Multicultural Book 2

 


    Julie and the Mango Tree by Sade Smith follows the story of Julie, a young Jamaican girl, waiting impatiently for the mango tree in her yard to have ripe fruit. Usually, Julie's dad will climb the tree to pick one for her, but he's in town and Julie can't reach any on her own! However, after a rainstorm, ALL the mangoes fall and Julie eats as many as she can, but still has many leftovers, so she decides to share. 

    This book is realistic, multicultural fiction. It features realistic people in a real setting doing realistic things (Galda, 2016). The story is plausible and follows a clearly defined, realistic plotline as well (Galda, 2016). The illustrations in this book are representational (Galda, 2016). They depict realistic people in realistic settings, while still being colorful. The illustrations look close to either gouache or acrylic paint, in my opinion.

    This book is a great way to help children learn about Jamaica, and even features some recipes in the back of the book for mangoes! After reading this book together, the class could look at pictures of Jamaica to see if the illustrations are realistic, and maybe try mango slices if food is allowed in the classroom. Food is one of the biggest things that connects people, especially sharing a meal. In many cultures, sharing a meal with someone is a very special, intimate thing. Some classroom conversations could go as follows:

Teacher: "What did Julie learn through the course of this book?"

Students: {various answers}

OR:

Teacher: "What is one food from another culture that you love? It could be Chinese, Italian, Mexican, anything like that."

Students: {various answers}

    I thought this book was adorable and a great resource to help children learn about Jamaica. I have a number of students at my school from the islands, and I'd love to get some books like this for my library. I think it'd be really great for these students to be able to share a piece of their culture with their classmates. 

REFERENCES:

1. Galda, L. (2016). Literature and the Child (9th ed.). Cengage Learning US. https://reader2.yuzu.com/books/9781305854987

Comments

  1. odessa withrowDecember 17, 2023 at 5:11 PM

    In the classroom, you could have the students read aloud with one another or as the teacher, read aloud the book. Then have a interacting day tasting mango and learning all about the fruit.

    ReplyDelete

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