~Let’s Break Down Stereotypes~
Monica McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown is a joyful celebration of difference. The picture book’s heroine, Marisol McDonald, is a young Peruvian-Scottish girl. She has red hair and brown skin and plenty of spunk. This bilingual book about mixing up combinations of things shows just how silly it is to think that everything, including families, have to match. A great read for children everywhere. Primary and Intermediate Elementary
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match Book Blurb from the Publisher
My name is Marisol McDonald, and I don’t match. At least, that’s what everyone tells me.
Marisol McDonald has flaming red hair and nut-brown skin. Polka dots and stripes are her favorite combination. She prefers peanut butter and jelly burritos in her lunch box. And don’t even think of asking her to choose one or the other activity at recess—she’ll just be a soccer playing pirate princess, thank you very much. To Marisol McDonald, these seemingly mismatched things make perfect sense together.
Unfortunately, they don’t always make sense to everyone else. Other people wrinkle their nose in confusion at Marisol—can’t she just be one or the other? Try as she might, in a world where everyone tries to put this biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl into a box, Marisol McDonald doesn’t match. And that’s just fine with her.
A mestiza Peruvian American of European, Jewish, and Amerindian heritage, renowned author Monica Brown wrote this lively story to bring her own experience of being mismatched to life. Her buoyant prose is perfectly matched by Sara Palacios’ engaging acrylic illustrations.
Discussion Questions for Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match
Before reading
- Name some things we wear that match or look the same. Why do you think they match?
- How important is it for things we wear to match? What other things around us match?
- What are some things that do not match?
After reading
- What does Marisol do that doesn’t match?
- How does she combine things in new ways?
- What do her family, friends, and teacher think?
- Why does she give her puppy the name she does?
- How would the story be different if it were told by her brother or one of her friends?
- Where is her mother and father from?
- Do parents have to come from the same place?
- Do families have to match?
Activities for Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match
- Mix It Up. Make a collage using different patterns and textures.
- Combine It. Draw different animal parts and combine them to make a new one.
- UnMatch! Play the Unmatching Game. In an open space, have children line up . Explain that when you yell Unmatch! they will have ___ minutes (Depending on age this can be 1 to 5 minutes) to find someone who doesn’t match. When everyone is “matched up” have each pair explain one or more ways they don’t match. Repeat the “Unmatching” as many times as you wish. For younger children the Unmatch can be visual – different shoes, socks, etc. For older children, it can be about hobbies, favorites, and other personal facts about each other.
- Hold a Wild Sockeroo Day. Challenge children to wear clothes that do not match.
Find More Resources
Learn More about Monica Brown
Awards
Cybils Awards, 2011, Nominee, Fiction Picture Book
International Latino Book Award, 2012, 1st Place, Best Children’s Picture Book (Bilingual)
Pura Belpre Award, 2012, Honor Book, Illustrator
Skipping Stones Honor Award, 2012, Winner, Multicultural And International
Tejas Star Book Award, 2012, Winner
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 2013 – Picture Book
Prairie Bud Award, 2013 – 2014
Tejas Star Book Award, 2012
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