Mitali Perkins Author Visit
Resources for teachers
March 2 is Mitali Perkins Day at Crossroads North
About Mitali
Mitali has spent most of her life crossing borders. Born MItali Bose in Kolkata, India, she soon learned to live up to her name--which means "friendly" in the Bangla language, because her family moved so often. By the time she was 11, Mitali had lived in Ghana, Cameroon, London, New York and Mexico before settling in California just in time for middle school
"Stories were my lifeline...
Crossroads Author Visit 2010
Here's what students and staff had to say about Mitali's visit.
"Fantastic author!"
" ,,,very relevant to our students and school community"
"In my three years here, ...my favorite author"
"...a dynamic and engaging presentation"
"Loved her!"
Follow Mitali
- Website: http://www.mitaliperkins.com/
- Blog: http://www.mitaliblog.com/
- Twitter: @MitaliPerkins
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMitaliPerkins/
- Bamboo People Site: http://www.bamboopeople.org/
- TIger Boy Site: http://www.tigerboy.org/
Resources to use with students
List of Mitali Perkins Titles available in the library
Talking with Mitali Perkins: An interview with the authorTeaching Tolerance Lesson Plan/ Activity: Examining Identity and Assimilation. Students read a story, Magic Carpet, and work through an activity that asks the essential question: Was there ever a part of your identity you had to hide?
Three-Pointer by Mitali Perkins. A short story from her Open Mic collection
Open Mic Discussion Guide including questions regarding Three-Pointer
Intro to Open Mic by Mitali
A Whole New World: Three Ways to Create Magical Places on Paper by Mitali Perkins
Straight Talk about Race: Challenging the Stereotypes in Kids' Books
A Note to Young Immigrants by Mitali in Teaching Tolerance
Common Core Connections with Mitali's books
Five Questions for Mitali about Open Mic from Horn Book
Author Interview about Tiger Boy and multicultural literature
Her Books
Bamboo People
Two Burmese boys, one a Karenni refugee and the other the son of an imprisoned Burmese doctor, meet in the jungle and in order to survive they must learn to trust each other. Lexile: 680
Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures
Shares stories about growing up in diverse homes or communities, from an Asian youth who gains temporary popularity by making up a false background, to a biracial girl whose father clears subway seats by calmly sitting between two prejudiced women. Lexile: 810
Monsoon Summer
Secretly in love with her best friend and business partner Steve, fifteen-year-old Jazz must spend the summer away from him when her family goes to India during that country's rainy season to help set up a clinic. Lexile: 750
Secret Keeper
When Asha's father goes off to America and leaves his daughters behind in Calcutta, they feel constrained by their life with their traditional uncle and his family, but a friendship with a local boy helps to ease Asha's pain. Lexile: 810
Rickshaw Girl
In her Bangladesh village, ten-year-old Naimi excels at painting designs called alpanas, but to help her impoverished family financially she would have to be a boy--or disguise herself as one. Lexile: 730
The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen
The arrival of her grandparents from India causes thirteen-year-old Sunita to resent her Indian heritage and to be embarrassed by the differences she feels between herself and her friends in California. Lexile: N/A