*Galbraith, Catherine Atwater and Rama Mehta. (1980). India Now and Through Time. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. [Grades 4 and up].
This chapter book is full of useful information about India. It discusses the people of India, the beliefs, and the set up of society. The reader must be cautious because it was published in 1980 and some information may be outdated.
*Generi, Anita. (1994) Exploration Into India. New York: New Discovery Books. [Grades 4 and up].
This book provides an abundance of information about India. Much of the information may be difficult for some children. They must learn to filter out the information that is useful for their research.
*Glubok, Shirley. (1969) The Art of India. New York: The Macmillan Co. [Grades 4 and up].
This book is filled with wonderful examples and descriptions of various pieces of Indian art.
*Haskins, Jim. (1990). Count Your Way, India. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc. [Grades 3-5]
This books is good for children because it presents factual information in a simple and entertaining manner. It also introduces children to the Hindi alphabet and some words from this language.
*Hermes, Jules. (1993) The Children of India. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Filled with wonderful photographs of real children from India, this book provides connections for children. They can connect what they have learned about India to real faces that vary in appearance and story.
*Kanitkar, V.P. (1987) Indian Food and Drink. New York: The Bookwright Press.
This book gives the reader information about the agriculture of India. It is accurate in its regional descriptions of crops that are grown and food that is eaten. This varies a great deal in India from region to region. Recipes included may also be useful for class cooking projects.
*Karan, PP (ed). (1983) India. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Gateway Press, Inc. [Grades 4 and up].
This book has a textbook set up making it good for research. There is a helpful table of contents that lays out many features of India. The pictures in the book are photographs and very informative. Since the book is published in 1983 some information may be outdated.
*Sarin, Amita Vohra. (1985) India An Ancient Land, A New Nation. Minnesota: Dillon Press, Inc. [Grades 3-5}.
This book is similar to a textbook. It is useful for child research because the lettering is large and wording somewhat simple. It discusses some of the traditional aspects of India as well as the new technology that is occurring.
*Srinivasan, Radhika. (1990) Cultures of the World: India. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
Pictures, heading, and clear writing make this a useful tool for young researchers. Accurate information can be found in this book as it is only six years old.
*Bang, Betsy. (1975) The Old Woman and the Red Pumpkin. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. [Grades 2-4]
This is an Indian tale that has similarities to "The Little Red Riding Hood." It can be used to make comparisons between the tales. Also, it contains names of food that are important in India. This can lead to discussions of the topic.
*Barry, David. (1994) The Rajah's Rice. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. [Grades 3-5]
This folk tale is a clever story that helps bring mathematics into the unit. In the story, a young elephant bather, Chandra, tricks the Rajah into giving the people back their rice by asking him to place two grains of rice on a checkerboard and double it for each sequential square. This is the amount of rice the Rajah agrees to give back to the people. The children will be introduced to powers of two through this story.
*Beach, Milo Cleveland. (1983). The Adventure of Rama. Washington D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art. [Grades 4-5].
This tale originated form the epic Ramayana written in 500 B.C. It includes many gods from the Hindu religion. It also has wonderful artwork. This book would be good to use in a discussion of the Hindu religion. Be careful not to just dismiss these tales as fiction. They are believed and treasured by many and should be present with respect for these beliefs.
*Duff, Maggie (1978). Rum Pum Pum. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. [Grades 2-5]
The characters in this folk tale are mainly animals. The children will enjoy this book as there is a great deal of repetition and the ordering. This book does not reveal a great deal about the culture of India. However, children can explore the cultureÕs values that may be present in the story.
*Gleeson, Brian. (1992) The Tiger and the Brahmin.
Connecticut: Rabbit Ear Books. [Grades 3-5].
This story does a nice job of introducing some of the philosophical beliefs from India such as "All thing have a purpose." It can be used as a tool to introduce the caste system as the character in the book is a Brahmin. The colorful pictures and lively dialogue will
make this book a hit with the children.
*Gobhai, Mehlli. (1971) The Legend of the Orange Princess. New York: Holiday House, Inc.
This is a tale that reminds the reader of "Cinderella" at times. It does show women in a submissive role. The Orange Princess sacrifices her own life to save her husband. Traditional literature often has this angle but this story can be used to discuss this issue and the role of men and women in Indian society.
*Gray, J.E.B. (1961) Indian Tales and Legends. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Grades 3-5].
This collection of tales contains a variety of interesting stories that children can read in one sitting. Each story gives the reader a view of the culture that can be discussed and investigated.
*Haviland, Virginia. (1973) Favorite Fairy Tales Told In India. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.
The tales in these books are often told to children in India. It gives children in the classroom a chance read and share these stories with the children of India. The stories are fairly short and can be read individually or aloud.
*Jaffrey, Madhur. (1985) Seasons of Splendour. New York: Atheneum. [Grades 4-5].
This is a collection of short Indian folk tales. The children can use it to make comparisons between stories. Also, having a variety of tales in one book allows the children to find similarities and make conclusions from the stories.
*Newton, Pam. (1990) The Stonecutter. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. [Grades 3-5].
This story is useful because versions of this story can be found from many cultures; Japanese and Chinese. The children can explore the various a versions and find connections between the cultures. This will help children understand the similarities that exist.
*Rodanas, Kristina. (1988) The Story of Wali Dad. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. [Grades 3-5].
This is a delightful story that contains a universal moral, unselfishness leads to happiness. This book can be used to begin a discussion of moral that culture share and those that differ.
*Rose, Deborah. (1990) The People Who Hugged the Trees. Colorado: Roberts Rinehart, Inc. [Grades 3-5].
This story is an environmental folk tale that has been adapted from a tale from Rajasthan, India. This book can be used to introduce a discussion on the environmental concerns of Indian and the world. It also helps the children to connect with the culture because the environment is a shared concern.
*Towle, Faith M. (1975) The Magic Cooking Pot. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. [Grades 2-5] .
The strength of this book is its illustrations. Although the story is quite good, the illustrations are what stands out. The illustrator has used a traditional Indian art form, batik. This book could serve as an introduction to batik and Indian art in general.
Perkins, Mitali. (1993) The Sunita Experiment. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks For Children. [Grades 3-5].
This is a wonderful children's novel that deals with many important issues of culture. Sunita is a first generation Indian-American. She struggles between becoming "americanized" and following the more traditional ways of her grandparents. She deals with many normal teenage issues along with this conflict. This book will help children relate to a Sunita situation and bring up some very important issues.
Hammond, Tim. ( 1988). Eyewitness Books-Sports. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
This book provides simple descriptions of cricket and the equipment used. The pictures will help the children understand and visualize the game.
Sims, Glenda J. (1992). Immigration. California: Creative Teaching Press, Inc.
This is a useful teacher's resource theme book. It has numerous activities that can be adapted for a variety of classrooms. It also ties literature to the unit and gives teachers a helpful bibliography of additional sources. It does deal more heavily with European immigration. Little time is spent on the immigration that is occurring today.
Soltow, Willow Ann (1991) Quilting the World Over. Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Co.
This is a unique book that shows how quilting is used throughout the world. It would be helpful in exploring connections between cultures. In addition to helpful description and pictures, it contains step by step instructions on how to make a variety of quilts.
*The children will be working on research projects throughout this unit. Therefore, many of the resources that I used in my research will be used in theirs. These books are at a reading level and contain appropriate materials for the children in my class. They will be used both as teacher resources and student resources.