Kostecki-Shaw, J. S. (2011). Same, same but different. New York, New York: Henry Holt and Co.
Same, Same But Different is a book about two boys named Elliot and Kailash. Elliot lives in American and Kailash lives in India. The book focuses on the the things that the children like and the way things are in their particular country. They are pen pals and so they write back and forth to each other, learning about the other's culture and background. They discover that they both love pets, climbing trees, going to school, and other activities. They realize that although things are different between them, they actually have quite a lot in common.
I think this book would be an awesome tool to talk about similarities between cultures. It could be a fun activity to have them actually try and write a student from a different country, or at least write what they would if they had the opportunity to ask questions of a child different from them. Letter writing is also a good exercise in general because in many ways it has become a lost art. If you wanted to make it more timely, you could have them write an email and show how to write a proper email since it seems that many students do not know how to do this. Overall, this book is a great way to facilitate discussion about our similarities with other cultures.
I like your activities that integrates writing. This book could be used as a great writing prompt. If you want to do this someday, I may find some kids in China to write with your students. They may create a book out of the letters.
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