Cynthia Bushey reads "The Other Side" and "We're Different, We're the Same"

We're Different, We're the Same, by Bobbi Kates,  illustrated by Joe Mathieu

Cynthia Bushey read two books to a Northfield Kindergarten class on March 22, 2017.  First she read The Other Side, a book about children being told by adults not to associate with those on the other side (see two posts below for a summary).

Young children don't see differences as reasons not to associate with people of color or other cultures. They are taught, Cyntia says. Adults teach children racism, so she shared how people are different but the same through the book We're Different, We're the Same.  This led into a discussion comparing the two books.   

Her activity was related to The Sesame Street book  Cyndy writes, “I cut out flower stems, leaves, and petals so each child could construct a flower. I had 4 different petal shapes. Each flower’s petals were different shades/patterns of orange. No flowers would be the same. The children glued their flower on a large piece of construction paper. They have a beautiful garden of orange flowers -the same but different.”

Kate Duffy reads "The Other Side"

The Other Side, written by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis.

Clover has always wondered why a fence separates the black side of town from the white side.  Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence.  But one day, Clover approaches Annie, who lives on the other side.

Evocative watercolors lay bare the personalities and emotions of her two young heroines, one African-American and one white. As the girls, both instructed by their mothers not to climb over the fence, watch each other from a distance, their body language and facial expressions provide clues to their ambivalence about their mothers' directives. Intrigued by her free-spirited white neighbor, narrator Clover watches enviously from her window as "that girl" plays outdoors in the rain. And after footloose Annie introduces herself, she points out to Clover that "a fence like this was made for sitting on"; what was a barrier between the new friends' worlds becomes a peaceful perch where the two spend time together throughout the summer. 

By season's end, they join Clover's other pals jumping rope and, when they stop to rest, "We sat up on the fence, all of us in a long line." Lewis depicts bygone days with the girls in dresses and white sneakers and socks, and Woodson hints at a bright future with her closing lines: "Someday somebody's going to come along and knock this old fence down," says Annie, and Clover agrees. (from Publishers Weekly)

Activity: Kate read this book to first graders in Northfield, Montpelier, and Cabot in 2017.  To introduce the story, Kate asked the children to describe the types of fences they have around their yards and their uses. As she read, they discussed how this fence was different and why adults cautioned children to stay on their own side.  After finishing the book, the children were asked for suggestions as to how to break down real and imaginary barriers and how we can intentionally get to know each other better. Answers were discussed and then written on picket fence pieces.  A poster was hung, the fence pieces were pasted on, and a gate was devised, in order to cross through that fence.