What are we made of? Find out here.
New to this story? Check out Part I.
One page of I LOOK LIKE A GIRL (by Sheila Hamanaka) confused some kids:
“Sugar and spice”? Why was the author suddenly talking about baking ingredients? We did some research and found out that she was referencing a poem from the early 1800s:
What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and everything nice,
That’s what little girls are made of.What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Snakes and snails and puppy dogs’ tails,
That’s what little boys are made of.
Kids raged at these poems.
“Why do boys get to have all the fun?”
“Sometimes boys are nice!”
“Sugar and spice?! Why do we have to stay inside, in the kitchen?”
Until one kid suggested,
“We need NEW poems!”
And here they are.
-Allie Jane Bruce
Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature 
This is SUCH a great lesson. Thank you for sharing! How can we get our hands on this book (since it’s out of print)?
You may be able to get the book used on Amazon, Ebay, or AbeBooks.
Thank you for the lovely compliment!
We need more teachers like Allie Bruce. The work she does with her students is absolutely astounding.
*Deep blush* Thank you Debbie! It really helps that I work at Bank Street, where the culture is so open-minded and action-oriented.
I’m a fan of yours, too.
Reblogged this on Eagles Diwaniya and commented:
This is Part II of “What are we Made of”