# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
The book is intended for grades 3-8.  It follows the life of Shirley Temple Wong sails from China to America.  She lives in Brooklyn, New York.  Shirley doesn't know any English.  This makes it hard to make friends.
She embraces baseball as a way to make friends.  The year is 1947 and Jackie Robinson is the star of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Because of this, Shirley starts playing stickball with her class and following Robinson’s career.
She associates Robinson’s journey with her own.  This book relates to students who feel lonely and isolated, as cultural differences keep them from being outgoing. 

# data[].attributes.headline
1.	In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, by Bette Bao Lord 

# data[].attributes.subject
1.	In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, by Bette Bao Lord 

# data[].attributes.body
This story could tie into cultural holidays, such as Chinese New Year.

# data[].attributes.body
This book is intended for young children from ages 3-7.  This is about a girl named Suki, whose favorite possession is her blue cotton kimono. The kimono reminds her of the fun she and her grandmother had during her grandmother’s visit.  Suki decides to wear it on her first day back to school.  When it's Suki's turn to share with her classmates what she did during the summer, she tells them about the street festival she attended with her grandmother and the circle dance that they took part in.

This story is important, as it inspires students to share and embrace cultural differences. Students could think, pair and share on this book, in order to gain multiple perspectives.

# data[].attributes.body
The book is intended for grades 8-12.  This is the true story of a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family during the holocaust.  They fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. They hid for the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building.

This book is important in historical and cultural contexts.  In heartbreaking fashion, the story illustrates the worst of cultural hatred.

This book is needed in order for modern societies to not repeat atrocities of the past.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
The book is intended for grades 5-9.  The the story follows Phillip, a boy who is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. He does not understand the reality of war until the ship he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed.  His mother had taught him to never trust people who do not look like him.  His injuries make him lose his sight.  He becomes dependent on an older black man.  He quickly learns the beauty of differences.  This story’s theme is universal and important.  This story could tie into concepts of acceptance, mirrors and windows.

# data[].attributes.body
The book is intended for grades 6-7. The story follows Esperanza Ortega.  She is a wealthy girl who has everything material a girl could want.  all the treasures a young girl could want, as well as the promise of one day rising to Mama’s position and presiding over all of El Rancho de las Rosas.

When a tragedy destroys that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California, they settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. There they tackle the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression.

This story is important as it shows the importance of relating to and showing kindness to all people.

# data[].attributes.body
The book is intended for grades 4-5. In 1936 Flint, Michigan, this story follows Bud, a motherless boy on the run.  Bud has his own suitcase full of special things.  He is also the author of Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.  He never knew his father, but his mother left clues.  Bud decides to hit the road to find his father.

This is a story of family, determination and cultural differences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
This is a book I believe could act as a mirror for many of my students. The story centers on a 12-year-old girl, named Izzy, who spends the summer in New Mexico with her unfamiliar grandmother.  The girl’s father had passed away.  She decides to learn more about her father with the help of her grandmother.  The story also involves cooking and a helpful cat.  A new world is discovered, as the adventure unfolds.  I believe many of my students would see themselves in this story.  A majority of my students are Hispanic and could see themselves in Izzy, as she is Latina.  Many of my students also come from homes with no father.  This is another potential mirror for them.  I believe allowing students to see themselves in lessons is critically important to them, as their pride in culture is nurtured.  Students will often respond to and engage with content that is familiar to them.  

# data[].attributes.headline
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

# data[].attributes.subject
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

# data[].attributes.body
Through poetry, Woodson shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. This book could be used to raise awareness amongst students regarding America's racial history.

# data[].attributes.headline
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

# data[].attributes.subject
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

# data[].attributes.body
Seven years before Brown v. Board of Education, the Mendez family fought to end segregation in California schools. When her family moved to the town of Westminster, California, young Sylvia Mendez was excited about enrolling in her neighborhood school. But she and her brothers were turned away and told they had to attend the Mexican school instead. Sylvia could not understand why—she was an American citizen who spoke perfect English. Why were the children of Mexican families forced to attend a separate school?  Unable to get a satisfactory answer from the school board, the Mendez family decided to take matters into its own hands and organized a lawsuit. In the end, the Mendez family’s efforts helped bring an end to segregated schooling in California in 1947, seven years before the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education ended segregation in schools across America.  This book teaches an important piece of American history, as well as acting as a mirror and window for many students, allowing them an appreciation of what life was like for their predecessors.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

# data[].attributes.subject
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

# data[].attributes.body
The Port Chicago 50 is a fascinating story of the prejudice and injustice that faced black men and women in America's armed forces during World War II, and a nuanced look at those who gave their lives in service of a country where they lacked the most basic rights.

This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the common core curriculum, including history and social studies. It also allows students to discuss various aspects of prejudice, as an ongoing problem.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

# data[].attributes.subject
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

# data[].attributes.body
I chose The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett for my sixth-grade class, as it is both challenging and accessible, representing a modern view of the past.  The Secret Garden was released in 1911 and uses British English that is over 100 years old.  This can, at times, be cumbersome to 6th graders, especially for ELL students.

The vocabulary, situations and dialect of the text influence and challenge the reader's comprehension. In this way, the qualitative dimensions are present.  Levels of meaning, structure, language clarity, and knowledge demands kept my 6th graders on their toes.

The Yorkshire dialect alone can be difficult to navigate for a native English-speaker, let alone an ELL student.  These factors represent the quantitative side of things.  Word length, sentence length, and overall text cohesion can be tricky, especially when a student is trying to decipher hundred-year-old Yorkshire.