A collection of traditional Vietnames legends about the spirits and fairies ranging about the skies over Vietnam and the mortals under their influence exemplifies a fascination with the stars

A collection of traditional Vietnamese legends about the spirits and fairies ranging about the skies over Vietnam and the mortals under their influence exemplifies the universal fascination with the stars.

Legends are a mirror of the culture that creates them, a revealing lens through which to observe society, religion, history, and traditions. This volume explores Vietnamese legends from 1321 to today--tales of gods, spirits, ghosts, giants, extraordinary individuals, heroes, common people, and animals. It explains the mores, thought processes, and religions that formed the genesis of Vietnamese legends, traces the development of legends through time and space, and highlights the historical and social differences between northern and southern legends. Over time, this work shows, Vietnamese legends have evolved from a 14th century means of government propaganda to become a form of news, entertainment, and thought for the masses.

Involving parents in their children's schooling is a matter of intense concern in North America. Teachers and administrators want to construct a program that creates positive involvement. This is especially critical for Chapter I schools that are mandated to use a portion of their funds for home-and-school programs. Jim Vopat believes that parental involvement should strengthen the link between home and school, and to achieve this goal parents need to be introduced to the revitalized school classroom. The Parent Project calls on the most powerful aspects of school reform--workshops, journals, cooperative groups, shared reading, agenda building, interviewing, goal setting, and critical thinking-classroom learning strategies experienced by children every day. When parents work with these strategies, they understand them and discover how to support them. Using a workshop/process model, parents become involved with their children's classroom activities and are thus empowered to support their children's education. These workshops ensure participant ownership of a program's overall agenda while providing long-term structures for support and continued development. The Parent Project: Provides a framework for implementing ways to get parents involved and informed. Was developed in urban bilingual school settings and includes workshop formats in Spanish and English. Is a complete source-book for teaches and principals that provides materials for conducting workshops with parents in areas of writing, reading, self-esteem, and community-building. Supports your efforts with a detailed description of what the workshop approach is and how it functions.

"A careful selection of children's and young adult books with multicultural themes and topics which were published in the United States and Canada between 1991 and 1996"--Preface, p. vii.

Following the practical programs laid out here, young adult librarians in public libraries, school librarians, and adult and young adult services staff can easily explore many diverse cultures.