Yoko

Yoko, a young kitten of Japanese background, goes to school with her sack lunch of sushi. The day starts off just like any other school day, however when it is lunch time and Yoko pulls out her box of sushi everyone makes fun of her. Yoko is very sad and hurt that every one made fun of her sushi.

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The teacher creates an International Food Day for the students to bring and try foods from all different cultures. The students bring dishes from all over the world and Yoko brings her sushi. After the students try the sushi they realize that it is not so bad after all and is quite tasty.

I enjoyed this book because I am always reluctant to try new foods. Although, usually when I get the courage to try a new food I usually end of loving it!

An idea for the book in the classroom would be to mimic what Yoko’s teacher did, have an international food day for the students. The teacher could have family members or people in the community to bring different dishes from other cultures for the students to taste test. Another activity would be to create a recipe book that has foods from other countries as well as each child’s favorite homemade food.

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Yoko took her lunch to school. It was sushi, rice rolls, crispy cucumbers, shrimp, seaweed, and tuna. All the other students made fun of her because they thought what she was eating was weird. The teacher decided they were going to have a multicultural lunch the next day. Everyone had to try a bite

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of everything that was brought.

I like this story. In my life I have been known to judge food before I ever tried it. I have learned from my own experiences that if I will just try it I might be surprised and actually like it.

Extension Ideas:
I would use this book to have my students have their own in classroom multicultural lunch. I would also use this book by assigning students with different countries to research. They could learn about the different cultures and food represented in the country they are researching.

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When Yoko goes to school her mother packs her lunch with all her favorite things. As Mrs. Jenkins rings the lunch bell at noon, all the children had a variety of different things for lunch. Timothy had peanut butter and honey, Valerie had cream cheese and jelly, Doris had squeeze cheese and the

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Franks had franks and beans. When the other children f ound Yoko had sushi they started to make fun of her lunch. The teacher found a way to take care of this problem by having an International Food Day. This gave all the children a chance to try a different food.Although some children still did not want to try the sushi at the end of the day Yoko and Timothy shared their food with each other.

I related to this book since recently at my daughter's school they did a lesson on Native American's and made Indian fried better and other Indian dishes, which all the students had to a chance to try.

Extension 1. I would have an International food day and have each child pick a country and make the main dish or food of that country.
2. Each child would have to read about another country and write two important facts about that country.

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Yoko loves sushi and brings it to school for lunch on day. The other students in her class make fun of her and it really makes Yoko sad. Trying to make things better the teacher decided to do an International food day where all the students bring in food from their culture. Yoko's sushi still isn't

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eaten and she is sad. One of the classmates decides to go ahead and try it and love it. From that day on the two friends eat sushi all the time and are great friends.

I really loved this book. I had a personal experience in my son's class last year where a little boy would bring sushi and other Asian food in his lunch everyday. Some of the other boys in class would make fun of him so he got to where he would not want to eat at all. The problem was resolved, but this book is just a perfect match for that same situation!

This book is good to have on hand for when you do find out students are picking on another student that has something different than everyone else. This book shows that it is okay to be different. So a unit on differences would be a great lesson for younger kids to learn. This book would fit right in there.

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This is a very good children's book. This book helps children understand that there are people in their classroom with different heritages and that they like different food. Instead of just eating the same thing everyday, they had a day where they got to try everyones food. No one wanted to eat

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Yoko's food until they actually tried it and they loved it. This book also teaches children a way to get along with kids of different heritages and not to make fun of them.

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Yoko packs her lunch for school but when she gets it out her classmates begin to make fun of her. The teacher does not approve so she arranges a day for everyone to bring a dish from their native country. Noone wants to eat the sushi Yoko brought, but then she sees one of her friends eating it and

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he loves it. From that day one they bring their lunch and share everyday! A wonderful story about giving things a chance and not making fun of people because it hurts there feelings. The illustrations are so adorable!

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Yoko is written by the author of the max and ruby series that writes for toddlers. Yoko is the story of a girl that comes from a different culure than her classmates. The other kids tease yoko about her differences. They tease her about such things as eating sushi. The teacher remedies the problem

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by having an international day and the kids try foods form all over the world and learn to appreciate other cultures and that different is not bad and that it can taste good. the authors site can be found at rosemarywells.com and offers info on the author and her books

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This story is about a cat named Yoko and one day her mother fixed her lunch with sushi to eat. When Yoko got to school, she got picked on for what her mother made her for lunch. In the end, Yoko finds a friend named Timothy and the story turns out that Yoko made a friend.

Yoko takes her lunch to school and because of her eithnicity the children make fun of her food her mom made. The teacher notices what the student's are doing. So she decides to create a International food day so that all the students can try different dishes from all over the world.
This is a book

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about many different cultures, I feel this would be great for introducing mulitiple culture education to the classroom. I also feel that this could be used for students who feel left out or different. The illustrations are wonderfully creative.

A activity a teacher could do with her class is to have an international day and have students bring in food from their cultures. Another activity would be write a story about each students eithnicity.

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Summary:
Yoko is made fun of because she brings sushi in her lunch box. Her teacher wants to help Yoko, so she comes up with a plan to have International Food Day! Everyone brings foods from a variety of countries to try and Yoko finds a friend who loves sushi to eat lunch with her.

Personal

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Reaction:
My daughter has had trouble with others making fun of her lunch because of healthy foods I include. I love that this story helps her see that she is not alone in this problem and that others have found solutions. She shares some of her food with friends now.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. As a teacher I would have International Food Day to share foods from other countries.
2. This book provides a great introduction to bullying and making fun of one another. In the classroom, the teacher could talk about what the children should have done instead of making fun of Yoko.

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Yoko brings sushi to school and gets made fun of for it. The whole class brings in a special food from home. Everyone has to have a taste of everything, but no one will try Yoko's sushi!

Yoko is a cat that has a Japanese culture, but goes to a diverse school. Everyone makes fun of her because of what she brings for lunch and snack. She has food such as sushi, while others have beans and Boston Franks. The teacher doesn’t like how the other children are acting, so she has the

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class celebrate an International Food Day. All of the food is gone, except the sushi. However, a hungry classmate tries the sushi and falls in love with it. The classmate and Yoko become friends.

Cultures or race should not stop people from being friends or trying new things. I like a lot of things that come from Japan, but I also like the things from England, Germany, Italy, etc. People from other cultures celebrate different things, but they may also be more advanced in a subject. For example,I have learned that Dale Chihuly is the greatest American glass blower, but he learned his trade in Venice. Many can learn something new from each culture. I think this is a great book for anyone, no matter what age.

If I were to use this in a classroom, I would have the kids read the book then describe what had happened and what they learned. I would also have our own International Food Day in the class.

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This book is about an asian cultured cat, that brings sushi for lunch. The children make fun of her food. The teacher is aware of what is going on, and deciceds to have an International Food Day, to teach the children about food from other cultures.

I liked the way this book used personified

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animals. I'm sure things like this go on at school on a daily basis. This is a good book to use to teach children about diffent foods from different cultures.

In the classroonm I would have a International Food Day, just like in the book. The children could bring in their favorite cultural dishes for the class to try! I would also have the children draw pictures of their favorite food to hang up in the classroom.

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Yoko is a great book to teach young children to appreciate peers of different cultures. Yoko is teased for not bringing the typical lunch that her classmates bring, but ends up teaching them all a lesson on culture and equal treatment. This book would be great through second grade. Wonderful life

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lesson!

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Summary:
Yoko, a young cat of a Japanese background, brings a sack lunch of food such as sushi to school. She begins to be teased because of the sack lunch that her mom packs for her. The teacher decides to fix the problem by hosting an International Food Day for her class. The students are to bring

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a dish from their cultural background so the they can share and try new foods. At the end of the day, one of Yoko's classmates decided to try her sushi and he loved it. The day got the students to appreciate other cultures.

Personal Reaction:
I really liked this book because I could definitely relate. My mom is Mexican and my dad is American. Growing up, I was raised on a mixture of Mexican and American dishes. However, I thought that all families were like mine and ate tortillas, enchiladas, and tacos most of the time. As I got older I realized that I was very different and I learned to appreciate my culture a lot more. This book is a great way for the children to learn more about themselves and their classmates.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. I may also host an International Food Day for my students to learn about other cultures of their classmates.
2. I will have my students draw a picture of their favorite dish that their parents make.

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Summary: This story is about a young kitten by the name of Yoko, who loves eating the sushi her mother makes her for lunch. However, she is often teased by her classmates simply because her food is different. Yoko's teacher takes notice of this, and decides to have a day where everyone will bring

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in food related to their heritage. Even so, no one tries Yoko's sushi. That is, except for one which is more than enough to make Yoko happy.

Personal Reaction: I honestly would not call this book my favorite but it does have an important lesson. Being different and liking different foods is nothing to be ashamed of, rather it is something to take pride in. It really bugged me that only one kid was willing to try the sushi though.

Classroom Extension Ideas:

1. Have an International Food day where everyone brings in food from another country and make sure everyone tries at least a bite of each dish.

2. Have a group discussion about being bullied or teased simply for being different and what to do to feel better.

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Summary:
This book is about a mouse named Yoko. Her mother makes Sushi for Yoko for lunch. But all the students in the class would make fun of her. The teacher decided to make a day so the students bring their favorite food to share with the class. Yoko found out that someone in her class also

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loved to eat sushi.

Personal Reaction:
I am German, my mom makes a lot of German food. But I can relate to Yoko Because I a lot of my friends when I tell them some of the German food my mom makes they get grossed out. But I tell them they should try and then see if they like it. This book she a great children's book, the images are good and not a lot of words per page.

Classroom Extension:
1. I would have a international day in my class have to students bring in food to share.
2. Have a discussion about what other foods they have in other cultures.

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Summary: Yoko is made fun of because she brings sushi to school for lunch. Her teacher wants to help Yoko, so she comes up with a plan to have International Food Day! Everyone brings food from a variety of countries to try and Yoko finds a friend wo loves sushi to eat and they eat lunch

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together.

Personal Reactions: The book is well written and has very nice pictures. It can help kids understand that food from other countries are great to eat and share with other people. teaches that is always okay to try new things that you are not used to.

Classroom Extensions: As a teacher I would have International Food Day to share food from other countries. The book provides a great introducation to bullying and making fun of one another. In the classroom, the teacher could of talk about what the children could of done instead of making fun of her (Yoko).

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Summary: Yoko is made fun of because she brings sushi in her lunch box. Her teacher wants to help Yoko, so she comes up with a plan to have international food day. Everyone brings food from a variety of cultures to try. No one tried Yoko’s sushi, and it made her sad. But then she heard chop

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sticks and one of her classmates had tried the sushi and loved it. Yoko had made a fried.

Personal reaction- I felt as if the pictures in this book were very bright and colorful, and that they would easily keep a child’s attention. However, I did not like the fact that they didn’t make everyone try Yoko’s food. It didn’t set a good example for kids in my opinion. Overall I thought that was a cute book and would be a good book to read to the class when discussing different types of culture.

Classroom extension ideas- 1. As a teacher I could try having an international food day. Each student could bring a dish from a different country and we could discuss the culture.
2. This is a great book to teach children about bullying. I could discuss what the children should have done instead of making fun of Yoko. As a class we could go over different suggestions of how they would have made Yoko feel more comfortable.

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Summary:
This book is about a cat named Yoko, who is feeling sad after a bad day at school. Yoko took sushi for lunch that day and all her classmates teased her about it. Mrs. Jenkins decides to have an international food day to try and help Yoko. On that day all the children brought in dishes from

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different countries. In the end Yoko teaches her classmates to use chopsticks.

Personal Reaction:
It's not my favorite book, but I do like the lesson it can teach us. I personally don't like sushi either, but I wouldn't care if someone had it for lunch. I did finally have a taste of sushi at Kobe's, but with avocado not raw fish.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. I would have an open discussion with the classroom on feeling different. Questions such as, Who has ever felt left out, or different, or bullied?
2. Ask the class about popular foods in their families and ask them to bring in a dish to share with the class.

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Food! This book is both about accepting others cultures and making friends. This is a fun book about food and school.

Summary:
Yoko was made fun of at school because she brought different food than everyone else. No one wanted to talk to her or play with her so it hurt her feelings. Her teacher saw what was going on so she decided her class would have a multicultural day and have everyone bring a different dish.

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Yoko's mom made a plate of sushi. No one was willing to try Yoko's dish, which hurt her feelings until she saw one of her classmates eating one. He loved it so much he told his other classmates to try it and they all loved it. They all wanted Yoko to bring it again the next day.

Personal Reaction:
I loved this book because I'm sure we have all related to Yoko before. I always loved having international days at school because you could learn about different cultures.

Classroom Extension:
1. In a classroom, the students could host a multicultural day and everyone bring in a different dish like Yoko's class.
2. In a classroom, the teacher could have a lesson about bullying and why they shouldn't do it.

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I loved this book. It's about embracing other cultures and having an open mind. It's a story about animals who are asked to bring traditional food items from their cultures to share with others. The students are able to try foods that are unfamiliar, and friendships are formed unexpectedly.

Summary:
This multicultural book not only covers food from all over the world, but it also touches on the topics of teasing and to not judge something before you try it yourself. Yoko brings in sushi for lunch one day and all the other kids talk about how gross it looks and sounds. The teacher,

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Mrs. Jenkins, decides the class should have a multicultural day and bring in foods from around the world. Only one person tries Yoko's sushi, because everything else is gone, but he ends up really liking it. The next day he and Yoko have a little buffet at lunch sharing each others food.

Personal Reaction:
Being an Army brat I moved around a lot and was able to try all sorts of food, some I fell in love with and others that I didn't. This has made the kind of person that will eat just about anything though. Sushi has never been my favorite but I still continue to always try it thinking maybe one day I'll stumble across something I like or that my taste buds will change and eventually start to like it.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. I really liked what this teacher did in having everyone bring in a dish from a different country. I think it would be great to have multicultural weeks and each week be a different ethnicity like Spanish, Asian, European, and such and have students talk to their parents about bringing in a dish for the ethnicity of there choice.
2. I would tie it into a geography lesson to show where the different countries were sushi originates from.
3. This book would be good for a lesson on treating others the way you want to be treated, and that trying different food is a good idea because it might surprise you how much you like something you thought you wouldn't.

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