Larry and Friends {Multicultural Children’s Book Day}

If there is one thing that I truly, and wholeheartedly strive for is to raise a consciously multicultural child. I am always looking for books about diversity, and multiculturalism.  So having the opportunity to review this beautiful children’s book was more than I asked for! It’s a celebration about diversity, acceptance, and immigration. It has so many colorful, and ‘full of culture’ characters!

The story is about Larry The American Dog who will be celebrating his birthday, and he’s expecting his animal friends to come over. At the ring of the doorbell ♫♫ Ringadingadong! Ringadingadong!♫♫ we will have the pleasure of meeting each, and one of his guests as they arrive.  The book is set in New York, the melting pot of cultures.  Hence, the perfect setting for this book. We will learn about each character that shows up at the house for Larry’s birthday party as we turn each page of the book.

There are so many things that I love about this children’s book! I love the simple way immigration is approached through the friendship that Larry has with his friends. Friends from all walks of life, and different countries, languages, and cultures.  Carla Torres’  illustrations captures the characters in all of their cultural essence while Nat Jaspar the writer captures their story, and language nuances superbly! 

The age range and grade level for this book is not noted, but I see this book appropriate for advanced, and older readers. It was difficult for my 6 yr. old to read because of the accents, and pronunciations of some of the words. Nevertheless, I did read it to him. We’ve been having tons of fun reading this book before bedtime! My child loves the book because of the animals, and was fascinated with all of the characters. 

There is so much to be learned by just observing the characters that are Native American, Italian American, and from countries,  such as:  Poland, Ireland, Peru, Africa, India, Puerto Rico, China, Ecuador, France, Tibet, Dominican, Republic, Italy, Mexico, Greece, Iran, Colombia, Japan, and Russia. 

I have to admit that I was super excited when we met  Puerto Rican coquí, and an Ecuadorean guinea pig.   The Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian in me was beaming with pride! 🙂  This is the same sense of pride that I want to instill in my multicultural child as well!

Below, I’ll share with you discussion questions that I made to my child, and extension activities that can be done with this book:

Let’s talk about culture, language, and geography! 

                Questions:

• Can you show me in the map what country they are coming from? 

• Why do you think that animal was chosen for that country? 

• What characteristics do you see in each of Larry’s friends? 

• What do they do for a living?   Are they an artist, musician, cook, etc.? 

• What language do they speak?  Do they speak more than one language? 

• How do they feel about living in a country that is not their own? 

• What did all of the characters have in common?

                Activities:

• Lay-out the map, and have the child pinpoint New York, and trace back to the country of each of Larry’s friends.  

• Color the country’s map and/or flag. 

• Make a kid-friendly dish of the country. 

• Play multicultural musical instruments. 

• Dress-up in that countries attire. 

The activities are endless. If you’re ambitious you can even plan a kids culture party recreating the characters in the book!

Visit Larry and Friends’ on their website,  Facebook or on Twitter @larryandriends.