Collection of Cultural Characters based on picture books. |
A former college student of mine working in a "ritzy daycare in midtown" recently wrote to me asking for some book suggestions and lesson ideas she might use with preschoolers in order to celebrate (and perhaps better understand) racial diversity. She wrote: "to give you an idea of the mindset of the children, one asked me if I painted myself brown every morning and why doesn't it come off when I wash my hands."
In addition to privileged youngsters who often are represented in the stories featured in classrooms, the inclusion of high quality multicultural books and the use of characters from those books can provide important opportunities for all children to come to know self and other. One only has to think of visual artist, Daryl Wells who recounts what she needed to do no in order to find herself in the books in school. Wells (Rohmer, 1997) writes: “When I was growing up, I didn’t understand why the crayon labeled ‘flesh’ in my crayon box wasn’t the color of my skin. As a way of proving that my color was also beautiful and real, I went through all my favorite storybooks and colored in the characters with brown crayon. In this way I was able to relate to them as if they really were a part of my world.”
In thinking about the challenges my former student faces in helping privileged children expand their understanding of the world, I thought of the idea of cultural characters. It is an instructional technique I routinely used in early primary grade classes and directly taught preservice teachers.
What is Cultural Characters?
Cultural characters is a book extension literacy practice based on Janice J. Beaty's and Linda Pratt's (2006) Early Literacy in Preschool & Kindergarten:A Multicultural Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson). Teachers select a collection of global multicultural children's literature for read aloud and then extend the literature experience through different engagements focusing on the characters from the texts. In creating cultural characters I scan images of the characters from the books and then use these images in centers. I may make (or have children make) stick puppets (using self-adhesive craft sticks) and adhere fasteners in order for children to be able to use the images in a felt story. Additionally, students "recreate" the characters through their own visual, musical, and movement art.
Cultural characters are characters taken from high quality global multicultural children's picture books that feature cultural characters that young children can identify with and interact with by:
- Drawing/painting pictures of the characters and interpretations of the characters
- Telling their own stories about the characters ( using book images and student created images made into stick puppets)
- Building block structures/homes for the characters
- Pretending to be the characters
- Making make-believe meals for the characters
- Making costumes for the characters
- Rereading the books featuring the characters
- Painting scenes for the characters
- Writing, dancing, singing, rapping about the characters
- Using iPods to make and record sound effects related to the characters
Cultural character, Danilito, from When The World Was New |
The work with cultural characters across a school year allows for students to come to know themselves through the development of characters and character situations, as well as come to better understand characters who are different from themselves.
To help you get started with cultural characters in the preschool and early primary grades I have compiled a chart that lists the name, gender, culture, title of book and author, and have suggested some possible activities and potential learning center locations for each character.
Examples of Cultural Characters from Children's Literature
Compiled by Mary Ann Reilly
Name (Gender) | Culture | Title of Book | Author | Possible Activity | Learning Center |
African American (M) | African American | Summer Sun Risin | Nikola-Lisa, W. | Farm chores | Dramatic Play Center |
unnamed narrator (M) | African American | Yesterday I Had the Blues | Frame, Jeron Ashford | Metaphor Making | Art center (paint) |
Unnamed boy | African American | Yo! Yes! | Raschka, Chris | Perform Text | Dramatic Play Center |
Cassie (F) | African American | Tar Beach | Ringgold, Faith | Conversation | Block Center |
Clover (F), | African American | The Other Side | Woodson, Jacqueline | Create jump rope rhymes | Writing center/recording center |
Rashaad (M) | African-American | The Barber’s Cutting Edge | Hest, Amy | Harvesting Words from the Room | Writing Center |
George (M) | African-American | Mr. George Baker | Hest, Amy | Making Own Books | Art Center |
Girlpie (F) | African-American | Homemade Love | hooks, bell | Retell story through paintings | Art Center |
Joe-Joe (M) | African American | Joe-Joe’s First flight | Tarpley, Natasha Anastasia | Story Retelling | Art Center |
Lena (F) | African American | The Color of Us | Katz, Karen | Painting | Art Center |
Marcenia (F) | African American | Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream | Hubbard, Crystal | Ball playing | Large Motor Center |
Max (M) | African-American | Max Found Two Sticks | Pinkney, Brian | Drumming (rhythm) | Music Center |
Quinnie (F) | African American | Quinnie Blue | Johnson, Dinah | Questioning | Dramatic Play Center |
Anna (F) | Anglo-American | Building a Bridge | Begaye, Lisa | Building a bridge | Block Center |
Annie (F) | Anglo-American | The Other Side | Woodson, Jacqueline | Create jump rope rhymes | Writing center/recording center |
Boy | Anglo | Dream Weaver | London, Jonathan | Recording observations | Science Center |
Granddaughter (F) | Anglo-American | Thunder Cake | Polacco, Patricia | Cooking | Dramatic Play Center |
Harry (M) | Anglo-American | Mr. George Baker | Hest, Amy | Making Own Books | Art Center |
Lucy (F) | Anglo-American | Grandpa’s Corner Store | DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne | Build a neighborhood | Block Center |
Mark (M) | Anglo-American | Night of the Moonjellies | Shasha, Mark | Working at a seaside hot dog stand | Dramatic Play Center |
Max (M) | Anglo | Where The Wild Things Are | Sendak, Maurice | Dancing (rhythm) | Music center |
Cultural Characters
Name (Gender) | Culture | Title of Book | Author | Possible Activity | Learning Center | |
Sophie (F) | Anglo-American | When Sophie Gets Angry…Really, Really Angry | Bang, Molly | Painting Center: What I Can Do When I Get Angry | Art Center | |
Monique (F) | Anglo | Unique Monique | Rousaki, Maria | Painting | Art Center | |
Unnamed boy | Anglo-American | Yo! Yes! | Raschka, Chris | Perform Text | Dramatic Play Center | |
Little girl | Asian | Tracks in the Snow | Yee, Wong Herbert | Questioning | Dramatic Play Center | |
Anu (F) | Asian American | Closet Ghosts | Krishnaswami, Uma | Phone Conversation | Dramatic Play Center | |
Emma(F) | Asian American | Emma’s Rug | Say, Allen | Painting | Art Center | |
Hannah (F) | Chinese | Hannah is My Name | Yang, Belle | Retell the Story | Book Center | |
Xiao Ming (M) | Chinese | At the Beach | Lee, Huy Youn | Write 10 Chinese Characters | Sand Table | |
Henry (M) | Chinese-American | Henry and the Kite Dragon | Hall, Bruce Edward | Kite Making & Decorating | Art Center | |
Ling Sung (M) | Chinese-American | Cleversticks | Ashley, Bernard | Using chopsticks | Dramatic play center | |
Narrator (B) | Chinese-American | Big Jimmy’s Kum Kau Chinese Take Out | Lewin, Ted | Making Food Preparing Menus | Dramatic Play Center | |
Helen (F) | Chinese & Anglo American | Grandfather Counts | Cheng, Andrea | Counting in English & Chinese | Math Center | |
Nim (F) | Chinese-American | Nim and the War Effort | Lee, Milly | Build a neighborhood | Block Center | |
Chavi (F) | Cuban | Drum, Chavi, Drum | Dole, Mayra L. | Drumming (Rhythm) | Music Center | |
Ahmed (M) | Egyptian | The Day of Ahmed’s Secret | Heide, Florence | Writing Name | Writing Center | |
Lakas (M) | Filipino | Lakas and the Manilatown Fish/Si Lakas at ang Isdang Manilatown | Robles, Anthony D. | Flannel Board Story | Book Center | |
Esperanza (F) | Guatemalan | Abuela’s Weave | Castaneda, Omar S. | Weaving | Dramatic Play Center/Art Center | |
Pascual (M) | Guatemalan | Pascual’s Magic Pictures | Gage, Amy | Writing Captions | Writing Center | |
Marisa (F) | Hawaiian | Dumpling Soup | Rattigan, Jama Kim | Making Food | Dramatic Play Center | |
Carlitos (M) | Hispanic | ¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! | Herrera, Juan Felipe | Flannel Board Story | Book Center | |
Chico (M) | Hispanic | First Day in the Grapes | Perez, L. King | Role Play Resolving Conflicts | Dramatic Play Center | |
Danilito (M) | Hispanic | When This World Was New | Figueredo, D.H. | Pastel Snow Drawings | Art Center | |
Cultural Characters
Name (Gender) | Culture | Title of Book | Author | Possible Activity | Learning Center |
FrancÃsco (M) | Hispanic | La MarÃposa | Jiménez, FrancÃsco | Drawing | Art Center |
Luna (F) | Hispanic | Moony Luna: Luna, Lunita, Lunera | Argueta, Jorge | Retell the Story (Sequence) | Book Center |
Pablo (M) | Hispanic | Pablo’s Tree | Mora, Pat | Cutting Decorations | Art Center |
Rosa (F) | Hispanic | A Chair for My Mother | Williams, Vera B. | Counting coins | Math Center |
Rosalba (F) | Hispanic | Abuela | Dorros, Arthur | Conversation | Block Center |
Tomasito (M) | Hispanic (spina bifada) | Featherless/Desplumado | Herrera, Juan Felipe | Flannel Board Story | Book Center |
Girl(F) | Indian | Monsoon | Krishnaswami, Uma | Making Cityscapes | Block Center |
Eva (F) | Inuit | Very Last First Time | Andrews, Jan | Story Retelling | Book Center |
Ida (F) | Jamaican | The Tangerine Tree | Hanson, Regina | Planting Seeds | Science Center |
Mariko (F) | Japanese | Flowers from Mariko | Noguchi, Rick & Jenks, Doreen | Planting Seeds | Science Center |
Sesshu Toyo (M) | Japanese | The Boy Who Drew Cats | Hodges, Margaret | Drawing | Art Center |
Kiri (F) | Japanese-American | Butterflies for Kiri | Falwell, Cathryn | Origami | Art Center |
Sang-hee (M) | Korean | The Firekeeper’s Son | Park, Linda Sue | Flannel Board Story | Book Center |
Yoon (F) | Korean | My Name is Yoon | Recovits, Helen | Write Name | Writing Center |
Unnamed Narrator (F) | Korean-American | The Trip Back Home | Wong, Janet | Retell the Story with Story Artifacts | Book Center |
Mike (M) | Korean-American | The Have A Good Day Café | Park, Frances & Ginger Park | Running a Business | Dramatic Play Center |
Cooper (M) | Korean, Anglo-American | Cooper’s Lesson | Shin, Sun Yung | Paint Self-Portrait | Art Center |
MarÃa (F) | Mexican | Too Many Tamales | Soto, Gary | Making tamales | Dramatic Play Center |
Mateo (M) | Mexican | Dream Carver | Cohn, Diana | Painting Wooden Toys | Art Center |
Esmeralda (F) | Mexican | Hairs/Pelitos | Cisneros, Sandra | Metaphor writing | Writing Center |
Esmeralda (F) | Mexican | Super Cilantro Girl/La superniña del cilantro | Herrera, Juan Felipe | Create a Super Hero/Heroine | Art Center |
John Cloud (M) | Mohawk | Sky Dancers | Kirk, Connie Ann | Making Cityscapes | Block Center |
Dear One (F) | Native Alaskan | Mama, Do You Love Me? | Joosse, Barbara M. | Questioning | Dramatic Play Center |
Jenna (F) | Native American | Jingle Dancer | Smith, Cynthia Leitich | Dancing (Rhythm) | Music Center |
Name (Gender) | Culture | Title of Book | Author | Possible Activity | Learning Center |
Juanita (F) | Navajo | Building a Bridge | Begaye, Lisa | Building a bridge | Block Center |
John (M) | Navajo | The Unbreakable Code | Hunter, Sara Hoagland | Create a code | Math center/art center |
Allie (F) & Alex (F) | Ojibway | Skysisters | Waboose, Jan Bordeau | Conversation | Sand table Art center |
Mona (F) | Palestinian-American | Sitti’s Secrets | Nye, Naomi Shihab | Write/dictate a letter | Writing center/recording center |
Sister Girl (F) | Plains Indian | The Star People: A Lakota Story | Nelson, S.D. | Imitate Ledger Art | Art center |
Young Wolf (M) | Plains Indian | The Star People: A Lakota Story | Nelson, S.D. | Imitate Ledger Art | Art center |
Flying Cloud (M) | Plains Indian | Gift Horse: A Lakota Story | Nelson, S.D. | Retell using Ledger Art | Art center |
Zola, et al. | South African | At the Crossroads | Isadora, Rachel | Continuing the story | Book Center |
Hannah (F) | Taiwanese | Hannah Is My Name | Yang, Belle | Making Food | Dramatic Play Center |
Shay-yu (F) | Taiwanese | On My Way To Buy Eggs | Chen, Chin-Yuan | Retell story events | Art Center |
Elizabeti (F) | Tanzanian | Elizabeti’s School | Stuve-Bodeen, Stephanie | Dancing and/or Counting | Dramtic Play Center/Math Center |
Kiki (F) | Tiwa Indian | Kiki’s Journey | Orona-Ramirez, Kristy | Cooking | Dramatic Play Center |
Kukamba (F) | Zimbabwean | Gugu’s House | Stock, Catherine | Painting | Art Center |
Work Cited:
Rohmer, Harriet, Ed. (1997). Just Like Me: Stories and Self-Portraits by Fourteen Artists. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press, p. 24.
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