Multicultural Books - Karito Kids Library Review
Regular Girls Stop Pirates, Save Pandas, and Puts Up With Parents
Feb 6, 2009
The beauty of American Girl books is their historical accuracy; they book reflect what realistically could have happened during specific American time periods. The beauty of their book and toy shelf competitors, Karito Kids, is their cultural authenticity; the books reflect what is realistically going on in different cultures right now.
It is safe to say that the girls of the Karito Kids series also have another sort of authenticity. The books are about the girls that readers wish they were -- daring enough to help others, brave enough to risk getting in trouble for a good cause, and smart enough to solve mysteries and problems.
Audience for Karito Kids Adventure Books
Elementary-aged fans of adventure stories would welcome the addition of the Karito Kids books on their home shelves. Teachers, too, would welcome the books in their class libraries, because the elementary adventures work on several levels.
- Reluctant readers will like the quick pace and comic-book style art.
- Grade-level readers will enjoy the storylines as well as the adventure.
- Advanced readers will appreciate the foriegn language and phrases that are slipped into the story.
- Non-fiction readers will enjoy the factual aspects of the books and the photographic journals at the end of the books.
The reading level for the books is upper elementary, but middle school students with a specific interest in culture or one of the social themse would find the books to be easy, enjoyable reads.
Multiculturalism Woven into Plotlines
While reading the Karito Kids books, there are subtle cultural mentions and language distinctions that flow naturally into the stories. When readers are finished with the books, they might be surprised to discover everything they have learned about other cultures. The books flow like stories about regular girls who happen to live in other countries.
- In Florence Fiasco, readers get a tour of Italy as well as a tour of the not-always-glamorous world of fashion.
- In Manhattan Menace, readers ride the subway and see New York, while they search for secrets that are best hidden in a big city.
- In Mexico Mystery, readers ride bareback and learn that wealth can - and can not - divide people.
- In Nairobi Nightmare, readers become television stars and sleuths as they learn about the importance of art and friendship in a country with very distinct class levels.
- In Shanghai Secret, readers learn about two different dialects of Chinese as they learn about the conflicting interests of industrialism and environmentalism.
- In Sydney Scandal, readers pick up on Australian slang and learn about the significance of sunken ships to Australia's cultural history.
About Karito Kids
The goal of Karito Kids is to bring citizen philanthropy to an elementary level. Children who own dolls, books, or accessories from the Karito Kids collection are given a code to an online game site, which allows them donate 3% of the suggested retail price of the item to a choice of charities that are under the Plan International Umbrella.
Laura Rangel, of the co-founders of KidsGive, publisher of the Karito Kids books, wants to, "empower our kids today and help those who need it...we have helped to build over 27 homes in Honduras, purchase over 34,000 mosquito nets for kids in Kenya, buy over 5,600 chickens for eggs for children in China and provide over 3,800 books for 900 kids in Mali."
Of course, elementary readers will not picked out books based on what percentage of the price goes to charity. They choose book based on quality and readability, and the Karito Kids books offer girls a chance to vicariously experience adventures in other countries through the eyes of girls very similar to themselves.
Karito Kids books are published by KidsGive, and illustrated by Tom Bancroft and Rob Corley. The library includes:
- Florence Fiasco (ISBN: 0-9792912-2-4)by W.A. Sorrells
- Manhattan Menace (ISBN:09792912-3-2) by W.A. Sorrells
- Mexico Mystery (ISBN: 09792912-4-0) by W.A. Sorrells
- Nairobi Nightmare (ISBN: 09792912-1-6) by W.A. Sorrells
- Shanghai Secret (ISBN: 09792912-0-8) by W.A. Sorrells
- Sydney Scandal (ISBN: 978-097929126-5) by Judy Katschke
The books are written by multiple authors, includign Judy Katschke,who also adapted books for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's Two of a Kind series and several tie-in books for Disney and Nick Jr, and W.A. Sorrells.
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