined with other family structures, such as
divorce/remarriage.
I chose to do my read aloud on a book about adoption to my practicum class strictly
because there are no students who are in the class who are adopted. I thought it would be
interesting to see what the students knew about adoption already, and see how they took to the
idea of adoption for the first time. For young children who dont already have previous
knowledge or experience with adoption, it can be a confusing topic. The topic od adoption can
also bring up a lot of questions which, if not handled in the correct way, could be offensive to
other children who might be adopted. This is why I wanted to teach the students about adoption
in a space where what they say will not be taken offensively and will not hurt anyone elses
feelings.
First, I read the students the story of Stellaluna, making it as interactive and inclusive as
possible to keep their attention. They seemed to really enjoy the story and liked pointing out
when Stellaluna was doing something like a bird, rather than doing it like a bat. I would
continuously ask them throughout the story whether they thought it was okay that Stellaluna was
living with the birds even though she was a bat. I wanted to get them thinking about how
Stellaluna was taken in by the bird family even though she was a bat and how the mother bird
took care of her like she was one of her own baby birds. When I was done with the story I had to
the students stay on the rug for a little while longer as we continued our discussion about how
Stellaluna was not a bird, but was raised by birds. I also entered the discussion topic about how
Stellaluna was expected to give up her bat ways and become more like a bird in order to fit in
with the bird family. The students agreed that it would be hard to act like something you are not,
just like Stellaluna was expected to.
After we had furthered our circumstantial conversation about Stellaluna I asked them if
they had every heard of a concept called adoption. Only one or two of them really knew what it
was. I explained to them that when Stellaluna was taken in by the bird family that she was being
adopted into the bird family. She needed to be adopted into the bird family because she needed
someone to take care of her because her mother no longer could because they had gotten
separated by the owl. I explained that, as we find out in the end of the book, Stellalunas
real/biological mom never stopped loving her or looking for her after they got separated. I asked
the class why they might think that a child would be given up for adoption. The main response
was that the childs real mom did love them anymore. I responded by telling them that that
usually isnt the case. A child might be put up for adoption because the childs real mother
wouldnt be able to provide food or a home for the baby at that time and that it didnt mean the
childs mom didnt love them.
I then had the students go back to their seats and I handed them all out a piece of paper. I
instructed them to draw a picture of their own family on the paper. I then went to the front board
and asked the students to tell me some of the family members that live in their homes with them
so that I could write the words on the board for them to label the people in their pictures. I got a
lot of moms and dads, brothers and sisters, however, I also got some grandmas and
grandpas, and one or two aunts and uncles. It was very interesting to see the different family
structures that the students in my practicum class come from.

All in all, I believe that the students began to understand what adoption truly is and why
it happens. I believe that by receiving a mini lesson on it at such a young age and in such a safe
space, that they students will be more understanding and accepting of people they come to meet
who are adopted. I think this will save them any embarrassment or sense of ignorance about the
subject of adoption that they might have come across in the future. Plus, it was fairly easy to
teach the students about it because they are at the age when they are open-minded to just about
anything.

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Grace Lesniak Lesniak 1

Professor Harris; ELED 310

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Description of the book:

Hauppauge, NY: Barrons.

Cannon, J. (2017). Stellaluna. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Joanna Cotler Books.

Book #1: Book #2:

Book #3: Book #4:

Book #5 Book #6:

Book #7: Book #8:

Book(s) #9: Book #10:

I chose to do my read aloud on a book about adoption to my practicum class strictly

just like Stellaluna was expected to.

childs mom didnt love them.

structures that the students in my practicum class come from.

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