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Book 1: The Proudest Blue By Ibtihaj Muhammad
Book Level:
Age range 5-8
Lexile 500L
Standards: VA SOL 2.12d The student will understand that the people of the United States of
America d.) have the individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as well as
equality under the law.
Summary Response: This book is about a young girl named Faizah who is excited about her
older sister Asiya’s first day wearing a Hijab to school. When they both get to school some of
the students start to ask questions about why Asiya is wearing a scarf on her head. Other
students shout saying mean things by bullying her and threatening to take it off of her head.
While in class Faizah is worried about how Asiya feels about the things that people are saying
to so she draws a picture of Asiya and herself both wearing a Hijab. During recess Faizah runs
over to where the older kids are to check on Asiya to make sure that she is still ok and smiling
about her new Hijab. When she sees her she is relived that she is still happy and playing with
her friends. Throughout the school day Faizah remembers all of the words that their mom told
them and continues to stay positive and encouraged about Asiya’s Hijab. When the school day
ends they go home and Faizah is so happy to show mom the picture that she drew with both of
them wearing the Hijabs.
(196)
Personal Response: I enjoyed reading this book and believe that it is a good story to read to
younger age students in grades K-2. The book could be used to teach students a lesson on
diversity and cultures. I like that the setting of the book takes place at school and has
characters of multiple races in it. The theme of the book is about being proud and confident in
who you are. Reading this story reminded me of a time when I was in school and was always
teased about my height. I had to become confident enough to stay strong and be proud of who
I was just like Faizah and Asiya did with wearing their Hijab.
(117)
Pedagogical Response: This book would be appropriate for students in grades Kindergarten-
Second. It could be used to teach students a lesson on diversity such as culture, race, or
religion. It has a universal appeal and could offer the reader a message of being proud of who
they are or having self confidence in who they are as individuals. The setting takes place in a
school environment with characters from diverse backgrounds. The book aligns with VA SOL
2.12 The students will understand that the people of the United States of America d.) have the
individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as well as equality under the law.
The facets of the texts that would need to be explained to students are what a Hijab is and why
Asiya is wearing it. This could be explained before the reading by asking students questions
such as what is diversity and culture to active prior knowledge and build on what they already
know about it. The character that I believe that students would most likely identify with is
Faizah because of her personality traits and age. I think that students would less likely identify
with Asiya because of her age and character traits. I don’t think that the students would have
much trouble with interpreting and understanding the aspects of the books language structure
or style. In my opinion there aren’t any aspects of the book that are potentially objectionable.
(240)
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Explanation and Sample: The activity that I would have the students to complete is a “I am
Wonderful rainbow” Activity. The students will be given a rainbow worksheet where they
will write sentences describing the different characteristics of what makes them a wonderful
unique person regardless of their religion, race or culture. This activity correlates with VA
SOL 2.12d: The student will understand that the people of the United States of America d.)
have the individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as well as equality under
the law.
(90)
.
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Book 2: I Like Myself By Karen Beaumont
Book Level:
Guided Reading Level
Grades K-2
GR Level K
DRA 16-18
Standards: VA SOL 1.10e. The students will apply the traits of a good citizen by valuing
honesty and truthfulness in oneself and others.
Summary Response: This book is about a girl who loves herself and has a lot of confidence.
From the beginning to the end she expresses the love that she has for herself. The little girl
describes how much she loves all of the characteristics and features of herself. The Author
never mentions the main characters name throughout the book but starts the story off by
saying “I like myself and I’m glad I’m me”. The message and the overall theme in the story is
to love everything about yourself no matter what it is. The book teaches a lesson about the
importance of self-esteem, self-confidence self-love, being unique and individuality.
(110)
Personal Response: I personally enjoyed reading this book. What I loved the most about it is
how positively contagious the character displays confidence in herself right from the
beginning of the book. I think that this would definitely be a good book to teach a lesson on
the importance of self-love. I also was very pleased with the way that the author used creative
and eccentric illustrations to contribute to the lively colorful animations. This book would be
a great reading for students in grades Kindergarten to Second to teach them about self-esteem
that they would benefit from as the continue to grow up.
(104)
Pedagogical Response: The book is appropriate for any students for basically for any students
in elementary school. I think that it would benefit students of all races, ages, and cultures. The
book gives students a valuable lesson on self-confidence, and self-esteem as they grow
throughout childhood into adulthood. It also can prepare students for when they are faced with
having to deal with bullies or mean people in school or the world. The book is written with
clear language so I don’t think that would be any facets of the text that would require further
explanation. The students who exhibit self-confidence would most likely identify with the
main character in the story. Students who are still developing emotionally are less likely to
identify with the same character. I think that the language, structure, and style were easy to
understand. Students can relate to the story by expressing how to feel about themselves
regardless of what someone else may, think, or feel about you. There were no aspects of the
book that I felt was objectionable. The book overall has a positive message and theme about
self-love and confidence in oneself.
(189)
Explanation and Sample: The activity that I would have students to complete for this book
would be to complete a “I Love myself” worksheet where they draw a self-portrait, write
several things that they like about themselves, things that they are good at, and the people in
their lives who love them the most.
(52)
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Book 3: Where Are You From? By Yamile Saied Mendez and
Jaime Kim
Book Level: Lexile Level AD640L
Standards: VA SOL 1.13c The student will understand that the people of Virginia include
people who have who have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions and are united as
Americans by common principles.
Summary Response: This book is about acceptance and the story is centered around a girl in
school who is always being asked the question “Where are you from?”. “One day she replies
that she is from here, from today, same as everyone else.” They continue to insist on asking
her where she’s from. The little girl goes home from school and asks her Abuelo who looks
just like her, where am I from? Instead of giving her a straight forward answer he tells her that
she comes from the pampas, the open free land, the gaucho brave and strong. Her Abuelo
never gives her an exact answer instead he continues to describe where she’s from then points
to her heart and says you are from here. She continues to pry an answer out him before he
tells her that she is from all of us, meaning her ancestors which is why she is who she is and
looks how she looks.
(160)
Personal Response: I really enjoyed reading this book and think that it could be a great way to
introduce students to diversity. This book could be used to teach a lesson on acceptance of
race, culture or identity. The book starts off with the question asked Where are you from,
which I think would immediately grasp the student’s attention to get them engage. The book
reminds me of a time when I was always being asked if I was Jamaican because of my facial
features and complexion. Although I am not from Jamaica it did teach me to accept the fact
that I could possibly resemble one and that its ok if I were of that race, nationality, or culture.
(119)
Pedagogical Response: The grade level that would benefit this book the most are students in
Kindergarten through Second. The book has does have a universal appeal and the illustrations
contribute because of the diverse characters in the setting at school. The book aligns with VA
SOL 1.13c The students will understand that the people of Virginia include people who have
diverse ethnic origins, customs, and traditions and united as Americans by common
principles. The only facet of the text that I think would need to be explained to students is to
describe what an Abuelo is and the ethnic origin of the word. I think that it would be a good
pre reading discussion to build on what students may already know about the culture. I
believe that the students who are most likely to identify with the main character are the ones
who are similar to her. The students who are less likely to identify with her are the students
who aren’t similar to her. I think that students could possibly have trouble with interpreting or
understanding the aspects of language, structure, and style but this would be explained during
the discussion before the book is read. I don’t believe that there are any aspects of the book
that are objectionable at all.
Explanation and Sample: The activity that I would have students to complete for this book
would be to identify what makes them different and unique by drawing the people, places,
environment, and traits that make them unique. Then the students would write sentences
describing details about their country and where they are from.
(51)
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References
Teachers Pay Teachers. (2023). Teaching Resources & Lesson Plans | Teachers Pay Teachers.
Teacherspayteachers.com. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/
Yamile Saied Méndez, & Kim, J. (2019). Where are you from? Harper, An Imprint Of
Harpercollinspublishers.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, Ali, S. K., & Hatem Aly. (2019). The proudest blue : a story of hijab and
family. Little, Brown And Company.
Beaumont, K. (2016). I like myself! Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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