Sunday, January 28, 2007

Honoring our Ancestors



http://www.amazon.com/Honoring-Our-Ancestors-Pictures-Fourteen/dp/0892391588/sr=8-1/qid=1169667825/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2319777-9564010?ie=UTF8&s=books
$16.95

This book is from the same company (http://www.childrensbookpress.org/ ) that made Just Like Me, edited by Harriet Rohmer, and the format is the same where there are two pages dedicated to an artist; some of the fourteen artists are the same from Just Like Me. The artists are from diverse backgrounds. They each talk about an ancestor that has influenced them.

This book is just as beautiful as Just Like Me. The paintings are gorgeous and the artists have their own style. I especially like the idea that this book is about honoring our ancestors, which a lot of cultures emphasize. This book will inspire people to talk to their elders, to honor what they’ve done and respect them and ancestors of other people too. Some artists honored important figures from their culture that have influenced many other people too; “those that are not written in history textbooks.”

The format of this book makes it very easy for class projects and for students to explore their own ancestry or even a biography of a person they admire. The stories of each artist and their painting are unique to their own experiences, so students can be more creative when doing this as well.

This book fits the first two stages of social justice education. The artists displayed in the book are of diverse backgrounds, mainly minorities that aren’t usually represented in history books. Their stories are told through these artists and brought to life to the readers. Children learn about their cultures as well as others through these stories and paintings.

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