There’s been a push in education (and in school libraries) to make connections with those outside of our building. Tools like Skype and Google Hangouts make it easier to see and interact with children outside our school walls, but those connections are usually across the US. Trying to get out of North America and learn about others in the world is harder, if for no other reason than the time differences. And that’s where books and librarians can come into play.
It takes a concerted effort to teach global understanding and build empathy for others. Finding titles that encompassed multicultural backgrounds and deepened world understanding AND are engaging read-alouds is even harder. Lucky for us, there’s a new book to make teaching global literacy a bit easier.
Children take center stage as they explain what their daily lives are like in seven diverse countries around the world. Because none of the countries featured are from North America (children from Japan, Russia, Uganda, Peru, India, Iran, and Italy are included), it stands to reason that this was created for children with background knowledge from that continent. The big takeaway is that we have similarities regardless of where we are from: we play, we go to school, we eat meals, etc. It’s the little details that make our countries, our cultures, distinctive: while many children walk to school, it is what they experience on that walk – from mosques to fruit stands to cafes – that is unique to their country and culture. The crisp font and child-like illustrations lend themselves to sharing with a group, and the captions on each page, describing the child’s experience in each country, are brief yet informative. A book with a timeless quality, this is highly recommended. Share with ages 6-10.
For teachers developing and implementing social-emotional learning in their classrooms, This is How We Do It is a must-purchase. Oftentimes, a lack of cultural awareness or knowledge is what leads to exclusion and bullying in schools. There are rich research opportunities within these pages, too. Paired alongside the CultureGrams database, students could research about lives of children not featured in this book and – potentially – create their own.
Were I still teaching in the Northwest, this would be the 4th book in a “Learners Around the World” unit (the other three are Rain School, Waiting for the Biblioburro, and I’m New Here).
This Is How We Do It publishes on May 2, 2017.
One of the previewed titles at 2017 London Book Fair at the Chronicle/Abrams booth.
Cheers, y’all!
