Texas Culture and Customs: What Makes Texas Texas

Books to Share

Chato y cena by Gary Soto.
Family Pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza.
The Piñata Maker - El piñatero by George Ancona.
Tailypo: A New Fangled Tale by Angela Shelf Medearis.
The Zebra-Riding Cowboy by Angela Shelf Medearis.

Books to Show or Booktalk

Jubilee Journey by Carolyn Meyer.
Juneteenth: Freedom Day by Muriel Miller Branch.
Piñatas and Paper Flowers: Holidays of the Americas in English and Spanish by Lila Perl.
Texas Traditions: The Culture of the Lone Star State by Robyn Montana Turner.

Decorations or Bulletin Board Ideas

Texas Artists

Display artwork or books by Texas artists or by artists who lived in Texas such as Elisabet Ney.

Texas Display

Display Texas symbols including the flag, cowboy regalia, Native American artifacts, pictures of the state flower, bird, and animal, and a model of the Alamo.

Musical Recordings

Mariachi: Folklore de Mexico by various artists.

Crafts

Cascarones

Cascarones are colored eggshells filled with confetti. The tradition is to crack them over another's heads.

Materials

Egg shells
Confetti or cut up paper
Stickers or tape
Markers or Paint

Directions

In advance, collect egg shells from staff and patrons. To prepare them, they must poke holes in each end of the shell of a raw egg, blow the egg into a bowl and wash the eggshells well. The eggs may be scrambled or made into omelets. The children will fill them with colorful confetti, place stickers or tape over each end, and decorate the eggs with markers. Invite them to crack them over one another's heads - outside the library! Bags of confetti are available at craft stores.

Storytelling

Tell The Zebra-Riding Cowboy by Angela Shelf Medearis.

Games and Activities

Copy and distribute the Texas State Symbols handout.

Play recordings of traditional country music by Texas singers and let the children make up their own Texas hoedown song.

Have a square dance.

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Programs and Guest Speakers

Host a Juneteenth celebration at your library for Emancipation Day for African American in Texas, which occurred on June 19, 1865.

Invite a Mariachi band to play for the kids.

Videos

McGruff Files: People Are Different But Alike. (18 minutes)
Reading Rainbow 51: Barn Dance. (30 minutes)
Reading Rainbow 85: Sophie and Lou. (30 minutes)
Texas Symbols. (15 minutes)

Web Sites

Texas Fast Facts: www.50states.com/facts/texas.htm
Texas Music History Links: http://pw2.netcom.com/~wandaron/txmusic.html
Texas Talk: www.rice.edu/armadillo/Texas/talk.html
Virtual Texan: www.virtualtexan.com

Professional Resources

Dance a While: Handbook of Folk, Square, Contra and Social Dance by Jane Harris.
The Only Texas Cookbook by Linda West Eckhardt.
Texas Traditions by Robyn Montana Turner.

Table of Contents | Texas Tales and Folklore

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