The Dot

Reynolds, Peter H. The Dot. Copyright 2003, Candlewick Press.

This story is about a girl anmed Vashti who struggles in art class with the mindset of not being able to draw.  Her teacher reinforces that she can draw anything she'd like.  "Just make a mark, see where it takes you" her teacher would say.  Vashti then drew a dot, and signed it.  The next day, she saw that her teacher had framed it and put it on a classroom wall.
"I can make a better dot than that" she says and goes home to make many more dots of all sizes and colors.
Once she shows off her gallery at school a little boy acknowledges what he sees and admires what a great artist she is.  He begins to complain about not being able to draw like her, "I can draw a straight line with a ruler" he says.  She tells him to show her and after he draws the line, she tells him to please, sign it.

Intended Readers: Ages 4-8

The Dot is great for reinforcing that children are capable of doing anything they set their mind too.  The girl in this story gave herself doubt and high expectations, but little does she know art comes in all shapes and sizes.  You don't have to be a great drawer to be considered an artist and what she learned about herself she was able to share with someone else about their talent as well.

People

Spier, Peter. People. Copyright 1980, Random House.

In this encyclopedic picture book, Spier celebrates humankind in all its diversity-how we are similar and how we are different; that we dress in different ways, enjoy different things, have different personalities, live in different homes, speak (and write) different languages. We all keep different pets, celebrate different holidays and worship in different ways; that some of us excel at things others could never do, that there are more different ways of earning a living than you would believe.

Intended Readers: Ages 4-8

Discussions of differences can be greatly aided by children's books and it doesn't take an older child to begin discussions. The wealth of pictures discuss the uniqueness of people in terms of size, color, differing systems of taste and belief, and varying physical and mental abilities. This book can be a wonderful departure point for talking about all kinds of subjects from world peace to prejudice.

While incorportating this book in your classroom, students could research and discuss different countries and cultures. Giving them hands on activity is an effective way for them to learn and discover the world around them; they are sure not to forget this experience.

Being Wendy

Drescher Fran. Being Wendy. Copyright 2011, Penguin Group.

Wendy Starbright grew up in Boxville, where everyone wears cardboard boxes wherever they go.  Depending on their career, some said their name, doctor, soldier, baker, etc. on the front of them.  Wendy didn't want to be labeled as just a box.  She knew there was more to her than that.  She asked her mom why she wore a box only saying "mom."  She replied, "in life we must make choices and mine was to be a mom."  Wendy's dad told her that she hasn't found the right box yet.
One day, she left the house without her box, which created quite a stir in the neighborhood.  Wendy ignored it, until she got to school where her classmates made her feel weird and like she didn't belong.  When she went home that day she had a talk with her parents.  The next morning she awoke to her parents without their boxes on as well.  "Different talents make you, you!  We all should do anything and everything we want!" they said.  They reinforced that she was unique, special, and Wendy was surely proud of it.  Her and her family left Boxville to live in Freedomland.

Intended Readers: Ages 4-8

Although the readers may be young, incorporating a brief form of the first Amendment, focusing on freedom of speech and religion.  More so, showing students that there is no one label for any individual & that coming to school should allow them to show deeper sides of their talents, creativity, or differences.

Here's a short clip of Fran Drescher explaining how her new children's book, Being Wendy, helps kids be more accepting of others:

The Doctors w/ Fran Drescher

The Story of Ferdinand

I'm sure most if not all of us have heard the story of Ferdinand the bull, and if not you may want to pay close attention!

Leaf, Munro. The Story of Ferdinand. Copyright 1936, The Viking Press.

This story is about a very independent bull named Ferdinand.  He never partook in any adventures and games with all the other little bulls.  He would rather stay to himself, sit under a cork tree and smell the flowers.
Ferdinand's mother started to become worried that he would become too lonely, but he would just say "I like it better here where I can just sit quietly and smell the flowers."  She understood, and let him do just that.
As the years passed, he had become a very big and strong bull.  All the other bulls he grew up with wanted to be picked for the bull fights in Madrid, but not Ferdinand.
It wasn't until his first encounter with a bumble bee where his size and strength were finally noticed by five men.  They were in search of the largest/toughest bull around, and when it came to Ferdinand, they liked what they saw.
They called him Ferdinand the Fierce, but that didn't last long.  During his first "fight" Ferdinand did nothing but sit and stare at the audience.  Who was he kidding?  He didn't want to be apart of all that.  He found himself happy back under the cork tree smelling flowers, being himself.

Intended Readers: Ages PreK-2

I thought this book was a great introduction to teach students about valuing themselves as an individual.  Ferdinand wouldn't have been happy trying to be something he was not.  No child should ever have to do something just to be something that they aren't.

*This story has many great resources to use, two of which I have included.

Here's the Disney version of this classic story which won the 1938 Academy Award for best short animated film:

Here's another version, in American Sign Language available to those who may be hearing impaired:

Unique Individualities.. Huh?

So, for those of you unaware of what a text set is, let me inform you.

I was given an assignment to create a text set of at least 10 pieces of literature that all have to do with the same kind of theme.

Since I thought about the students I plan to educate in the future, I decided to go with the theme of the unique individualities that every student has.
We as teachers will have many students throughout our career and it's important for each one of those students to value themselves as individuals no matter how creative, unique, or different they may be.  Peer pressure is a big issue, especially in middle and high school but I wanted to share some pieces of literature that I thought all students and teachers could relate to.