Skip to main content

Sulwe

Genre: Fantasy

Title: Sulwe

Author: Lupita Nyong'o

Illustrator: Vashti Harrison

Awards: Coretta Scott King Award

Age Range: 3-8 Years old


Summary: Sulwe, whose name means star, does not feel beautiful because she believes her skin is too dark. The kids at school call her mean names because she does not look like the others. Sulwe's mom explains to her that she has brightness in her and that she is beautiful because it is how she thinks of herself that matters most. Although, Sulwe still has a hard time believing what her mom has told her. At night, a shooting star came and took Sulwe on a journey while telling her a story of the sisters, Night and Day. They share a similar story like Sulwe and her sister for Night was given mean names while Day was loved by all and received nice nicknames. Night got upset, so she left. Eventually, everyone began to miss Night especially her sister Day. When Day found her sister Night she was able to convince her to come back to earth because she was needed just as she is. It is only Night that can help everyone get rest because of her beautiful darkness. This story helped Sulwe to see that she is beautiful on the inside and on the outside. 

Evaluation: This book is great for students in Kindergarten through the third grade. I liked reading this book because I love the message behind it. I think everyone needs to feel loved and beautiful. I think this story does an excellent job of showing little girls that they can be beautiful no matter how light or dark their skin is.  However, I am unsure if I would use it in my class because the little girl prays to God. If I teach at a private Christian school I would use it, but if I am teaching at a public school I may not use it or would skip certain parts that way it does not cause conflict. I would use this book to help teach students about kindness and share that we should not be mean or bully others. Also, an activity that I would have students do is after reading the story they would create an "I am..." poem that way they can focus on the good things about themselves and share how they are uniquely beautiful. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Name Jar

  Genre: Fiction/Multicultural Title: The Name Jar Author/Illustrator: Yangsook Choi Awards: Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Master List, Arizona Younger Readers Award Nominee Age Range: 3-7 Years Old Summary: Unhei is new to America and is attending school for her first day. She is nervous, and some of the kids make fun of her name. She tells her mom that she wants an American name because she does not want to be different. She tests out different names by introducing herself in the mirror, but nothing seems to sound right. The next day at school Unhei found a jar on her desk, which was filled with name suggestions from her classmates. It keeps getting filled up, but one day when she went to class the name jar was gone. Only one name was on her desk and it was her own. She decided to introduce herself to the class and keep her original name. Johnny showed up at her house that evening with the name jar. He told Unhei that he wanted her to keep her own name which is why he took the ja...
Post a Comment
Read more

Little Rabbit Foo Foo

Genre:  Poetry Title:   Little Rabbit Foo Foo Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Arthur Robins Awards: N/A Age group: 3-6 years old Summary: A fairy visits Little Rabbit Foo Foo because he is being mean to others. The fairy gives him three chances to change, but he does not listen. Therefore, she turns Little Rabbit Foo Foo into a goon.  Evaluation:  This would be a fun book to not only read but to sing chorally as a class. I would create some hand motions for the students to do as we read and sang the song. I think this book could be a good brain break especially if I incorporated some movements with the song. Also, I can use the book to teach students that we should be kind to others and the importance of listening when told to do something the first time.
Post a Comment
Read more

When Jessie Came Across the Sea

Genre: Historical Fiction Title: When Jessie Came Across the Sea Author: Amy Hest Illustrator: P. J. Lynch Awards: Christopher Award Age Range: 7-12 years old Summary: Jessie had no plans of going to America, but the rabbi in her village chose her to go in his place. Jessie was not happy to go to America because she was scared. On the boat the first day, she cried a lot. Although, eventually she decided to sew to pass the days. She even helped a few fellow passengers by sewing some of the clothes. Cousin Kay was there to greet Jessie when she got to the U.S. She was very excited to see her. Cousin Kay made Jessie go to school because she wanted her to learn English. Jessie has also been working very hard sewing because she is trying to earn enough money to purchase a ticket to America for her grandmother. Jessie has been in America for 3 years now, and when she was out walking she ran into her friend Lou who she met on the ship. One day, he asked her to marry him and when Jessie...
Post a Comment
Read more