ABSRACT: Diverse education professionals learned about African cultures in a workshop experience by making African masks using authentic symbolism. Analysis of reflections to evaluate the workshop for applicability to participants with and without African heritage showed that both groups expanded their cultural knowledge of traditional African ethnic groups. Those participants with African heritage noted valuing of women while those without African heritage expressed appreciation for African culture, self-evaluation of work, and the desire to investigate their own heritages.

This teaching tip reports a case of an author‐illustrator study of Donald Crews. It discusses the suitability of his books for an author‐illustrator study in preschool classrooms and emphasizes the significance of his work for family literacy among racial and ethnic minority groups. A Head Start classroom of preschoolers investigated Crews's books during their unit about transportation. The children made connections across books and compared his books with those of a similar author‐illustrator. The highlight of this case was the Big Book that the children wrote, culminating their investigation about Crews. The children had an opportunity to become author‐illustrators just like him.