Nicole+Nieto+Bibliography

__ Non-Fiction __
 * Folktales of Different Cultures **
 * ** Froese, Deborah (1996) __The Wise Washerman.__ Hyperion Books for Children.14 pgs Tempe Public Library. **

This is a Burmese folktale about a washerman named, Aung Kyaing. He is acclaimed through his village for his “magical ability to make clothes gleam like the snowcapped mountains and make colored clothes sparkle. Potter Narathu, Aung Kyaing’s neighbor is jealous that Aung Kyaing has a better house and is better off than he is. No one appreciates his efforts to make clay pots. So, Potter seeks to ruin him by tricking the king, Pagan Min, to giving Aung Kyaing a seemingly impossible task. He must use his skills to transform the king’s ordinary gray elephant into a fabled white elephant. If he fails, he will be banished from his beloved king forever. He tells the king that he will attempt the task to the best of his ability, only if some conditions are met. He says that The Great Wash of the elephant needs to be on the first day of the Water Festival and there must be a water vessel with soapy warm water to hold an elephant made by Potter. The day comes for the Great Wash and when the elephant steps inside the kiln, it cracks. The king exiles Potter to the northern hills for making a dish that won’t hold an elephant. The humble washerman is unable to complete his task and the king rides his grey elephant in the parade. However, Aung Kyaing continues to resume his life over his washtubs and receives more attention from the people than he could imagine. This story delves into the topic of hard work, intelligence, and being humble. All of which will get someone far in life. This could be a great book for children to learn how to overcome failure and to persevere. Learn to always work hard and be passionate about their interests, but never allow others to keep them down. This could turn into a discussion for times that they have felt like they failed, but found positives in their failure. How they dealt with it, how they didn’t give up. Since this is a Bermese folktale, another topic of interest could be about the Bermese culture and how this book relates to their way of life. At the back of the book, there is a cultural reference of how this story was created. There are mountains and river valleys, tropical forests, and land that is prone to drought between rainy seasons in Burma. Residents live in modern homes. The rural population lives in houses of bamboo walls, thatched roofs with no electricity, and share a central well for drinking water. Their celebration of the Water Festival or the Thingyan, the Burmese New Year, could be a unit of study of all the activities and the culture surrounding it. It’s a 3- day event that occurs at the height of the hot and dry season in mid-April when temperatures can soar to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Anyone who dares to venture out in the streets during this time is doused with water, from water balloons to buckets to a fire hose. It’s a symbol of washing away the misdeeds of the old year. There are parades, theatre, singing and dancing. People gather on mats in front of outdoor stages with snacks and tea. The study of monks and Buddism are traditional Burmese rites and the white elephant is thought of something magical to their culture. The story’s artwork is done in pastel watercolor and gouache painting with swirling floral and geometric patterns. This could be incorporated into a lesson involving math and art, learning about the attributes of geometric patterns and then creating their own through the use of pastels.

This is an African folktale about a spider named, Ananse, who weaves his tricky webs across the villages of West Africa and claims that he stores all of the wisdom (nyansa) of the world. He eavesdrops on many people in the village and offers his wise counsel, but nobody ever thanks him for his knowledge and problem solving skills. He decides to take back all the wisdom he has given the world and he hides it at the top of Ananse and his son, Ntikuma go throughout the village and sweep up the wisdom and t into a gourd to store at the top of a palm tree. It’s very heavy and Ntikuma advises his father to put the gourd on his back to make it easier to climb up the tree. Ananse realizes that his son had given him new wisdom and the gourd falls and breaks again. Ananse knows that no one can hoard all the wisdom of the world. It escapes and scatters to all the homes and paths of the world.
 * ** Lilly, Melinda (1998) __Spider and His Son Find Wisdom.__ The Rourke Press, Inc. 15 pgs. Tempe Public Library. **

At the back of the book, there is an actual cultural reference of how this story was created. Ananse is a West African god who often takes the shape of a spider and is the spirit of all knowledge. The study of this god, the mythology, and how the people of Ghana worship him could be a unit of study that accompanies this book. Bringing out a map of Africa to show where Ghana is and the culture of the area will help children visualize where the story takes place. Teaching them about the word wisdom or what someone is like when they are wise and having them relate to a time when they gave someone good ideas (wisdom) will allow children to connect to the book in their own way. Discussing he qualities of what makes up a folktale and how this story fits under that category can fall under literature as well.


 * ** MacDonald, Margaret Read (2006). __Conejito__. August House LittleFolk. 15 pgs. Tempe Public Library **

This folktale from Panama is about Conejito, a little bunny, who is on his way to visit his aunt, M ó nica, on holiday break who will feed him so many cakes and cookies until he becomes gordito (fat). He runs into Se ñ or Zorro (Mr. Fox), Se ñor Tigre (Mr. Tiger), and Se ñ or Le ón who all want to eat him. Conejito tells them that he is too skinny (flaquito) and that they need to wait until he comes back from his aunt’s house because he will be fat from all the food his aunt will give him. They all agree to wait and he continues up the hill to his aunt’s house who tells Conejito she is going to feed make him strong. When it’s time for him to leave, he tells his aunt that he is afraid to go back down the mountain they all want to eat him. Conejito’s aunt puts him in a barrel so he can roll past all of them home and tells him that if they stop him, to tell them that she’s going to build a fire up on the hill and that they better run away fast. Conejito rolls down the mountain and bumps into Mr. Fox, Mr. tiger, and Mr. Lion who ask the barrel where Conejito is. Conejito scares all of them away by telling them there was a fire on the mountain and that Conejito was burned too. He makes it safely home to his mother.

This story is a great integration of English to Spanish words and phrases for children to learn some parts of another language easily and in a fun way. There is a pronunciation key in the back for all of the different Spanish words throughout the story. This would be a perfect addition to a unit of Panama, the people’s culture, where it’s located on a world map, and their language. Integration of math to learn about the length of the Panama Canal and science of how it was built and what it’s used for, as well as a discussion about rainforests and the climate could all fall into an extension of lessons for this book.

This Persian folktale is about a king, Artaxerxes, who rules a great empire. All who visit him are required to bring a beautiful and expensive gift. One day, the king is not pleased and leaves his palace to walk away with no intended destination. As he is traveling, he meets many people that give him gifts. After sitting down after a long day of walking, he is still unhappy. His servants ask him why he is so unhappy when he has everything he could ever want. But, all he wants is a cool drink of water. A poor shepherd boy offers him an old water jar. The king realizes he has never been so pleased by any other gift than the one that the boy gives him, so he gives the boy all of the gifts that hadn’t pleased him before in exchange for his kindness.
 * ** Manson, Christopher (1989). __A Gift for the King.__ Henry Holt and Company, Inc. 16 pgs. Tempe Public Library **

At the back of the book, there is an actual cultural reference of how this story was created. Artaxerxes was the king of Persia from 464 to 424 B.C. who ruled an empire that stretched from Greece to India. When Alexander the Great finally captured Persepolis, the chief city of Persia, in 330 B.C., it took 3,000 camels and mules to carry away the treasure. A study of the history of Artaxeres and Alexander the Great, the wealth and location of the Persian Empire, would accompany the story very well. The art of Babylonia, Assyria, Greece, and Egypt influenced the art of Persia and it is clearly depicted throughout the story. The author captured actual historical reconstructions of costumes, furniture, and buildings as sources for his artwork. Art history and the cultural study of Persians would be another great integration of social studies for this book. The moral of this story is that money doesn’t buy you happiness, a great social lesson for children to learn as well.

This is a Thai folktale about two rice birds who are in love and die together, only to be reborn into a new life. The mother rice bird is reborn as a princess and her father, the king, is in search of a man who is worthy of making his daughter speak in order to marry her. The father rice bird is reborn a farmer’s son and when he was born, the rice fields bloomed with green flowers. His parents believed that this was a sign of good luck. Each year, the farmer’s son helped his father bring rice to harvest and as he got older, he decided to set off for the kingdom to build his own life. The farmer’s son stood in line alongside other suitors who were waiting their turn to make the princess speak. Non of the other suitors were able to make her say a word. But, when it was the farmer’s son’s turn, he simply looked at her and her heart soared. He told her a story about an astrologer, a hunter, a diver, and a magician and asked the princess who the woman would marry out of the 4. The princess spoke her answer and they knew they were meant to be together forever. At the back of the book, there is an actual cultural reference of how this story was created. The story of the two rice birds is a popular one in Thailand. All of the children know the story, either from school or from family. It helps children learn about traditions and Buddhist beliefs that are important to the Thai culture. Rice has been Thailand’s major agricultural crop for centuries and the planting season begins in July when heavy rains flood the fields. By November, when the winter season begins, rice is ready for harvest. This story also brings the idea together with the Buddhist principles of reincarnation and enduring love and the lotus blossom frequently talked about throughout the book symbolizes Buddhism. The illustrations in the story are based on Thai mural art that are usually on walls of temples and royal palaces, which usually depict stories of love and famous battles against invaders from neighboring countries. This would be a great study of Buddhism, the location of Thailand in the world, reincarnation beliefs, Thai art, and agriculture.
 * ** Meeker, Clare Hodgson (1994) __A Tale of Two Rice Birds__. Sasquatch Books. 13 pgs. Tempe Public Library **
 * ** Melendez, Gabriel A. (2013) __The Legend of Ponciano Gutierrez and the Mountain Thieves.__ University of Mexico Press. 16 pgs. Tempe Public Library **

This is a Mexican folktale about a farmer named Ponciano Gutierrez who lives in the Mora Valley of New Mexico. While traveling through the mountains on horse back to Santa Fe, he notices Vincente Silva and his gang of robbers are following him and they take him captive. To divert the men from keeping him as hostage, tying him up, or leaving him for dead, Ponciano decided to tell them of his own criminal exploits and all of the crimes he committed and challenges them to multiple tasks. After seeing his skills, Silva and his bandits ask Ponciano to join their gang. Ponciano tricks the men by telling them that he wants to show them one more trick with a rope. He ties all of their wrists and tells them that they are ready to meet the sheriff of Santa Fe. The sheriff and the people of Santa Fe are so grateful that Ponciano was able to capture the bandits. They give him a reward and Ponciano uses the reward to buy seed for his farm and saves the rest. There is a preview of the NuevoMexicano storytelling in the book that could be a topic of interest for a unit of study. The tradition of the way in which the people of New Mexico tell a story varies, but stories that were developed in Spain or Mexico were planted into New Mexican communities when colonists set down roots in the Rio Grande Basin. Traditions of story telling, how people communicate the way in which they live their lives for a purpose, as lessons, narrations, or warnings is an important aspect of social studies. It’s how we know so much about the past, of different parts of the world, of different events. Roots of different cultures spreading throughout other countries and places could be another lesson as well. Since this was an actual historical record, this book could serve as a lesson of comparing what was told in the story to what happened in real life, as well as the study of the actual historical account and the crimes of Vicente Silva. Pulling out a map of New Mexico and the Rio Grande Basin will help the students have a visual of where they story takes place and it’s relation to the rest of the world. The story also has a great representation of Mexican artwork with the boarders and paintings depicting each part of the story, which could be integrated into a separate unit of the study of Mexican artwork and the students can create their own Mexican artwork.

This is a Korean folktale about a woodcutter who rescues an enchanted deer that is stalked by a hunter. In return for saving its life, the deer offers to make the woodcutter’s secret wish come true: to have a wife to love. Beyond a wall of thorny vines lies a bewitching lake where maidens descend from heaven to bathe. The deer tells the woodcutter how to keep one of the maids on earth, by taking her set of clothes. When the woodcutter follows the instructions, he is granted his secret wish. The maiden falls in love with the woodcutter; they marry and have a baby girl. They are living happily ever after, until the maiden grows homesick for heaven. She asks her husband to see and feel her heavenly clothes to make her happy again. However, she becomes spellbound by the power of her clothes and puts them on. She grabs her baby and they ascend into heaven and vanish. The woodcutter’s life becomes miserable. When he is out chopping wood, the deer appears and tells the woodcutter that when the moon is full, the maidens will lower a silver bucket into the lake to fill with water for their baths and for him to climb inside the bucket so that he will be reunited with his wife and child in heaven. The woodcutter doesn’t want to leave his frail mother behind, so he brings t her inside the bucket with him. The bucket is too heavy and the woodcutter decides to let his mother go into heaven instead of himself. When the heavenly king hears the story about how the woodcutter sacrificed his own happiness for his mother’s well being, he sends a winged dragon horse to the woodcutter to bring him to heaven as well and he is reunited with his wife, child, and mother. This is a retelling of one of Korea’s most beloved stories. The story is set at thetime of Chosun Dynasty and is about sacrifice. The book depicts ceremonial wedding attire of the Korean culture and architecture, which could serve as a unit on Korea, where it’s located in the world, the aspects of Korean culture, and the history of Chosun Dynasty. The artwork is done in acrylic paint that could serve as part of studying how the author represents the Korean culture in the story. __ Fiction __
 * ** Souci, Daniel San (1999) __In The Moonlight Mist.__ Boyds Mills Press, Inc. 16 pgs. Tempe Public Library **
 * ** Fields, Terri (1948). __Burro’s Tortilla’s__. Sylvan Dell Publishing, 14pgs. Tempe Public Library **

This Mexican folktale is about a donkey, Burro, who finds it hard to get any help from his friends as he diligently works hard to turn corn into tortillas. He asks his friends to help him pick the corn, to remove the kernels, to boil the kernels with lime, to rinse and dry the kernels, to grind the kernels into flour with a grinding stone, to press the ground corn, to roll the balls of dough, to flatten the balls of dough, and to cook the tortillas. All of his friends make excuses for why they can’t help Burro, so he has to do all the work himself. When the tortillas are done and made, he asks his friends if they will help him eat the tortillas. Of course they say yes, but the Burro thinks about how they had not helped him once during the process. So he eats all the tortillas himself.

The back of the book talks about how important corn is to the Mexican and Central American culture. They have been growing corn for over 5,000 years and created corn by breeding two unlike plans. It use to be that people would only be able to eat the types of foods that grew close to where they lived or came from animals nearby. Now, we can grow plants all over the world by planting seeds, using irrigation, or greenhouses. This could be a unit of study of how we grow plants today from how we use to grow food and how we grow food today. Modern transportation like ships, trains, trucks, and airplanes helps us to get food from other parts of the world. We could study different foods that we get from other places. Sometimes grains (such as corn) are ground into flour or cornmeal and used to make other types of food that we eat. The word tortilla comes from the Spanish word “torta” which means “round cake”. When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the 16th century, they found the Aztecs making and eating corn. Sometimes the corn was made into round cakes the Spaniards named tortillas. This could be a unit of study about the Aztecs, their culture, where they came from, the importance of corn, and how we use corn today. There is also a recipe to make tortillas in the back of the book that can serve as a creative way to implement a lesson from the story.


 * ** MacDonald, Margaret Read (2006). __Go to Sleep, Gecko!__ August House Publishers, Inc. 16pgs. Tempe Public Library. **

This Balinese folktale is about Gecko who has a giant sized problem. Every night he is awakened by the fireflies outside his window. He becomes grumpy because he is unable to sleep. He goes to Elephant, the head of the village, to complain. He requests that the fireflies top working at night because it causes problems for everyone in the village. But, the fireflies work at night so they can lead the buffalos to fill up the holes that Rain washes out. Rain makes puddles for the mosquitoes so or else they would die. If the mosquitoes died there would be nothing for the Gecko to eat. The Elephant tells Gecko that the world is all connected and some things he just has to put up with. Gecko learns that his well-being depends on that of the entire village and he went to sleep. Students can learn about the unique characteristics of geckos and the various environments that they live in, incorporating science into a study from this book.

They could also use different art mediums to create their own gecko camouflaging itself in a particular environment, which would factor art into a lesson. Many social values are taught in this story, such as citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility, which could all be mini lessons about how the book demonstrates each value, and what they would in their own lives to represent these same values. Since this is a Balinese story, it would be a great connection for students to learn where Bali, Indonesia is on a globe in comparison to America and the culture of the Balinese.


 * ** MacDonald, Margaret Read (2007). __The Old Woman and Her Pig__. Harper Collins Publishers. 16pgs. Tempe Public Library. **

This Appalachian folktale is about an old woman who tries to take a little pig home to her little boy. But, the pig won’t cross the bridge because he is afraid of the water. The old woman pushes, pulls, and cries with no luck. Until she sees a dog, a rat, and a cat that she tires to convince to help her get the pig back home. She asks the dog to bark at the pig, but the dog says no. She asks the rat to nip at the dog, but the rat says no. She asks the cat if it will worry the rat, and the cat says he will help the old lady because her son use to feed him and play with him. The cat worries the rat. The rat nips the dog and the dog barks at the pig. The pig runs over the bridge to the old lady’s home squealing.

There is a lot of rhyming throughout the book, which could be a unit of study of what is rhyming, what are words that rhyme, and the identification of rhyming words from the book. There are also many different animals that are presented that could serve as different topics of study. The story talks about how the pig is fearful of the water, to connect the children to the story they could write about a time when they were scared of something and how they overcame that fear.