OPAL DUNN

OPAL DUNN is a well known language specialist , a person who recognized and started promoting teaching languages to young learners, plurilingualizm and multicultural approach - long before it became fashionable and popular in Europe. Everything I have learned about real books, as well as my determination in putting the idea into practice - I owe to her. She is the most wonderful human being I have ever met. All her picture books are GREAT!
I would like to recommend her wonderful book of games - which would come very handy while working with multicultural stories. It is about games from all over the world, each one accompanied by a rhyme and clear instructions.

WHOEVER YOU ARE

Mem Fox is my favourite author and I love all her books. I share her educational philosophy. She wrote a wonderful book for teachers - Reading Magic. Whoever You Are is a perfect book to start multicultural topic with young learners and we will make a poster as a follow up activity.

HANDA'S SURPRISE

This is probably the most popular multicultural book both in British mainstream education and all around Europe among teachers of English to young learners. Lovely illustrations and simple predictable pattern makes the book a treasure.

BORREGUITA and the COYOTE

This book is a lively retelling of a Mexican folk tale. What makes it unique is chunks of Spanish language, that children acquire naturally and keep repeating. Perfect for plurilingual and multicultural teaching of English to young learners.

THE OLD WOMAN and the RED PUMPKIN

As the ancients said, Inter duos combatentes tertius vincit.
Where two fight - third one wins this could be a title of this Bengali folk tale. It is wonderfully illustarted by Rachel Merriman.

HAIRS - PELITOS

This wonderful story is a piece of art and a gift for your kids.
It is in English and Spanish.It combines a celebration of individuality and of the bonds within families. The wonderful illustration remind me of great years I spent in Mexico as they carry Frida Kahlo's emotional style. I was afraid it will be a bit difficult visually for Polish kids but they love it.

TIDDALIK the FROG

Tiddalik the frog has drunk all the water in Australia. The other animals are very worried. It is a very nice Australian Aboriginal myth. The Water-holding frogs do exist. They have many interesting qualities and characteristics which can only be found in Australia, which makes it that much precious. It is a very good story for CLIL - connecting it to water cycle, animals (adaptation), Australia and others topics.

HEAD BODY LEGS

This is a story from Liberia with WONDERFUL illustrations. Children love it!
In groups we made comic and books.

What is a REALBOOK ?

REALBOOK does not focus the children's attention on grammatical structures.
REAL picture BOOKS are written for children's enjoyment and enrichment with no specific language teaching aim. The laguage that accompanies the pictures is authentic to native speaker children.

Cleversticks

No one is good at everything but everyone is good at something. This is the message of this story. Ling Sung doesn't like school because there are things that other children do and he can't. Then one day he discovers he can do something nobody else can... not even the teacher!
I am sure my students will love the story.

The legend of the Bluebonnet

This is a wonderful traditional story from Texas, about being cooperative and unselfish, parting with a prized possession for the greater good and finding reward in something other than a material object.
Years ago I didn't have the books and I used the legend for storytelling in an exchange I had with a school in Texas. Now I have the book retold and illustrated by a great artist - TOMIE DEPAOLA and it is wonderful. We will be preparing a comic in a circle of artist, working in co-operative learning groups.

We All Went on Safari

I am working on this wonderful multicultural book that will help me to take my students to Tanzania. We will learn about Maasai people, Swahili names and also we will practice counting in Swahili.
We will study the map and listen to songs from African Playground CD by Putamayo Kids.