Amy Hodgepodge

Considering the vision statement of Teacher-Space which focuses on recognizing, validating, and rewarding the many ways that teachers go beyond teaching the standardized curriculum , we thought it would be appropriate to share some resources beyond the ordinary curriculum which are currently helping students across the United States, and beyond!

When I went to the UCLA Festival of Books in the spring of 2008, it was hot!  And the stairs from where we parked by the sports fields on the west side of the campus up to the festival were steep!  I thought I might die there, all stretched out on the stairs in the heat.  As I struggled to stand upright at the top of those historic stairs (historic for me at least, because I made it to the top alive) and surveyed the hustle and bustle of festival-goers visiting all the booths and jammed into the lines for food and cold drinks, I felt a little overwhelmed.  However, I was quickly refreshed when, as I reviewed the festival's program, I found that Kim Wayans was reading on one of the stages.  I hadn't heard of her book, Amy Hodgepodge, but I was looking forward to some comic relief.

That afternoon turned out to be a great afternoon as we heard Kim Wayans and her husband Kevin Knotts read from their new children's book which features as its main character multiracial Amy Hodges.  It was wonderful to realize that Amy's character not only pulls you in with her all-too familiar challenges of childhood, but she also gives a face and a voice to multiracial children.  A diverse cast of characters accompanies Amy - there's Lola, Cole, Maya, Pia, Jesse, Rusty, and Giggles the dog - and when I say diverse, I mean that Amy's friends really represent a wide range of ethnicities and economic abiltiies - just like the students in our schools.  This book series tells it like it is, exploring the enormous issue that most all of us face - fitting in and being different.  Wonderful life lessons abound!  You could not hope for a more hopeful book that gives kids hope!  I hope you check it out!  Visit Amy's website for more info!

(NOTE: These extraordinary resources are not paid advertisements - these are friends of ours!  We love them dearly and want to you to love them, too.)