Since 2002, May has been celebrated as Asian Heritage Month in Canada. According to the Government of Canada Website, it is “…a time to reflect on and recognize the many contributions that people of Asian origin have made and continue to make to Canada.”
Over 47 different Asian communities are represented in Canada, with regional differences within each. I immigrated to Canada from India with my family in the early 1970s. As a child of Hakka Chinese heritage, I found that much of the time, many of cultural highlights and food mentioned in books were not quite reflective of my family. To address this issue, a wider variety of books was needed.
Text Sets help address the need for a wide variety of books and provide curriculum links to:
– Cross-Curricular and Integrated Learning
– Making Inferences
– Identity and Community
– Analyzing Texts
When I was in the classroom, one way I used picture books across all grades was to introduce complex concepts but I struggled to find a wide variety of culturally representative books. Recently, I started to write picture books and began to work with Oakville, Ontario based Plumleaf Press. I was delighted when they bundled some of my books with those of other authors to form two text sets to celebrate Chinese Canadians.
The Chinese Heritage Collection features books that depict people of Chinese origin helping to shape Canada. The Chinese Culture Collection presents a variety of celebratory stories. By using a collection of books students see more of the diversity within the Chinese Canadian community. They can consider essential questions such as, “What impact does your heritage have on your identity” and “How are your culture and your identity connected?”
The books are beautiful, contemporary, and written by authors with lived experience. They are important all year round but especially helpful during Asian Heritage Month and the more recently proclaimed Chinese Heritage Month in Ontario.
Links:
Government of Canada – About Asian Heritage Month
Legislative Assembly of Ontario – Chinese Heritage Month
Learning Through Text Sets
Printable Resources
Guest Contributor: Catherine Little
