Back to School: I Love School by Calliope Glass

I Love School is a book in Disney’s It’s a Small World series.  In this volume, readers learn how children go to school in four different countries.  We follow Andrew in the United States, Dario in Italy, Ling in China, and Zanele in South Africa. 

I love the way this book is written because it not only helps readers celebrate the differences in schools around the world, it also shows that we sometimes learn the same concepts in different ways.  

The illustrations by Caroline LaVelle Egan and Winnie Ho are cute and show cultural diversity without any stereotypes.  This book can be a good springboard for discussing different cultures and how even though people come from very diverse backgrounds, we are all humans and we all deserve respect, love, and equality. 

Activities:

Find the countries on a map or globe.  Find your own country on the map.  Spell the country names.  

Make paper dolls that have Ling, Dario, Zanele, and Andrew's names on them and put them in their countries.  Make another for your child (or children in a classroom) and place him in the correct country (and part of the country) as well.

A good segue can also be food- discuss Italian food (spaghetti, pizza, gelato), Chinese food (Peking duck, rice, Kung Pao chicken), and South African food (chutney, gatsby, tomato bredie).  Resolve to try some of the dishes from each country. 

Try some of the activities that are shown in the book, such as when Ling and her friends play the dragon game outside.

Discuss with your child his/her own feelings about going back to school.  What are they most excited about?  

What are some more activities you could do with your child that go along with this book?

AGES: 4-7

BOOK BRIEFS: (Explanation in side bar)

CD

DS

E/S

I

T