Once again, I'm happy to be participating in Multicultural Kid Blogs' annual Read Around the World series. If you haven't been following it, then you are missing out on a wonderful opportunity to discover children's books that reflect the beautiful cultures found around the world. It's easy to travel to foreign lands without ever leaving your house when you have a book in your hand. These stories make excellent read alouds and are fascinating for the entire family. My book recommendation is Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America.
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A Picture Book of Latin American Folklore
As usual, I always have a hard time narrowing it down to just one book. Technically, I think I'm supposed to focus on a book from one particular country, but I'm cheating a little this time and sharing a marvelous title that I use in my own homeschool world studies lessons.
Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America is not a new title, but it has lasting value. I love the variety of stories inside this book and how it reflects the beliefs of so many cultures. You'll read about how the Tainos thought the sea was born, and about the Colombian legend of El Dorado. Beautiful illustrations are interspersed throughout the book, as well as brief commentaries by the author at the end of each story.
So if you are raising a young global citizen or are simply looking for materials to help you with your world studies class, consider this remarkable book by Latina author and illustrator, Lulu Delacre.
Use this Book When Studying These Topics
Educators and parents: this is a great book to pair with studies on the following topics:
- Latin America
- Puerto Rico
- Dominican Republic
- Cuba
- Mexico
- Colombia
- Bolivia
- Inca
- Zapotecs
- Tainos
- Legends, myths, folktales
- World studies
Take a peek at the Table of Contents:
How to Use This Book
Of course you can always just read the book as you do any other children's book. But if you are looking to use it in your classroom or home studies, here are a few other ideas:
- Make this part of your morning basket routine and begin your day by reading one of the stories each morning.
- Discuss the legend or myth with your children, with questions such as, "Does this story remind you of another one you may have heard?" or "What did you think about the story?" or "What part did you like best and why?"
- Give your children a storyboard and have them fill it out based on the story of the day
- Visit Reading Is Fundamental which has this wonderful Educator's Guide with resources related to the book, including an interview with Lulu Delacre, the author and illustrator.
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