Pore over a range of resources that you couldn’t find elsewhere. Equip your school with inclusive resources. Enjoy workshops and meet the people who create and distribute multicultural books. Tamarind will be among the exhibors at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) book fair. Several titles will be selling at only £1 each.

Multicultural Resources Fair
Wednesday 29th September 2010
12pm – 6.30pm
CLPE, Webber St, London SE1 8QW

CLPE is holding its seventh multicultural book fair where specialist booksellers and publishers display and sell their books and resources. The book fair will be of interest to teachers, early years practitioners, parents, librarians and students. www.clpe.co.uk

This week Ealing Council held its Early Years conference. Tamarind founder and author Verna Wilkins gave the keynote speech. Verna shared a lifetime of experience and success with local practitioners. The event was held to launch Building Futures: Believing in Children, a government document giving guidance on inclusion in the Early Years. Verna brought the Tamarind titles to life, injecting heart and humour into good inclusion practice. Here’s what the audience thought:

“She was so inspirational.  Every word she said had a deep meaning to it.  I thoroughly enjoyed her speech.” - Attendee from Ealing Montessori School

“[Verna's speech] reminded me as to why I am still in teaching. Does she do talking books???!!! What a fantastic reader.” – Delegate from Greenfields Children’s Centre

“We should have more sessions like this to enhance our creativity and understanding of the world.” – Attendee from Sudbury Hill Montessori School

“[Verna] encouraged me to look and think about what children say and to promote children learning through their personal experiences.” – Delegate from Windmill Children’s Centre

Multicultural bookseller Colourful Kids displayed the full range of Tamarind’s Early Years titles on the day.

Equipped with a range of beautiful Tamarind picture books, Verna Wilkins visited Whitefriars School in Harrow. The head teacher Lynne Pritchard requested the visit because she is aware of “the importance of adequately meeting the educational needs of all the children, regardless of their ethnic origin.”

Tamarind books focus on universal themes, making them accessible and engaging resources for use all year round, and not only to be dusted off in Black History Month each October. Verna highlighted the curriculum topics, early socialisation themes, shared experiences and family life in the books. One powerful example, The Silence Seeker is popular because of the interwoven themes of migration, the value of silence, noisy city life and friendship without words. The lyrical writing and stylish illustrations widens its appeal to older children.

With the Tamarind range on board, the teachers felt able to deliver a truly multicultural curriculum. The head teacher was so inspired that she bought 44 Tamarind titles for the school and for her charity Red Earth, which trains teachers in Uganda. Through working with Tamarind, Lynne has become excited and equipped to integrate multicultural books across the curriculum. Lynne’s particularly keen to take The Day Rains Fell to Uganda on her next trip, and to take Verna too!

Verna founded Tamarind to address the issue of inclusion in early years education. Her work with schools over 20 years has shown how much personal value children feel when they see themselves reflected in their learning materials.

Feeling inspired?

Why not donate a Tamarind book to an African school through the charity Pelican Post, or flick through our catalogue to see the many curriculum themes our books support.

We love all our books, but if you need recommendations, here they are: 10 books every library and school must have! Click on the titles to find out more.

10
Dave and the Tooth Fairy

Themes: jobs, losing teeth, Down’s Syndrome, wheelchair use, fairies

9
Choices, Choices…

Themes: jobs, poetry, humour

8
Amina and the Shell

Themes:  climate change, giants, agriculture

7
The Day the Rains Fell

Themes:  environment, water, creation, animals, African jewellery and pottery

6
The Silence Seeker

Themes:  immigration, making friends, noises and silence, urban life, ESL, SEN

5
Miss Bubble’s Troubles

Themes:  humour, poetry, school, hospital, pets

4
Ferris Fleet the Wheelchair Wizard

Themes:  space, humour, wheelchair use, single-parent family, working mums, moving house 

3
Accessible biographies of well-loved icons

Themes:  Black History Month, non-fiction, biography, careers

2
Spike and Ali Enson

Themes:  humour, aliens, sibling rivalry, adoption

1
The Young Chieftain

Themes:  dual heritage, bereavement, family history, responsibility

And a little something for bed time…
The Night the Lights Went Out

A soothing, lyrical story for anyone who’s afraid of the dark.

On Friday and Saturday 16-17th October, Tamarind ran a stand at the annual Special Educational Needs Show in the Business Design Centre, north London. The entire list was on display to the five thousand specialist teachers, carers and consultants who visited for the workshops, seminars and resources at the show.

The Silence Seeker went down particularly well. Several attendees stood round the stand, quietly reading the lyrical story. Many buyers planned to use it for assemblies and class discussions, and to use its stylish, intricate illustrations to encourage interest from reluctant readers of all ages. The friendship without words in the book has special resonance for teachers of children with little English and those focused on social inclusion. Several Tamarind titles feature disabled characters and SEN themes, such as self esteem, inclusion and bullying. The books provide excellent support for SEN practitioners.

Comments on the day included:
“My kids loved Caribbean Animals. They were asking me questions about the animals for ages!”

“I want to buy them for my own children – not just for work.”

“You’re my favourite publisher.”

“The day has been amazing and getting The Silence Seeker is the perfect end.”