Gonzalez, Juan.
A History of Latinos in America: Harvest of Empire
. Penguin Books.
2000.
This book is a great overview of the history of Latinos in America. It is informative, and is not difficult reading.
Mu–oz Ryan, Pam. Esperanza Rising. Scholastic Inc. 2000.
This book is a great novel that is inspiring to people both old and young. It is the inspiration for this unit in that it teaches the true meaning of "money can not buy happiness." This book does an amazing job of teaching the value of family, hope and determination.
Starr, Kevin.
Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California.
Oxford
University Press. 1996.
This book contains great facts and statistics about the Depression in Califonia.
Stoll, Steven.
Fruits of Natural Advantage: Making the Industrial Countryside in California.
Berkely: University of California Press, 1998.
Information about the late nineteenth and early twentieth century farmers.
Walker, Richard A.
The Conquest of Bread: 150 Years of Agribusiness in California.
New York: Free Press, 2004.
A history of agriculture in California.
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/ryan
This site provides video interviews of Pam Mu–oz Ryan that you are able to watch on the computer, or transcripts of these interviews. Also contains information about her life as a child and author.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/multicultural.htm
This site contains great ideas on teaching multicultural concepts to students. Provides book lists specifically based on Native American, Latino, African American, Jewish, and Asian American cultures and characters.
http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/jeilms/vol15/crossing.htm
This article Discusses reasons and strategies to make a classroom as multicultural as possible. Also includes lists of picture books, novels, and adult literature books that are ideal for celebrating a diverse classroom.
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/higgins.htm
This site is a great tool to understand how to evaluate and choose multicultural literature for your classroom. It includes a rubric to use to evaluate literature that you may find. Also gives examples of over thirty exemplar books, and summaries for these stories.