Bilingual Books-Yoruba/English

Youtube is another place I like to do research on diverse literature, television shows, and art.  I really enjoy the episodes of Bino and Fino. Bino and Fino are brother and sister who live in a city in Africa. The show educates children ages 3 to 6 about the African Culture, African History,and African Geography. I not only look for diverse books, but I also like to look for diverse television shows that are teaching children about other cultures.  The research that I did encouraged me to learn more about some languages that are spoken in Africa. I found out about a language called Yoruba.

 Yoruba is a tonal language that is spoken in West Africa, mainly Nigeria, which is were Bino and Fino's show is based from. Currently, thirty million people speak this pluricentric language.  Pluricentric means it is a language with many standard versions. So I was really excited when I found out that there are children books that have been written in Yoruba and English.  Bilingual Books are positive influences when it comes to studying a different language. I have taken French and Spanish classes before, not only are you learning the language, but you're learning about the culture too.  Down below I have a list of books that I would love for you to take a look at, if you find anymore please let me know! Please checkout the links and videos that are listed below also!

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One of the Classics!

Even though, it is a coloring book I wanted to put it on here. :)

8 Diverse Books Featuring a Character With A Disability-Update

If apples were pears, and peaches were plums, and the rose had a different name. If tigers were bears, and fingers were thumbs, I'd love you just the same.-Anonymous 

(This Quote is From the Book Chicken Soup for the Soul, Children with Special Needs.)

For this blog post, I wanted to focus on books that deal with children that come from different cultural backgrounds and have disabilities.  I am glad that children book authors are thinking outside the box. Talking about children with disabilities opens up windows of understanding for parents, teachers, and children.  I have a concentration in Special Education and I think that books are a wonderful resource, especially helping others understand different lifestyles.   I think that it is wonderful that I can recommend these books to others.  Children in school should learn that everyone is different and that people with disabilities can have a voice. I hope you enjoy my list of great books dealing with characters with disabilities! I would love to know about more!

This has become one of my favorite books, I love the storyline. The story is about a girl name Melody and her family. Melody has cerebral palsy, but Melody does not let that stop her in school or anywhere else. She is faced with challenges, but beats the odds that are stacked against her daily. Draper said that she did not give Melody a race because Melody can be whoever you want her to be. I thought that was unique of Draper to focus on more than just race, but obstacles that Melody and her family achieved.

The book shows so much love, patience, and understanding. Charlie and Callie are twins, they're best friends, and they do everything together. Charle has autism and his sister narrates the story and explains how her and Charlie live day to day. The authors, a mother and daughter team, decided to share their personal experiences. I also like how the illustrator used bright colors to demonstrate the family's love for each other.

Such a sweet story about four friends who are in the same class and are excited about field day. All the children talk about what part they would like to compete in during that day. Then, Zulay says she wants to compete also, her classmates look at her strange. Zulay is blind and just started learning how to use her cane. She overcomes the odds and shows greatness within this story.

Bob Love was a great basketball player, but his story goes beyond the court. Love sustain an injury that placed him off the court and he became a dishwasher after his career was cut short. Love also talks about how he overcame his stuttering problem and now gives inspiring speeches.   It is a story on how a man pulled himself up and became a director of community relations for the Bulls.

A three-chapter story narrated by a young boy with Down Syndrome. I like the fact that authors are not just focusing on just the disabilities in these different stories. In this book, Rico makes a new friend, helps his sister with a hard decision, and draws a picture that he really likes.

This story showcases children from all over the world describing how they live with their disabilities and how they feel about living with that certain disability.

I read this book when I was younger.  It was the first book I read that talked about a character with a disability.  Willy Palmer is fourteen and school has always been kind of hard for him. Willy realizes that he will always be different so he quits school. Then, during the summer, Willy becomes friends with his neighbor's visiting niece, Kathleen. She helps him discover his strengths and helps him emerge from self-doubt. Brown does well at describing Willy's child-like mind, innocence, and inner growth.

When I found out about this book, I had to add it to this list. Nelson, the main character, is placed in Special Education because of a learning disability. Nelson is encouraged by his teachers and parents to fight against the odds that are stacked against him at school.  I really enjoyed reading something that teaches children to encourage themselves in the midst of the "labels". This story is personal for the author and that's what makes it such a great story.  He beat the odds and now he wants to show others that they can do the same with determination.  I also like the quotes that were added by famous people, it was a great touch.

A Twist From Africa

(Pretty Salma, Adaption of Red Riding Hood)

People have been adapting fairy tales for along time!  I have seen adaptions of Cinderella from Asia to Europe. Everywhere in the world young girls should be able to imagine themselves in a Fairy Tale. I chose to do fairy tales because a lot of people don't know that these books are out there and why they were written.  I decided to do some research on adaptations from places in Africa! Some of these stories have been pass down from generation to generation. I would love to learn about more fairy tales like these from  Africa.  Please checkout some of my favorites!

   

The Importance of Seeing Myself

Photo Credit: Key Williams 

"When our identity comes from the self, then we keep our energy to ourselves.  We feel energetic, we feel powerful, and we experience youthful vigor"~Deepak Chopra

As the summer comes to an end, I took a little break from my blog life.   My mind, my spirit, and my sanity were in need of rest.  I had a whole blog typed up and ready to publish, but I erased it because so much chaos was happening in the same week. I could not bring myself to write, until now.  When I started this blog, I truly did not have an aim or a goal. I just wanted to educate others in some type of way. Then, I realized that diversity in the school systems, in homes, and in a lot of areas in the world were lacking. I wanted to help with that so I created Miss T's Book Room.

Growing up I had books, I was surrounded by them daily.  The Baby-Sitters Club, The Golden Books, Dr. Seuss, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle......just to name a few.  However, only a couple of books unintentionally taught me about self-identity.  I did not realize the impact these books had on my young life until I was older.  Her Stories was the name of one and it was written by Virginia Hamilton.  I read this book everyday and everyday I felt like I was reading it for the first time.  It was a book given to me by my Grandmother.  I would look at the colorful illustrations and the expressive words.  My attention would be so into those characters that I would construct a new story about them.

While it may seem strange to others, Her Stories helped me to gain self-identity, I saw myself as a black woman.  While reading this book, I discovered that I was beautiful, I can make mistakes, words could hurt me, and that I could be knowledgeable as well as wise.  The other book was something I read when I was older, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.  I read that story multiple times too, until the book was torn (as you can see I like to read things multiple times).  Even though Maya lived in a different time, she wrote with so much feeling and imagery.  Dr.  Seuss nor The Golden Books could help me manifest this revelation.  I never realized that a child reading these books and engaging in certain illustrations could produced self love.

Creating a healthy sense of self image/self love starts now. Children of color are faced with so many negative comparisons of themselves, let us change that perception.  We need to discuss the importance of children knowing who they are, what they are, and who they're becoming.  It takes discussion, not just in the classroom, but in the home.  Let us teach all children that greatness comes from within and loving yourself is the most important thing.  I guess you didn't know you could learn so much from a book. ; )

9 Books Celebrating African-American Fathers

Fatherhood will put a man through a lot, but it's a tremendous job, the best in the world - even better than playing basketball.~ Derek Fisher 

For Father's Day this year, I decided to make a children's book list about African-American fathers.  However, I was a little disappointed about not seeing many in this category. Hopefully, in the near future, more books will be written depicting positive 
relationships between African-American fathers and their children. 
So this blog is dedicated to the fathers, stepfathers, uncles, 
grandfathers, the wise man down the street, or that male teacher 
who listens, these books are for you. Enjoy! Happy Father's Day!

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