I just finished doing an all day in-service with teachers called "Dealing With Difference: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Learners in the Classroom." The rural area of Idaho is not filled with racial diversity, so I demonstrated several examples of literature that help learners think beyond their own immediate experience. As Rudine Sims Bishop says: Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange.
These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of a larger human experience.
Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books. Journey into a world full of magic, wonderous sights, and delicious food in THE NIGHT MARKET by Seina Wedlick and Briana Mukodiri Uchendu. This captivating picture book follows a young girl who explores the mesmerizing wonders of a Nigerian night market where each stall is an adventure waiting to be discovered.
Get entrapped with the sounds of hawkers and traders, the smells of home-grown spices, perfumed oils that shine in colorful jars, and the vibrancy of the peacocks’ parade! You must hurry though. The night market closes at dawn and there's so much to see at the end of this magical and fantastical night. Author Seina Wedlick grew up visiting the Lagos market with her family and knew she wanted to write about a fantastical night market riffled with delicious food, wonderous sights, and interesting performers that every child can visit with a turn of a page.
Featuring Briana Mukodiri Uchendu's beautiful and atmospheric illustrations, THE NIGHT MARKET invites young readers into a world of magic, and mystery to experience the joy of finding treasures in unexpected places. Books like this one provide an opportunity for children to read about characters unlike themselves, building their capacity for understanding, empathy, and compassion for others..
